Hello All - My name is Tricia and I have been sober… no, no, no. That’s not right. Although I do feel that these kind of introductions are sort of like AA meetings - not that I’ve been to one, of course. 
So let’s start over. My name is Tricia. I’m 32, a mother of 2, and an Associates prepared registered nurse currently working in a pediatric emergency department. I have been contemplating becoming a physician since I was… oh about 6. Of course, “college - the first time around™” didn’t go exactly as planned, and two more schools later (and 9 years of growth and maturity), I came out with an AAS in Nursing.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and feel completely rewarded with what I do - but I just know my goals are not complete without that MD title behind my name.
I’m currently weighing the option of attempting to return to school - I am sure I will have more prereqs to complete and will probably need to boost the old nursing GPA up from a 3.55, then, not to mention, prepare for the old MCAT! So I’m sure that I am looking toward at least 2 years of undergrad course work before I can sit for the MCAT. I need to get with the advisor at the local university to figure this part out (and soon!).
But, I’m stuck at a crossroad, so to speak. I have two young children and a very supportive husband. We have a nice home, as well. The closest medical school to where we live is 2 hours east, in New Orleans, if I am accepted there, that is. I have so many fears with wanting to achieve this goal. Can my husband, children and I all survive the sacrifice of 4 years of school plus residency? (I’m realistic - I know it’s not just my sacrifice. It’s their’s too.) Do we sell our home here at the start of med school or should I commute/live in campus housing? I am so fearful that my family dynamics will be in chaos and I will wind up with regrets for going back to school and forsaking them.
I know that I am jumping WAY ahead of myself - I feel as though I need to formulate a long-term plan in order to get myself in gear! Any insights will be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
Tricia
If this makes you to feel any better - I go through same thought process with very similar geological restrictions, family concerns - you are 10 years younger than me, a plus for you! I have waited for 3 years to collect the strength to tell my husband, who by the way has already moved twice over the Atlantic Ocean because of my post doctoral studies and work, that I need to go back to school since I want to do something more meaningful than bench science, and hopefully retire from a 6-figure salary which seems outside my reach with my current degree…
Hi Trish!
You and I are in the same boat :)I always wanted to be a physician but life got in the way. I am 31 y/o with 2 young kids (8 and 2) and I am an RN with an ASN. I am going back to school now to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Biology (it will take my nursing pre-reqs as electives as opposed to a Bachelor of Science in Bio which doesn’t take thos hard earned classes!)The BA also requires all of the pre-med pre-reqs for graduation. It’s a lot, I dropped down to 2 nights a week at my J-O-B and aside from my husband and a few close friends, I have not told anyone what I am doing (definitely not nurses I work with, they’d never let me hear the end of it!) Anyway, I plan on applying for the 2013 admission year (the same year that my husband retires from the Air Force) and we will move where I am accepted. Some things that I have considered are… I am on call and work INSANE hours while working FT at my job, getting called in at 3am is not the least bit uncommon, and working so much extra call I was on 6 days a week, still not uncommon… not too different from residency. I work holidays… (you don’t in school) I work weekends… (in school you study on weekends)I work nights… still not to different right? I figure if my family can handle my crazy hours as a nurse with a husband who is deployed A LOT, than, they can handle crazy hours with me in school and a Daddy who is retired from the military and home more, maybe I’m just trying to see the bright side, and everything is a sacrifice, but ultimately, you pick your poison. Good luck to you, I’d love to keep in touch
I am still going back and forth on whether or not I want to sacrifice my motherly duties to go back to school for so long. I keep asking myself if I will be satisfied with becoming a nurse practitioner in my area of interest, or if the only thing that will make me completely happy is becoming a physician. I have a strong feeling that I will carry many, many regrets if I forsake my childrens’ childhoods, even though I know what I will be doing will only go to benefit them in the long run, once all the loans are paid off, that is 
I can complete my Master’s degree in nursing in less than half the time it will take me to finish prereqs, medical school and residency - not to mention any fellowship I may become interested in. I am skeptical, though, that I can do exactly what I want with an NP license. My goal as I see it now is to be a pediatric hospitalist and/or pediatric emergency practitioner.
I’ve got a few things to sort out, but I hope to have an answer to my dilemma soon!!