Hey everyone…a lurker turned poster here. Curious for straight up feedback and after spending some time over the last few days reading through posts, you all seem like the right people to ask!
About me: 38, 2 ba’s–one in psych (3.91), one in studio art (3.4–made up for poor academic performance right out of high school & brought up a 1.8 to that 3.4)). 15 years as a licensed lmt, specialized in injury recovery and rehab, as well as headaches and hip/lumbar problems. Got injured and cannot do the physical work so taught as adjunct at a couple of colleges. Currently teaching high school, and this fall completed my first semester of grad school (full time class load while teaching full time at a high needs/high poverty school and earned a 3.75) in the counseling field. I have always wanted to go to med school and serve rural populations but got so intimidated by the science (damn you, FUD!) that I never really went outside of my comfort zone and settled on psych/counseling.
Is med school realistic for someone like me? I miss assessment, treatment, patient care, and being a health care provider. While DPT or FNP seem most logical, I feel most drawn to primary care and the possibility of working internationally appeals as well, which would require med degree.
not married, no kids. If I missed details or you have questions, please ask.
Thoughts?
Many thanks! Kiva
Welcome, Kiva!
Sounds like you have a strong background with the potential of a compelling narrative particularly for those schools who are actively seeking non-trads. I don’t feel your age is a negative as you have some excellent experience in those years.
So what is key is to take the science and math prereqs and do excellently in them. As the MCAT’s are going to change and include some basic psych, that should work to your advantage down the road.
My advice is start small, with one core science prereq and do as well as you possibly can, examining your study methods as you go along and changing/adapting as necessary. That should get you started 
Kate
Kate, thanks for the encouragement! Your suggestion is in line with what I was thinking of doing during the summer semester.
I am still weighing the cc vs 4yr to do the classes, but am leaning towards the intro sciences at cc and some upper levels at a 4yr if the intro coursework goes well. One thing at a time.
Sounds like you’ll be a good candidate for the following linkage program:
http://www.duq.edu/premed/post-baccalaur eate/linka…
Thank you for the suggestion–I have bookmarked the link. I cannot move out of state to do a post-bac, however, so I am focusing on DIY at the moment. I am down south, in Florida, and need to continue working full time.
Your scores are not bad. I think you could make it to medical school.
I wasn’t a pre-med major either and I only took my basic science courses in a community college. It worked for me. =)
- In reply to:
This is my main concern - if you cannot do the physical work of being an LMT, can you do the physical work of being a physician (resident/med student)? While many aspects of medicine are not physically demanding, many are. What kind of adaptions would be required for you to succeed in med school and residency? While legally med schools/residencies can't discriminate because of physical disabilities, because of the large numbers of applicants, they can easily say that you weren't admitted for another reason.
That is an appropriate observation, however, I should have qualified that I couldn’t work for a specified amount of time. It was the type of injury that needed quite a bit of time to heal, but I have full use of my arm and shoulder with no restrictions.
I am not concerned about re-injuring the area since I took adequate time for care/rehab.
Welcome to OPM!