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24 year old, non-traditional applicant, need advice


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Hi,

 

I plan to become a paramedic first then apply to medical school; I'd like to work on these issues first before anything else 1. I struggle academically 2. break bad habits 3. build academic confidence.

 

I want to focus in emergency medicine.

 

Work experience:

- line cook, I developed tons of leadership skills in such a short time

 

Current volunteer experience

- tutoring children for 7+ years (5 years in high school)

- st. john ambulance (SJA) as medical first responder (recruiting process)

- volunteering at renal dialysis unit this summer then one-to-one visiting afterwards, volunteered at a hospital for one year in way finding, cardiology, emergency

 

Future volunteer experience:

- waitlisted to volunteer at children immunization clinic

- crisis centre youth educator (after becoming a paramedic)

- shadowing a campaigner at heart and stroke foundation (if interested, will apply for position)

 

I plan to stick with 1 - 2 volunteer positions in the long run until I apply to medical school (SJA and crisis centre).

 

My 5 year plan:

1. working as a paramedic for 3 - 5 years

2. working as a paramedic, and working on my degree in BSc. in Psychology

3. while working on my degree, I'll look for research, presentation, publication opportunities

4. apply (with 1 - 2 volunteer active positions) to 1. UBC 2. other medical schools

 

I feel so unaccomplished and slow. Do you think I'm taking on too many volunteer positions? I also see my academic counsellor to see if I am on the right track. I have a tendency to overwhelm myself.

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Focus on a few high quality volunteer positions first. Quality over quantity. The most important thing is to avoid doing so much that it affects your study time / GPA. You can always add more volunteer stuff later, but you can't fix a dismal GPA. Also look into some of the combined paramedic/BSc programs. I did my PCP after undergrad but if I could go back I would have looked into the combined programs.

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First, GPA is king, by far. Sadly, I would recommend having zero EC's if that meant clearing the various schools' GPA cutoffs.

 

If you're working as a paramedic you'll have more than plenty to talk about during an interview. Dabble a bit in non-EMS fields here and there to diversify and you're fine. That said its all for naught if you don't get high enough grades.

 

Second, make sure you're attending enough school so as to not disqualify yourself due to schools' courseload requirements.

 

If you've already struggled a bit with academics I'd say, in my opinion, take it slow at first. If you can afford to dedicate most of yourself to school then start with that and ease into more responsibility as you can handle it.

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Also look into some of the combined paramedic/BSc programs. I did my PCP after undergrad but if I could go back I would have looked into the combined programs.

 

I've checked, there is no combined PCP/BSc. programs in BC, unless you know of any.

 

To be honest, I'd rather do one thing a time with school, if I screw up... I screw up, I'll be in a bigger mess. I currently have a 2.67 GPA in my pocket. I don't want to go any deeper.

 

First, GPA is king, by far. Sadly, I would recommend having zero EC's if that meant clearing the various schools' GPA cutoffs.

 

Are you suggesting to end all the volunteer activities, and instead focus on a full-time course load aiming for a high GPA? Or are you giving an extreme example to emphasize how minuscule volunteering is to an application?

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no such thing as a ccp in alberta (despite what stars wants to call themselves).

 

The medicine hat program just shut down. (it was the only bachelors i think) Im not sure if it counted for much and was mostly management

 

If going ACP route then get your paramedic diploma and do TRU or athabasca health/human sciences but you wont have the prerequisites.

I would honestly just recommend PCP if you are in BC, otherwise the hoops to jump through get rediculous and you will have to concentrate on your career as a medic not your goals as a doctor.

 

I work BC and Alberta, feel free to ask any questions or PM me.

 

If i were you, I would get my EMR and apply to BCAS. Take a rural position where you can get lots of studying done (and only work 2-3 weekends a month). Do your PCP if you want to/if you cant get a job as an EMR (lower mainland is harder than northern BC) DONT EXPECT TO MAKE MUCH MONEY!

 

You could still volunteer but I wouldnt be too concerned off the bat. Something like the crisis line would be good for weekdays (down time to study) but dont go overboard. I promise that once you work as a medic, some of this volunteering will seem to add little to your life experience and thus not a lot to your application.

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If i were you, I would get my EMR and apply to BCAS. Take a rural position where you can get lots of studying done (and only work 2-3 weekends a month). Do your PCP if you want to/if you cant get a job as an EMR (lower mainland is harder than northern BC) DONT EXPECT TO MAKE MUCH MONEY!

