I am a 35 year old father of 4 who works offshore in the oil industry. I have dreamed of being a doctor since high school. Life has thrown me some twists. Now I’ve made up my mind to fulfill my dreams. If all works out, at the age of 43 I will be an RN with a BS in biochemistry appling for med school. That will put me at 47 years old entering residence. If I choose family medicine I will be on my own at 50. I am just nervous that I am dreaming too large and that those ages are too old. I would like to see some cases where people entered the stages about the same ages as I mentioned.
Check out some of the diaries and forums and you’ll see there are quite a few who started this journey well into our 40s. From the stories I’ve read here, it seems many of us went through a period where we questioned our sanity, and then later came to the realization that our age was an asset, not a liability. I entered med school at 43, finished family med residency at 50, went into private practice that year. After some soul searching I realized I loved teaching medicine as much as practicing it, and returned to my alma mater to combine the two. Age is irrelevant when you’re doing what you love. Welcome to “the ride” and keep us posted on your progress!
Thank you very much for the encouragement. Teaching and practicing is actually what I had in mind.
Shane -
My situation is a bit different as I’ve been working as a nurse and nurse-practitioner during my working life, so the years that the admission committees were looking at were full of related experience…but still - started med school at 53, looking at starting residency at 57 and being 60 when I get out (of family med residency).
…I mostly try not to think about it 
Actually, working on getting as fit as possible and hoping to be able to practice 20 years.
Kate
Thanks for the encouagement. It is making my decision a lot easier.