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Medical School at 30?
I am 27F turning 28 in a few weeks and I am considering a serious career change from a creative field to medicine. I've done some soul searching over the past few years and after some career exploration, I feel a pull toward medicine.
I know it will be a long journey. I already have a BA degree, but I would still need to return to community college to complete prerequisites. I would also need to spend time gaining clinical skills and prepare for the MCAT, so if I were to be accepted to medical school in the future, I probably wouldn't start until I was 30. I already created a roadmap to apply and get accepted to medical school. It's a lengthy list, but definitely doable if I decided to commit.
I have explored other career paths over the past few years that I have since crossed off the list. I know a lot of people in the medical field right now are experiencing burnout, but I feel I am at a turning point in my life where I am willing to accept the challenge. I am ready for a fresh start and to learn subjects and skill sets that are very different from what I already know.
I also currently have no debt of any kind, no kids/partner/mortgage/major responsibilities, so I feel that if I am going to make a drastic career change, now is a good time to do it.
I am nervous to take the plunge, though, because I would be considered a nontraditional medical student and it feels scary to commit to such a significant change in life direction and I can't help fight feelings that it's "too late."
Has anyone considered/experienced this?
This might be obvious but see if you can shadow a physician. The common saying is that unless you’d be miserable doing anything else, you shouldn’t go into medicine.
I’m not trying to dissuade you necessarily. It’s a great field! It’s just full of long hours, no weekends, little sleep. Medical school is a sacrifice of many years of your life. Consider that the suicide rate for physicians is quite high.
That all being said, a lot of people attend med school later in life. I would just talk to as many medical students, physicians and other healthcare professionals as you can to get yourself an idea of if you truly want to go down that path or not!
Shadowing is pretty much a requirement. You won't get accepted to any med school without having done it
I have a friend who was a successful (working) actor. Got into med school at 50. He’s a family medicine doctor now.
Edit. Now imagine being 50 and wondering if you should’ve started med school back when you were 28.
One of my best friends went from Graphic Design to becoming a pediatric dentist. I know another guy who went from VFX to become a doctor. They both did it about the same time you are contemplating. Both are successful doctors/dentists, so… Yeah, it’s been done.
Wild, I went from graphic design to Hospice nursing, weighing on going back for internal medicine MD.
I'm 34, I'll be a MD when I'm 65 but I'll be 65 anyways ;P
I had a finance degree. Wasn't for me. Bailed into construction for ten years, then went to nursing school( I know, not quite the same). I was sheepish that I wouldn't graduate until my early 30's. Got some good advice. You're going to be that age either way. One way you'll have a medical degree, one way you won't
Med school is not your only option. I highly recommend becoming a Physician Assistant. They make good money and get to do a lot of what doctors do with a much shorter course of training.
After 4 years of med school and 6 years of training, I was left with a mountain of debt while starting my first real job in my mid 30’s. 1/10 recommend.
In five years you’ll either be a 32 year old doctor or you’ll just be 32 years old. If it’s your dream, chase it.
My partner did this. Has a masters in a humanities major, realized they wanted more impact and went to med school after taking pre-reqs, self teaching, studying 14 hours a day and passing the MCAT. It's doable. Not by me, but any means. But I've seen it done firsthand. If you're serious about it, get to it. It's just not for the faint of heart.