will they look at this break negatively?

[LupaCupcake]

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Hello everyone! My bachelors degree is now done with a 3.8 GPA. I still have to finish chemistry/physics courses that I was not able to take while doing my degree because I lived on a military post with limited classes. We left the military and have been back in the states for almost a year now. Unfortunately I was not able to get back into school ASAP like I had intended. One, I was classified out of state tuition and I just can't afford that even at a community college. Two, right now I am pulling 50-60 hour weeks at a psychiatric hospital trying to make ends meet because no one is hiring my husband and we have liquidated our savings to zero. I plan to hopefully get back into school next term because I will then qualify for in state tuition, but I am scared that with me working so many hours right now I just won't be able to handle it and it will hurt my GPA.

I am getting clinical hours working at the hospital which is nice. I majored in psychology with a minor in biology. I am a mental health technician at an inpatient facility and I work primarily with adolescents. I get to design and teach group therapy everyday, I handle very difficult patients including highly aggressive ones such as one that whipped a wooden chair at my face two days ago during a psychiatric episode.😱 I love my job because I really care about these kids and I want to help them so I do see my job as beneficial in more than one way.

Do you think medical school will view this year long break as negative or understand the fact that I am trying to survive right now. I literally cannot pay our rent and bills unless I get in a minimum of 55 hours of overtime every month tacked onto my regular paycheck. It is very stressful, but I am not giving up on furthering my education and becoming a doctor.

Thoughts?

 

[katiemaude]

Focus on keeping your family financially afloat. It's great that you're getting clinical experience in the meantime. Once your husband is working and tuition is feasible for you, go back to school and focus on getting A's in those remaining classes. Also look into whether your facility reimburses partly for tuition, or if not, see if you can find similar pay for similar work at another one or a local hospital.

It's a marathon, not a sprint. I probably could have started med school two years ago if I blazed through everything but when you're a non-trad, real life can get in the way. Just to let you know I understand.... I could only afford to pay for five secondary apps last season and am now reapplying. It's better to wait until you have the financial ability and time to do things right. You don't want to wait forever, of course, or lose your momentum, but it's understandable that you are going to have other priorities interfere occasionally.

 

[gdfernan]

Been following your story for a while. Great job on UG GPA. I do not think your gap will be a concern given that you are working in a medical related field. Hopefully Goro/Gyngyn will chime in. If not, think of PMing them.

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[thefritz]

As long as you're doing something and not staying at home playing xbox you'll be fine. And even then you also probably will be. Pretty much the only thing that matters to med schools is your GPA and MCAT. It's not like applying for a job where an employer will look over your entire resume and deny you the job because there is an unexplained gap on your resume from 1998-2000 or something.

 

[Goro]

We'd be very sympathetic. Medical schools aren't Fortune 500 companies that look at your work history with a magnifying lens. At the worst, during an interview, someone will ask you about it, and if you answer there as you've answered here, you're fine.



Do you think medical school will view this year long break as negative or understand the fact that I am trying to survive right now. I literally cannot pay our rent and bills unless I get in a minimum of 55 hours of overtime every month tacked onto my regular paycheck. It is very stressful, but I am not giving up on furthering my education and becoming a doctor.

 

[LupaCupcake]

thank you....that helped a lot😀

 

[Diagnose]

Hello everyone! My bachelors degree is now done with a 3.8 GPA. I still have to finish chemistry/physics courses that I was not able to take while doing my degree because I lived on a military post with limited classes. We left the military and have been back in the states for almost a year now. Unfortunately I was not able to get back into school ASAP like I had intended. One, I was classified out of state tuition and I just can't afford that even at a community college. Two, right now I am pulling 50-60 hour weeks at a psychiatric hospital trying to make ends meet because no one is hiring my husband and we have liquidated our savings to zero. I plan to hopefully get back into school next term because I will then qualify for in state tuition, but I am scared that with me working so many hours right now I just won't be able to handle it and it will hurt my GPA.

I am getting clinical hours working at the hospital which is nice. I majored in psychology with a minor in biology. I am a mental health technician at an inpatient facility and I work primarily with adolescents. I get to design and teach group therapy everyday, I handle very difficult patients including highly aggressive ones such as one that whipped a wooden chair at my face two days ago during a psychiatric episode.😱 I love my job because I really care about these kids and I want to help them so I do see my job as beneficial in more than one way.

Do you think medical school will view this year long break as negative or understand the fact that I am trying to survive right now. I literally cannot pay our rent and bills unless I get in a minimum of 55 hours of overtime every month tacked onto my regular paycheck. It is very stressful, but I am not giving up on furthering my education and becoming a doctor.

Thoughts?

If you apply to medical school, you might consider the USHS. Joining the military has been a good career move for many physicians. In addition, you are able to participate in the military match and possibly the regular match. Getting medical school paid for can be huge.

In medicine you have to account for every break, which is somewhat ridiculous. I know that today, physicians are monitored with more scrutiny than ever before. I can only imagine that back before the internet, people could and did fabricate all sorts of history. Say someone spent 5-years in prison for murder, they could lie about it when they got out, and they would probably get into medical school.

If I were you I would apply to USHS and elsewhere. Best wishes.

 

[DoctorDermis]

Two, right now I am pulling 50-60 hour weeks at a psychiatric hospital trying to make ends meet because no one is hiring my husband and we have liquidated our savings to zero.
Thoughts?

I totally sympathize with the difficulties in just surviving in America. After leaving the corporate-risk world, It was very difficult for me to find a job in the field when I was finishing the tail end of my post-bacc schooling, and still had over a year before I could begin medical school. I hustled to find high-school students for SAT tutoring, scrounged some construction-related work, part-timed for a temping agency (manual labor), and worked on church-members' cars in my garage to hold me over.

In regards to your situation - I would be hard pressed for medical schools to hold your circumstances against you - especially since you not only did well, but have impressive real-world experiences which will help differentiate you from other candidates. 👍