Age 30+ Possible med student

[DreamingOfAlaska]

I just turned 30 years old. I’ve been planning on going to nursing school and have been accepted to an accelerated RN program that starts in about 30 days. However the more I read about nursing and the closer I get to the start date, I’m having doubts.

I know that long term, I do not want to stay an RN. I would want to progress to something such as a PA. However I’ve been researching that quite extensively and I’m not sure a mid level is something I’d want to do either. Every mid level I have ever asked about if they liked their job has always led out with “I wanted to go to medical school”. I even had a PA tell me she still thinks of going to medical school. I just don’t want to go to school for the next 4 years to only regret doing all of it.

I have been taking really challenging courses for nursing school such as microbiology and pharmacology and I have gotten all A’s. I enjoy learning about the drugs, how they are applied, their interactions, it is all very interesting to me. I think that sort of thing is more of a physician type of role and I can see myself doing that.

I had a family member who was very ill and was in and out of hospitals for around 9 months with liver and kidney failure. I got to meet a lot of different physicians. I also was able to see how most of the medical field works from nurses to case workers and facility wise hospitals to nursing homes.

I only have 2 more years to finish my bachelors and could then apply to medical school. I don’t have any crazy dreams of going to some long fellowship. I’d be eying up something like the Lecom accelerated family practice program.

Do you think I am too old to consider pursing this? Financially wise I have a paid off house. I could just become a nurse and live a happy life at 31 years old. Forego my fantasies of pursuing med school. But being a nurse, I’m just not sure long term i am going to be satisfied. I really want to be in more of a leadership role. I don’t have any kids yet and I’m not married. But I’d be around 32 when I’d apply to med school. Any advice is appreciated either way… thank you

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[Thriftygal]

Hey there! I just wanted to say that I am 30 y/o and starting med school this year. I was not pre-med during my undergrad years so I had to take many steps (and years) in order to apply. It sounds like you're in a great spot though since you anticipate it will only take you 2 more years.

It sounds like you've dug deep and realized that you might not be satisfied with a nursing career in the long run. I also did not see myself doing anything else and therefore was willing to put in the work and time to realize my dream!

I have no regrets about starting now. While I might be one of the older ones in my class, I am not the only one. I also have no kids and I'm not married, so I have a bit of leeway in terms of where I could end up for residency. But, there are many med students out there who have done it with kids and a family, with whatever specialty and location for residency. I say go for it!

This isn't really advice, but more encouragement from a fellow non-trad. Best of luck and let me know if you have any questions!

 

[DreamingOfAlaska]

Hey there! I just wanted to say that I am 30 y/o and starting med school this year. I was not pre-med during my undergrad years so I had to take many steps (and years) in order to apply. It sounds like you're in a great spot though since you anticipate it will only take you 2 more years.

It sounds like you've dug deep and realized that you might not be satisfied with a nursing career in the long run. I also did not see myself doing anything else and therefore was willing to put in the work and time to realize my dream!

I have no regrets about starting now. While I might be one of the older ones in my class, I am not the only one. I also have no kids and I'm not married, so I have a bit of leeway in terms of where I could end up for residency. But, there are many med students out there who have done it with kids and a family, with whatever specialty and location for residency. I say go for it!

This isn't really advice, but more encouragement from a fellow non-trad. Best of luck and let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you for your advice. Congratulations on your acceptance, and I hope you do very well. Maybe you feel the same way I do about this, maybe not, but I could not have seen myself ever wanting to be a physician at 22 years old. The mental maturity for me was not there at that age. Now that I’m older I see things more clearly and have different interests. I just worry the opportunity may have passed me by

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Some people in my class are over 35

 

[Rapsidy]

I turned 32 this year and just finished my first year of medical school. Age isn’t a factor if you want to pursue it.

Only thing I would mention is that you said that you aren’t married and don’t have kids, is that implying that you want them going forward? People have kids during medical school obviously but I’ve heard it’s extremely taxing and many of them wait until residencies to pursue this. So as long as you are cool in delaying that if it’s something you want to pursue then forget the notion of being too old and follow your passion.

