Ok, so I am super curious and in need of some heavy duty, “there’s strength in numbers” type of dialogue here…
Who all is transitioning from the above mentioned professions into DO/MD???
How have you guys and gals managed to cope with everything on your plate; additionally what have others said about your drive and desire to become a doctor at this hour???
I have been at this for about a year and some change (by this I mean the pre-reqs to prep for MCAT) and I have noticed that I seem to be losing my fellow nursing support group and was wondering if this is a common thread or what?
Please chime in!
Cheers!
Julio,
I’m a firefighter/paramedic for a professional department in Atlanta. I’m in my last class of prereqs, organic II, and am preparing for the MCAT in April and applying in June.
As to how I’ve handled everything on my plate; it’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride. I’m fortunate in that I saved a whole lot of vacation time which I’ve been able to use when I needed to take these classes, but I work a 24/48 schedule with a job where there’s a lot of responsibility, and so it’s had its own challenges. I get to study some at work, which helps, but sometimes I’m up for 24 hours in a row, which doesn’t help! Kinda take the good with the bad, I guess. But hey, it’s good practice for those sleepless nights as a physician, right? Otherwise, I suppose my story isn’t that
atypical from other premeds. I’ve managed to make A’s in my prereqs, now if I can just pull a decent MCAT I’ll hopefully be o.k.!
As far as drive is concerned, I think anyone on this site who has given up so many other things (time, money, etc) to do this at our age has a lot of drive. I think that that speaks volumes about old premeds in general, you just don’t leave a successful career in your 30’s, 40’s, or 50’s to live your life like a college student again unless you really want it! Motivation? We got it!
One of the questions that always seems to come up for nontraditional students is; “Why medicine, why now?” The good news is for us NP, PA, nurse, EMT, paramedic folk is that, really, we’re trying to take it to the next level. There’s nothing wrong with coming from accounting, etc, but we’ve all had our hands dirty with patient care. It’s a bit easier to explain “why medicine, why now” if you’re already in an allied healthcare field. Will being in an allied healthcare field make up for lackluster GPA and MCAT, etc? No, all other things being equal it could very well swing the vote in your favor.
Last shift, I was the only medic (partner is an EMT) on the rescue for a patient with a mid shaft femur fracture. We had another patient that same day having an active stroke with profound left side weakness. Does being a paramedic mean I’ll be a better doctor than someone who didn’t come from another field; no, it doesn’t. But at least someone on an admissions committee would realize that we’ve had responsibility for patients in a high stress/ high stakes environment, and have been able to handle it well. That should count for something!
Don’t give into fear, uncertainty, and doubt (F.U.D.) It rears its ugly head once in a while, you gotta beat it back down!
Hope this helps,
Dan
Julio,
Your not alone. In fact I am glad I found this website. I have been sitting in Chem class with all young students ave. 18yrs old, wondering where are all the non-traditional students. At times I feel as though college (pre-med) is not designed with the adult learner in mind, mainly the hours and availability of classes offered. I have been both a paramedic and now currently work as an ER nurse. Making the decision to go premed was an easy decision but is proving to be a very challenging. I know the feeling of having a full plate, trying to juggle the demands of family, work and school and at the same time stay motivated. My best advice is surround yourself with other non-traditional med students if available at your college. Also look to other physicians, get a couple of really good mentors who are willing to teach or allow you to shadow them. Avoid negativity from other students who complain, it will only increase feelings of doubt and regret for persuing medicine. I think you will find a great deal of support on this website, the people are friendly and willing to assist anyone else. Just remember the path you journey is one that has been forged in the past, each of us has our own path we choose to take, but most often it has been done before and can it can be done. Soak in the wisdom and words of encouragement offered here, we are your peers,we consist of many different backgrounds and experiences to offer. I can not think of a greater support group offered. If you are looking for additional motivation click on the following link and click on video that states pump up video play 30 min prior to exam. I have downloaded it to my computer and when I start getting down, I play it and it helps to motivate me!
http://www.studylikeachampion.com/study-playlist.h…
Also I encourage anyone to watch the videos posted by Patch Adams MD at the following site, select the single interview and also the video at Mayo clinic:
http://www.patchadams.org/video-gallery
Best Wishes,
Matt
Dan & Matt; thank you so much for your input. I cant express enough how much I needed some words of encouragement. Ironically, its not the school work that’s getting to me its the long nights of isolation and not that many people to bounce thoughts off of, or interact with for that matter. It rings true that even in upper level science courses most of the students are under 25, so I can definitely relate to what you mean Matt.
