DoctorD2be
Registered on 07-22-10
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07-22-10 07:02 PM - Post#69632
Hey there to everyone in OPMland!
I am a 25 yr old from NY. I attended college from 02-06 and graduated w/a BS in Marketing. I worked in Pharm sales for 2yrs, got let go from the company, and found myself feeling the tug I once felt growing up as a child, MEDICINE. I decided to start at the bottom and completed a medical assisting program this year. I am looking to enroll in school to complete my pre req's for med school. I would LOVE to do a post bacc program, however, I am finding that most of them offered in my region (the NY metro region) are extremely expensive. I work in a cardiologist office so my part time hrs are not very stable. I am trying to find the best possible option to knock out these classes w/o wasting anymore of my life away. I'm considering looking into community college (NCC only) but I am unaware as to whether or not they can provide me with a letter of rec. for the med school application process. If there is ANYONE who can offer words of advice, encouragement, sanity, ANYTHING, please feel free to send some positivity my way. I am feeling a bit discouraged and have even gone as far as to consider other careers in medicine (nursing, PA, NP). Nonetheless, I want to be a doctor. I have to be a doctor. I need to become a doctor.
Thanks for reading and replying 
~DoctorD2be
Edited by DoctorD2be on 07-22-10 07:05 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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terra_incognita
Loc: Chicago, IL
Registered on 11-22-09
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Re: Not getting any younger....any advice will help :)
07-23-10 10:27 AM - Post#69642
In response to DoctorD2be
First of all, let me say that I, too, got laid off (a year and a half ago) and that was the catalyst for my leap into this journey as well. I had been thinking about it prior to being laid off, but once you're laid off -- and there are literally no jobs in sight -- you feel free to pursue other avenues.
But on to other things.
Here are my words of encouragement / advice / etc.:
1. You're not that old.  Seriously -- you have some time to figure this out and still have a long career in medicine. That's fantastic. So don't get too worried about time here. You've got that on your side. So take heart!
And take your time. To do this right. Because as others on OPM will tell you, this is a marathon not a sprint. Don't take more classes than you can handle, for example, just because you want to get them done quickly, and then screw up your GPA.
2. You've got an interesting story (and background), from the sounds of it. Working in pharm sales, you got exposure to the medical field. That's good. A BS in marketing means (at least) two things to me: 1) you have good communication skills; 2) you have good business skills. Those are both things that will be useful as a physician. (I have a journalism degree, so I've at least got the communication skills. ) Working in a cardiologist's office is also good experience, as is the medical assisting program. Those are all things in your favor.
3. As to the best way to take the pre-reqs ... that, unfortunately, I can not answer for you. I am doing a formal 2-year post-bac program myself (in Chicago), starting this fall. And yes, it IS very expensive. But I have been out of school for 7 years, and feel the structure (and the committee LOR, and the built-in internship offered, and the priority registration, etc.) is worth the cost, at least to me. There is also the community college dilemma. If you do take your initial pre-reqs at a community college--which is not the ideal situation, since some ADCOMS look at CC college courses as less rigorous--make sure to take some upper-division courses (microbio, biochem, etc.) at a 4-year university. That is not to say you should not take the CC courses, if that is what you need to do. You just need to weigh the pros and cons. I would suggest you read the various opinions here on the OPM board on CC courses (just search the posts ... you'll come up with plenty of responses.)
4. I would recommend doing some volunteer work and getting some clinical experience, or a combination thereof (ie, volunteering in a clinical environment). This is something that is necessary for a good med school application. Also try to get some physician shadowing experiences in if possible.
That's all I really have to say ... hope it's at least a little bit helpful (and encouraging). Best wishes to you! Keep posting here on OPM so we can keep up with your progress.
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