 

[Sn00pygrrl]

Have you shadowed any of the roles that you're interested in? Being with a family member in the hospital is admirable, but not a great way to truly understand all that nurses do.

"I think that sort of thing is more of a physician type of role and I can see myself doing that."

How do you know this? You really can't know this unless you've shadowed extensively so that you get to see *from the nurse/PA/physician* perspective (not the perspective of someone taking care of an ill family member in the hospital) how the sausage actually gets made.

I bet you'd be surprised.

My 2 cents as an RN --> NP --> current medical school applicant. DM me if you'd like to chat more.

 

[DreamingOfAlaska]

I turned 32 this year and just finished my first year of medical school. Age isn’t a factor if you want to pursue it.

Only thing I would mention is that you said that you aren’t married and don’t have kids, is that implying that you want them going forward? People have kids during medical school obviously but I’ve heard it’s extremely taxing and many of them wait until residencies to pursue this. So as long as you are cool in delaying that if it’s something you want to pursue then forget the notion of being too old and follow your passion.

Yes, I do want them going forward. That is why nursing school holds such merit for me. I would be done in under 2 years, and make a good wage combined with how I am living comfortably now. But job satisfaction wise I know it wouldn't be there for me. Which means long term I would want to move on to something like a PA or NP... which when you combine the 2 years for nursing plus 2 years for PA or NP its looking like medical school is something to take a hard look at. But there is zero guarantee I even get accepted to medical school

 

[DreamingOfAlaska]

Have you shadowed any of the roles that you're interested in? Being with a family member in the hospital is admirable, but not a great way to truly understand all that nurses do.

"I think that sort of thing is more of a physician type of role and I can see myself doing that."

How do you know this? You really can't know this unless you've shadowed extensively so that you get to see *from the nurse/PA/physician* perspective (not the perspective of someone taking care of an ill family member in the hospital) how the sausage actually gets made.

I bet you'd be surprised.

My 2 cents as an RN --> NP --> current medical school applicant. DM me if you'd like to chat more.

I will send you a message.

 

[ridebiker]

Thank you for your advice. Congratulations on your acceptance, and I hope you do very well. Maybe you feel the same way I do about this, maybe not, but I could not have seen myself ever wanting to be a physician at 22 years old. The mental maturity for me was not there at that age. Now that I’m older I see things more clearly and have different interests. I just worry the opportunity may have passed me by

I thought I wanted to be a Doctor when I started college at 17 but in no way was I ready for the pre-med course load, and I am SO glad I switched majors and did not try to keep pursuing medicine. At 22 I can't even imagine what kind of med student I would have been, but it wouldn't have been pretty! It isn't until the past few years that I could start imagining myself being successful in medical school and in a career as a doctor...it really took me many years of life experience to get to this place. BTW, I am 31 and planning to apply in 2-3 years, and I know of many who are in med school at 35+, so no you are not too old!

 

[Spiceupyourlife]

I just turned 30 years old. I’ve been planning on going to nursing school and have been accepted to an accelerated RN program that starts in about 30 days. However the more I read about nursing and the closer I get to the start date, I’m having doubts.

I know that long term, I do not want to stay an RN. I would want to progress to something such as a PA. However I’ve been researching that quite extensively and I’m not sure a mid level is something I’d want to do either. Every mid level I have ever asked about if they liked their job has always led out with “I wanted to go to medical school”. I even had a PA tell me she still thinks of going to medical school. I just don’t want to go to school for the next 4 years to only regret doing all of it.

I have been taking really challenging courses for nursing school such as microbiology and pharmacology and I have gotten all A’s. I enjoy learning about the drugs, how they are applied, their interactions, it is all very interesting to me. I think that sort of thing is more of a physician type of role and I can see myself doing that.

I had a family member who was very ill and was in and out of hospitals for around 9 months with liver and kidney failure. I got to meet a lot of different physicians. I also was able to see how most of the medical field works from nurses to case workers and facility wise hospitals to nursing homes.

I only have 2 more years to finish my bachelors and could then apply to medical school. I don’t have any crazy dreams of going to some long fellowship. I’d be eying up something like the Lecom accelerated family practice program.

