Advice for a non traditional MD hopeful!

[kdem]

Hi all! I am looking for some advice about what my best options may be.

A little background - I am 31 years old, married with a child. I am definitely not a traditional applicant.

I have been working as a nurse practitioner for about 6 years.

While I thoroughly enjoy my career, I know that my educational journey is far from complete. I always wanted to be a doctor, but at some point or another, I let this dream slip away and lost focus.

I am always pulled back to medicine. I know that I have the potential to be a fantasic physician. I am ready and willing to put forth the level of committment and sacrifice that it requires. I work alongside physicians daily, and I am a well respected and very autonomous member of my health care team. I work with a number of physicians who are extremely encouraging of my professional goals and have offered to provide me with excellent recommendations. I have worked in a variety of specialties and I am extremely familiar of the what the role of a physician is. I know that I possess the characteristics, intelligence, and academic and personal drive to succeed.

While I have a very rewarding career, I truly feel that I have settled for less that I am capable of. I know without a doubt that I want to pursue medicine.

 

 

Western is probably my only choice at this point (which I'm ok with because it is my first choice regardless). Unlike some of the more traditional applicants, I have a young family. My husband has an established career here (I'm in the SWOMEN district). We have a large and very supportive family here (which is an absolute necessity for me to complete med school). We have a home here. I am already entwined in the medical network here and I want to remain here. I would want to pratice here in once I am done (we live in an underserved area).

 

So here is the problem:

I completed my undergrad in Nursing fresh out of highschool and definitely lacked clarity in my goals at that point (in other words, I was not on the med-school track at that time)

My two best years were 3.52 and 3.62.

So while not horrible, it is not competitive and definitely does not meet the cutoff for Western which is 3.7.

 

After graduation, I worked and decided to return to school. I completed my masters with a 3.74 GPA. I then completed my Nurse Practitioner training, achieving a 3.84. Unfortunately, at Western, post graduate work does not "count" in the GPA equation.

 

Since graduation, I have also taught in the Faculty of Nursing. I have done some mentorship. Some volunteering. I have had a number of professional successes including the start up of a primary care clinic for low income and homeless patients. I have worked as a health care provider for a number of years now, and have successfully managed a patient caseload, functioning as a primary care provider. As an NP, I am able to diagnose and prescribe medications and I have exceled in my chosen field. But I know that there is much more to learn and I want to go to medical school.

 

The benefit of being a nontradional student is that I have a lot of personal and professional experience that I know will benefit me on my pathway to becoming an MD and will also benefit my patients.

 

So here I am. I am not sure what to do.

I am thinking that I will probably require a second degree.This is obviously not my first choice, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

 

Does anybody have any suggestions for me? Any ideas for a second undergrad? Any information regarding Westerns GPA cutoff - is there ever exceptions to the rule? Any similar stories?

Any advice would be extremely helpful.

 

Thanks

[future_doc]

Your story is compelling and inspirational. It seems to me that you would need to take off a min of 2 years for fulltime studies and then there is the issue of MCAT. Meanwhile, your patients will lose you.

 

On a K.I.S.S. basis, (Keep It Simple Stupid) I urge you to meet and speak directly with adcoms of your chosen med school, and obtain the information directly and without any intermediary. I wish you every success in your future and you are a wonderful role model for us all.

[kdem]

Thank you future-doc for your reply. It has actually been suggested to me to speak directly to an admissions committee member. I think that will be my next step. I do realize that I'll need to score really well on the mcat, and I'm quite confident that with the right preparation I can do well. I'm going to look more into it. I would not leave my current job, I'd have to enter full time studies in addition to working. I know this isn't ideal, but I'm still quite confident that I can pull off a higher gpa. I wish that the NP program would be taken into account. It seems to me that to university to take a second degree would not be as helpful or relevant as what I am doing professionally now. I think one of my most competitive attributes is that I am already functioning as a health care provider, prescribing, diagnosing and managing very complex patients. Of course I do have a consulting physician for the difficult cases. My point is that in many respects, I have already demonstrated many of the capabilities and attributes that are required in an MD.

Any further advice would be appreciated! Thanks again

[Kasiunut]

Thank you future-doc for your reply. It has actually been suggested to me to speak directly to an admissions committee member. I think that will be my next step. I do realize that I'll need to score really well on the mcat, and I'm quite confident that with the right preparation I can do well. I'm going to look more into it. I would not leave my current job, I'd have to enter full time studies in addition to working. I know this isn't ideal, but I'm still quite confident that I can pull off a higher gpa. I wish that the NP program would be taken into account. It seems to me that to university to take a second degree would not be as helpful or relevant as what I am doing professionally now. I think one of my most competitive attributes is that I am already functioning as a health care provider, prescribing, diagnosing and managing very complex patients. Of course I do have a consulting physician for the difficult cases. My point is that in many respects, I have already demonstrated many of the capabilities and attributes that are required in an MD.

Any further advice would be appreciated! Thanks again

 

 

While I usually roll my eyes at posts written by non trads who moan about the process, I feel you really SHOULD be the exception. I don't have any advice but just want to wish you lots of luck. I really hope this works out for you!