roque.joshua92 Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 This is my first post and I apologize in advance for possibly posting this in the wrong area or for reposting but I have been reading this forum extensively and found a great wealth of information. I have been juggling the idea of MD vs PA just as much as the next guy and well..... that is not the purpose of this post. I am currently enrolled at my local community college, MGCCC, and I have 34 credits. I will have my Associates degree by the end of this coming Summer. I will then transfer to the University of South Alabama, they have a medical school and a PA program. I will need healthcare experience regardless of which profession I choose. I have decided to take a year off to work full-time as a CNA, I am currently enrolled in a program. My issue is that I do not know when I should take this break. I was shooting for after I have obtained my AA so I could enter the university and have all of my experience and so that my fiance could enter the university with me but I just spoke to my aunt who is a MD and she said I should wait until I have my Bachelors to take a year off. Does it look bad if I take a break in between my associates and my bachelors? ( My fiance is looking to go Med school to do forensic pathology. Is it true that some medical school try to get married couples in together if they both apply? I have heard that) I apologize for being long winded, I appreciate any responses. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roque.joshua92 Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 There are a lot of reasons why I am going to take a year off, I really prefer not to go into detail about them. But I read that a lot of people do it, at least from what I have read from the forum. I just want to know if it will look bad if I do it after my AA instead of after my B.S. or if it matters at all Thank you for your prompt reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 If you have a lot of reasons on why to take a year off, I don't see why it would matter if it was now, or two years from now. I don't think the adcoms are going to look at your scholastic gap and say, "Hmm...a year off school huh? Next..." Your best advice is getting the hce while in school, because thats what all of your fellow applicants are doing right now. If you absolutely have your heart set on taking a year off then do it. Only you can judge when the best time for that would be. If you took a year off and went surfing then that might look a little bad...as long as that year is a productive year in some way (hce, volunteering, etc) you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt H Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I agree with Corpsman. Working as a CNA to build up some HCE while getting your bachelors would be ideal, but I don't think it would hurt you to take a year off. I'm actually in a similar position as you are. I graduate with my AAS this summer and am planning on going to University in San Diego. I just got interviewed for a CNA position the other day and hopefully I can start racking up some hours of HCE before I move in 8 months. I plan on doing a few CNA shifts a week while going full time If I can manage it at the Uni. That way by the time I graduate with my BS in Biology I'll have around 2000 hours and be a very competitive applicant that cycle, that's the plan for me lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roque.joshua92 Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Thank you. I appreciate you not giving negative feedback in regard to my choice in taking a year off. I just do not want my acedemics to be hindered because I possibly can't study because I have to work. But I am glad that you do not believe that it will be viewed badly. I have searched this forum in regard to the University of South Alabama and I can not find a lot on it. Can you possibly point me in the right direction or is there simply not a lot on it? Thank you for all your feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 There are HUGE benefits to gaining life experiences which help you relate to your future patients. Taking a year off, assuming it's somehow productive beyond PS3 and Call of Duty marathons, can enrich your non collegiate education in so many ways. I would be that AdCom member passing on the pipeline students who went from high school straight to college straight to post grad. The year off folks? Even if it was surfing, or ski patrolling, or raft guiding, or any other really fun gig, I'd see it as favorable because it enriches your life, which makes you a better person. That being said, I have never put much research into what it takes to get into med school. How much evidence have you ran across to indicate that medical experience is a step up for getting into med school? Is it primarily anecdotal from your aunt and a friend or two, or is it listed on the med school's website? I know plenty of docs who didn't touch a live human in a medical sense until they were already a med student. However, I have heard that undergrad research projects are looked favorable upon. Your post gives me the impression that you and your fiancé are going to apply to one school together. Just one school? Good luck on that...any chance you can push off the wedding until after you all are through with your respective programs? Starting a new life together is fun, exciting, and hard. Med school/PA school is fun, exciting, and hard. Doing both at the same time...well that's just masochistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roque.joshua92 Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Thank you for you insightful response. In regard to my fiance, we are DEFINITELY waiting until we have our individual careers started, it would make absolutley no sense to get married while attending school and working. We're engaged because we know that we are going to get married eventually and we just want everyone to know. Just wanted to clarify that. I have talked to multiple physicians, including my aunt, and I do extensive research on medical school requirements and what it is like in medical school. I also spend just as much time reading up on PA except that I have yet to speak to one. It is almost an obsession but I absolutely adore the human body and although I have yet to experience medicine in any kind of career fashion, I think I will love it. Yes, my fiance and I are currently looking at only one school and I realize that diminshes our odds of acceptance substantially but this school is just SO conveniently close and it has both programs that we are interested in pursuing. It just seems perfect. But life is mysterious and I can only pray that it works out the way that we have planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beorp Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I have been juggling the idea of MD vs PA just as much as the next guy and well..... that is not the purpose of this post. [...] I will need healthcare experience regardless of which profession I choose. Healthcare experience is not normally a major factor in medical school admissions. It will certainly be considered with your entire application (and maybe weighed more heavily in DO programs), but it isn't as critical as your GPA, MCAT, and research experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roque.joshua92 Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Healthcare experience is not normally a major factor in medical school admissions. It will certainly be considered with your entire application (and maybe weighed more heavily in DO programs), but it isn't as critical as your GPA, MCAT, and research experience. I have been reading a few forums in regard to the healthcare experience for Med school and from what I have found, they kind of take the same approach like the PA programs do. "How do you know that you want to practice medicine unless you have actually dealt with a patient and have, at least, a rough understanding as to how it is." On top of that, having it will make me even more competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roque.joshua92 Posted December 25, 2011 Author Share Posted December 25, 2011 I COMPLETELY agree with you, in every regard. I know that she is the right one, there is not a doubt in my mind. The sole reason that I want to hold off on getting married is because I want to be able to give my fiance the beautiful ceremony that she deserves, I simply can't do that right now with my income but after I get my degree, be it MD or PA, I will most certainly be able to. I am the same way with studying hard all the time, no matter where I go. I never want to stop learning and I take advantage of every opportunity that I am presented with for learning. I absolutely love it, it is one of the greatest things that man can do. My fiance and I are extremely dedicated to school and I am certain the we will make it into our desired programs. Thank you very much for your positive post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roque.joshua92 Posted December 25, 2011 Author Share Posted December 25, 2011 Healthcare experience is not normally a major factor in medical school admissions. It will certainly be considered with your entire application (and maybe weighed more heavily in DO programs), but it isn't as critical as your GPA, MCAT, and research experience. I had never considered research experience, but I am looking into it a lot further now and I have discovered, as you said, it is VERY important. Thank you very much for opening my eyes on this, this could very well be the difference between an acceptance letter and a rejection letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roque.joshua92 Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 Hmmm, well perhaps I presented that wrong. It is not for image or for luxury, but I feel that she deserves a 'proper' wedding, and of course that is extremely subjective and I am not talking about a 15k dollar wedding but something classy. On top of that, I want to give her an amazing honeymoon and I realize that we could hold off on that but that is not how I want to do it. You obviously have a different view on this but that I how I feel about it. ( I agree that 15K or anything close to that amount is absolutely ridiculous, but budgetting a wedding is not right either) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedra Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Have you ever looked into medical scribing? Some PA programs (not all) will accept this as HCE and medical schools look favorably on it. It's a great way to gain experience and see what it's like to work in a hospital setting. I think most scribing is done in the emergency department, but I've heard of some folks scribing in other settings. My friend did it for almost 2 years, that was his only HCE, and he was accepted to PA school starting this coming summer. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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