Do you think I am too old to consider pursing this? Financially wise I have a paid off house. I could just become a nurse and live a happy life at 31 years old. Forego my fantasies of pursuing med school. But being a nurse, I’m just not sure long term i am going to be satisfied. I really want to be in more of a leadership role. I don’t have any kids yet and I’m not married. But I’d be around 32 when I’d apply to med school. Any advice is appreciated either way… thank you

One of my good friends start Med school at 31. She's now and M2.
My previous pcp was a nurse for years. Ended up getting a divorce and going to med school in her mid-late 40s.
Definitely not too late.

 

[Goro]

Do you think I am too old to consider pursing this? Financially wise I have a paid off house. I could just become a nurse and live a happy life at 31 years old. Forego my fantasies of pursuing med school. But being a nurse, I’m just not sure long term i am going to be satisfied. I really want to be in more of a leadership role. I don’t have any kids yet and I’m not married. But I’d be around 32 when I’d apply to med school. Any advice is appreciated either way… thank you

Too old??
Some of my all time best students have been in their 30s and 40s. I graduated a stellar one at age 50 and she's happily an attending now.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

62 is not old

 

[never-too-late]

I was over 35 when I started my med school pre-reqs, so no, I don’t think you’re too old. I would, however, encourage you to keep going with your nursing studies while you’re taking the MCAT and applying to schools. The continued exposure to clinical topics and situations will really benefit you in school.

 

[Z2911BME]

I just turned 30 years old. I’ve been planning on going to nursing school and have been accepted to an accelerated RN program that starts in about 30 days. However the more I read about nursing and the closer I get to the start date, I’m having doubts.

I know that long term, I do not want to stay an RN. I would want to progress to something such as a PA. However I’ve been researching that quite extensively and I’m not sure a mid level is something I’d want to do either. Every mid level I have ever asked about if they liked their job has always led out with “I wanted to go to medical school”. I even had a PA tell me she still thinks of going to medical school. I just don’t want to go to school for the next 4 years to only regret doing all of it.

I have been taking really challenging courses for nursing school such as microbiology and pharmacology and I have gotten all A’s. I enjoy learning about the drugs, how they are applied, their interactions, it is all very interesting to me. I think that sort of thing is more of a physician type of role and I can see myself doing that.

I had a family member who was very ill and was in and out of hospitals for around 9 months with liver and kidney failure. I got to meet a lot of different physicians. I also was able to see how most of the medical field works from nurses to case workers and facility wise hospitals to nursing homes.

I only have 2 more years to finish my bachelors and could then apply to medical school. I don’t have any crazy dreams of going to some long fellowship. I’d be eying up something like the Lecom accelerated family practice program.

Do you think I am too old to consider pursing this? Financially wise I have a paid off house. I could just become a nurse and live a happy life at 31 years old. Forego my fantasies of pursuing med school. But being a nurse, I’m just not sure long term i am going to be satisfied. I really want to be in more of a leadership role. I don’t have any kids yet and I’m not married. But I’d be around 32 when I’d apply to med school. Any advice is appreciated either way… thank you

Hey! I am a 3rd year medical student at the age of 36 - haven’t regretted it once. I did undergrad at the age of 29 haha. I would say this…you have a ton of years ahead of you so if you feel like RN/PA is something you will regret or be unhappy in, then don’t do it. The question you have to ask yourself is, “Can I effectively build a resume for med school applications, obtain all the shadowing and volunteer hours, and most importantly, successfully take and score high enough on the MCAT to get an interview?”

Getting A’s in undergrad is great and will certainly help you, but undergrad, and even medical school classes, still assess memorization and not application of knowledge, which the writers for both the MCAT and board exams know and exploit. You should start exploring the exam and how they test that now, knowing you may see it as daunting but very doable and with commitment can be overcome.

Preparing to apply is even more competitive now and will take a great deal of commitment, persistence, and hard work. If that’s you, you are not too old and can have a great career in medicine ahead of you!! Not sure about continuing nursing if it prolongs you getting all the prereqs done for med school but you can ask someone more knowledgeable than me on that one! Best of luck.

