This site has been so helpful! I’ve been trying to decide how to go about a career change to medicine… considering nurse practitioner or doctor. I turn 40 in 2 weeks and thought going for doctor was a crazy idea… and maybe it is. I have finally decided to be as crazy as the rest of you. Hopefully, I’ll be as successful too.
The most difficult part of this decision is the impact on my daughter. I am single and 6 months ago I adopted my daughter from Nepal. She is a great 4 year old kid and has adjusted well to life in the USA. I still worry that going for med school/residency is unfair to her. I’m just going to take it one day at a time and try to make good decisions.
I also have some hurdles. My undergrad GPA was a 2.83 and science was worse… I took engineering classes for a while and hated them… but liked the pure science…biology, chemistry, physics… I also have an MBA with a 3.45 which I hope helps… and I was in the Peace Corps 15 years ago. Recently, I sold my business and want to use the $$$ to invest in med school. I figure if I go and do a difficult post-bac premed program (maybe Bryn Mawr or Goucher?), I’ll be able to improve my chances of getting in somewhere. I am a much better student now than 20 years ago. I’ve started taking Microbiology at community college (a Nurse Practitioner pre-req) and am shooting for 100% grade and so far thats what I’ve got.
Last weekend my cousin helped me make my decision when he said " I know you, you aren’t a half way person. If you go for Nurse Practitioner, you’ll still end up in med school". He’s right. I would always consider it the one thing I’ve always wanted to do, but didn’t. Otherwise I’ve lived a charmed life and have been able to accomplish everything that mattered to me.
This group is so encouraging. It may take me 10 years to complete residency but I want it! Any other single moms out there? What do you think? Should I rethink this decision? Any insite on post-bacc programs? I am working on my apps now.
Thanks for reading and I hope to have more to share in the future.
Hi there,
First of all, welcome to OPM. It is good to have you and your insight. There are plenty of single mothers on the list that can share their experiences with you. I am not one of them. I have beagles but no kids that I have given birth to.
One thing that you may want to consider is the “look” that you might give you child. It is the one that says, “If I didn’t have you, I would have been a physician.” I have seen plenty of folks that laid that on their kid (s). The truth of the matter is that you and you child are going to be the happiest fulfilling your (yours and theirs) dreams. Kids know the differerence between quantity of love and attention and quality of love and attention. The Dean of my medical school went through residency first OB-GYN and then pathology as a single mother. Her daughter is very well-adjusted and very proud of her mother.
One of my classmates had two sons who were 8 and 9 when she started medical school. She was on Air Force scholarship in addition to being a medical student. Sometimes both boys were sitting in class with us. We adopted them and loved spending time with them. If Mom needed to spend some time dissecting in the Gross Anatomy lab, Gordon and Lawrence spent some time with one or a group of us who were doing Biochemistry or grabbing lunch. We all pitched in to help her and her sons are great guys. They ended up with 70 surrogate fathers who did all sorts of things with them including basketball, young Marines etc.
While you won’t have an “Ozzie and Harriet” family situation or even an “Ozzie Osbourne” family situation, if you go to medical school and attempt to raise a child as a single mother but you have already opted out of the sitcom model. Your child will be your impetus to do well in school. She will adjust better to your situation than you will. There are plenty of female firemen, policemen, airline pilots, soldiers, nurses, RTs, professors etc. that have all pursued their careers with children. You just have to do some advanced planning and give up the notion that children are better adjusted with Mom is around 24/7. In about six to seven years, when she has her own friends and her own social life, she will not want you around as much so consider this practice for the times when she hits adolesence and starts to try out her wings.
Enjoy your journey and post to let us know how you are doing!
Natalie 
Just wanted to say a quick hello and welcome. Also good luck and just try, im sure you will do great.