Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone could give me some guidance. I have been struggling with wanting to go to medical school since I was about 5 years old. I started undergraduate as a biology major, was very immature at that time in my life and didnt take school as seriously as I should have. I ended up transferring into the nursing program because I really loved the anatomy and pathophysiology courses and worked as a critical care nurse for about 6 years. In that time I always told myself I would go back to medical school- I took a few post bach science classes (physics I & II, et) and did very well. However, in the meantime I started to become very burnt out in my career and applied for a CRNA program. I am currently in a masters degree program for nurse anesthesia and although I feel very grateful for the opportunity and the didactic and clinical are extremely challenging, I just cannot stop feeling like I am on the wrong path. My plan at this point is to finish my masters degree and work for a year or two and look into premedical post bach programs and eventually apply to school. I just feel like at this point in my education it would be going so far backwards and so time consuming to retake undergraduate courses and then apply for school. Also, my transcripts are so erratic and jumbled (a few classes here and there… etc) that I worry it would be alot of work to put into a post bach if I already have a resume that would not be appealing to admissions. Any advice or guidance, and especially inspiring experiences would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
You shouldn’t have to retake any of the courses if they’ve been taken within a reasonable time (my oldest was 13yrs). Some schools are more lenient than others on timeline. While it’s been awhile since the prereqs, you have academic recency that’ll mean something.
Your undergrad stuff will be looked at but shouldn’t carry the same weight holistically as your more recent schooling and experience. you don’t necessarily need a full post bacc program to apply to med school as a non trad. It might help you with mcat prep, but so too could a commercial prep course.
As long as you have a good reason for your academic history, Adcoms should be okay with your transcript situation. You may have to explain why you did what you did. I had a full ugrad on one transcript, one masters transcript, and 4 other post bacc classes spread out over 2 schools spanning 6 years.
No harm in chasing the dream, especially if you think it’ll make you happier than the life you have now. At worst, it’ll only cost you the emotional drain of classes/MCAT/waiting and a few hundred bucks, but you won’t have to ask yourself “what if”
Most admission committees will understand the path you took if you clearly explain it to them. If deep down you have never been satisfied or fulfilled with your career choice, you need to get that point across. However, you must do very well on the post-bac classes and MCAT. Many Osteopathic schools and off-shores are much more forgiving, but that does not mean you should not apply to all schools. Good Luck
Dr. Ralph Messo
Post from “Needing Inspiration”
I agree with the previous posters that having a few classes here and there is less of an issue, in terms of explaining to an admission committee. However, some schools really do require more recent pre-requisites; other schools are more lenient as kennymac said. It’s up to you to look into that, and decide whether you want to tailor your applications to those more lenient schools, or retake the courses (which may also help in preparation for the MCAT). Many schools especially want recent biology, since it changes so rapidly. Hope this helps. Best wishes to you!
You may want to look at Oceania University of medicine. Their MD program is specifically geared for those who who have been in the healthcare field for some time. They waive the MCAT but it is still a full 4 years of med school. I graduated from OUM this year and now am in my first year of residency. I was an RN first and then an NP but was not fulfilled!!! Good luck to you.
Thank you all for your advice- very helpful. I am struggling with is it better to finish out my master’s degree in nurse anesthesia or to leave this program and start over? I am learning a lot and really perfecting a lot of my skills with airway and patient management intra-operatively so I almost feel as though having this degree and experience may be helpful? or looked at in a negative way by admissions?