 

[kwicdrawmcgraw]

I just turned 30 years old. I’ve been planning on going to nursing school and have been accepted to an accelerated RN program that starts in about 30 days. However the more I read about nursing and the closer I get to the start date, I’m having doubts.

I know that long term, I do not want to stay an RN. I would want to progress to something such as a PA. However I’ve been researching that quite extensively and I’m not sure a mid level is something I’d want to do either. Every mid level I have ever asked about if they liked their job has always led out with “I wanted to go to medical school”. I even had a PA tell me she still thinks of going to medical school. I just don’t want to go to school for the next 4 years to only regret doing all of it.

I have been taking really challenging courses for nursing school such as microbiology and pharmacology and I have gotten all A’s. I enjoy learning about the drugs, how they are applied, their interactions, it is all very interesting to me. I think that sort of thing is more of a physician type of role and I can see myself doing that.

I had a family member who was very ill and was in and out of hospitals for around 9 months with liver and kidney failure. I got to meet a lot of different physicians. I also was able to see how most of the medical field works from nurses to case workers and facility wise hospitals to nursing homes.

I only have 2 more years to finish my bachelors and could then apply to medical school. I don’t have any crazy dreams of going to some long fellowship. I’d be eying up something like the Lecom accelerated family practice program.

Do you think I am too old to consider pursing this? Financially wise I have a paid off house. I could just become a nurse and live a happy life at 31 years old. Forego my fantasies of pursuing med school. But being a nurse, I’m just not sure long term i am going to be satisfied. I really want to be in more of a leadership role. I don’t have any kids yet and I’m not married. But I’d be around 32 when I’d apply to med school. Any advice is appreciated either way… thank you

For the love of all that is good and holy, don't do nursing. I choose nursing over MD at the same age mainly because we had our first child. Now, I'm getting ready to start my prereqs in the Fall. If I started med school I would be half way through residency. Please don't do nursing if you want to be in medical school!

 

[PhD_to_DO]

I just turned 30 years old. I’ve been planning on going to nursing school and have been accepted to an accelerated RN program that starts in about 30 days. However the more I read about nursing and the closer I get to the start date, I’m having doubts.

I know that long term, I do not want to stay an RN. I would want to progress to something such as a PA. However I’ve been researching that quite extensively and I’m not sure a mid level is something I’d want to do either. Every mid level I have ever asked about if they liked their job has always led out with “I wanted to go to medical school”. I even had a PA tell me she still thinks of going to medical school. I just don’t want to go to school for the next 4 years to only regret doing all of it.

I have been taking really challenging courses for nursing school such as microbiology and pharmacology and I have gotten all A’s. I enjoy learning about the drugs, how they are applied, their interactions, it is all very interesting to me. I think that sort of thing is more of a physician type of role and I can see myself doing that.

I had a family member who was very ill and was in and out of hospitals for around 9 months with liver and kidney failure. I got to meet a lot of different physicians. I also was able to see how most of the medical field works from nurses to case workers and facility wise hospitals to nursing homes.

I only have 2 more years to finish my bachelors and could then apply to medical school. I don’t have any crazy dreams of going to some long fellowship. I’d be eying up something like the Lecom accelerated family practice program.

Do you think I am too old to consider pursing this? Financially wise I have a paid off house. I could just become a nurse and live a happy life at 31 years old. Forego my fantasies of pursuing med school. But being a nurse, I’m just not sure long term i am going to be satisfied. I really want to be in more of a leadership role. I don’t have any kids yet and I’m not married. But I’d be around 32 when I’d apply to med school. Any advice is appreciated either way… thank you

I’m 50 and starting my second year of medical school. Clearly, you aren’t too old. There is a 51 year old in the class behind me and I have a friend who is 62 and just submitted her AACOMAS…

 

[DreamingOfAlaska]

Thank you for the encouragement all.

