NP or MD/DO?

[DOMD2be]

Hello, everyone
I have been a long-time fan of SDN—even posted a few times before, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I am in my early 40s, and I am currently completing a Bachelor’s in educational/clinical psychology but I have also been following the premed curriculum for the past few years. I am planning on taking the MCAT in spring 2023 and applying for med schools that same year. I am 3-4 courses away from satisfying the med school prereqs and I plan to start studying for the MCAT in April 2022.
Since I have been extremely interested in psychiatry-mental healthcare( with addiction and child/adolescent psychiatry as sub-specialities in mind), I have been wondering if a career as a nurse practitioner could be a better fit for me. Beyond my age—even if I have read many posts of people in their early 40s and older having succeeded as a medical student/resident/physician—the idea of not earning a paycheck until the first year of residency while I have a family is a demoralizing thought.
I am a former semi-pro soccer player, used to be a police officer and I have been a teacher/tutor for the past 6 years, but I have always had an interest in medicine.
I am not requesting for others to make a decision on my behalf, but I am asking for feedback and perhaps come across pros and cons that I have not thought of yet.
Of course, all of that is happening while I am also in the process of purchasing a house so I have been having constant migraines☺️.
Thank you for taking the time to read!

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[SpoiledMilk]

I admire your drive and pragmatism, and I am not going to try to dissuade you from medschool if you believe it is in the best interest for you and your fam. However, I would not be honest if I didn't tell you the truth about being a MS. It is very very time consuming even for my 22 year old classmates without the responsibilities of a family.

As a mother with a family (assuming kids under 18 years old), it's going to be even tougher for you. There will be many times where you have to choose to either be there for an important event in your child(s)' life or skipping it because you need to try to absorb and "drink from the proverbial fire hose" of info that is thrown at you because of an upcoming in-class exam, shelf, Step, etc. Unlike undergrad where the info for a class and study time is manageable, in medschool it never stops coming. Also an older nontrad, everyday that I am not studying, I feel guilty and I have aged 20 years in the past 4 years due to the constant stress. Others may feel and experienced their time in medschool differently.

Perhaps you have better time management skills than I, and you have a family that will understand and will support you through the highs and lows of medschool, and you thrive. Then my experience will not be yours, and I say, "GL to you!"

 

[petomed]

Hello, everyone
I have been a long-time fan of SDN—even posted a few times before, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I am in my early 40s, and I am currently completing a Bachelor’s in educational/clinical psychology but I have also been following the premed curriculum for the past few years. I am planning on taking the MCAT in spring 2023 and applying for med schools that same year. I am 3-4 courses away from satisfying the med school prereqs and I plan to start studying for the MCAT in April 2022.
Since I have been extremely interested in psychiatry-mental healthcare( with addiction and child/adolescent psychiatry as sub-specialities in mind), I have been wondering if a career as a nurse practitioner could be a better fit for me. Beyond my age—even if I have read many posts of people in their early 40s and older having succeeded as a medical student/resident/physician—the idea of not earning a paycheck until the first year of residency while I have a family is a demoralizing thought.
I am a former semi-pro soccer player, used to be a police officer and I have been a teacher/tutor for the past 6 years, but I have always had an interest in medicine.
I am not requesting for others to make a decision on my behalf, but I am asking for feedback and perhaps come across pros and cons that I have not thought of yet.
Of course, all of that is happening while I am also in the process of purchasing a house so I have been having constant migraines☺️.
Thank you for taking the time to read!

I'll begin med school this fall at 32-yrs-old. I'm married with a 2-yr-old and newborn.

For me it comes down to answering one question:
Will I have more regret in nixing the idea of medicine or attending medical school?

I wasn't raised with parents to look up to. Having my kids grounded in the best point of reference I can offer as a role model at the expense of some missed soccer games and birthday parties while I'm in training, seems like an easy decision.

Right now anyway. Who knows how I, or anyone else for that matter--will feel once you're hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and beginning residency.

If psychiatry is your definite endgame then the only thing preventing you from the light M-F 9-5 office schedule after residency is yourself. You'll be a slave for 8-years and certainly miss things. But it's temporary. Add in that your student loans are dissolved once you kick the bucket and the only burden on your family is the 8-years of training.

 

[ToliBro]

Going the NP route is going to probably require some time doing RN things, including wiping butts. Just something to think about. I've done a lot of that myself as a RN and it doesn't bother me, but I've also met a lot of nursing students who are very obviously tracking into NP programs and who do not like doing personal care.

 

[Osminog]

Don’t apply to med school when you’re in your mid-40s. It’s an absurdly bad idea. Anybody who tells you otherwise is leading you astray.

If you’re interested in mental health or addiction care, consider becoming a social worker or substance abuse counselor. If prescribing psychiatric medications is an absolute must for you, then the RN-to-NP route might have to be the way to go. Good luck.

 

[Chardeemacdennis60]

Don’t apply to med school when you’re in your mid-40s. It’s an absurdly bad idea. Anybody who tells you otherwise is leading you astray.

If you’re interested in mental health or addiction care, consider becoming a social worker or substance abuse counselor. If prescribing psychiatric medications is an absolute must for you, then the RN-to-NP route might have to be the way to go. Good luck.

Honestly, as a RN career changer that matriculated at the age of 27 I completely agree. I have no regrets doing this, but I do not consider myself that old and I calculated that I certainly had time for another career if I got in the first go around (aka saving for retirement, affording to live, etc.). I have an honest retirement nest egg and some money in my bank account to float some vacations/luxuries while I am living off Uncle Sam's fixed income for 4 years.

I think this forum really feeds into the mushy-gushy "calling" aspect of medicine a bit too much when giving advice, specifically to non-trads. The opportunity cost of choosing this route at any age is immense and there is an age when choosing medical school becomes irrational. Sure, perhaps you will get personal reward from doing what you love before you die. That being said, being a 50 year old debt slave with minimal retirement savings doesn't really tilt the scales for me.

I am sorry if this is blunt, but I wish it was said more. Sure, there are many students in my class that have their parents/families float 100% of the costs for them. If that is you, I do not think what I have said applies at all. This is simply advice for your standard, loan-requiring medical student.

 

[Ganon]

If you're that close to being done with MD prerequisites, maybe a PA program would fit the bill perfectly?

I'm a nontrad, but not starting medical school until my mid 40s would be rough. Residency is the tough part with the most mandatory overnights for most specialties, and I would not want to be doing that at 50.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I can't in good conscious advice anyone in their early 40s with kids to embark into medicine when we're talking about a massive economic and time commitment. We are not only talking about the impact to your family but also the loss when it comes to retirement. I also cannot advice anyone to go into NP route as my experience with NPs is that they are poorly trained and almost always mismanage patients. I would advice you to reconsider this in its entirety. If you're interested in mental health, I would say you're better off going into a quick masters in psychology or just joining the workforce