BA-PSYCHOLOGY WITH PREMED COURSES SPREAD OVER 14 YEARS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FINALLY ASKED TO GRADUATE IN 1980.
ASN NURSING - EXCELSIOR DISTANCE LEARNING 2002
HAVE CONSIDERED ADVANCE PRACTICE RN, (SUBSTITUTION IDEATION)
10,000 + HOURS IN EMERGENCY ROOMS AS EMT-P, VOLUNTEER IN MENTAL HEALTH, BOARD OF DIRECTOR WITH NAMI (NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL VOLUNTEER WORK.
HAVE CRYSTALLIZED MEMORY FOR BMCP (BIO, MATH, CHEM, PHYSICS)
AM I HAVING DISTORTED THOUGHT PERCEPTIONS? CAN ANYONE RELATE??
OLD HAWAIIAN GUY WORKING AS A REALTOR WITH OWN FIRM.
LOOKING AT CARRIBEAN MED SCHOOL - SABA UNIVERSITY
welcome Old Hawaiian guy! I don’t know if we have anyone over 55 here but it HAS been done. There was a woman in Tennessee who did her med school in the Caribbean - I’ll try to remember more about her story. The story I read about her was her establishing a practice and she was in her 60s.
By the way puh-leeze turn your caps off. In internet dialogue it’s considered shouting 
thanks!
Mary
I don’t know about 55, but I am 54 and just finishing my second year. And I know there have been some older than myself here at WVSOM, so I know it can be done.
Just remember . . . it is a marathon. Don’t try to push yourself too hard to get things done too quickly. Take your time and continue putting one foot in front of the other. Have confidence in yourself and know that you’re capable of succeeding, and, at the worst, if you never make it, at least you know you tried. There can be nothing worse than sitting in the future saying, what if?
Best of luck and keep us posted.
Hi there,
I am a 53-year-old woman who is finishing third year of General Surgery residency. One of my medical school classmates was 53 years old when he started medical school. He is finishing his residency this year in Family Medicine and will practice on a Native American reservation in South Dakota when he is done in June.
It can be done but you have to take an “energy Check” inventory on a regular basis. This process is long and has few guarantees at the end. I can tell you from personal experience, that I love my job and I can operate with the best of them. I try to keep in good physical condition and I have given up most of my vices (coffee, alcohol and chocolate). I did keep peanut butter but it is next to go.
Good luck!
Natalie 
Natalie- Do you know how your friend that started at 53 feels about his decision to go to medschool now that he is finished and ready to start practicing. Has he ever written anything for OPM about his experience?
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Natalie- Do you know how your friend that started at 53 feels about his decision to go to medschool now that he is finished and ready to start practicing. Has he ever written anything for OPM about his experience?
Hi there,
My classmate had not written for OPM. On our class listserve he seems to be doing well and happily anticipating getting on with his career. He had a National Public Health Scholarship.
Natalie
I read somewhere on the net that it is more difficult for an oldpremed Canadian to get into a Med program than an oldpremed American get into a US Med program. Is there any truth to this? Also how important is the volunteering aspect for our applications if we have been full time workers for so many years and raising families etc.?
Gina.
Welcome to OldPreMeds. I know there was recently a 60+ year old at UTSW who did quite well in his medical career. I don’t know, however, what happened after he finished. There are opportunities out there if you want them. Good luck.
Kathy
I applied last year and did very well in the US app process, very poorly in Canada (dual citizen). The Canadian system seems to be much more weighted towards applicants with lifelong A+ grades, working in the North, curing cancer, Olympic athletes, etc… It is a very, very competitive applicant pool. I was amazed at the calibre of people who were getting turned down for interviews (and I don’t think that’s just my personal bias 
).
I’m not that old I’m a younging (41) good luck with everything, Bill (Kathy’s the oldest in my school I think about 45 ±)
I frequently feel >55y/o post-call after no sleep!
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I frequently feel >55y/o post-call after no sleep!
Dave, forget that idea. Until you get closer to 55, you can’t possibly have any idea of how it feels! Now me, that’s another story . . . being 54 is getting really close to 55. And, face it, any of us over 30 feel really bad after no sleep combined with stress!