The biggest problem I am running into right now is a low gpa from when I was in my low 20's. I am working with my college to try to get academic forgiveness but I don't think its going to happen. Its going to be an uphill battle for me. Even though I have almost all A's in the courses I completed, I just skipped a lot of school my first few years in college when I was young. Either way, I pretty much decided im going to chase this fantasy and give up my seat in nursing school. Im going to keep thinking about it but I can't get my mind away from pursing becoming a physician. And I just hope if I build a full application, with good clinical experience, that someone will accept me.

 

[Z2911BME]

Thank you for the encouragement all.

The biggest problem I am running into right now is a low gpa from when I was in my low 20's. I am working with my college to try to get academic forgiveness but I don't think its going to happen. Its going to be an uphill battle for me. Even though I have almost all A's in the courses I completed, I just skipped a lot of school my first few years in college when I was young. Either way, I pretty much decided im going to chase this fantasy and give up my seat in nursing school. Im going to keep thinking about it but I can't get my mind away from pursing becoming a physician. And I just hope if I build a full application, with good clinical experience, that someone will accept me.

Upward trends are more important. My first 3 semesters in college at 18-19 I had a 1.7, 0.7, and 0.5 GPA HAHA. Failed out. Tried to go back to school at 20, failed out again. Tried to go back at 24...did good one semester and failed out again. I battled addiction for many years before recovery at 27, but the wreckage was still there when I applied. My calculated cGPA on my applications was a 3.02 because of all those poor grades, plus having a criminal record didn't help either lol. That being said, I graduated undergrad with a 3.87 cGPA and 3.79 sGPA because those bad grades were at another institution and didn't affect my undergrad university GPA for some crazy reason and had 4 years straight of performing well and admissions want to see a trend. Obviously have remained abstinent from drugs, alcohol and that stuff and had lots of community involvement yada yada yada so my application illustrated I'd changed and had been trying to give back to society rather than always taking, so to speak. So keep doing well and keep establishing a history of improvement and upward grade trend!!!

 

[Meridian32]

I don't think you're too old to apply to med school - but, to play devil's advocate, before you give up your seat in nursing school, I'd recommend talking to some NPs about what their work is like. I'm a doctor and work with a lot of NPs at our academic medical center. Many of them are strong clinicians who are quite knowledgeable about medicine and have taught me a lot over the years. So the notion that NPs are somehow not able to take a leadership role in determining the clinical plan for a patient is not always correct. Additionally, you mentioned that you want to do primary care, which I think is a field that I think is quite well suited to the NP role - in fact, my PCP is an NP.

Summary - I'm certainly not dissuading you from applying to med school, but I suggest doing more due diligence about whether the NP role would meet your needs before closing that door.

 

[DreamingOfAlaska]

Upward trends are more important. My first 3 semesters in college at 18-19 I had a 1.7, 0.7, and 0.5 GPA HAHA. Failed out. Tried to go back to school at 20, failed out again. Tried to go back at 24...did good one semester and failed out again. I battled addiction for many years before recovery at 27, but the wreckage was still there when I applied. My calculated cGPA on my applications was a 3.02 because of all those poor grades, plus having a criminal record didn't help either lol. That being said, I graduated undergrad with a 3.87 cGPA and 3.79 sGPA because those bad grades were at another institution and didn't affect my undergrad university GPA for some crazy reason and had 4 years straight of performing well and admissions want to see a trend. Obviously have remained abstinent from drugs, alcohol and that stuff and had lots of community involvement yada yada yada so my application illustrated I'd changed and had been trying to give back to society rather than always taking, so to speak. So keep doing well and keep establishing a history of improvement and upward grade trend!!!

Did you end up being accepted? Very motivational story

 

[DreamingOfAlaska]

I don't think you're too old to apply to med school - but, to play devil's advocate, before you give up your seat in nursing school, I'd recommend talking to some NPs about what their work is like. I'm a doctor and work with a lot of NPs at our academic medical center. Many of them are strong clinicians who are quite knowledgeable about medicine and have taught me a lot over the years. So the notion that NPs are somehow not able to take a leadership role in determining the clinical plan for a patient is not always correct. Additionally, you mentioned that you want to do primary care, which I think is a field that I think is quite well suited to the NP role - in fact, my PCP is an NP.

