Asking Dr. Gray!

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Dr. Gray,

I hope that you read these questions. Of course, I’d love to hear others’ advice as well.

First, I took OChemI and OChemII over 20 years ago. I received a B+ and a C, respectively, as I was floundering and wondering what the heck any of this had to do with medicine. (I left the fold the next semester to pursue an English major, but of course, I fully understand what these courses have to do with medicine now!) While I will most likely take the MCAT before having the opportunity to retake these classes, should I still retake them this summer? I know that most D.O. schools still require both semesters, and I know that I could get As in those classes now.

Second, what does a non-trad put down in the EC sections of the AACOMAS and AMCAS? Does one list out each shadowing experience separately? Do I list publications and presentations from my current profession (English professor with a Ph.D.)? Do I list service things that I do in my professional life (Curriculum Council, Assessment Committee, helped develop a First-Year Seminar program that is now the signature experience of our general education curriculum, etc.)?

Any advice folks could offer would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. I have taken Biochem, which was rather dumb to do after 20+ years without any chemistry courses. However, I did manage to pull off a B, and have since gone back and received As in both Gen Chem I and II.

2

You should definitely retake those classes (and any other premed requirements) to show that your content knowledge is fresh. You can get information about the age of courses (and what each school requires) in the Medical School Admission Requirements (for MD schools). It would be a good idea to COMPLETE those classes prior to submitting an application so that the schools can see the grades you receive in those courses.

For the activities, you can either list shadowing experiences separately (depending on how many hours you have) or you can group them together (if the individual hours for each shadowing experience aren’t that significant). How you organize this also depends on whether you have more activities than space allows in the application; if so, grouping the shadowing together can be a good strategy so that you can pack more into the application.

You definitely should include publications and presentations from your current profession, in addition to other activities. However, if the activities are considered part of your actual job (curriculum council, etc.), which you will include as an activity, then you don’t want to be seen as padding the application by separating out activities that are really part of your job.

I hope the above helps!

Liza