 

I received my EMR certificate recently (a week ago). And I'll be writing my exams in May - June 2013. I'd like to get my PCP because it's a foot in the door, even though it starts at EMR with BCAS. Plus it's a plan B to ACP.

 

2013

Working in restaurant (line cook)

Tutoring children

St. John Ambulance

Vancouver General Hospital

~ break bad habits, build academic confidence (ex. counselling, tutoring, practicing MCAT questions)

 

2014

Resign from work

Paramedic school (full-time)

St. John Ambulance (one weekday)

Vancouver General Hospital (one weekend)

 

2015

Apply to BCAS

Work on BSc. of Psychology (Langara > UBC) (3 courses first, 4 max thereafter, 5 is too much)

St. John Ambulance

Crisis Centre

 

What do you think about my plan so far?

 

The problem with BSc. is I have to tackle pre-med courses right away at a college level. I am a transfer student from Langara, and I'd like to take the courses at a university level. Some universities don't accept college courses (ex. McGill), even though Langara credits transfer to UBC. I'm thinking of applying for BA then transfer to BSc. when I get into UBC, then do the pre-med courses there. Then again, that sounds like a waste of time and money, and I'll be contacting UBC about that. I'll have to prep for those courses prior to taking them.

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So the thing that concerns me a little is that your plan seems overly specific. Your interests and situation will probably both change.

 

I think you need to decide if you want to become a paramedic or MD. Certainly a paramedic is a much more realistic thing to pursue than an MD in your position. The problem is if you spend 2 years becoming a paramedic you will then have to decide - when you're older and have less momentum and potentially things holding you back like a family, social stigma of returning to school etc - whether you want to leave your job to return to school full-time.

 

Also I'm always a little leery when someone knows exactly what they want to do in the field of medicine. There are hundreds of opportunities and to immediately declare without really having experienced them seems a little odd. I think it's better to instead identify what you like about medicine in general - some themes run through most specialties (enjoy communicating with people, enjoy providing support for people, enjoy being in a position of planning team-based care etc).

 

Anyway, if you really want to be an MD I think you're wasting your time with the paramedic route (marks in paramedicine don't really count towards an MD and you're going to need to do 2-4 more years of full-time school to even be remotely eligible for an MD). If you'd be happy as a paramedic without ever becoming an MD, then go that route. Who knows what will happen down the road - but unless this is something you could see yourself doing the rest of your life I wouldn't bother.

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So the thing that concerns me a little is that your plan seems overly specific. Your interests and situation will probably both change.

 

I think you need to decide if you want to become a paramedic or MD. Certainly a paramedic is a much more realistic thing to pursue than an MD in your position. The problem is if you spend 2 years becoming a paramedic you will then have to decide - when you're older and have less momentum and potentially things holding you back like a family, social stigma of returning to school etc - whether you want to leave your job to return to school full-time.

 

Also I'm always a little leery when someone knows exactly what they want to do in the field of medicine. There are hundreds of opportunities and to immediately declare without really having experienced them seems a little odd. I think it's better to instead identify what you like about medicine in general - some themes run through most specialties (enjoy communicating with people, enjoy providing support for people, enjoy being in a position of planning team-based care etc).

 

Anyway, if you really want to be an MD I think you're wasting your time with the paramedic route (marks in paramedicine don't really count towards an MD and you're going to need to do 2-4 more years of full-time school to even be remotely eligible for an MD). If you'd be happy as a paramedic without ever becoming an MD, then go that route. Who knows what will happen down the road - but unless this is something you could see yourself doing the rest of your life I wouldn't bother.

 

I understand what you mean. My plan may sound like a waste of time, but it's a back up plan, since I struggle academically. I'd like some time off and work on myself then to work on my degree. PCP provides me with tons of life experience, and ACP is my plan B, and PCP is where I start just in case plan A doesn't work out. Time is ticking for me. It's a drive to become a physician, and I can't explain it; an internal motivation, something in my bucket list that I have to do (for the right reasons).

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it sounds like you have done your research, and the PCP route sounds good to me. I misunderstood before and thought you wanted to do your ACP as a part of "plan A."

You seem to understand that ACP is composed of your PCP followed by several years of experience then another 2 years of school.

