Taking MCAT in mid-30s and starting a physician's career?

[Anonymous]

UT Austin's med school isn't even open yet. There's no way he could have gone to UT Austin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UT Austin's med school isn't even open yet. There's no way he could have gone to UT Austin.

Sorry, maybe it was Texas A&M or Texas Tech? I honestly don't remember. It was one of the premiere med schools in Texas.

[Anonymous]

Terrible idea unless you're loaded enough to pay for med school AND hire people to help you clean, shop, yard work. Residency is hell.

-- wife of a doctor with hundreds of thousands in debt

[Anonymous]

Your husband is willing to work part time to help out with the kids? Do one or both of you come from family money?

You will need to spend 4 years in med school, 3-5 years in residency and then fellowship if you want to be competitive. That is a minimum 7 year commitment and $200k.

I dated DH when he was a med student, got married when he was a resident and now we have 2 children. It takes a lot of time and dedication to excel. DH is in a high paid surgery specialty but many specialties don't pay that much (<$200k).

As others have suggested, I would suggest that you look into becoming a physician's assistant. School and training is a fraction of the time and you could work in the medical field. Pay is solid and you will always be high in demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Until you actually get in, I wouldn't spend any time at all asking for advice.

Once you get in, you have a choice. Then you can ponder the decision all you want. As it is now you are asking as if you have a choice - you don't.

I have to agree with this. I know many guys who wanted to become doctors but never got in. Or you may gain acceptance at only one school in the middle of Iowa. Once you get in, you should make a decision.

[Anonymous]

Unless you are independently wealthy forget it. Either way you'll be missing your kids growing up. Become an np and you can do much of the same things a dr can -- prescribe, see patients etc. most likely will be makingn around 100k but smaller debt load. Unless you're becoming a surgeon the money isn't there anymore. With Obama care the money's going to be even less in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another option is to do med school and then enlist in the military. My buddy did this and he said it's the best decision he ever made. He's a psychiatrist.

They paid for his med school, so he has zero student loans and I think he also got a monthly stipend while in med school (he went to UT Austin). You do 4 years residency and then 4 years of practicing medicine. After 8 years, your obligation to Uncle Sam is done you're free to go into private practice. He said his military residency was much easier and paid much more than a typical residency program at a private sector hospital. He usually worked 70 hours per week and made around $75K. He just finished residency and will start making low six figures next month. The raises in salary are fairly set standard as you accumulate years.

However, the best thing he said are the benefits. You get a housing allowance that's quite substantial. It's enough to cover his rent in a nice part of southern VA. Good free medical care at the VA for your family. A decent amount of paid leave and holidays. You're automatically in the officer class.

If you want to become a doctor without going ridiculously into debt, this is the way to go.

But you have to be willing to move where ever they chose to send you and typically involves at least one tour abroad. OP would have even less control over her location that going through the match.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you're becoming a surgeon the money isn't there anymore.

Completely agree. Unless you want to become a surgeon (and that is LOTS of $$$ and time), become a PA or an NP.

[Anonymous]

OP, there are two forums which can offer you specialized advice for your situation from people who have BTDT or are pondering a similar choice:

Older Premeds
Student Doctor Network (non-traditional student forum)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another option is to do med school and then enlist in the military. My buddy did this and he said it's the best decision he ever made. He's a psychiatrist.

They paid for his med school, so he has zero student loans and I think he also got a monthly stipend while in med school (he went to UT Austin). You do 4 years residency and then 4 years of practicing medicine. After 8 years, your obligation to Uncle Sam is done you're free to go into private practice. He said his military residency was much easier and paid much more than a typical residency program at a private sector hospital. He usually worked 70 hours per week and made around $75K. He just finished residency and will start making low six figures next month. The raises in salary are fairly set standard as you accumulate years.

However, the best thing he said are the benefits. You get a housing allowance that's quite substantial. It's enough to cover his rent in a nice part of southern VA. Good free medical care at the VA for your family. A decent amount of paid leave and holidays. You're automatically in the officer class.

If you want to become a doctor without going ridiculously into debt, this is the way to go.

This is not a family friendly option at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another option is to do med school and then enlist in the military. My buddy did this and he said it's the best decision he ever made. He's a psychiatrist.