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And, face it, any of us over 30 feel really bad after no sleep combined with stress!
Truth be told, my colleagues who are NOT 30 look and feel like crap after a night on call as well. Obviously I didn’t go through a residency in my twenties so I don’t have a head-to-head comparison, but I can tell you that when I had little kids (which was my main job in my late 20s) and stayed up nights with sick kids, I felt just as crappy as I do now - but there IS a difference. As a young’un I recovered from those all-nighters better than I think I do now. I was full of bravado starting this intern year and hey, I’ve survived it with only five calls to go, but I do think it has taken a lot out of me. I wouldn’t change a thing, mind you, and overall I’m still exhilarated at doing it, but man am I tired.
Mary (feeling all 49 years)
I have only got 4 more calls in my PGY-2/CA-1 year!!! Of course, two of those are this Sunday & Tuesday - yup, that is q2 - before I leave for DC. Being as it is the dreaded “Bike Week” in New Hampshire - much like the migration to Sturgis, except it is to some small town in NH (brain fart - can’t recall the name)…so the traumas & drunks will roll in droves to our trauma center.
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I have only got 4 more calls in my PGY-2/CA-1 year!!! Of course, two of those are this Sunday & Tuesday - yup, that is q2 - before I leave for DC. Being as it is the dreaded “Bike Week” in New Hampshire - much like the migration to Sturgis, except it is to some small town in NH (brain fart - can’t recall the name)…so the traumas & drunks will roll in droves to our trauma center.
Hey hey hey, Laconia is a CITY thank you very much!
Motorcycle Week doesn’t actually start until NEXT week. It always ends on Father’s Day. I know all too well…
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Motorcycle Week doesn’t actually start until NEXT week. It always ends on Father’s Day. I know all too well…
Yup, next Sat is the official start, but the massive growth in motorcycle traumas started this Sat & will cont for another 2 to 3 weeks. Our ICU is already overflowing! Neurosurgery is all geared up & dreading this time. We’ve even increased on in-house & on-call personnel for the next month. After having my @$$ royally kicked last night on call - I can understand why. Hell, I was in a trauma when they announced another one in-bound & our 2nd chopper going out for another one. This is rural/backwoods NH & not inner-city anywhere. You are much more likely to be accosted by a bear or a moose than another human…it is truly a wonderful place!!! (I mean that in all seriousness)
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My classmate had not written for OPM. On our class listserve he seems to be doing well and happily anticipating getting on with his career. He had a National Public Health Scholarship.
Natalie
Hi Natalie,
Is this scholarship given out by the National Health Service Corps? I attended one of their presentations and they stated that they have an age limit of about 35. But maybe the scholarship is separate from NHSC membership???
This has been a great thread, and Natalie, you are a great inspiration. I just turned 40 this year, and I am finally thinking that this may be the year I get off my gluteous maximus and start working on my prereqs. But, while I am healthy, I certainly do not have the energy that most 25 y/o’s have. The genetic cards I have been dealt also mean that I will always be down around the bottom 10th percentile of physical strength. I have no illusions about going into surgery (I just don’t see that happening), but will I still be able to handle the MS3/MS4 years and, following that, the 3+ yr residency? Right now I take red-eye flights from West Coast to East Coast fairly often, and am usually bushed for the following day.
Sorry for the expression of self-doubt. But, there is a significant time cost just to taking the pre-reqs, and I just want to make sure I am getting into something that I can handle.
In re the question of National Health Service Corps–the 35 yo age limit is true for the military but I’ve never heard it for the NHSC and can find no mention of it on their website. I think this is a military-only thing. An age limit of 44 applies to the Public Health Service ( http://www.usphs.gov/html/faqs.html#requirement ) which is a quasi-military structure of health officers, of which the Surgeon General is the top officer; but not (as far as I can discover) the NHSC.
Best regards
Joe
I think Joe is right (oooh, bad pun!). My closest friend in med school, who’s even older than ME and that is old! had a NHSC scholarship.
Mary