 

Your plan B could also in include CCP, another two years of schooling, although its takes 10+ years experience to be considered for this. (This appeals to me more than 90% of MD positions minus the time it takes and pay)

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Hello,

 

If you are prepared to take ~ 5yrs or more to get into medical school, and you can sustain yourself financially and enjoy what you will be doing during the time, then stick with your plan with MD. As other posters mention, GPA is what is missing in your case, so work hard on it.

 

Internal Medicine Resident PGY 4, UBC

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You are not unaccomplished. I have done a few EMS ride alongs and they were some of the best experiences I have had in medical school so far. Take your time and keep being honest - it is a quality that few possess. I can guarantee you that if you have thought about your action plan (which it seems you have), you will be satisfied. There is more to life to what you do for a profession and no one can take away 24 years of good experience. Good luck and I really, really hope that you find fulfillment from what you set out to do.

 

Also, on struggling academically - do not focus on others. I am not sure if this is the most accurate advice given your situation....but stop trying to be something and just become.

 

Hi,

 

I plan to become a paramedic first then apply to medical school; I'd like to work on these issues first before anything else 1. I struggle academically 2. break bad habits 3. build academic confidence.

 

I want to focus in emergency medicine.

 

Work experience:

- line cook, I developed tons of leadership skills in such a short time

 

Current volunteer experience

- tutoring children for 7+ years (5 years in high school)

- st. john ambulance (SJA) as medical first responder (recruiting process)

- volunteering at renal dialysis unit this summer then one-to-one visiting afterwards, volunteered at a hospital for one year in way finding, cardiology, emergency

 

Future volunteer experience:

- waitlisted to volunteer at children immunization clinic

- crisis centre youth educator (after becoming a paramedic)

- shadowing a campaigner at heart and stroke foundation (if interested, will apply for position)

 

I plan to stick with 1 - 2 volunteer positions in the long run until I apply to medical school (SJA and crisis centre).

 

My 5 year plan:

1. working as a paramedic for 3 - 5 years

2. working as a paramedic, and working on my degree in BSc. in Psychology

3. while working on my degree, I'll look for research, presentation, publication opportunities

4. apply (with 1 - 2 volunteer active positions) to 1. UBC 2. other medical schools

 

I feel so unaccomplished and slow. Do you think I'm taking on too many volunteer positions? I also see my academic counsellor to see if I am on the right track. I have a tendency to overwhelm myself.

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Dont listen to anyone that puts down playing the 'long game'. Most people cant plan 2 weeks ahead so for many it is unusual to hear someone young planning 10 years in the future. Let me tell you after my first 3 rejections to med school I changed my year to year planning in getting into med school and implemented a 'long game' where I chose to move to Northern Ontario and put in as much time as it would take to get into NOSM ... keeping my eye on the goal. My long game took 6 years to play out after moving to Northern Ontario ... but it worked!

 

So from first time I applied to med school to getting in took me 11 years but you know what I enjoyed my life in between, did things for myself though I always had med school quietly in the forefront.

 

I wouldnt tell to many people of your long game as many people cant understand it ... cant understand the passion, the drive, because most people lack this and people that get into med school quickly cant understand people like us thinking things like 'you should get on with your life' or 'arent you too old for medical school' ... so just keep picking away at it.

 

Now I too am pursuing my dream of becoming a emergency physician ... good luck bro.

 

Beef

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Ya'll are awesome. :)

 

I submitted my application and documents just a couple days ago to the PCP program. This summer, I'll be volunteering at the renal dialysis unit (visiting up to 30 patients within 3 hours). Also, shadowing a coordinator to participate as a campaigner/advocate for the heart and stroke foundation by speaking to elementary schools about the importance of a healthy heart (diet, exercise, AED, fundraising for research). I may look like I am padding my CV with numerous volunteer positions, but it's all about trial and error until I find one or two that I really enjoy.

 

 

I'm concerned that you consider a full course load too heavy. Med schools like to see that you are able to handle the rigours of a full course load during undergrad, as med school is no picnic.

 

Full course load; how does 3 - 4 courses sound, 4 is my absolute max. I need money to survive, I can't commit to a 5 course load schedule while I work part-time as a paramedic (Friday to Sunday). I'll be contacting the med schools directly about this, but what are your thoughts?

