MCAT=16, GPA=3.2, Step 1=Pass

~ Taken from Google Images

Despite only getting a 16 on my MCAT (which is terrible by the way, 45 is a perfect score) and leaving Creighton with only a 3.2 GPA I still some how managed to make it through the basic science portion of medical school.  How did I get into medical school you are asking yourself, well that is a long and hard fought story.  I actually applied to a few schools including Creighton Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center and promptly I am certain my application was thrown in the garbage.  Well, I was very scared that I was going to either have to take the dreaded MCAT again or just give up on my dream of becoming a medical doctor.  Then a doctor that my mom works with suggested that I look into a Caribbean medical school because they were more likely to give a guy a chance because they are run more as a business than as a university.  He was right in so many different ways, but that is for a different post.  He told me that the pace in these schools in the Caribbean was very grueling and that it would not be easy, but that it was an option.  So I looked into a few of them and MUA really caught my eye.  The reason:  they had residents at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  This was the ultimate goal anyway so why not give it a try.

~University of Nebraska Medical Center taken from Google Images

~Creighton University Medical Center from Google Images
So I applied to MUA.  They got back to me within the next 48 hours requesting an interview.  I was nervous as heck and was almost shaking in anticipation for my interview.  I did the interview in the Creighton University library in one of the quiet rooms.  I felt very comfortable and about one week later I received a packet in the mail stating that I was accepted and could start in the September semester.  Just to be certain that I was going to like the school I flew down to Nevis in March to check the place out to ensure that I knew what I was getting into.  Upon arrival to the island, I was really not so sure about the place.  The school looked very run down and primitive, but did I really have a choice?  16 on the MCAT sort of limits the choices.  I decided I would give it a shot and man am I glad that I did.

My roommate ended up being one of the best people I have met in my whole life.  If only he lived a bit closer these days, I am certain we would hang out almost every day.  He is a great friend and we get along so well it was amazing, even if he was a Penn State fan.  The food was tough to get used to and the class slowly dwindled down to about 55 by the time we were in Med 5, but I made it through all the way without one failure although Biochemistry gave me a heck of a challenge.  I made a ton of other really good friends along the way as well.  Far too many to list here, but the most important thing that came out of Nevis was a cute, curly, haired Canadian that would later become my wife.

I did end up failing the exit exam and it was probably a good thing that I did.  It gave me a chance to study more for the Step 1.  I went back to Nevis and passed that exam the second try and proceeded to get married, move to Oklahoma City, and then take on the task of studying for the Step 1 exam.  I took the exam on December 30th, 2009 and I will never forget that exam and how the time flew by.  It was excruciating waiting for that score, but man was it a great day when I finally got it and realized that I had passed.  It was such a great feeling to know that all the sacrifices were worth it and that I was actually moving toward becoming a physician.

Now I know the next question you are thinking, well what did you score?  Well, most people will never publish their scores on the internet or even maybe tell their friends, but I am not ashamed of mine nor do I feel like it is something to gloat about.  But I scored a 188, passing was 185, but in 2010 it has now changed to 188.  Therefore, I still would have passed, but it would have been very close.  I tell you my score because I am proud that I beat the odds of the foreign medical student and passed the exam on the first try.  Additionally, I beat many other odds that most medical students really do not have to deal with.  I passed it on the first try after going to a foreign medical school, with mostly foreign professors, with an accelerated curriculum, in a foreign country that continually lost power and water service, where a hurricane and an earthquake hit while we were there, got married 4 months before the Step, moved to Oklahoma City 4 months before the Step, worked on an MBA in Healthcare Administration while studying through Med 3, 4, and 5 as well as the Step exam, and worked for two months during my preparation for the Step exam.  When I lay all that out, I am pretty darn excited that I was able to pass the first attempt and will now move onto clinical medicine.  I am pretty sure if I can make it through all of that and still pass the licensing exam, I can be one heck of a doctor.