Jonathan Gale '17

Name: Jonathan Gale 

Graduation Year: Spring 2017

Major: Biology

Your Story: I choose to attend Gustavus over a piece of trash. My campus tour guide walked across a large field to pick up a single piece of garbage and I knew that this university was a place that people must care about, so I choose Gustavus. Going into Gustavus I knew that I wanted to eventually apply to medical school, but I still wanted to take a liberal approach to my education rather than take only the required courses and courses in my major (biology). Rather, I filled my schedule with as many courses as possible in religion, philosophy, and classics. Additionally, I studied abroad in Copenhagen, taking courses ranging in subject matter from healthcare strategies for at-risk populations to garden art of European history. I think my course choices while at Gustavus and abroad are ultimately what opened my eyes to seeing medicine as so much more than diagnosis and treatment, but rather at the intersection of health, economy, spirituality, education, and culture. 

My senior year at Gustavus, I thought that I knew what I wanted/needed in a medical school. I ended up not getting into medical school on my first try, but it ended up being an amazing step in my career. That next year, I met two DO physicians as a medical scribe in the emergency room and learned first hand the key differences in practice and philosophy of these providers. Additionally, I started volunteering for an afterschool program in North Minneapolis and witnessed the stark disadvantages these children faced in regards to their mental and physical wellbeing, access to care and education. Finally, I took some much needed time to reflect on who I wanted to be as a physician and what education would help me someday meet that physician. After a year of new experience and development, I made the choice that DO school was what I had been searching for in a medical school all along. I applied to 12 schools, received 9 interviews, and selected Rocky Vista University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Colorado. 

There are so many more experiences and stories that shaped my path to medicine and medical school. There were ups and downs, challenges and achievements. If you have any questions or want to hear more, please do not hesitate to write jongale219@gmail.com. 

Top Five Activities/Experiences: (in no particular order)

1. Medical scribe/Medical scribe trainer with EPPA in the emergency room and dermatology clinic. 
2. Study abroad with DIS in Copenhagen, Denmark. Program: Medical Practice and Policy. 
3. Gustavus Academy for Faith, Science, and Ethics. 
4. Antioch Ministries, after school program in North Minneapolis. 
5. Undergraduate research, University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics. 

Advice:

1. The only people that do not make it into medical school are those that stop trying. If you don’t get in your first time, do not worry. Take time to reflect, develop, and grow so that you will be that much more of an awesome candidate the next time around. 

2. For osteopathic interviews, I rarely was asked a question that needed a well rehearsed and polished answer. Rather, they wanted to simply get to know me and what made me passionate about a career in medicine. The most important thing I did to prepare for interviews was to know myself and my experiences thoroughly. 

3. While at Gustavus, I remember worrying a ton about taking a gap year versus applying directly to medical school. In hindsight, I had so much to learn and refine coming out of Gustavus. My two gap years were crucial in developing my path to osteopathic medicine. 

Future Plans: Attending Rocky Vista University of Osteopathic Medicine in Colorado, starting July 2019

It has always been a dream of my wife and I’s to live in Colorado so we could not be more happy with the change in scenery! I always imagined myself going into pediatrics and these past two gap years working with children in North Minneapolis has solidified this choice. I need a bit more time and experience to figure out if I would like to specialize within pediatrics. Long term, I would like to at some point go back to school for a masters degree in medical ethics. I have always been intrigued by complex medical, ethical, and legal grey areas within the large field of medicine and would love to serve/direct an ethics committee to aid in hospital wide policy change. 

Updated 9/13/2019 HB