Respiratory Therapy (Pre-Med track) Good path for cards/pulm?

[PsychPop]

Hi guys,

So I am a pre-med who is about to finish their undergraduate degree this May (BS in Psychology) with a 3.0gpa. I am greatly interested in non-interventionist cardiology and pulmonology so I think becoming an RT would be helpful to that cause. I one day hope to apply for medical school but I am well aware of the insane competition and that a gpa that low will have serious difficulty getting accepted. My plan was to do a post-bacc and work on the side as a scribe like everyone else does, but I really want to pursue work experience that would be challenging, relevant, and be more competitive. I just got accepted to PIMA medical institute for RT which is a two-year program, once licensed, I am planning on working as a respiratory therapist for 2-3 years then applying to medical school.
I am 23 now, so by then, I will be around 27-28.
Becoming an RT will boost my gpa as there are 87 credits to do well on, and the work experience will no doubt be the closest thing I can get to cardiology/pulmonology.
In summary, I believe being an RT with a high MCAT, an upward trend, and great ECs will help me stand out as an applicant.
But, I am not really an expert so I would love your input on my plan!

Thanks!

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[DrJackRyan]

Wrong thread. This should be in the premed forum. You need to worry about getting accepted to med school before you start thinking about fellowships lol.

 

[PsychPop]

Thanks for the input, I was posting here to get some insight from folks already in the field...

 

[TwistedTea]

I am just a fourth year so my opinion may not be worthy since you are fishing for attendings but going for RT is a waste of time. Boost your GPA and do well on mcat. That’s what matters. Don’t waste time on RT

 

[PsychPop]

I am just a fourth year so my opinion may not be worthy since you are fishing for attendings but going for RT is a waste of time. Boost your GPA and do well on mcat. That’s what matters. Don’t waste time on RT

Boosting my GPA will require 2-3 years post bacc anyways though... Those 2-3 years at some random college will not get me any degree it will solely be to boost my GPA, which everyone does so it will not differentiate me enough I fear. I am curious, how could pursuing RT, which requires extensive knowledge in everything medical that's anatomy, physiology, cardiac, pharma, etc... be a waste of time in comparison to an ordinary post bacc? Most kids go for a MPH, DIY post bacc/ scribe and CNA which is not nearly as demanding or relevant imo. I am looking to stand out, and gain serious healthcare experience as well, as you know medical school is a massive commitment, and I want to make sure that healthcare is right for me in general.
Either way, I thank you for your input.

 

[TwistedTea]

I would study for the MCAT and see how you do on that first off all. Then I would do a one year post back at a medical school. We had plenty of people with sub 3 GPA get in after doing well in post bac and mcat. I don’t know how hard resp therapy school is but I think it is safe to assume adcoms will place more weight on graduate level science courses and the hard science prereqs than they will RT school.
The goal of med school is to get in as fast as you can get out as fast as you can and start making attending money. (Of course post residency)

nursing, MPH, RT, rat tech etc, none of those are as important as showing you can succeed in graduate level hard sciences. MCAT and science GPA trumps all else. And I don’t think health profession classes count toward science GPA
@Goro

 

[PsychPop]

Well, your idea was mine originally, but I really want to get into a school in my home state of California, which is very difficult. I would really like some solid healthcare experience before I apply to medical school and I believe considering my interests that RT school would be very beneficial. I'm sure with a solid MCAT and experience as an RT that I would be far more competitive than just doing a year of post back. I feel that if I complete the RT and do well in it, I should be clearly viewed as a very serious, committed, and hard-working individual who would be a great doctor.
I don't mind putting on a couple more years for the sake of being more prepared. I can always take a few science courses along working as an RT as hours are low usually 2-3 12hr shifts a week. I can begin studying for the MCAT now and take it next year and see how I do as well.
Thanks!

 

[throwaway1000000]

If you want to be a MD at any cost, post bacc and excelling on the MCAT will be the way to go. Not sure being a RT is a good idea if your ultimate goal is to be a physician
The other pathway you can pursue is the PA pathway. Pretty good gig. 2 years of schooling and you get to practice medicine with some supervision. 100-125k salary. Won't get to do anything procedural (surgery, cardiac caths, bronchs, etc) or be the leader but can work in most non-interventional fields

 

[TwistedTea]

Well, your idea was mine originally, but I really want to get into a school in my home state of California, which is very difficult. I would really like some solid healthcare experience before I apply to medical school and I believe considering my interests that RT school would be very beneficial. I'm sure with a solid MCAT and experience as an RT that I would be far more competitive than just doing a year of post back. I feel that if I complete the RT and do well in it, I should be clearly viewed as a very serious, committed, and hard-working individual who would be a great doctor.
I don't mind putting on a couple more years for the sake of being more prepared. I can always take a few science courses along working as an RT as hours are low usually 2-3 12hr shifts a week. I can begin studying for the MCAT now and take it next year and see how I do as well.
Thanks!

If you really want to get a healthcare professional job it’s up to you and you can. If you are hard set in cardiology though I will say RT has almost nothing to do with cardiology directly. Yes you have to know some cardio pulm phys but RT deal almost entirely with the lungs, handing out nebs, adjusting vent settings, assisting with bronchs, Thoras, pleurex catheter insertion, NIV, abgs. You won’t work with cardio at all really. If you like cardio maybe consider RN, or perfusionist, or maybe echo tech? I think the experience in any of those would trump RT in regards to cardio. But again none of those will assist much for med school. Except maybe perfusionist they would probably be impressed with that

 

[nlax30]

The clinical stuff you will learn in med school and residency/fellowship. Don’t go into this with the idea of being an RT giving you tons of relevant clinical experience that will significantly bolster your med school chances. Vastly different careers and yea some superficial shared knowledge base though small scope and fairly superficial which is hard to explain now but you’ll eventually see.

Otherwise I agree with the majority above, jump through whatever hoops you need to to get into med school first.... and in this case I think that’s going to be from bolstering you grades/academic app. I would also suggest considering applying widely and as well as DO schools. Putting all your eggs in one basket by considering only California is going to seriously hamper your chances.

 

[PsychPop]

Hi guys,

So I decided to turn down my acceptance to RT school, I agree that it would be a sideways step for me and that I should focus on my original plan of bringing up my gpa. I have some serious things to consider as I must decide on my actual career path (I am considering either NP or MD/DO at this point). With my timeline and desires, I am not entirely sure that pursuing MD makers much sense. My neighbor had to get his masters in biomedical sciences and then only got into a Flordia school on his third time! (He also was a scribe for two years) He could not get into a single CA school.
For the next year I will focus on completing core science classes and try to do my best in them to make myself more competitive.

Thanks for your input!