A Little Camaraderie

I know that I am not old at 27, however my premed journey really has just started. I just have my AA and I am in first semester as a Junior in Bio-medical Sciences. I am getting a late start because I married a soldier at 20 and spent 5 1/2 years as an Army wife “holding down the fort” while my husband deployed repeatedly. The thing is, I have always dreamed of becoming a Dr. but it always sounded like such a long journey when I was younger. Now that I am a little older I am realizing how fast time really flies. I am afraid that my choice to pursue a medical career will interfere with plans my husband I have to start a family in a few years or will prevent him from accomplishing his career goals. Right now he is very supportive, however he is currently in school as well; perhaps it could pose a greater issue in a couple of years. I suppose I am just looking for a little camaraderie from other non-conventional premed students, and I am open to any tips that have helped to cope with the stress along the way.


Also, out of curiosity… What are some of the undergraduate majors you have chosen? I sometimes wonder if Bio-Med was the right choice even though I truly love science.


Thanks for your input!


Felicia

HI Felicia! Welcome! I am new around here also, however I was not born last night so I will share with you my opinion for what it’s worth! If your goal, passion, dream is to become a physician do not allow it to become contingent upon someone else’s goals. I am married also, and I love my wife tremendously so I understand the whole institution of marriage. It should serve as a support and not a deterrent for your goals. I say start ASAP and work through any problems as they come. Remember, this is not an overnight process and changes happen slowly for the most part. Slow enough to tailor your life to fit your goal. Don’t waste time fearing “what ifs”. I have learned that “what ifs” is an imaginary enemy that causes procrastination. If you need some inspiration, you have come to the right place! P.S. Read the diaries! They are awesome.

I am working on my pre-meds and have two Bachelor degrees and a graduate degree. My first degree was in Human Development. I have a post-bacc elementary education certification; then went to grad school. Went back for 2nd Bachelor, BSN and am now an ER nurse because 1) parents drove me crazy and 2) I always sensed when the kiddos were sick and realized my passion was still in medicine (had that at 15 y.o. but life wasn’t as easy as 1-2-3).


I was going to do my pre-meds afterwards but really wanted to make certain I liked medicine so I got my BSN through a tough nursing school. I am an ER nurse and want to be an ER doc.


If you’re uncertain, perhaps getting your BSN or working in a hospital as a pt transporter or tech in an ER will give you exposure to medicine and knowledge if you want to vest that kind of time into biology, etc. If you’re certain, then go for it

Felicia, I have to echo DETDR and Leuschner4. If you really want this to happen, make it happen and start making it happen…like yesterday!


We’re really close in age, in fact I’m a year older than you. I’ve managed to stay unmarried, though I’ve been with the same girl for 2 years now and sometimes it really feels like a marriage. I consult her thoughts regarding my decisions, of course actually being married poses a different sort of challenge. Nevertheless, if your husband supports your decision and this desire has the sort of fervency that this sort of decision requires in order for you to see it through to completion, than JUST DO IT! Yesterday, I was out shopping at a Nike store at an outlet mall. I snagged a T-shirt with that famous slogan printed in huge, bold letters on the front. Nike has been around for so long that we discount that tagline, but it represents a disposition that if adopted will help tremendously in getting us started, sustaining us, and then helping us see it through to the end.

Women have babies in their 30’s (me). Things will happen just as they should. Don’t ever put your dreams on a shelf. Tomorrow isn’t promised.

Welcome Felicia!


I am also very close to your age (28) and I totally understand your fears when it comes to starting a family!! I am a little more than half way through my pre recs and I hope to apply next cycle. My fiance and I will be married this coming October and we both want kids in the next few years (I am not worried about hitting that 30 mark before we start too much) but I do wonder what it will be like to be a first time mom hopefully in med school…I am a little scared that I wont be a good enough mother.





However there are lots of mothers with smallish children on this site and even though they seem super human to me when I read their stories I have my fingers crossed that I could pull that person out of me when the time comes.


I think the thought of children when you don’t have them yet is always a little frightening anyway. (as the saying goes they don’t come with a manual)


I agree with the people who say go for it!!! Time does fly and we only have this one life so it seems like a good idea not to let these dreams eat away at you while you hope they will fade. (I hold on to the idea that by doing this I will hopefully be building the groundwork for a good life for my future kids with a mother who may work a lot but who does something she loves and is a meaningful part of the community)


I suspect others will be able to offer you better advice but I just wanted you to know that you aren’t alone in your fears : )


Mallory


P.S I was an under grad theatre major but If you love the classes you are taking I’d say stick with the major you have. I think lots of the traditional undergrads are encouraged to have non science majors or minors to give them some outside life experience. In theory as a non trad with some life under your belt you have that. (Im no expert though so other members might have a better outlook on that)

Which major you should take can be answered by the following question: What field of study do you love? Only slightly secondary to that is the caveat: (that you can get a good GPA while taking)? All the passion in the world for underwater basket weaving won’t get you into med school if you aren’t getting mostly As in your classes.


Leuschner4 brings up a good point: get some exposure to the ‘real world’ of medicine. Going into nursing may be a bit extreme but definitely get out there and learn what it is like through medical volunteering and/or doctor shadowing. Adcoms are going to expect some sort of exposure to make sure you didn’t just grow up watching too much ER, House and Grey’s Anatomy and have a real understanding of what the field you are entering looks like. You definitely don’t have to actually practice any medicine, but make sure you spend some quality time around people who do.