Hi, I am 32 looking at a career changer post-bacc for medical school admissions. What has been the experience of older non-traditional pre-med majors and their road to medical school? I’ve found I love science and medicine and want to pursue this path. Also, I hear clinical/patient experience is good to have on resume. Where is best place to look for this?
Hi @Willishere7! I started my post-bacc program at UC Berkeley Extension a week before my 30th birthday in January 2020, so you are definitely not too old for med school! I am also a career changer. My undergrad degree is in English with a psych minor, and I worked in various education positions before I confidently settled on medicine.
Not sure what your post-bacc options are without knowing where you live, but am happy to share how I settled on UCBx. I looked at some schools post-baccs on the AAMC database and talked with staff members at those schools. However, I only applied to UCBx because I didn’t have to relocate, could work during the day, and most importantly, wanted classes separate from the undergrad population. The friends I have met in classes (as most aren’t formally in the program since Extension classes are open to the public) are also working, so it’s nice to share the commonality of work/life experiences.
When I started at UCBx, I was working full time as a medical receptionist at a mental health clinic (both psychiatrists & therapists on staff) and left that position after almost two years in June. Working at the front desk taught me a lot about the administrative side of running a medical practice, especially with regard to insurance. However, I wanted more hands on clinical experience so after almost a year of applying, I was offered and accepted a part time scribe position at a urology practice. I’ve really enjoyed scribing, as I’ve learned a lot of new terminology and seen interesting procedures I otherwise would not have seen until med school. In addition to documentation for the MD, I get to practice my history taking skills by interviewing patients about their medical history (meds, surgeries/procedures, etc). I found this position on either Indeed or Glassdoor, and I’d recommend looking for scribe positions in private practices as opposed to scribe companies since they pay more.