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aa06345

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Hey guys,

I'm a Newby to the student doctor forums. I found the forum like many others probably did, Googleing my life away because I'm an undergrad student trying to decide my future.

The difference between myself and my peers is that I am a 24 year old, married, mother of three little girls ages 6, 3, and 16 months. My life is hectic already outside of school. I am a transfer student whose credits did not transfer with me, well, 12 did, but the institution that I transferred to will not allow me to use them. Thus, I am surrounded by freshman who are just as confused and possibly a bit more than I am about what their future holds. I was out of school for seven years before I decided to go to college because I got my GED as a sophomore rather than graduating with my class so there is a slight gap from time to time but I have a cumulative GPA of 3.85 and an institutional GPA of 4.0.

I went through EMT school, but my husband is a paramedic and the schedule conflict would have been insane, not to mention the pay is hard on our family of five. So, I decided to switch to nursing school. The college I was at only offered an LPN cert. So I finished out the year with my CNA and I left and transferred to my current college so that I could get my BSN. I haven't yet finished my core curriculum and I am taking classes that are required for both programs of study that I'm interested in, but this semester I will be out of corresponding classes and must choose which path I want to take.

I had partially decided that I wanted to go to med school. Nursing just wasn't going to cut it (for me and my desires). In my mind, I want to be the best I can be, and to be a doctor is my ultimate dream. The finances are okay, the opportunities though are what puts the spark in my heart to peruse a medical degree. I could do good, I could fuel my passions with my medical degree. However, I find myself doubting my ability sometimes and then other times I'm determined to follow my dreams. Logical mind seems to tell me that I'm silly, a mother of three young girls who lives in the middle of no where with no financial support other than financial aid, no family to back her, and a husband who supports my crazy ventures but cannot be present to assist a good majority of the time (who is also a full time student aside his full time job) is never going to make it through a pre-med program and medical school, and residency, etc.

I find myself looking through other career options like PA school or even becoming an NP but I feel like I'm giving up my dreams to settle for something that may not satisfy the void. I've tried speaking with advisors or career counselors and the help they offer gets me no where! Someone, please tell me what to do.. give me some decent advice. I need to hear from someone who has been where I am right now and can offer a differing point of view. NP versus PA versus MD/DO? I don't want to feel like I'm settling but at the same time I want to keep my original commitments and responsibilities in tact as well. I know that I want to practice medicine. I just want to know what is the best option for someone who has a family. I know that I have a ways to go, but the stress of not knowing what I want to do is driving me insane.

Opinions? Advice? Help.

Thanks!

p.s. I know that nursing is a totally different curriculum than pre-health. Pre-med and Pre-PA have different requirements too, which is why I need help deciding what to do. I know what I want, but is what I want logical or realistic with the needs of my family and finances, etc.?

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What is your husband in school full-time for? What are his career goals? How attached is he to those goals / would he be willing to put his dreams on hold if you got into med school?
 
What is your husband in school full-time for? What are his career goals? How attached is he to those goals / would he be willing to put his dreams on hold if you got into med school?

Gurby,

He would. But he's in school full-time online so when he's not at work he is balancing kids and school while I'm at school. He's trying for his bachelors in sports management and then possibly eventually sports medicine. But, I raised the girls when he went to EMT school and then to Paramedic school so it is "my turn" to go to school, we just make ends meet so that he can study online for his bachelors degree in sports management, but if it came to one of us putting our school on hold he would hands down support me because I sacrafice for him and he's already told me that he would never let me drop out. He would accept a major change but dropping school is not an option for me.
 
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It's great that you have such a supportive husband!

If you want to do medicine, it is better to plan ahead because the pre-reqs are mostly 1st/2nd year courses, and you want to take those at proper universities (not distance education or community college if you can avoid it). That way you'll never cross off a school from your list before you even get going. In terms of trade-offs, medicine is a much longer route: 4 year undergrad, 4 year MD/DO, 3+ year residency. During 8 of those years, you will not be able to contribute financially. During many of the years, you won't be around your family as much as you would like. However you'd be done before your oldest goes to university.

