Radiation therapist interested in applying

[wynd90]

So, I am going to give you recent life info and plans, and I'm hoping to glean a bit of info about what you all think might be possible, and whether it is worth it to do one more biochem course in order to be able to apply to UBC...

 

I completed my degree in radiation therapy (Honours bachelor of technology in radiation therapy from BCIT) last year and have been working at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton AB (I'm originally from Vancouver Island) for one year. I am in the process of revision for a tentatively accepted journal article, do tons of additional work for the clinic on my own time, and run palliative care bone and brain met clinics on Mondays and Tuesdays when I'm scheduled there instead of on the floor treating patients.

 

That's my immediate back ground. I have always wanted to go to med school, but because of moving for school a lot, and then coming to Alberta I put it on the back burner until now. I haven't written the MCAT, but I plan to in January/February. My grade average after three years at BCIT was 86%. I have most of the pre-reqs since I finished 2 1/2 years of a bachelor of science before switching out to go to BCIT. The only class that I'm missing for some school is a second semester biochem course (Curse you, biochem).

 

I'm thinking of applying to Queens, Dalhousie, and Northern Ontario next year as I really want to go into rural family practice, and have very little interest in specializing, unless it's to have the ability to work in Emerg or Obs in addition to family practice in a rural community.

 

Let me know what you think!

[preppy038]

Cool!

 

You should look into 2+1 CCFP-Emergency programs those seem to be what you're looking for in terms of "specialization" that suits your interests

[Wellington Boots]

Hey wynd90 !

 

I'm a fellow radiation therapist who got into med school and will be starting this year. I'll start off by saying that, as therapists, we have a lot of great experience that helps us to be prepared for medicine - it's awesome that you want to go further !

 

As for your situation, I would say bite the bullet and take the half course in biochem you need to complete the pre-req for UBC. As you probably already know, UBC has the northern med program which is ideally suited to your interest in rural medical practice. My take is to have all your requirements in place so you don't have to worry about them when you're applying broadly to med school. In doing so, it'll allow you to focus on other things like getting a good MCAT score, building your extracurriculars, crafting your application effectively etc.

 

You also have some great advantages in that you're in-province for UBC and Alberta, so cut-offs are lower (not sure if you can claim 'in-province' status for both BC and Alberta at the same time - double check that).

 

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Cheers

WB

[globetrotter21]

Hey guys,

 

I am bringing this thread back to life... haha

 

I am interested in doing a 2nd degree in Bachelors of Technology from BCIT (I am a BC resident) and I e-mailed a couple of schools in Ontario to see if they would accept this degree. They said no because BCIT is not a University.. which is unfortunate because BCIT is a well known institute that provides you with great education.

 

Did you face this problem by any chance?

 

Thanks!

[RH2OT]

I am interested in OT. I'm hoping to use bcit courses to boost my GPA for OT. I realized the same problem @globetrotter21 is facing where Ontario wont accept courses from BCIT. However, I am waiting to hear back from Dalhousie. They just mention they will consider 5 courses for upgrading your GPA and these courses have to be 300/400 level. Anyone hear anything else?