What to do after undergrad when I JUST realized that I want to try medicine

[Aetherius]

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[deleted307836]

In my opinion your original plan -- getting a lab job + clinical volunteering + non-medical volunteering -- is your best option, especially considering your loan payments. The general consensus on SDN seems to be that being an EMT really isn't that great of an advantage in the application process -- and the certification would be absolutely worthless if you don't find a job as one. If you have a variety of other clinical experiences you should be fine in that regard. It does provide very good experience however if you're able to get it.

I don't know too much about working as an EMT -- but would it be possible for you to take a lab job and work or volunteer as an EMT on the side/on weekends? Depending on your location you may be able to find evening classes that allow you to have a day job as well.

 

[Person0715]

Did you complete any of the pre-reqs? Seeing as how much you love science, I'm assuming you probably completed some, but work on completing the rest for sure.

50k in loans is pretty steep for undergrad. IMO, whittling that number down should be one of your first priorities. Get a job for sure!

 

[Aetherius]

Yes, unfortunately I was characterized as a non-resident by UCLA since I graduated overseas and went straight here for college. Its the additional $20k "nonresident" tuition each year that's killing me. But other than that, I couldve had a free ride. Anyways, thats the end of that. But I think its a really good idea, working as an EMT on the side during the weekends. The sad thing is, I realized I did not have enough money in my account to even enroll in one. sigh.

And yes, I graduated with a science degree. Is my GPA too low, though? That's one of the main reasons why I kinda shifted from medicine.

 

[flatearth22]

Yes, unfortunately I was characterized as a non-resident by UCLA since I graduated overseas and went straight here for college. Its the additional $20k "nonresident" tuition each year that's killing me. But other than that, I couldve had a free ride. Anyways, thats the end of that. But I think its a really good idea, working as an EMT on the side during the weekends. The sad thing is, I realized I did not have enough money in my account to even enroll in one. sigh.

And yes, I graduated with a science degree. Is my GPA too low, though? That's one of the main reasons why I kinda shifted from medicine.

GPA isn't that bad if you get a solid MCAT score (say a balanced 33+). Have you looked into being a medical scribe? Not much training from what I hear and will give you solid clinical experience.

 

[Aetherius]

Is that the same thing as a medical transcriptionist?
What would you say I should do clinically to make up for what I didnt do?

 

[Aetherius]

Any other options from anybody?

 

[gravitywave]

what was the nature of your volunteer work at the HIV/AIDS centers? was it just research or did you have actual patient contact?

also, you said you did your UG work overseas. are you a US citizen/green card holder?

 

[Aetherius]

what was the nature of your volunteer work at the HIV/AIDS centers? was it just research or did you have actual patient contact?

also, you said you did your UG work overseas. are you a US citizen/green card holder?

Both. I volunteered at the clinics during my first 2 years of undergrad, and did research at the UCLA AIDS Institute on my last 2 years. I actually did high school overseas, and UG here.

 

[quiltlady]

Have you shadowed doctors in various fields? You need to find out if the day to day work of doctors is what you want.

 

[Aetherius]

Yeah, I'll be doing that. But besides working full-time for the next two years while waiting for my application, are there any jobs worthy of looking into to get me exposed to medicine besides the obvious volunteering and shadowing?
Any personal experiences you guys might want to share, perhaps?

 

[Danlee07]

when I looked up the jobs around my area, I filtered the search to a 30 mile radius instead of just local. And then, I looked at specific job descriptions for hospitals and such. This was before beginning a certificate program because for me, the program was very close by and open once a semester.

In the end, I'm not getting the certificate; i found a few open spots, but I just didn't see it match with my schedule. I think you should get this certificate because if you work for one year or two, then you can accrue your loan with some left for application season.

Or, you can just look for job opportunities related to your master's... I'm researching in a lab related to bioenergy now as well. Volunteer while you do this.