I was absolutely thrilled to read the “Dear Freshman Premed” letter saying that we should major in something that interests us, as opposed to what we think the entrance officers want us to have taken.
Starting with the end in mind (I want to be an MFM), here’s what I am planning to do:
2-3 years at Community College (quite simply because their hours work for me) - I will come out of it with an “AS Life Sciences”, and will have taken Bio I/II, Chem I/II, Physics I/II, Molecular Biology, and Calculus - all the pre-req’s for med school will be done, except organic chem.
3 years at a state university - this is where it gets tricky
a) BA in Philosophy/Applied Ethics - this is an area that has always fascinated me and I think it is an excellent background for someone who has to make (and deal with) potential life/death decisions, as well as provide guidance to patients while allowing them to make their own decisions
b) minor in Psychology - again, this has always been an interest of mine. I volunteered for years on a local (samaratin-type) hotline. The women (and their husbands/families) that I would be working with will be under a lot of stress. It would be nice to have a solid grounding to understand how they are thinking and know the tools to help teach them coping skills.
c)PreMed curriculum certification - completing the classes for the AS, plus taking Organic Chem and 2 other advanced Bio classes will put this notation on my transcript.
Choice to be made
d1) certificate in bio-chem - the AS in Life Sciences, plus the PreMed Cert will get me means that I only have to take BioChem I & II
and/or
d2) minor in Bio - again, AS Life Sciences, and PreMed Cert will get me almost all the way there. I’d only have 1 extra Bio class to take to get the minor in Bio.
and/or
d3)minor in Chem - Even if I did all of the above, I’d still have 3 really intensive Chem courses to take, which is not my thing.
Just reading through the above after writing it has helped me organize my thoughts. I don’t think that D3 is an option for me. Chemistry has never been my thing, and I would risk really hurting my grades taking those high-end classes, whereas I really enjoy Biology and while the classes are still really hard, I think that they’ll be fun.
But I think the rest of it would really help give me a good grounding in all areas, plus if I don’t get into med school, the philosophy/ethics degree will serve me well in the business world where I am now.
Anyone else doing something other than a Science major?
my original UG was in Liberal Arts, with concentrations in Biochem, Political Science, and Literature. I have an MA in Sociology. My post-bacc included several public health courses.
I like your plan. While CC classes are considered “lesser” in the eyes of most adcoms, I think that if you do well in them AND followup with a similar pattern in several science courses at a 4 years school, it will make you an strong candidate.
It sounds like a good plan. I would recommend taking the MCAT in close succession to the science classes if you haven’t already planned this (i.e. take the Philos/Psych/Ethics prior to, or in tandem with the premed studies, if possible - will also give you tools to navigate the medical path).
Here’s a non-traditional story for you that may lend some perspective:
My undergraduate major was in psychology with a minor in music performance (grad. 1986).
Then proceeded with 2 years of premed studies followed by the MCAT exam, and was accepted into medical school in 1989
(I was 28 - took 3 years off during undergrad - story for another day) and graduated with the M.D. in 1993.
My first daughter was born 3 days before match day (I matched with a local family practice program). I chose to defer my residency in order to parent (had my second daughter 14 months later and a son 2 years later). My mother died when I was 10 years old and it was important to me to be present to raise my kids (and fortunately with a working husband was able to do this). I worked performing H & P’s for the surgery department for a year than decided to be a full time parent.
You may want to stop here if you’re just wanting perspective on other non trad students succeeding at the M.D. degree and securing a match.
The rest is speculation.
15 years later, I’m now considering resuming the deferred medical career .
In 2002 I functioned as a senior med student with a volunteer medical team in the outback serving Mayan and Garifuna villages near Punta Gorda, Belize and realized how much I missed practicing medicine.
Following my volunteer work in Belize, I spoke to one of the residency directors who had welcomed me into his program back in '93, and he was willing to take me on as a resident if I repassed boards 1 and 2 (there’s now a 7 year window within which one must take part 3, or be required to retake 1 and 2).
I’m considering studying for boards this fall while the kids are in school (have the study guides/contacted my old exam advisor who’s been very supportive). Meanwhile, I’m helping care for ailing inlaws (one with moderate Alzheimers), running a vacation retreat, and have pulled back from extensive volunteer activities like producing the middle school musical, in order to gear up. My intention is to repass boards 1 and 2, to learn Spanish and to shadow a family physician at a clinic up the road to get up to speed (he happens to be a retired residency director who accepted me into his program back in '93). I may need to do some coursework if I find myself deficient in certain areas. Then return to do the residency when my youngest graduates in 2014 (I’ll be 53). I don’t know if a window of opportunity will open for me but I can give it my best effort.
I would hope to practice for at least 10-15 years and give back to the community in this way.
In light of my circuitous route to medicine, I would encourage you to go with your plans and be confident that you are not too old to achieve your medical goals and create a life with meaning in the process.
d3) minor in Chem - Even if I did all of the above, I’d still have 3 really intensive Chem courses to take, which is not my thing.
Just reading through the above after writing it has helped me organize my thoughts. I don’t think that D3 is an option for me. Chemistry has never been my thing, and I would risk really hurting my grades taking those high-end classes, whereas I really enjoy Biology and while the classes are still really hard, I think that they’ll be fun.
More and more medical schools are recommending biochemistry be taken and some, like KCUMB, require it. Since you have to take Chem I/II and Org I/II anyway for your prereqs, you should be able to knock out a minor by completing one biochemistry class. At least that’s how it is at my University. I’m not too hip on chemistry either, but I figure that if medicals schools are recommending it, it would be wise to take it.
First, sorry it took me so long to respond. I must not have checked off “email me when someone responds”, and I’ve been swamped with work for the past few weeks and haven’t logged in here.
Thank you so much for your story, and words of encouragement:) To have made it all the way through med school and then stop to take care of your children is an amazing choice! It sounds like you are well on your way towards picking up where you left off… I do wish you well on your exams!
At this point, I’m doing the “one day at a time” thing. Even my husband has told me not to bite off more than I can chew (and work is rather frantic right now). He (and so many others here) said that I should focus on my grades first, and time second.
I was warned that taking too long would be frowned upon as well. I just need to get back into the swing of things… The hardest part is taking the time to study and read. Writing comes easily to me, so the non-science classes will be fun if I just make the time to do the reading. It’s just the science classes that are going to challenge me - at least until I get back in the groove.
Thanks:) I will definitely keep it in mind… Hopefully by the time I am done with my classes, I will feel confident about taking the higher level science courses and then I’ll just go for it. Right now I just feel like I’m about to dive into water and I don’t know where the bottom is. Time will tell!