They paid for his med school, so he has zero student loans and I think he also got a monthly stipend while in med school (he went to UT Austin). You do 4 years residency and then 4 years of practicing medicine. After 8 years, your obligation to Uncle Sam is done you're free to go into private practice. He said his military residency was much easier and paid much more than a typical residency program at a private sector hospital. He usually worked 70 hours per week and made around $75K. He just finished residency and will start making low six figures next month. The raises in salary are fairly set standard as you accumulate years.

However, the best thing he said are the benefits. You get a housing allowance that's quite substantial. It's enough to cover his rent in a nice part of southern VA. Good free medical care at the VA for your family. A decent amount of paid leave and holidays. You're automatically in the officer class.

If you want to become a doctor without going ridiculously into debt, this is the way to go.

This is not a family friendly option at all.

It all really depends on what type of medicine the OP wants to practice.
The wars are winding down and odds are strong that the OP will never actually see a combat theater, unless she's doing trauma/surgery. If she was posted abroad - and that's a big IF based on her specialty - it would most likely be on-base in Germany, Japan or elsewhere where soldiers are recovering. The military is very family friendly and family can accompany to almost every US base abroad (excluding Iraq and Afghanistan).

My friend never went abroad, considering he's a psychiatrist and deals with soldiers returning from battle. His specialty is PTSD research and care. He's spent the last 4 years at a VA hospital in Virginia and will be moving to Southern California to continue as a staff doctor. He has a wife and she will be moving too. The fact that OP's husband is a doctor gives them unlimited flexibility, IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But you have to be willing to move where ever they chose to send you and typically involves at least one tour abroad. OP would have even less control over her location that going through the match.

1. Not true anymore, unless she's doing trauma/surgery. And even then, the military is focused on recovery for our returning soldiers. She would most likely spend the next 8 years working at a VA hospital.
2. It all depends on her specialty.
3. Families can go pretty much anywhere to follow a military spouse, so long as it's not Iraq or Afghanistan. It also helps that her husband is a doctor - he can work anywhere in the world.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm sure you could do it, but it could be very, very hard on you and your family. One of my dear friends was an "older" med student; she was in her mid-twenties when she went to med school. She got married and had two kids along the way, but basically the entire family had to work around her schooling and career. They moved from this area for her residency (3 years), then moved again for a fellowship (2 years), then a third time for a job. Her husband did almost all of the child care since her schedule was so erratic, especially in med school and as a resident. He was able to freelance, but his career suffered terribly because of all the moving and essentially being a stay-at-home dad. I know your kids are older, but are you prepared to give up most of your family time? 36-hour shifts mean you might not see your family more than in passing for days at a time. And who pays for medical school, especially if your husband needs to go part-time to support your studies?

Having said all that, I admire you for trying to find a way to follow your dream later in life!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another option is to do med school and then enlist in the military. My buddy did this and he said it's the best decision he ever made. He's a psychiatrist.

They paid for his med school, so he has zero student loans and I think he also got a monthly stipend while in med school (he went to UT Austin). You do 4 years residency and then 4 years of practicing medicine. After 8 years, your obligation to Uncle Sam is done you're free to go into private practice. He said his military residency was much easier and paid much more than a typical residency program at a private sector hospital. He usually worked 70 hours per week and made around $75K. He just finished residency and will start making low six figures next month. The raises in salary are fairly set standard as you accumulate years.

However, the best thing he said are the benefits. You get a housing allowance that's quite substantial. It's enough to cover his rent in a nice part of southern VA. Good free medical care at the VA for your family. A decent amount of paid leave and holidays. You're automatically in the officer class.

If you want to become a doctor without going ridiculously into debt, this is the way to go.

But you have to be willing to move where ever they chose to send you and typically involves at least one tour abroad. OP would have even less control over her location that going through the match.

I would not recommend this option. I am a current spouse of a military doctor who is currently deployed. They can move you, deploy you and you have no say. The less specialized you are, the more places they can send you. DH is highly specialized so we thought he would only be stationed at major medical centers (San Diego, Portsmouth or Bethesda). We were wrong.

[Anonymous]

If you want to do it, then go for it. Go the student doctor forum and you will see people who started med school in their 40s and 50s.