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Full course load; how does 3 - 4 courses sound, 4 is my absolute max. I need money to survive, I can't commit to a 5 course load schedule while I work part-time as a paramedic (Friday to Sunday). I'll be contacting the med schools directly about this, but what are your thoughts?

 

Some med schools won't even count courses that are not taken as part of a full-time school year. I used to be in BC and I got hit by this a little because UBC doesn't require it, so I didn't realize how many other schools did.

 

You can't just count on UBC med, unfortunately. You may have to try out of BC as well. Just educate yourself about how the other schools work.

 

Even at UBC, they're a little secretive about it, but they want to see you can handle 5 courses. Med school isn't part-time and they need to know you can do it. There was another member on here who was accepted there a number of years ago, back when UBC gave individual feedback on how they could improve their apps. She was a paramedic, and doing exactly what you are proposing. She was rejected, and they told her that it was becuase she hadn't had a FT courseload year. She quit work for a year, sucked it up WRT the money, and went to school FT for a year. She was accepted the year after.

 

Good luck on your programs. I teach MFR2 courses for SJA and really enjoy it. I'm considering the PCP program for next year if I"m not accepted in a week or 10 days to UofC meds!

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Some med schools won't even count courses that are not taken as part of a full-time school year. I used to be in BC and I got hit by this a little because UBC doesn't require it, so I didn't realize how many other schools did.

 

You can't just count on UBC med, unfortunately. You may have to try out of BC as well. Just educate yourself about how the other schools work.

 

Even at UBC, they're a little secretive about it, but they want to see you can handle 5 courses. Med school isn't part-time and they need to know you can do it. There was another member on here who was accepted there a number of years ago, back when UBC gave individual feedback on how they could improve their apps. She was a paramedic, and doing exactly what you are proposing. She was rejected, and they told her that it was becuase she hadn't had a FT courseload year. She quit work for a year, sucked it up WRT the money, and went to school FT for a year. She was accepted the year after.

 

Good luck on your programs. I teach MFR2 courses for SJA and really enjoy it. I'm considering the PCP program for next year if I"m not accepted in a week or 10 days to UofC meds!

Great bit of advice right here imo. I'm sometimes surprised when med hopefuls only know and count on a single school. It only takes a couple hours to scour the schools' websites and learn the basic in and outs of admissions for every english med school in Canada, and you never know where you might get a lucky break.

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Great bit of advice right here imo. I'm sometimes surprised when med hopefuls only know and count on a single school. It only takes a couple hours to scour the schools' websites and learn the basic in and outs of admissions for every english med school in Canada, and you never know where you might get a lucky break.

 

Yep, I'll be applying to more than one medical school. I can't depend on one, UBC is more of a general template. But thanks for mentioning to me about that.

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  • 7 months later...

I got accepted to the paramedic program at JI, starting March 2014. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time!

 

Career plan:

A. MD

B. PCP/ACP

 

Medical school expectations:

1. GPA (4 year degree)

2. MCAT

3. interview (life, work experience)

 

2013/2014

1. continue to practice healthy habits (sleep, exercise, meal plan)

2. casually work on MCAT questions (examkrackers)

3. start to practice healthy study habits (paramedic program starts March 2014)

 

*note: I'll be working in the weekend cooking at a restaurant while attending the program full-time. I may have to suspend my time volunteering at the hospital temporarily.

 

2014/2015

1. working paramedic/cook part-time (BCAS offers part-time work for a couple of years, sad but true)

2. casually work on MCAT questions (examkrackers)

3. plan on major (psych, a/p, or health sciences at UBC/SFU)

 

*note: by this time my personal/study habits should be solid

 

The main reason why I didn't apply to medical school in the first place is 1. I struggle academically 2. bad habits (personal/study) 3. confidence. The time working as a paramedic will provide me time to work on my issues, personal development, and prepare myself for medical school. On the plus side, I enjoy the aspect of emergency medicine and a plan B.

 

I think I'll make a blog for the new years. For some reason it's best typing things out via blog than on paper. :)

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Congratulations! :P

 

Becoming a PA is not necessarily a stepping stone to medical school as you will still need the competitive GPA and MCAT (McGill, NOSM & U/O aside), notwithstanding the medical experience you will have gained. And, if you need to do a second undergrad, you will need to do it full time during the normal academic year. Others are having this very dilemma as I write.

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