just wanted to give an update. I started posting here when I was about to start nursing school. i now have one semester to finish my BSN yeh!!!time flies and I can’t believe it myself. My grades so far all A’s and B’s. I am happy! I have one semester to graduate.
I still have the strong feeling to go into medicine. however in the past month I have been doing a little debate. Now that I am 34, another thought has been telling me that may be just do nurse anesthetic, it is a 2-3 yr program and have your life back than to continue with school, pre med pre requisites and Mcat 2-3 yrs, Med school 4 yrs, residency 4. It has been a tough to think about these yrs and adding them to my age. However I still strongly feel that Medicine is what I want. just sharing a little dilemma in my thoughts and advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
- chiongo Said:
I still have the strong feeling to go into medicine. however in the past month I have been doing a little debate. Now that I am 34, another thought has been telling me that may be just do nurse anesthetic, it is a 2-3 yr program and have your life back than to continue with school, pre med pre requisites and Mcat 2-3 yrs, Med school 4 yrs, residency 4. It has been a tough to think about these yrs and adding them to my age. However I still strongly feel that Medicine is what I want. just sharing a little dilemma in my thoughts and advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
You Can Have Anything You Want, but You Can't Have Everything You Want
Peter McWilliams, LIFE 101
It is not the age itself that matters as you'll get older no matter what. It is what you want out of your life all those years that should be the factor. Evaluate where you want to be with your significant other, children, house, finances, etc. Becoming a doctor is a very long haul and will have an impact on all of that. Obviously it can be done and the many, many successes on OPM will show.
This is one of the many reasons I strongly urge people to take time and understand the process and the implications. With your time in nursing school you probably have a good understanding of what would lie ahead in becoming a physician. But you have created yourself the opportunity to choose what you want and what will fit best.
Whatever you decide, keep us up to date as I want to get more people in midlevels (PA, NP, CRNA) to be on these forums. They are viable choices for older and nontraditional students and should be discussed and considered
This brings up an interesting point - one of the DO doctors I shadowed (who seems to assume I’m younger than I am) suggested that I also apply to PA or nursing school, in case I don’t get in this cycle.
Is that common advice? Are there many OPMer’s going that route while they improve their stats?
Thanks for the responses. Actually I have been contacting graduate schools for CRNA and to be honest as of now it sounds good. I have a good GPA and the two schools I have contacted they just want me to do one year of critical care. Off course it is not about the money but being a CRNA one makes a decent salary as well. In addition to that, programs range from 28 months to 36 months.Which is not bad at all and does not sacrifice my entire family alot, with school forever. I am still weighing the options since time is all in my hands and I loose nothing to learn more.
NP is as good as a Primary Care physician. If your aim is (or was) to become a primary care, why not NP? An extra 2-3 years (where you may be able to get some organization to pay for it) will get you there
Pixie,
There are many people out there who will suggest the nursing/PA route to you, and for many people it is a great alternative. I think that most of those who suggest it just want us not to be so focused on one alternative (medical school), that we ignore other options. There are a few on admissions committees, etc., that use the alternative reasoning as an excuse for turning us down. You will have to decide for yourself if it is a good option for you. I know some nurse anesthetists and PAs who make quite a bit more than I will be making when I finish med school and residency. They also are very respected and have quite a bit of autonomy. It is good for all of us to research our alternatives thoroughly, and to decide what path will be the best fit for what we want out of life. Then, no matter what we choose, we will be sure that we have made the best choice. After researching the alternatives thoroughly, it is also a good idea to have a ready response to those questions when they come up in med school interviews, etc., because they will. Good luck to all of you out there.
Sincerely,
Jeanybean
Congrats on your BSN! Just wanted to let you know that I have been a CRNA for 10 years and it is a very rewarding career. But, my original goal was medical school and being a CRNA did not take that desire for a med school education away. I highly recommend getting critical care experience no matter what you do. If getting into med school is really what you want, please don’t compromise your goals. Just my thoughts.
Thanks you all for reading and responding to my topic I really appreciate it. @ ORRMK it is very interesting to read from you a CRNA with experience.I just felt like I read from one of the people I could have loved to hear from. If you don’t mind sharing here what has been your experience like working as a CRNA? What about your desire to be MD? Are you in Med school now or done or on the way. Just very curious to hear more from you.
@Jeany bean Thanks for your advice.I will make sure I do a good research and do the best I want to do. I really want to be an MD but when i add up yrs and think that I will finish residency at 47 or so its not an easy thought at all. Its like saying I will never have a life. I appreciate your input.
@lisaray Thanks for your input I will make sure a research well becuase I have the time and have been thinking about this for a long time in my life.
I am an NP student. It was actually my first clinical rotation that converted me from “I used to vaguely consider medical school” to “this is what I have to do.”
Financially, time-wise, etc. it is not the “best” option (especially as I plan to enter Family Medicine). But getting a taste of the breadth and depth of physician knowledge and experience (by being mentored by them) made it crystal clear what I wanted to do, and that is to become a DO.
Regardless on what the OP chooses, congratulations on nearing the end of your BSN program. I actually love being an RN and have great respect for my profession. While not the best way to go for those who know they want to be pre-med, it certainly is a great way to get right into medical care and get intimately acquainted with all aspects of what patient care involves.
Thanks for the responses. Actually by being in nursing school I feel it increases my desire for medical school everyday.
Last weekend Something happened. We visited a friend who went into medical school at 38. It was very dissaponting to hear his side of the story. He explained more about the risk of making such a decision which takes a long time. He touched areas like finances, how his 30% has to go to the government in taxes and how he does not get any tax break on his tuition cost from medical school yet people who invest in bussiness get a tax break and while he has invested in himself he is not recognized. He also said about how he looses benefits of his kids going into great schools and how they do not qualify for many scholarships because of his tax returns and he has to pay all that. He sounded like saying people who make 60 000 a yr are much better than him.
He also explained about the psychological torture of going through exams and residencies and how he came across one doctor who wrote a bad report for him in one rotation because he was angry. He survived after going through the commitees.
He also explained about the increase in divorce rates, for a decision to go to medical school since it strains the entire family for a long time.
It was very interesting to hear from a real doctors perspective. I am still exploring though and still looking for more information.
May I ask what was it about that first rotation that made up your mind? I am 39 about to start an accelerated bsn program followed by msn for FNP. Doing this because med school just too much time and too much $ for me and my family. Wife supports np persuit but with a five year old and baby on the way in September, she says no way for md. Some have said I will be greatly dissapointed, others say I will have a more gratifying feeling because I will provide care and still have a life and not drowning in debt. Love to hear your thoughts.
That would be pursuit…all thumbs on the iPhone 