Hi everyone,
My name is Johanna and I am thrilled to have found this community! I’m 33, have 2 kids, am working full-time, and fitting in my med school prereqs at about a rate of 1 per semester however I can - online, local community colleges. I earned a B.A. in English with honors back in 2003, but about 2 years ago made the decision to go for med school. I originally started on the PA track but decided that I wanted to go all the way with my education to further the good I could do in my community.
I am extremely anxious about this journey, although I’m incredibly excited about it, too. I have been working for a DPM for almost 3 years, alternating between MA duties and front desk ones. Because of my full schedule I haven’t found time to fit any “extracurriculars” in, which I know is a detriment. Any other working parents have suggestions on how to fix this?
I look forward to hearing, learning from, and communicating with you. Go, Old Pre Meds!
-Johanna
Reading through the stories of others, I have a few extra questions:
-Is it possible to get into med school given that many of my recent prereqs will be from local community colleges and not a 4-year university (My GPA when I received my B.A. in English from U of Michigan was 3.82 and my current GPA through my community college is 3.93)? Is online a viable format for prereqs?
-How relevant is my current job in the application process? As I mentioned, I work for a DPM who operates under a different code of ethics than my own. While I love the time I get to spend with patients, I am being squeezed out of my clinical role to do more administrative/receptionist work. I have struggled with whether or not to find another job, but because of the area that I live in I would be hard-pressed to find any other position that is medically related since I do not have any type of certification other than my CPR certification.
Thanks, everyone.
I’m still applying, so others further along the path might be able to speak more to this, but I’ll try to answer. Regarding a community college, many schools obviously prefer all courses taken at a 4-year institution, but they also recognize that that’s not possible for everyone. however, I would be more wary about any courses delivered online–many schools don’t consider them as equals, and one of my secondary applications in the last cycle made me list every single course I’ve ever taken that had an online component.
You want your Bio, Chem, etc to be in-person if at ALL possible. I’d be more concerned about that than being at a community college. (I went to one myself, so maybe this is hopeful bias speaking)
I think your job is very relevant: you’re spending time in a medical setting. Only you know what’s best for yourself, but I’d say keep your job if you can stand it rather than end up somewhere that is no longer medically-related at all. That is to say, better do be doing front desk duty in a medical practice than working some other job elsewhere.
As far as ECs, my regret is not fitting in whatever I could consistently. My Ecs start and stop sporadically and this looks awful. I’d do whatever you can to get something. Volunteering for a few hours once a week might not seem like much, but when you do that consistently over a year, for instance, it paints a much different (and better) picture than random bursts of activity (like me, alas).
One more thing: regarding ECs, what schools are ultimately looking for is dedication to service and evidence that you know what you’re signing up for. That’s why it’s so often medically-related. However, since you have experience in a clinical setting already, maybe you can shift gears with the EC stuff and start some time of program where you can involve your kids, as well, depending on their ages. I’m thinking stuff like reading out loud at a library, etc.
Hi Johanna,
I don’t know how you can fix your ECs, but it sounds like you’re really getting a lot of clinical exposure where you are. I can’t see how that would be considered a detriment with admissions people, though I may be wrong (and it looks like you’re getting some good advice here already).
I can completely relate to your anxiety about the journey! I’m close to your age, also a mom of 2. I haven’t even started taking my pre-reqs yet (I was a psychology major, so no chemistry or physics classes, and my biology classes are more than a decade old) but I’m so very nervous about all that it’ll entail. I’m actually still on the fence about whether it’s totally feasible for me to do this…yikes! So much to consider!
Thanks, everyone. I am signing up to volunteer at the Salvation Army, which will allow me to fit volunteering time in during my lunch hour. I also have an old high school friend who is involved in the events sponsored by our downtown association, so I’ll be doing a little work with them.
I much rather take my classes in person, I’m just running into conflicts between class times and my work hours. C’est la vie - I’ll figure it out!
I was surprised to click on this thread and not see much feedback from the “oldtimer” OPM’s. I went back to school with a 2 and 4 year old in 1993. Not sure where you live, but in NYS at the time, I was able to get Medicaid, and FS, and paid my rent ahead months at a time out of student loans, so was able to, on a SLIM shoestring budget - go full time. My day care was vouchered.
Most medical schools will not accept credits that are not from a 4 year University and face to face. If you peruse websites for various medical programs, they are pretty clear on what they will and won’t take.
I have worked, as a clinician, in the medical field for 18 years. I was told by admissions counselors, that regardless of the amount of paid medical experience that you have, the AAMCAS application will be looking for 500 hours of volunteering in a healthcare setting. The standard wisdom about this, is that they want to know that you “were close enough to patient care to smell the patient”. I have done my volunteering hours in a local ER.
I chose this last year to go back to school full time. Of course my kids at this point are grown and gone. I work 3 part time jobs that I can juggle in terms of scheduling around each semester.
