Good morning, everyone!
I’ve been perusing this site for over a year now and have finally decided to introduce myself. First of all, thank you to all who have shared great advice on this forum. It has helped and encouraged me so much in my hopes for a medical career someday.
Here’s a rundown of my story:
I’m currently a 33 year old associate voice professor at a local college in the Twin Cities. I also teach piano and voice lessons out of my home studio. While I’ve always enjoyed teaching (for the most part), I feel this other strong calling in my life, which seems to be the medical field. A couple years ago, I began my pursuit of a new career path by taking a summer biology class in hopes of beginning a nursing program in a few years. The more I began to research the nursing field and the medical field, I found myself drawn to the medical profession, but kept trying to fight the desire to go in that direction because of the time and money that med school and residency would require. I continued with my science classes, taking Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology I & II, and eventually last fall decided to take the plunge and begin pre-med classes. I took Cell & Molecular Bio and College Algebra & Trigonometry last fall, since the Chemistry classes were full by the time I made my decision and registered.
This spring I have taken a break from classes, because my husband and I found out we were expecting our first child! The issue that most concerns me about going this direction is that I will be starting a family while embarking on this path. Fortunately, our parents live within 30 minutes of us and are willing to help out with childcare. This is all well and good for finishing up prereqs, but once I apply to med schools, this good fortune could change if I don’t get accepted to the only school in our area, the U of Minnesota/Twin Cities.
Right now my undergrad GPA (w/o the post-bacc sciences) is a 3.43. My science gpa is a 4.0. (Grad school gpa is 3.8+, but that doesn’t count for much, I guess). I’m hoping to keep a high gpa in the sciences, in order to bring up what seems to be a mediocre UGPA (looking at MSAR stats).
I would love to have a mentor! Thank you so much to those of you who decided to try to get a mentorship program going here on OPM! In addition, I would be interested in hearing from any other new moms who are headed towards med school.
Once again, I appreciate all of you–you guys are great!
God bless,
Ericka
Congrats on your decision to pursue medicine and on your expected new arrival!
I am actually finishing up my Master’s in Music performance (vocal) after teaching at a K-8 school for 3 years.
It’s great to have a fellow vocalist in OPM!
You’ve got a pm.
Thanks RadarDenny! It’s reassuring to know that someone else on here will also have their master’s in another unrelated field before pursuing medicine. I don’t regret having the music background, though. I think it makes for an interesting story. . .
Best wishes in your journey!
Thanks! I sent one back.
Hi Erika! I too am a new mom and just now started pre-reqs for med school. My son is 8 months old and I am single. Yikes! I have been very worried as of late about how much time I will be spending away from my child. The mommy guilt is coming on strong. I don’t know about you but I have been thinking about PA school as well. Have you considered this? I go back and forth about it on a regular basis. I would love to chat with you more. I think trying to start a family and pursue a career as a doctor brings on it’s own set of problems to consider. Hope things go well for you. Good luck!
Bethani
Hi Bethani,
Nice to meet a fellow sojourner! Yes, I have thought about PA school as well as areas of advanced practice nursing. From what I’ve read and researched on the topic, I think I would prefer the educational model that PAs receive (medical model) as opposed to nursing school. However, I know that Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Anesthetists can have the autonomy that is similar to (but not the same as, lest I offend anyone) a doctor. So I do go back and forth between these various professions. I know that MD does not = Pa or an NP, for that matter. I very much respect all three professions, and I believe each has their pros and cons. And, of course, I want to make the best decision for my family as well in terms of time and money. Which direction are you leaning at the moment?