How does a medical school candidate turn rejection into acceptance? With a Master of Science in Bioethics from the School of Professional Studies.
At SPS, Scott:
- Joined the Bioethics master’s program
- Sat on monthly ethics panels at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital
- Found a physician classmate who let him shadow
- Leveraged his degree and new skills to reapply to medical school
- Got accepted into every school that offered him an interview
How did you use the bioethics program as a springboard into medical school?
I had originally applied but didn’t get in the first round. However, when I reapplied, my master’s degree played a crucial role in my medical school interviews and making my candidacy more attractive. Being able to articulately discuss ethical issues in medicine really helped me.
Share some of the highlights of the program with us.
The bioethics program gave me an opportunity to see firsthand how physicians and members of the ethics board talk about actual cases that are complicated. I was able to sit in on monthly ethics reviews at Columbia-Presbyterian. It was a great introduction to how hospitals improve policy and procedures.
What is it about the program that made your medical school aspirations more feasible?
The program helped connect me with experiences outside the classroom that were crucial. Med schools want people who have shadowed physicians in different specialties. This is especially true if you are a non-traditional applicant who is not coming directly from undergrad pre-med. I was lucky enough to have a classmate who is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Columbia-Presbyterian. She helped me get through their compliance and shadow her at the hospital. It was a great experience. Today I am at Tulane studying medicine.