Hoping that helps!! Welcome to the greatest site on earth!! Do read the diaries…they are VERY inspiring…
I went through the application process before my kid came along, but my 2 cents…
I finished my undergrad in '04 and, due to a full-time job with zero control over my unpredictable schedule/travel, I did my DIY post-bacc online, taking 1 course at a time over the course of about 9 years. I did end-load my prereqs to have 2 completed right before my application cycle. Caveat, I had a very arduous undergrad program and did relatively well, which I think helped my situation of sporadic coursework thereafter. Online is not ideal, will prevent you from applying to some/many schools, and may cause your application to be viewed as weaker compared to traditional coursework. However, if it’s your only option, you have to do what you have to do. It’s all about cost-benefit analysis for your particular situation.
Your job has loads to do with your application. It shows you have carried responsibilities, had human/patient interaction, can manage your time between work and family, etc. Don’t just view your job as “clinical experience,” because everything you do has far wider implications if you sit down and really think about it. Describing your job on the app is almost less important than describing what you’ve learned and how it has taught you to be a better physician.
Different schools have different missions. A HUGE number (i remember seeing 70+%, in some cases 90+%) of people that matriculate have volunteer experience. I was not one of them, though I have 10 years in the military (I do concede that they may consider military as service)… Volunteering to show a commitment to service is great, and a human reviewing your application should understand that you’re balancing a job, a family with kids, personal commitments, sanity, etc, with trying to show your commitment to service. Obviously longer time frames are better, clinical environments are “better,” helping the underprivileged is “better,” but not all schools are looking for a minimum time commitment because life happens. Take that with a grain of salt. How you fit with the mission of the school is the important thing.
Pretty much everyone on this site is well beyond having only the cookie-cutter application bullets that your standard college kid is going to have. It’s about not only what you have done, but how you sell it on paper after a solid period of self-reflection. Your application is your own and should reflect you as a person versus what you think they want to see. (Granted, if they don’t like what they see, they won’t accept you).
@JHANDYSIDE wrote:
Hi everyone,
My name is Johanna and I am thrilled to have found this community! I’m 33, have 2 kids, am working full-time, and fitting in my med school prereqs at about a rate of 1 per semester however I can - online, local community colleges. I earned a B.A. in English with honors back in 2003, but about 2 years ago made the decision to go for med school. I originally started on the PA track but decided that I wanted to go all the way with my education to further the good I could do in my community.
I am extremely anxious about this journey, although I’m incredibly excited about it, too. I have been working for a DPM for almost 3 years, alternating between MA duties and front desk ones. Because of my full schedule I haven’t found time to fit any “extracurriculars” in, which I know is a detriment. Any other working parents have suggestions on how to fix this?
I look forward to hearing, learning from, and communicating with you. Go, Old Pre Meds!
-Johanna
There is a misconception floating around out there that sees the physician as the pinnacle of that which comprises helping others. I would challenge that viewpoint on the basis that it is equally dependent upon you as it is your occupation as to the good you can do for a community. On a broad scale, public health (even biostatisticians) helps orders of magnitude more people than an individual physician ever could, and we’re talking about eradication of crippling diseases like polio, not just whether or not there is too much chlorine in a municipal water source.
I would also challenge the notion that a “mid-level” practitioner such as PA does less for a given patient than an MD. This is largely a function of how hard you push yourself as a PA, especially in states that are relatively lenient with their non-physician primary providers. Primary care NPs and PAs at the very large hospital system at which I work have their own patient panels, receive calls from and about their patients, perform exams completely independent from their attendings, have full admitting privileges…quite literally the only interaction they have with their attending provider are the notes they are required to send for co-signature for narcotics and some consultations. There is a particular NP I work with who, in addition to the fullest patient panel in the clinic, also works in cardiology for heart failure patients; she is regularly consulted by the clinical primary docs for advice on cardiac issues prior to consulting the cardiologists.
Wanting to help people is great, but ultimately you have to ask yourself the question as to why you are seeking a path that is inherently very bad for your family. Slogging through the pre-reqs is one thing, but the reality is that you will be largely absent from your family for a long time as you navigate through med school, matching, residency, fellowship, board certification and on into the future. You’re looking from a side of the fence wherein it is very difficult to see what being a med student, then doctor, is really all about. I got to the top of that fence and backed off before making the irreversible jump.
If this path is for you, then it is for you. This is the most encouraging, mature, enlightening forum you could be a part of to help you navigate through this journey. I wish you the best
Thanks, Jfowler85! I continually gut-check myself to make sure that this is truly want to do because it’s obviously no walk in the park. I am thankful for this community, which I plan to take more advantage of as I continue to progress down this path. I’ve already had a taste of how wonderful and supportive people here are.
Hopefully this doesn’t come across too bluntly, but if you’ve chosen to not pursue a career as a physician what type of a resource is Old PreMeds for you?
I fully agree with what everyone else has said in response. Schools are interested in ‘fit’ as well as academic ability. Do not be afraid to contact schools to ask them what they are looking for in an applicant and how you can tailor your EC’s and classes to meet their expectations. Good luck to you on your journey!