Mature student with computers degree applying to meds

[Guest barsha]

I have a bachelor degree in Computer Information System. I graduated with 3.67 GPA. I am 28 years old. I have worked in software field for 5 years but wanna change my field to Med. Could you please help me with finding some answers as well as give me some directions?

 

1.* * * * I know I have to complete two years of Pre-req courses. While finishing up those courses do I have to declare a major/dpt? I assume the gpa of pre-req courses would count, right? Can I do Co-ops while finishing up Pre-reqs of Med school?

 

2.* * * * Most student apply for med school after finishing 2 nd year or 3rd year, do they finish their undergrad? Or they can just quit their undergrad and get into med school?

 

3.* * * * Does most of the people (who are interested at med schools) do volunteer work at summer or through out the regular semester?

 

4.* * * * I see people make a back up plan if any med school does not work out. As I have very little idea about health care fields, can anybody tell me what are the fields that I can go if I would not make it to med schools? I know there are lots of need for PT and Nurses, any other?

 

5.* * * * Do med schools look down upon matured student? Which are the med schools who welcome them most?

 

Thanks

[Guest kaymcee]

Hi barsha,

 

Welcome to the forums! I can answer your questions. There will be more people who answer and give their opinions (and correct me where I've gone wrong), so definitely check back here.

 

1. At least where I attend university, you won't have to declare a major to complete those courses. I also don't forsee a problem with you doing co-op work terms as you complete your pre-requisites, especially if they're in the summers. One thing to keep in mind, though, is your course load during your CIS degree. If it was a full course load (5 courses per semester, September to April), you're fine. If there was only one or two full course load years, you might consider doing another (or two) as you complete your pre-requisites.

 

2. I wouldn't say that most apply after 2nd or 3rd year, but many do. Those that apply successfully at this time don't complete their undergraduate degree. The large majority of people do, however, finish their undergraduate degrees by the time they get into med school (they apply while they're in their last year).

 

3. I do volunteer and extracurricular stuff mainly during the school year, as to most pre-med students. I have been doing co-op work terms in the summer in different cities, so my volunteer work is much less then.

 

4. The field of health care is absolutely enormous, and it will only get bigger with the infiltration new technology and with our aging population that will need more help. The more people that reply to this thread, the better answers you'll get. Epidemiology has always appealed to the math/statistics geek inside of me and the detective work is cool, too. The same goes for Public Health and other stuff at the policy level. If you want to do lab work as a back-up plan, there are lots of Medical Genetics degree programs out there, too. You'll find, however, that you can pursue many of these with an MD, often to a more intense level.

 

5. Goodness, no! I don't think age plays a role anywhere. In fact, the perspective and maturity (I'm assuming ;p) would be to your advantage as an "older" applicant. Where you live will play a role in your chances of acceptance, but schools that stick out as having a more "diverse/mature population", for a lack of a better descriptor, are British Columbia, Calgary, McMaster, Northern Ontario, and Dalhousie. Many schools post stats regarding the age of successful applicants, so you can look for those.

 

Keep in mind, again, these are my opinions. I'm sure that all of the schools in Canada have generally mature well-balanced medical students. When you start applying for medicine at 30, your age will only work to your advantage.

[Guest Rashka]

Coop work terms would be great for summers, as kaymcee said. Keep in mind that coop is almost like having an extra course because you are spending lots of time looking at job descriptions, applying to jobs and going to interviews! You might as well go into a regular program and try to find a summer job on your own with a prof or something. Enrolling in a coop program does cost more- Waterloo charges an extra $445 per term for coop regardless of whether or not you find a job through the university.

 

As for a backup career in the health, there is always nursing, PT, OT, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy.... Since you come from a computing background, you may also be interested in working on health information systems. The ontario government set up a new agency called Smart Systems for Health specifically to implement eHealth technologies. Also, many hospitals have a health information group, or in the case of University Health Network in Toronto, a whole Shared Information Management System department. It's not quite healthcare, but you would be working in a healthcare setting and making big strides to improving patient care.

[Guest barsha]

kaymcee,

 

There is a mis-understanding I guess. Did you think I wanted to pursue in CIS? I already have a CIS degree. Now I want to change my field to Med (if not then health care). So you saying without even declaring my major I can do Co-Op while finishing up those pre-reqs courses? How does OSAP work? do you think that might work?

 

What is the average salary of a Nurse/ PT/ OT/ Respiratory therapist?

 

What kindda job a person can get if his. her major is Biomedical Science, Biomedical engineering?

 

Thanks again guys...