I would try to find women physicians who had kids and had to go through their entire education after them. They might be in a better position to offer advice on making a decision, and on understanding what exactly you'll be giving up in both options. I met one at an interview -- it is possible, but you're going to be a lot more exceptional than a typical premed, just because it's going to be a lot more work.
 
This process will be a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools won't be going anywhere. Take it slow.

Hey guys,

I'm a Newby to the student doctor forums. I found the forum like many others probably did, Googleing my life away because I'm an undergrad student trying to decide my future.

The difference between myself and my peers is that I am a 24 year old, married, mother of three little girls ages 6, 3, and 16 months. My life is hectic already outside of school. I am a transfer student whose credits did not transfer with me, well, 12 did, but the institution that I transferred to will not allow me to use them. Thus, I am surrounded by freshman who are just as confused and possibly a bit more than I am about what their future holds. I was out of school for seven years before I decided to go to college because I got my GED as a sophomore rather than graduating with my class so there is a slight gap from time to time but I have a cumulative GPA of 3.85 and an institutional GPA of 4.0.

I went through EMT school, but my husband is a paramedic and the schedule conflict would have been insane, not to mention the pay is hard on our family of five. So, I decided to switch to nursing school. The college I was at only offered an LPN cert. So I finished out the year with my CNA and I left and transferred to my current college so that I could get my BSN. I haven't yet finished my core curriculum and I am taking classes that are required for both programs of study that I'm interested in, but this semester I will be out of corresponding classes and must choose which path I want to take.

I had partially decided that I wanted to go to med school. Nursing just wasn't going to cut it (for me and my desires). In my mind, I want to be the best I can be, and to be a doctor is my ultimate dream. The finances are okay, the opportunities though are what puts the spark in my heart to peruse a medical degree. I could do good, I could fuel my passions with my medical degree. However, I find myself doubting my ability sometimes and then other times I'm determined to follow my dreams. Logical mind seems to tell me that I'm silly, a mother of three young girls who lives in the middle of no where with no financial support other than financial aid, no family to back her, and a husband who supports my crazy ventures but cannot be present to assist a good majority of the time (who is also a full time student aside his full time job) is never going to make it through a pre-med program and medical school, and residency, etc.

I find myself looking through other career options like PA school or even becoming an NP but I feel like I'm giving up my dreams to settle for something that may not satisfy the void. I've tried speaking with advisors or career counselors and the help they offer gets me no where! Someone, please tell me what to do.. give me some decent advice. I need to hear from someone who has been where I am right now and can offer a differing point of view. NP versus PA versus MD/DO? I don't want to feel like I'm settling but at the same time I want to keep my original commitments and responsibilities in tact as well. I know that I want to practice medicine. I just want to know what is the best option for someone who has a family. I know that I have a ways to go, but the stress of not knowing what I want to do is driving me insane.

Opinions? Advice? Help.

Thanks!

p.s. I know that nursing is a totally different curriculum than pre-health. Pre-med and Pre-PA have different requirements too, which is why I need help deciding what to do. I know what I want, but is what I want logical or realistic with the needs of my family and finances, etc.?
 
My personal advice is to love your kids and do everything that any good parent would do for them but don't give up on your own aspirations. You will end up resenting the decision, and possible the kids for it. I made the decision (more than once) to forego my own dreams in lieu of "making enough money that my kids would never have to worry about anything." Now, after reaching that point, it's likely they will never see a dime of my money because they became spoiled monsters (at least partly my fault, lol). Even if they were perfect angels I'm not even sure I even believe in the concept of inherited wealth any longer, which is what drove me for the last 15 years. Of course that's just my personal experience but in retrospect I think I would have done more for my kids if I had made my own happiness and well being at least as important as what I perceived would be the correct career path for their well being.
 
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