Summary - I'm certainly not dissuading you from applying to med school, but I suggest doing more due diligence about whether the NP role would meet your needs before closing that door.

If it’s alright I’m going to send you a message

 

[JDWannabe]

I just turned 30 years old. I’ve been planning on going to nursing school and have been accepted to an accelerated RN program that starts in about 30 days. However the more I read about nursing and the closer I get to the start date, I’m having doubts.

I know that long term, I do not want to stay an RN. I would want to progress to something such as a PA. However I’ve been researching that quite extensively and I’m not sure a mid level is something I’d want to do either. Every mid level I have ever asked about if they liked their job has always led out with “I wanted to go to medical school”. I even had a PA tell me she still thinks of going to medical school. I just don’t want to go to school for the next 4 years to only regret doing all of it.

I have been taking really challenging courses for nursing school such as microbiology and pharmacology and I have gotten all A’s. I enjoy learning about the drugs, how they are applied, their interactions, it is all very interesting to me. I think that sort of thing is more of a physician type of role and I can see myself doing that.

I had a family member who was very ill and was in and out of hospitals for around 9 months with liver and kidney failure. I got to meet a lot of different physicians. I also was able to see how most of the medical field works from nurses to case workers and facility wise hospitals to nursing homes.

I only have 2 more years to finish my bachelors and could then apply to medical school. I don’t have any crazy dreams of going to some long fellowship. I’d be eying up something like the Lecom accelerated family practice program.

Do you think I am too old to consider pursing this? Financially wise I have a paid off house. I could just become a nurse and live a happy life at 31 years old. Forego my fantasies of pursuing med school. But being a nurse, I’m just not sure long term i am going to be satisfied. I really want to be in more of a leadership role. I don’t have any kids yet and I’m not married. But I’d be around 32 when I’d apply to med school. Any advice is appreciated either way… thank you

You're definitely not too old. I was older than you were when I started and am very happy with where I am now.

 

[Z2911BME]

Did you end up being accepted? Very motivational story

Yes I am a 3rd year med student at a US med school

 

[buffdoc]

I was 35 when I started medical school at my state university. I worked my arse off from age 30-34 to get in. I haven't ever regretted it.

 

[deleted1079620]

33 when I started my bachelor’s, currently an OMS-3 and loving it.

 

[DreamingOfAlaska]

For those of you who started later, would you say you would be able to have a child during residency? Assuming wife had a flexible job

 

[PhD_to_DO]

For those of you who started later, would you say you would be able to have a child during residency? Assuming wife had a flexible job

My wife and I are working on a child now but she has the privilege of being faculty at ATSU-SOMA. They are letting her work 100% remotely and she earns a wage that not only allows us to have a child, but for me not to have taken any loans for housing (I got a 100% scholarship to covet medical school)…

 

[PhD_to_DO]

For those of you who started later, would you say you would be able to have a child during residency? Assuming wife had a flexible job

I’ll also add that a number of my classmates are planning or having children while in medical school. My school skews older; some of these folks are in their mid to late 40s. I’ve also heard of folks having children while in residency. Obviously you’ve got to make sure that yoyr finances are right but there is no reason why you can’t have family while you are in med school or residency.

 

[DreamingOfAlaska]

thanks everyone for your insight, and also for the private messages to those of you I reached out too..

I decided to just stick with nursing school. Ive been reading NP's can even sometimes do residencies. A lot of jobs near me I see on indeed are offering to pay for your BSN and then also your MSN tuition free. I can't really pass something like that up at my age. As much as I dream of being a physician and the head of the team and know more about disease, I just have to make the mature decision. If I financially am more well off later in life maybe I could pursue it then if I still choose. But ultimately this is something I should've pursued when I was in my lower 20's and didn't have bills to pay, a dog to take care of, and probably kids on the way in the next few years.

With that said ill be off to allnurses and to the clinicians subforum on here!

 

[raglandMD]

You would have to consider the time investment for medical school application. Nursing could is a great springboard for other aspects of medicine: finance, management etc. . I was not traditional medicine career (finished in early 30s).