I’ve always known that I wanted to become a physician. However, when I was in college, I started realizing that I might eventually want to move into government service as a physician – something in the FDA space or the Department of Health and Human Services. When I found the Master of Science in Law, and especially after I visited the Law School, I knew that the MSL was the perfect fit for me during the gap year before I applied to medical school. Not only would the MSL give me the legal background I needed for my future career, but it would also help bolster my medical school application.

Simply put, I feel that having the MSL under your belt during the medical school admissions process will put you in a league of your own. I’m pretty sure I was one of the only applicants with any sort of legal background, and having earned a law degree from a prestigious institution was a huge plus. The MSL was a great talking point during the interview process and something that all my interviewers were interested to hear about.

I’m about to start my fourth year of medical school, and I am often able to use the knowledge I gained from the MSL during my clinical rotations. Understanding the ins and outs of things like insurance claims, healthcare payment structures, and various types of lawsuits has not only impressed many of my preceptors but also given me good insight into more effective patient care.

The MSL was an all-around great experience. One of the perks, especially if you are planning on going to medical school, is that the MSL can be completed in one year. Medicine is already a long road, but in my opinion, the added benefit of the MSL far outweighs the drawback of just one extra year of schooling.

– Tom Fusillo (MSL ’19)
Fourth Year Medical Student at Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine