34 and still dreaming

[skocica]

Can a mom of a 3 month old still do it? I am fully aware of the discipline medical training requires, the cost it places on the family and the time it takes away from that family....yet, I feel that if I don't at least try to get in, I will always have that one regret in my life, probably the biggest regret ever!
Ok, so I didn't go to medical school right after college...I should have done it but I was here on a student visa, not a chance of getting into a med school as a foreigener (all of my education was completed in the USA, from undergrad to graduate)! All these years I just keep thinking how I missed my chance at doing something I truly love (medicine) and got stuck with the second best. Instead of MD, I got a PhD in Biochemistry , worked in research for 5 years and now I work for a company doing Clinical Quality Assurance. Yet, when my husband comes home and talks about medicine, I don't even care about my own day! I shadowed a surgeon a couple of years ago in a cancer center and although I never cosidered surgery, those few weeks were the best weeks ever. Going back to the lab after an early morning surgery felt like offering water to a person who's drowning.

So, to summarize....Any advice? Moms out there who went to medical school?

GPA info: undergrad 3.6, grad. 3.8. Out of the 3.6 GPA for UG, I think my science GPA is actually higher than that!

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[Krisss17]

Can a mom of a 3 month old still do it? I am fully aware of the discipline medical training requires, the cost it places on the family and the time it takes away from that family....yet, I feel that if I don't at least try to get in, I will always have that one regret in my life, probably the biggest regret ever!
Ok, so I didn't go to medical school right after college...I should have done it but I was here on a student visa, not a chance of getting into a med school as a foreigener (all of my education was completed in the USA, from undergrad to graduate)! All these years I just keep thinking how I missed my chance at doing something I truly love (medicine) and got stuck with the second best. Instead of MD, I got a PhD in Biochemistry , worked in research for 5 years and now I work for a company doing Clinical Quality Assurance. Yet, when my husband comes home and talks about medicine, I don't even care about my own day! I shadowed a surgeon a couple of years ago in a cancer center and although I never cosidered surgery, those few weeks were the best weeks ever. Going back to the lab after an early morning surgery felt like offering water to a person who's drowning.

So, to summarize....Any advice? Moms out there who went to medical school?

GPA info: undergrad 3.6, grad. 3.8. Out of the 3.6 GPA for UG, I think my science GPA is actually higher than that!

Hi skocica,

Of course you can. Just from your educational background, I think the only thing you would need to do is take the MCAT. I would, however, recommend that you wait a short time and enjoy this time with your little one. They grow so fast and medical school isn't going away. You can never get this time back with your baby, so enjoy her. To me, 34 is still relatively young (I'm 43 and won't even be able to enter medical school before I am 46/47), and if you wait a year or two, you won't be any further away.

 

[KHep]

You are only limited by yourself. If you want it, you can do it.

I am a 34 yo mom of two in my second year of podiatric medical school. I applied to traditional med schools three years ago and got in, but chose not to go because my kids really needed me at home and needed the specialists that we have in chicagoland. Then, as my MCAT was approaching expiration, I discovered podiatry and went that route. I am glad that I am in school, but as a mom it comes with its own set of difficulties. Of my class of 108 there is only one other mom. We have an integrated program with the Chicago Medical School and I only know one mom in the 2nd year MD program. It's not easy, but it is possible. Just know that you won't get as much sleep as your peers and your social life won't be as great.

Never forget that life is what you make it! Good Luck!

 

[student1799]

Can a mom of a 3 month old still do it? I am fully aware of the discipline medical training requires, the cost it places on the family and the time it takes away from that family....yet, I feel that if I don't at least try to get in, I will always have that one regret in my life, probably the biggest regret ever!
Ok, so I didn't go to medical school right after college...I should have done it but I was here on a student visa, not a chance of getting into a med school as a foreigener (all of my education was completed in the USA, from undergrad to graduate)! All these years I just keep thinking how I missed my chance at doing something I truly love (medicine) and got stuck with the second best. Instead of MD, I got a PhD in Biochemistry , worked in research for 5 years and now I work for a company doing Clinical Quality Assurance. Yet, when my husband comes home and talks about medicine, I don't even care about my own day! I shadowed a surgeon a couple of years ago in a cancer center and although I never cosidered surgery, those few weeks were the best weeks ever. Going back to the lab after an early morning surgery felt like offering water to a person who's drowning.

So, to summarize....Any advice? Moms out there who went to medical school?

GPA info: undergrad 3.6, grad. 3.8. Out of the 3.6 GPA for UG, I think my science GPA is actually higher than that!

I'm a mother of 2, 45 years old, and I HOPE I'm going to med school. (I just submitted my application a couple of weeks ago.) So if I'm willing to go this route, it's clearly not out of the question for you, but some of your challenges are different from mine.

The #1 difference is that my kids are older (9 and 12). That makes a BIG difference, because they're already old enough to do without me for extended periods of time (obviously they're in school, plus I have a full-time nanny who's been with us since the oldest was a baby.) Your child is much younger; while that is good in a way (s/he won't miss you very much while you're doing your premed studying), it could be a lot harder later on, because s/he will be in those all-important toddler and early school years during your med school and residency. Even though I have worked full-time since my kids were born, there is still a difference between the hours I was putting in at my job (50-55 by the time I quit) and the hours you'll be pulling in med school and residency (80+ by the clerkship and residency years). As LizzyM (an adcom who posts on SDN) said in a different thread, it's a lot easier to have an infant than a toddler during med school.

I actually had a strong pull to do this 8 years ago, when my kids were 1 and 4, and concluded that I just couldn't. I didn't make a conscious plan to take it up again at a later date, but I reached a fork in the road a couple of years ago when my firm went out of business, and that got me thinking about this again, at which point I decided to go ahead.

Point #2 is that (judging from your post) it sounds like your husband is a doctor. What kind of hours is he putting in these days? My husband works on Wall Street (my old profession), but he's always had a bit more control over his schedule than I had, and he's been able to take up the slack with the kids when I couldn't be with them. That would probably be a lot tougher with an MD husband than a non-MD, so you have to consider that.

If we assume that you've dealt with the above issues, then we come to grades, etc. Yours seem fine, although they look right at the median for med school applicants. (BTW, your grad GPA doesn't really count. I wish it did--I have a 3.8 in mine too, and my undergrad could use a boost. But, sadly, this goes in a different bucket than undergrad, and med schools appear to give it very little consideration.)

However, if your med school prereqs are more than 3-5 years old, you'll probably have to take some additional upper-level undergrad science classes to give med schools some recent evidence of your academic ability. (I know that seems silly, considering your PhD, but I bet you'll run into resistance unless you do it. Med school admissions is fairly robotic in a lot of ways.) And of course you'll have to take the MCAT. (Don't underestimate what a killer this test is, and know that you'll need to score higher than the average applicant to offset the added skepticism you may face because of your age.)

In conclusion, I'd say that this is certainly not impossible, but you and your husband are really going to have to think this through and be 100% sure that the two of you can support each other and your child through this grueling process. If you're sure about that, then go ahead, and I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Tropicana]

Can a mom of a 3 month old still do it? I am fully aware of the discipline medical training requires, the cost it places on the family and the time it takes away from that family....yet, I feel that if I don't at least try to get in, I will always have that one regret in my life, probably the biggest regret ever!
Ok, so I didn't go to medical school right after college...I should have done it but I was here on a student visa, not a chance of getting into a med school as a foreigener (all of my education was completed in the USA, from undergrad to graduate)! All these years I just keep thinking how I missed my chance at doing something I truly love (medicine) and got stuck with the second best. Instead of MD, I got a PhD in Biochemistry , worked in research for 5 years and now I work for a company doing Clinical Quality Assurance. Yet, when my husband comes home and talks about medicine, I don't even care about my own day! I shadowed a surgeon a couple of years ago in a cancer center and although I never cosidered surgery, those few weeks were the best weeks ever. Going back to the lab after an early morning surgery felt like offering water to a person who's drowning.

So, to summarize....Any advice? Moms out there who went to medical school?

GPA info: undergrad 3.6, grad. 3.8. Out of the 3.6 GPA for UG, I think my science GPA is actually higher than that!

Skocica

I'm a 33 yo mom of a 3 month old and a soon to be 5 year old. Like you, I was on a student visa for undergrad and grad, took an alternative route (which I enjoy but could not get medicine out of my head), and only got around to applying last year. In some ways, life is much longer than we imagine it to be. 34 is not old, and yes, we will have to perfect our time mangement skills. but it is definitely better than living with a lifetime of regret. Go for it.

Tropicana

 

[alpha62]

I'll spend about 1/3 of my day today, cleaning up the work that didn't get done yesterday by a single mother in our office.

 

[skocica]

Hi Alpha62,
Not sure how to read your reply but if it makes it any better, I am not a single mother.

