From Chiropractor to Medical School.

[dc2md]

I am just curious if anyone can offer any input to my situation. I am a Chiropractor in Alberta who owns a successful practice. I have been practicing for 5 years, but now at 30 years of age I have decided to persue my Life Long Dream....Medical School!

 

I have all the pre-req's completed, as I have a B.Sc. with a major in Biochemistry. My undergrad marks kind of sucked, having a cumulative GPA of 3.3. I then went to the USA where I received my D.C. 4 years later. My GPA in Chiropractic College was 3.6.

 

My EC's, life experience and volunteer experience are good. I can speak French fairly well. I have lived my whole life in rural communities throughout the East Coast and here in Alberta and have a strong passion for Rural Medicine.

 

In the next year I plan to take the MCAT. I am just wondering if I should take some more undergrad courses??? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Minderbinder]

Hey there dc2md, and welcome to the non-trad group.

 

A lot of us are in the same situation, with a relatively low first undergrad GPA. I don't know how many schools you looked into, but you'll find most of them are really strict on the GPA cutoff.

 

I remember reading for at least one school that chiropractic/homeopathy courses were not included in GPA calculation. If that's the case, you'll have to go back and do a few more years of undergrad, preferably two full years of full time classes and preferably with a 3.7+ GPA. Admissions commitees only look at your life experience once you've met the GPA and MCAT cutoffs.

 

On the other hand, if the schools you're interested in do consider your chiropractic marks, apply as soon as you can and see from there.

 

Speaking French is good, but the Québec schools work on a completely different system. For example, you can't apply to Sherbrooke if you're from Ontario. Well, you can apply but they'll just ignore you because they don't have seats for Franco-Ontarians.

 

Best of luck.

[dc2md]

Thanks Minderbinder. Now to my next question...

I know I've seen it somewhere on here, but does anyone know if the Canadian med schools recognize University of Athabasca Distance education courses?

[Minderbinder]

Yes, its an accredited canadian university. McGill doesn't like distance education, and doesn't consider distance pre-requisites, but as far as I know, Athabasca is good pretty much everywhere else.

 

I'm actually doing my second degree through TÉLUQ/Athabasca. It's the only way I can balance work and a full course load.

[shaka84]

Been there and doing that.

I am a chiro in med. There are more of us than you would think. PM me if you are interested and I will tell you what I know.

 

shaka

[drjv]

I actually turned down chiropractic college last year because I realized I STILL wanted to pursue medicine also...

 

My first degree was a B.Sc. in Kinesiology and next year I'll get my 2nd degree (Bachelor of Health Sciences) because I still had some pre-reqs to finish. I applied to med this year, but I'll apply again next year if I don't hear anything this year.

 

So... if you want to go back and do a second degree you could (it will likely only take you 2-2.5 years) OR you could to a Masters if you have already completed all your pre-reqs. Either way, they will take about the same amount of time - but some schools give graduate students a bit more lee-way regarding grade cut-offs etc.

 

Good luck!

[2011hope]

 

So... if you want to go back and do a second degree you could (it will likely only take you 2-2.5 years) OR you could to a Masters if you have already completed all your pre-reqs. Either way, they will take about the same amount of time - but some schools give graduate students a bit more lee-way regarding grade cut-offs etc.

 

Good luck!

 

 

This statement intrigues me. Why would it only take 2-2.5 years to complete a 2nd undergrad degree instead of the usual 4 years?

[rmorelan]

Thanks Minderbinder. Now to my next question...

I know I've seen it somewhere on here, but does anyone know if the Canadian med schools recognize University of Athabasca Distance education courses?

 

Just a follow up, Waterloo's DE credits are not distinguished on transcripts as distance versus on campus. They refuse to have difference between the two, which is pretty good.

 

They also have many of the prereqs, so that is another option.

[sparkles3288]

This statement intrigues me. Why would it only take 2-2.5 years to complete a 2nd undergrad degree instead of the usual 4 years?

 

Because depending on the degree, you can get credit for some courses before.

[rmorelan]

This statement intrigues me. Why would it only take 2-2.5 years to complete a 2nd undergrad degree instead of the usual 4 years?

 

transfer credits?

[drjv]

Because depending on the degree, you can get credit for some courses before.

 

As mentioned... depends on school, faculty etc. But in most cases, many courses transfer over.... especially if you choose to do a second degree in the same faculty (which is what I am currently doing).

 

I could have completed it probably this year (2 years) or at least in 2.5 years, but I chose to stretch it out to three. I guess it depends how much you want to improve your GPA. I chose to only do 4 classes a semester (still full-time), when if you do the usual 5 or 6 you can be done faster...but your grades may suffer a bit.

[mgwdc]

I am a practicing chiropractor as well, I have been out of school for 2 years, but medicine has always been on the back of my mind. I have never applied, but I am seriously considering it. My undergrad grades werent great, but I worked my tail off at chiropractic college and graduated with a 3.97 GPA. My goal would be to practice in Canada, and I would be willing to study abroad. Is Macmaster an option?, or offshore med schools such as Ross and Saba the way to go?

 

Any help would be appreciated

[shaka84]

Only some chiro schools will be taken into consideration. If your school is a university then you should be fine ( ie. Southern California University of Health Sciences, Northwestern Health Sciences University ) CMCC is an unknown to me.

 

Try and stay in Canada. The caribean can be an uphill battle.

 

Contact the schools you are interested in and ask them what their policy is about chiropractic education. Get ready for the MCAT. Work on your EC's.

 

As an aside, why do you want to leave chiropractic? Where did you go to school?

 

shaka

[noncestvrai]

Just to correct one of the above posters, you can apply as a Franco-Albertan at UdeS.

 

http://www.usherbrooke.ca/doctorat_medecine/admission/admission_2008-2009/contingent_ouest_canadien_2008-2009.html

 

I think that your D.C. holds great value.

 

Good luck!

 

noncestvrai

[Minderbinder]

Just to correct one of the above posters, you can apply as a Franco-Albertan at UdeS.

 

Effectivement c'est vrai.

 

Mais je me demande encore ce que Sherbrooke a contre les franco-ontariens...

[noncestvrai]

Il y a l'Universite d'Ottawa pour les Franco-Ontariens.

 

Ils constituent 5%? de la population de l'Onario, et combien de places pour les Franco-Ontariens parmi toutes les places en medecine en Ontario?

 

Repondre a cette question te donnera peut-etre une idee s'il y en a suffisamment.

 

noncestvrai

[DC07]

I received my chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West and graduated with a gpa of 3.85. Does anyone know which Canadian med school would accept my chiropractic grades? In addition, my undergrad degree was in chemistry; unfortunately, was not very high. Thanks for your help in advance.