Hi, Bigstudy! This is my very first post on SDN so first a little background information.
I am a North Carolina resident, very close to Raleigh. I am a former EMT, and a current second year respiratory therapy student who will be graduating in May. I am applying to UNC-Charlotte this cycle to obtain a Bachelors of Science in Respiratory Therapy, and hopefully I get in with my current statistics of a program GPA of 4.0 and a cumulative GPA of 3.94. I do have some science prerequisites as far as general sciences go, a few biology's, a few anatomy's and physiology, and of course all general maths and English but they were all obtained at my community college. I have a heavy, heavy understanding of respiratory physics, pharmacology, physiology, mechanical ventilation, neonatal/pediatrics, hemodynamics, etc. but again these understandings are very tunnel visioned on respiratory. I'm quite certain I have a job awaiting me, I only have to graduate and pass my three boards. So basically, my plan is accept a job, obtain my bachelors full-time while working (UNC-Charlotte's program is a distance education program, much like an RN to BSN degree where almost everything is online, very flexible, taught by anesthesiologist, will take two years to complete). I will have more than enough clinical experience come time I do apply to medical school. I also plan to shadow, volunteer(medical and non-medical), get involved with research, get involved with leadership roles with North Carolina's Society for Respiratory Care committee, and of course stay up-to-date on all current credentials(BLS, ACLS, NRP, PALS). So now that you basically know my life story, I have a few questions.
1. Would Meredith's post-baccalaureate be a good option for someone like me? Who has a background in the sciences and medicine but not exactly a general background in the sciences?
2. What is the the science requirement track like and how long will it take?
3. Would I be better off just taking the science requirements in a non-degree seeking manner at a university in North Carolina or will the post-baccalaureate look better to ADCOM's because it's a directed path?
Lastly, I am so happy I found this thread. I had no idea this program existed until now and it gives me a lot of hope that this dream may actually become a reality. Thank you so much for all the information and a huge congrats on University of Washington!