I am 29, working in broadcast marketing with no college education or credits.
Most of my family has worked in medicine in one capacity or another. Now that I am getting older I am feeling like my passion might be shifting back to medicine instead of broadcasting…
My mother has been an OBGYN nurse for years, I had been in surgery many times when I was still in school. Doing something surgery or anesthesia related really interests me but I don’t really know where to start.
Due to my current obligations: I have a mortgage, car note, I’m married, etc… it almost seems like something I shouldn’t consider. I feel like I would have to sell my home, possibly move in with family, and drag my spouse around with me for the 10-15 year commitment, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans I would have to take out. I would likely be in my mid to late 40s when I finished which seems fairly late to me, especially to have to pay off all the debt I incurred. All that being said, I still feel incredibly strong about doing this. It seems from what I have read that med schools really don’t take any sort of online degree program?
Also, I wasn’t that strong of a student when I was in school. I do feel like I would work harder now than I would’ve if I did this years ago, but the thought of giving up everything I have now and possibly failing is pretty crippling. I have also considered PA, Nurse Anesthetist or an NP but I do still have the same concern for those as well. Part of me also feels like I would be settling on my dream.
Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
-Jacob
The good news is, that if you don’t have any formal college education yet that you still have to opportunity to get a stellar GPA!! It’s going to be a huge commitment and as far as I know an online degree isn’t going to get it. At the very least most (if not all of the prereqs) need to be in physical classes. I’ve always found that classes at any school have been a better value to me versus online, less busy work and a better learning environment overall. If you want to do it, it is attainable, it is going to be a lot of work though! Even if you finish when you are 40, thats still 25 years to work, and you’ll make enough money to handle the debt, people have done it before.
I’m new on my journey, but you got this!
Hi there,
Since you have a family and you have bills, do a part-time schedule to get the prereqs to a degree out of the way. Doesn’t have to be a science degree so focus on getting high grades in the four core classes: gen bio, gen chem, gen ochem, gen physics with labs for all four) and take the MCAT.
With limited time, try to volunteer once a week or twice a month to a specialty you like… maybe Planned Parenthood (I am interested in reproductive medicine, thinking to go the OB/GYN or Reproductive Endocrinologist route) or hospice. Each tutoring session can be 3 or so hours but still exposure with actual patient contact would be ideal.
Time will go by REGARDLESS, I feel with myself, I was so anxious that I came on taking more than I could chew. I was working 2-3 jobs while doing 18-23 units, volunteering at 3 or 4 places… it was too much. I went to a liberal arts college with no premedical advisor available so I was lost a lot. Only now I realize I wasn’t mentally prepared due to physical and emotional exhaustion of balancing out school, work, volunteering and having savings enough to actually apply to take MCAT. I moved back home and though I do not have children, my little sister and I are 16 years apart and on paper my mother looks to be the caretaker when in reality I am the 2nd parent. My mom feeds her and scolds her, pretty much she is reliving my own upbringing, there is no guidance to take her out or help with homework.