[Guest Elaine I]

Hi barsha,

 

Another health care field that you may wish to consider is paramedicine. I've been working as a paramedic for over six years now. I'm actually glad that I wasn't focussed enough for medicine when I first applied to the paramedic program, as I wouldn't want to have missed these years.

 

I work in Toronto, and we are the second highest paid in Ontario. I make $34.41 an hour (publically available information). However, that is as a level 3 (advanced care) paramedic. Primary care (entry level) paramedics make ~10% less. From a tangible perspective, there are many other benefits as well. We get extremely well paid on stats (whether we work or not), and get a shift bonus each shift we work (since we work all 12 hour shifts). Our maternity/paternity benefits are second to none, as we get topped up for the entire 12 months. From a pension standpoint, we are just entering negotiations to have a normal retirement age of 60, meaning that we will be eligible for full pension as early as 50 (with 30 years service). (The federal law has passed deeming paramedics a "public safety profession", and making early retirement a distinct possibility.)

 

Obviously, because I'm here, I'm hoping to become a physician, despite the tangibles of paramedicine. Several of my colleagues are very happy with what they are doing (as am I, but for the time being), as they like short-termed emergent care. If you are interested in longer-termed care and patient follow-up, paramedicine may not be for you.

 

Elaine

[Guest kaymcee]

Hi barsha,

 

No, there was no misunderstanding. At UVic, students are placed in a workterm, sometimes two or three, before they declare their major. Some co-op programs are so eager for students, they will place them as early as the summer after first year, regardless of whether they continue on in that degree program. As such, especially for your circumstances, you won't need to declare a major to do co-op. Of course, however, you must check with your school's co-op offices.

 

Case in point, a friend of mine did a chemistry co-op after first year, but went on to complete two more under the biochemistry/microbiology co-op. There was no problem with him doing this.

 

I mentioned your CIS degree in terms of your course load during this time. If you plan to do four months of school, followed by a four month work term, followed by four more months of school, etc. this can be problematic for medical school applications. You might consider doing eight months of full-time studies from September to April if this wasn't done with your CIS degree.

[Guest northerndoc]

There is also the opportunity to apply to a "non-traditional" medical school without the "pre-requisite" science courses you are speaking of. For example NOSM does not require you to take anything other than a four year degree (which it sounds like you have already). Do you have time living in a rural/isolated/northern community, cause that would be the huge help for you!! Volunteer time and elective time within the medical field also looks good for the schools that you apply to as well. Best of luck!!

[Guest anadaki]

Hi, I am a non-traditional applicant who was accepted into NOSM as an older mature student who did not fit the science background I was accepted into NOSM. I was in healthcare prior to this, I am not sure if this has helped. I think if this is what you want then pursue it. What had helped me was my volunteer activities, I am not a true rural northerner (even though T-Bay is not north,) I just plead my case in the application and was successful, first time ever applying to medical school. I applaud you for making this change.

[Guest satsumargirl]

Hey Barsha,

 

If you are just finishing up prerequisites I do not think you would need to declare a major...you could be a special undergrad. However, if you are going to take those courses full-time and want to use them in your GPA calculation then keep in mind that some schools, such as Ottawa, only count courses you took as part of a degree (u don`t have to finish the degree but they have to have been taken as part of the degree). So make sure you check out each school you are interested in to see their specifics.

 

Co-op... I am not sure but there have been posts here before onthe topic. From what I understand of coop is that you are working full time for that term and so aren`t usually taking courses, and not full-time. So that may complicate GPA calculation. Maybe you can find past threads or someone here who applied with coop can provide further insight.

 

Volunteer work is done at various times. Keep in mind that you have life and work experience that many 20 year old applicants won`t have. So you may well be able to demonstrate maturity, responsibility etc...via other means.

 

28 really isn`t that old to be applying to med school. Many applicants have done graduate work, volunteered overseas, worked etc, b4 applying.

 

As for other health care areas...there's dietician, physio, OT, audiologist, speech-language pathologist, pharmacist etc...

 

I was a speech-pathologist before applying to med school. I had the chance to work with a "Rehabilitation Engineer". I never heard of that until I started working. Since you like computers that may be a direction you could look into. His job seemed really neat. Say wanted a specific voice amplifier for a pt and the pt had Parkinson's or something so he couldn`t access the on/off button ...the rehab engineer would take the thing apart and add new buttons etc...so that it would work for the patient. That really is just a small example. He would help with computer programming for communication devices and all kinds of things really.

Now I am not sure what engineering schools have these programs...you would have to check out the various schools like Waterloo I guess.

 

Anyway, hope that helps a bit!

Sats