PREMED at UMPI possible?

[adrianeraldo]

Hello friends.
I started my journey in 2017. It took me a while, but here I am, with 90 credits completed through a combination of Sophia and Study.com.
I enrolled in UMPI's BLS management program, but I'm not sure if that would be the best choice for PREMED. 
Do you think I might have to take courses somewhere else?
I noticed that Study.com has biology and chemistry with labs, but I'm not sure if they would be accepted since they come from a third-party institution.
I really appreciate any help you can provide.
Adrian

[Jonathan Whatley]

Don’t think of premed as a single thing. You’re assembling a set.

UMPI is perfectly fine, indeed better than most online programs, for the “any bachelor’s degree” component of your set.

Any major is acceptable. It is true that some research-oriented MD schools tend to prefer STEM majors for some spaces, largely because these are the people prepared to step into student-researcher roles. Yet my friend who majored in percussion (drumming) got into Penn med school and my friend who majored in dance got into Dartmouth med school, in both cases after taking the science prerequisites through a post-baccalaureate program, in their cases at Harvard Extension.

That said, among UMPI YourPace programs for this purpose, I would do a BA in Psychology as my first choice, or a BS in Healthcare Administration as my second choice, by a significant margin over a BLS or over any straight management degree.

Absolutely you will need to take numerous courses elsewhere. For specific courses that are prerequisites for medical school, the credit should originate from a regionally accredited college, not an ACE alternative credit provider like Sophia or Study.com.

You also need to look at titles, course content, and credit hours closely. A 3 semester hour lecture plus 1 semester hour lab course in Human Biology does not fulfill the standard biology prerequisite for medical school. The standard biology prerequisite is a two semester sequence (two consecutive courses) in general biology, each a course with lab. That means 8 semester hours total with typical titles like General Biology I with Lab and General Biology II with Lab. 8 semester hours Anatomy and Physiology I and II with Lab can sometimes be used in this space, but never 4 semester hours titled “Human Biology.” “Human Biology” courses are typically intended for general education or less demanding allied health professions. Similarly, the standard general chemistry prerequisite is 8 semester hours with titles like General Chemistry I with Lab and General Chemistry II with Lab.

Some medical schools prefer and some require that the specific lab science courses be conducted on campus. Some do not. Some prefer and some might require that they come from a four-year college, but some are friendly to community colleges here.

[bjcheung77]

There are so many ways to go about this... Doing any degree would be better than none at all, if you want the BLS, that would work as you can get the max of the electives into the degree plan. An example member, MSK9 did the TESU BALS and a science year afterwards. You should do something similar, BLS to finish the degree requirement and do a science year right after that. Another alternative is, if you're not set with US/UK institutions, you can go the Caribbean route (do the Masters instead of a science year), and apply towards a medical school in the US/UK and Caribbean...

[adrianeraldo]

Has anyone considered studying medicine in the Philippines? I heard it's very accessible, but I'm not sure what happens when you come back ...

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Has anyone considered studying medicine in the Philippines? I heard it's very accessible, but I'm not sure what happens when you come back ...

Do you have a link for an online program in the Philippines for PreMed that you're referring to? I only ask since you say its "very accessible", but if it's not able to be completed via distance learning, then I'm not sure about the level of accessibility. I'm definitely no SME in this particular area, but I'd definitely consider what Jonathan said

[Jonathan Whatley]

Premed and medical school are separate things, not synonymous.

Premed describes what you do before medical school. Your premed degree, coursework, and experiences outside medical school will comprise your application for medical school.

“Accessible” is relative, so an accessible premed program might well not be online (many medical schools reject or discourage science prerequisites taken online), and an accessible medical school should be largely on-site (minor attempts at online medical schools have been rejected by medical licensing boards).

[wow]

"Accessible" for med school usually means that the school is open to a wider pool of applicants. For example, schools of osteopathic medicine in the US tend to be more accessible than medical schools in the US. They are more likely to accept nontraditional and older students. Caribbean medical schools may be described as more accessible for the same reason. Some also offer their own post-bacs (post-bachelor's completion of prerequisites) with automatic acceptance to the medical school if you perform satisfactorily in the program.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

"Accessible" for med school usually means that the school is open to a wider pool of applicants. For example, schools of osteopathic medicine in the US tend to be more accessible than medical schools in the US. They are more likely to accept nontraditional and older students. Caribbean medical schools may be described as more accessible for the same reason. Some also offer their own post-bacs (post-bachelor's completion of prerequisites) with automatic acceptance to the medical school if you perform satisfactorily in the program.

Thank you for explaining this