Medical School as Second Career

[Anonymous]

You’d be 62 and in debt after residency and looking for your first job after probably moving for your residency to who knows where. You will not have as much energy as you do now. All your peers will be retiring and will hopefully have financial and personal freedom you won’t have.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. Amd 62 is the fastest timeline possible.

[Anonymous]

No way. My spouse is a doctor and many many doctors are unhappy right now. You’ll rack up a ton of debt and be EXHAUSTED. Residency is grueling for 20 year olds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way. My spouse is a doctor and many many doctors are unhappy right now. You’ll rack up a ton of debt and be EXHAUSTED. Residency is grueling for 20 year olds

Not to mention the debt, the moves for med school and residency, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to work in an ER look into being an emergency nurse practitioner instead.

Thank you. I've learned in life that I am pretty calm under stressful situations, and, while I suspect a lot of ED work is slow and boring, I would love to help people in emergency medical situations.

ED work is s lot if things, but it isn’t slow or boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to work in an ER look into being an emergency nurse practitioner instead.

Thank you. I've learned in life that I am pretty calm under stressful situations, and, while I suspect a lot of ED work is slow and boring, I would love to help people in emergency medical situations.

ED work is s lot if things, but it isn’t slow or boring.

Agree, most bigger EDs have way more patients than they can handle (even before Covid). Maybe staffing an urgent care in a sleepy area is slow but not a big hospital ED.

[Anonymous]

53 might be pushing it -but if you have the money to do it - go for it.

My mom started med school at age 36 - 8 years of that and intern/residency. She worked for an HMO for three years to pay for our college and then got a subspecialty. Opened her own practice at age 50. She just closed it this month at the age of 80 - and only because COVID was making it hard to pay for rent/malpractice and she was ...80. She still plans to work on a volunteer basis.

I know for her it was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream and something that made her amazingly happy and proud. She's having a hard time letting go

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Not at 53, sorry. I started the transition at 26 and had to do a year of pre reqs and take the mcat. I was accepted into Med school at 28 and will graduate when I’m 32. I’m looking at 5-6 years of residency/ fellowship so I’ll be 36-38 when I’m an attending. This just shows you how long the process is. PA is better option.

[Anonymous]

How about EMT?

[Anonymous]

I work in a hospital with a lot of doctors and the vast majority of non-surgeons are feeling overworked and underpaid. They never are able to work their regular clinic hours and be done - they are catching up with documentation, following on labs, etc in the evenings/weekends.

If you want to do emergency med, go be an EMT/Parademic. That is where a lot of the excitement is. The ED is tedious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about EMT?

Op should go for paramedic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it feasible to make a switch to become a doctor? I’d have to take the pre - medicine requirements, which would take at least a year, before taking the MCAT.

I’m in good health and still have a lot of energy. Is it feasible? I initially would like to work in emergency medicine or stay flexible and see if I like another field while in school.

I meant to add I’m 53.

Good one! Sure go for it!

[Anonymous]

I know a couple of people who did it in their 40s as second careers and a very happy. But mid-fifties seems a bit too late. But only you know what you are capable of.

[Anonymous]

Go for paramedic (not EMT), nurse, NP, or PA over MD. You don't even know how you would respond if you were the one making the life and death decisions vs just being in the situation. I'm very calm in stressful situations. It works great as my job as an RN. I would never be able to handle being the doctor in some of the situations I'm in. It's a different ball game.

Also, age discrimination is real in the ED. A 60 something year old with no medical experience is very unlikely to be hired into an ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to work in an ER look into being an emergency nurse practitioner instead.

Thank you. I've learned in life that I am pretty calm under stressful situations, and, while I suspect a lot of ED work is slow and boring, I would love to help people in emergency medical situations.

ED work is s lot if things, but it isn’t slow or boring.

I should have stated it as, I know it isn't always exciting or like a TV show. I know it is very busy!