Am I crazy to want to become a doctor?

[Anonymous]

I did it with young kids, and I cried every day. My kids will tell you I was essentially gone for seven years. I had a very supportive spouse who operated as almost a single parent.

Don't do it. Look into becoming a PA.

[Anonymous]

Recent med school grad now attending physician. It's doable at your age and I know people who were older in my medical school but it requires an enormous sacrifice of time, money and many other things that just doesn't make it worth it for 99% of people at your age. For money, are you prepared to incur large amounts of debt? Average debt from medical school according to AAMC was 183,000 and 200,000 for private and that number is going up so when you graduate it will be higher. After that, you must do anywhere from 3-7 years of residency and possibly fellowship, all the while your loans are accruing interest. Trust me, monthly interest of 1500 isn't fun. Long hours, decreased reimbursements, DC being one of lowest paying markets in country all make the decision one in which is not recommend medical school. I think PA is a better alternative as suggested. Having said all that, if it's truly a passion and you have a burning desire to do it, all of the sacrifices will be worth it. Good luck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should clarify that I have a career that I LOVE. That has been my calling and is part of who I am. I don't think I am unfulfilled in that career. Medicine is something I've always been told I would be good at, but I wasn't interested. But in the past couple of months, I've started wishing I had medical training, I wish I could be a doctor.

OP, if you have a career that you love and leaves you fulfilled, what is it about being a doctor that's so appealing? Just curious why you would leave a situation that works well for you to become a doctor mid-career.

[Anonymous]

PA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should clarify that I have a career that I LOVE. That has been my calling and is part of who I am. I don't think I am unfulfilled in that career. Medicine is something I've always been told I would be good at, but I wasn't interested. But in the past couple of months, I've started wishing I had medical training, I wish I could be a doctor.

OP, if you have a career that you love and leaves you fulfilled, what is it about being a doctor that's so appealing? Just curious why you would leave a situation that works well for you to become a doctor mid-career.

I don't know. It's like a second calling as I've matured. A part of me that has woken up. But I don't think we're in a place to make the financial or time investment that seems needed, and I will look into the other options mentioned.

[Anonymous]

OP again, I think part of it is that I come from a very large family with varying degrees of economic stability and education and resources. I see how much even the slightest illness becomes a source of struggle for some of my family members. They are constantly concerned about the expenses associated with medical care as well as the tendency to over-treat or over-prescribe. Many of them were not born and raised in this country and are uncomfortable getting adequate care in a timely manner. Small issues explode into larger ones. I see them and I see people like them, and I know that someone with medical training could immediately make a difference in their lives, someone they trust, someone who can help guide them and make them comfortable getting care and making good, knowledgeable decisions.

[Anonymous]

So you want to disrupt your life and the life of your children AND incur HUGE financial debt so you can help family members make better medical decisions!?!?!

[Anonymous]

PP here (physician). How far along in the application process are you? Do you have the pre-reqs (2 semesters of inorganic Chem with lab, 2 semesters of organic Chem with lab, 2 semesters of physics with lab, etc)? Do you have medical experience (shadowing)? If not, that alone could take a few years to obtain. Going to a post-bacc program might be necessary which costs more time and money. If you have a huge amount of money and if your family could afford to live without your salary for 7-10 years (remember even after medical school, residents still only make around 50-60k a year for on average 60-70 HR work weeks), then go for it. I guess I haven't heard enough about your situation (financially) to make a full judgment but if you're like 99% of people in this country whose families can't survive for no to little salary for 7-10 years and instead, incur 200,000+ debt, then I don't think your reasons for becoming a doctor are strong enough or worth it. Sorry to sound harsh

[Anonymous]

There's really no such financial aid like college. It's not nearly as prevalent as college. It's loans (government or private) and that's it.

[Anonymous]

Don't do it OP. It's a HUGE sacrifice. The physical, emotional, and financial drain isn't worth it. Medical school is really suited for young, energetic, single, idealistic people.

If you feel the strong pull towards medicine go PA or NP route. Shorter training, better hours and good ( in some cases better hourly) pay.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you want to disrupt your life and the life of your children AND incur HUGE financial debt so you can help family members make better medical decisions!?!?!

You can prescribe and treat patients as a PA or NP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, I think part of it is that I come from a very large family with varying degrees of economic stability and education and resources. I see how much even the slightest illness becomes a source of struggle for some of my family members. They are constantly concerned about the expenses associated with medical care as well as the tendency to over-treat or over-prescribe. Many of them were not born and raised in this country and are uncomfortable getting adequate care in a timely manner. Small issues explode into larger ones. I see them and I see people like them, and I know that someone with medical training could immediately make a difference in their lives, someone they trust, someone who can help guide them and make them comfortable getting care and making good, knowledgeable decisions.

this is so ridiculous. they need to find a good doctor but you being that doctors is such a far-fetched scenario. you are much more useful to them by having a job, making money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you want to disrupt your life and the life of your children AND incur HUGE financial debt so you can help family members make better medical decisions!?!?!

+1
Total insanity.

[Anonymous]

i would think you would find it difficulty to find medical schools willing to both take you and provide aid, even if your credentials are aces. a friend of mine actually tried to do this at about your age and was consistently discouraged by everyone she talked to - solely because of her age. medical school and subsequent training takes A LONG TIME. by the time she was done with training, most people would be looking at only another 10-15 years before they RETIRE, was the usual line. anyway, i don't think she pushed back very hard. she went as far as taking the mcat (blew the top off) and making sure she had all the prereqs but no one would offer her any financial aid. she didn't have any kids, either.

that said, i'm not sure how committed and persistent she was. if you wanted to do it, i'm not sure why it wouldn't be possible.

fwiw, my friend decided she would be happy as long as she was helping take care of people - she's now an RN. Another friend became a PA in her 30s. My impression is that there is a real shortage of great people in both of those careers, especially in some parts of the country.

[Anonymous]

My friend recently became a nurse anesthesiologist. She was 30 and unmarried when she decided to go that route. Now she is 36, married with a baby and makes almost 200k per year as a nurse anesthesiologist. She works long shifts but seems to be able to switch off with her husband to spend time with her baby. She works a lot of weekends and then gets lke 3 weekday off I think.