 

[menotyou7]

Go for it! Your life doesn't end when you have kids!

I'm in a situation similar to yours. I'm finishing my doctoral thesis in microbiology and immunology and I have a 7 month old son. I had complications during my pregnancy, and as a result, I have decided to return to medical school with the intent of going into obstetrics. I took the MCAT when my son was 5 months old and am now in the process of filling out secondary applications. Hopefully I will be admitted to my PhD school because I have a ton of family support where I am now, and I think that will be critical to have in the coming years. Even though I have a very clear first choice school, I went ahead and applied to 17 schools. I don't know if I will get in or not this cycle, but if I don't I will be re-applying next year. If you want to do this, you can. Don't live your life with regret. Go for it!

 

[alpha62]

Hi Alpha62,
Not sure how to read your reply but if it makes it any better, I am not a single mother.

That DOES make me feel better. thanks.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

That DOES make me feel better. thanks.

I am a single mother and because that particular woman doesn't know how to clean up after herself doesn't mean all single mothers are that way.

 

[Dr Crys]

I would deffinately go for it! You' re almost there already! Goodluck.

 

[alpha62]

I am a single mother and because that particular woman doesn't know how to clean up after herself doesn't mean all single mothers are that way.

this single mother thing is the worst thing that ever happened to this country. It's killing me in taxes, it's the reason our prisons are overflowing, it makes it very difficult to run a practice and I hope you'll be understanding when little Johnny's Pedi appt got canceled because his doctor couldn't find a baby sitter that day.

Everybody is a liberal until the free love hits them right in the face, then they become a victim. I'm still trying to figure out the difference between the two.

 

[Nasrudin]

this single mother thing is the worst thing that ever happened to this country. It's killing me in taxes, it's the reason our prisons are overflowing, it makes it very difficult to run a practice and I hope you'll be understanding when little Johnny's Pedi appt got canceled because his doctor couldn't find a baby sitter that day.

Everybody is a liberal until the free love hits them right in the face, then they become a victim. I'm still trying to figure out the difference between the twol.

Dude, you have have absolutely nothing to contribute to this thread. Why don't you pack up all that baggage your carrying around and leave these ladies alone.

Your comments are trite, bitter, and utterly inconsequential.

 

[alpha62]

Dude, you have have absolutely nothing to contribute to this thread. Why don't you pack up all that baggage your carrying around and leave these ladies alone.

Your comments are trite, bitter, and utterly inconsequential.

anybody that starts a sentence with the word " Dude " obviously has a poor understanding of the word " trite "

 

[Nasrudin]

anybody that starts a sentence with the word " Dude " obviously has a poor understanding of the word " trite "

Oh snap! I just got served.

Anyway carry on ladies. And good luck to you.

 

[alpha62]

Can't think of how many dual career parent's kids I've sent to drug rehab over the years.

But I know exactly how many Amish Kids I've sent there.... Zero.

At least one parent at home really works... with or without electricity.

 

[student1799]

Gee, every time the words "medicine" and "family" coincide in a thread started by a female, the trolls pop up.

Kind of like mushrooms after a rain. (Amanita phalloides, to be exact.)

 

[bluesfan]

I'm in a similar situation. I am 34 and a mother of a two kids - 4 year old and 22 month old. I have tried to put my desire to go to medical school to rest but could never seem to do it. I have a master's degree in public health and have been working in the field for 10 years but it just hasn't done it. I have decided after much thought though to apply to optometry school as opposed to medical school. I am in the application process and hope to get in for next fall. I still have times where I think maybe I should apply to medical school instead but I am concerned about the extra years spent in residency and the time I will lose away from my children's lives. In optometry there is no required residency to practice so that shortens the time I will need to be in schooling/training. If med school is your dream then I think you should go for it. You will always have some type of regret hanging over your head and you may never be truly fulfilled. Good luck and I wish you the best. Only you know what is the right decision for you.

 

[skocica]

Thanks everyone for your encouragement! My husband and I have decided that I really need to go for it (I also think he is tired of me dreaming, just wants me to go and do it!) I'll be preparing for the May 2009 MCAT date and we'll go from there.

 

[student1799]

Thanks everyone for your encouragement! My husband and I have decided that I really need to go for it (I also think he is tired of me dreaming, just wants me to go and do it!) I'll be preparing for the May 2009 MCAT date and we'll go from there.

Good luck! If you are determined and your husband is behind you, you can do it.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Good Luck to you I hope you score a perfect 45