I’ll do my best to find some sort of premed non-trad group on or off campus however I never imagined that it would be that difficulty to find. The only source of motivation and inspiration that I get is from reading posts from this site. If it wasn’t for this group of driven and determined peeps I admit it would be a lot more difficult.
Anywho, just want to chat with someone for a bit and see how the grass was in someone else yard for a change.
Also- these videos about Patch Adams are amazing! Thanks for the link!
Julio -
It’s really been varied as far as what other people have said about my decision to do medicine now, but I’d say my co-workers where I was teaching nursing were uniformly positive. When I did my formal post-bacc I did school full-time and there were other non-trads in my program but we really bonded as a class and I found my younger classmates very inclusive. It was a special situation - the program did some team-building activities initially and encouraged collaborative learning, we shared resources, and we were all suffering together so we often studied together and partied together too. That was lovely. During my glide year I was working as a nurse. My fellow nurses knew I was a CNM so I guess my running off to med school didn’t seem so much of a stretch 
I didn’t tell many of the doctors at first so I avoided some potential negativity. Most of them were mainly cautionary - thinking did I really want to subject myself to the rigors of medical /residency training (unspoken: at my age)? But some were quite encouraging or offered good suggestions.
I worried that I would lose support from my fellow nurses - and in a way you do, becuase your studies take you away from them. As I decreased and stopped working in nursing, I found myself somewhat set adrift from support. I think it’s a good idea to try to build other support.
You have to work to establish “colleagues” among your fellow medical students - regardless of age. I did a few things with my premed and med school fellow students. If there was an activity that could contribute to community, I made it a priority to be there (along with studying, of course).
It took a while but I have some nice friendships with my classmates now.
I also have some support from my church/ Christian friends. There are 11 people (church friends, former patients, colleagues) who independently told me they believed in what I was trying to do and offered to pray for me. I send out an “update” periodically to my family and friends in this group and tell them my progress and challenges and have continuing prayer support (and often encouraging emails/ phone calls). That has been invaluable. Regardless of your faith tradition, I feel all med students could benefit from people sending positive energy your way!
Kate
Thanks so much Kate, it’s encouraging to hear your uplifting story!
Julio,
I remember being where you are. It definitely is a big help just to talk to someone who understands what you are feeling, and we do. No, you are not crazy, and yes, it is possible. I started wanting to do this when I was a young mom/nurse with very small children, and I felt like I was becoming a split personality from holding all this craziness inside and not telling anyone about it. It meant a lot to me to finally talk to someone who understood and had some similar ambitions (even if we are crazy, at least I’m not alone). For various reasons, it took me many years to accomplish my dream, but I am now at 52 years old in my third year of osteopathic medical school, and very happy. It is hard to juggle everything, and you have to be careful not to burn yourself out, and you also have to push yourself hard enough. Unfortunately, many of your nursing friends will not understand (after all, you are leaving behind the profession that they are happy in), or it will become hard to find time to interact. For different reasons, you will find physicians, nurses, even some medical schools that will think you are misguided, and you have to just remember that they are the misguided ones because they don’t really know you and your full potential. Put their opinions aside, and push on. Best wishes to you!
Sincerely, Jeanybean
We have quite a few non-traditional students in my class so if this is what you want, stay the course. We have two Chiropractors, two PA’s, three PhD’s, an NP, a DPT, an ATC from the NFL, two PharmD’s, four RN’s, a JD, and six EMT/Paramedics in a class of 150. All are in the upper third of the class as well. It’s a tough road but definitely something you can do. Good Luck!