Unique situation - Useless Bachelor's degree , desire to study medicine

[cardiologyfan85]

Hello ,
This is my first post here , I find this forum very useful and informative , please take a few minutes to read about my situation .
I am a foreign national , 30 years old . I have a Bachelor's degree in Arts .
I went through very tough circumstances in my life that forced me to get into a college that is not interesting to me and its degree is most likely not recognized by western countries .
I am smart and I have what it takes to do whatever academically to study for long years to be a doctor and my field of interest is Cardiology , I dream about it that it is almost a fantasy for me since I am 30 years old and I've always thought that it is too late , yet I've read stories about people becoming doctors at 40 or 50 .

There are many obstacles that will face me if I decided to take the path to Medical School .

1- My BA is most likely not recognized by the US , does that mean that I have to go through college again ?
2- I have no money and I have to depend on funding programs or scholarships fully .
3- I am motivated to become a doctor but I find certain things intimidating :

A- The fear or doubt that might get myself in over my head .
B- The financial burden that Medical college induce if I ever going to be able to get in
C-My age : if I have to go thorough college again that's 4 years + 4 years med school , then a few more years of residency . it would take me at least 15 years to become a Cardiologist and realize my dream .

My reasons to go to Medical school :
1- Its a challenge for me to prove myself that I can excel academically and achieve a dream that I always thought impossible
2-Social class and status associated with being a doctor
3-Being financially OK after a couple of years but money is not my no.1 motive to become a doctor.

I have counted the years in best case scenario , it would be 12-15 years and I will be 45 .
I know about the 80+ hours weekly and how brutally demanding this profession is , but
the sense of achievement and panache associate with it flames the desire in me to contemplate pursuing my dream that I always thought it is unattainable .

I am being totally honest with you with my reasons and desire
please be brutally honest and tell me , should I go for it or should I forget about it because it is too late now ?

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[DrMidlife]

Legal permanent residency in US or Canada?

Can't do much for you w/o that info.

 

[cardiologyfan85]

The US .

 

[Goro]

I suggest thinking about other career plans.

Hello ,
This is my first post here , I find this forum very useful and informative , please take a few minutes to read about my situation .
I am a foreign national , 30 years old . I have a Bachelor's degree in Arts .
I went through very tough circumstances in my life that forced me to get into a college that is not interesting to me and its degree is most likely not recognized by western countries .
I am smart and I have what it takes to do whatever academically to study for long years to be a doctor and my field of interest is Cardiology , I dream about it that it is almost a fantasy for me since I am 30 years old and I've always thought that it is too late , yet I've read stories about people becoming doctors at 40 or 50 .

There are many obstacles that will face me if I decided to take the path to Medical School .

1- My BA is most likely not recognized by the US , does that mean that I have to go through college again ?
2- I have no money and I have to depend on funding programs or scholarships fully .
3- I am motivated to become a doctor but I find certain things intimidating :

A- The fear or doubt that might get myself in over my head .
B- The financial burden that Medical college induce if I ever going to be able to get in
C-My age : if I have to go thorough college again that's 4 years + 4 years med school , then a few more years of residency . it would take me at least 15 years to become a Cardiologist and realize my dream .

My reasons to go to Medical school :
1- Its a challenge for me to prove myself that I can excel academically and achieve a dream that I always thought impossible
2-Social class and status associated with being a doctor
3-Being financially OK after a couple of years but money is not my no.1 motive to become a doctor.

I have counted the years in best case scenario , it would be 12-15 years and I will be 45 .
I know about the 80+ hours weekly and how brutally demanding this profession is , but
the sense of achievement and panache associate with it flames the desire in me to contemplate pursuing my dream that I always thought it is unattainable .

I am being totally honest with you with my reasons and desire
please be brutally honest and tell me , should I go for it or should I forget about it because it is too late now ?

 

[oldanddone]

Hi there

It is doable. Loans and such are there but can be tight at times. I believe that permanent residency gives you access but you will have to confirm that. Ask a local reputable college admissions office. Emphasis on reputable.

A plan to develop might be useful if you build in some checkpoints. For instance if you go back to school pick a programme that gives you access to the premed prerequisites but also would be useful to build a career with otherwise. If you see that your grades are in keeping with an application then great otherwise you are building a plan b or c as well.

When people talk of the reasons for wanting to pursue medicine they choose ones that are in keeping with altruism , wanting to help others and make a difference for the better in the lives of others. They might supplement with loving science and wanting a challenge. It is considered a faux pas to connect medicine with financial security or status. Although many end up in medicine because it is a way to maintain the financial security and status that they are accustomed to in their family of origin, This is not considered to be an explicit factor in choosing medicine and may be the product of more subtle shaping of career directions from the family and expectations around getting an education and a 'suitable' career/profession. It is considered poor form to choose medicine for factors of financial security or prestige so best not to be upfront with those reasons. However it is a profession where you won't have to worry about money. And that is important when picking a path. Also it is considered poor form to have a specialty picked out prior to starting school. The idea is to make a decision after broad exposure to the various aspects of the field.

Lots of reading on sdn and other places will give you a sense of the process. Do as much research as you can and try to find advisors and mentors and academic offices at local universities thst do career guidance along the way to understand what the process entails.


All the best.

 

[deleted480308]

if your degree isn't recognized in the US, move on to another dream

if your degree is, ask yourself if you want to finally break even financially at 55ish

 

[DrMidlife]

the part where you get to start almost being a cardiologist is at least 11 years away. all of that is full time study. you don't get paid. you pay or borrow about $50k/yr or more, each year.

so being all nuts for cardiology now isn't sensible. you can be nuts for med school now if you want. you're in the same shoes as a US high school grad right now.

first things first: find out if you have the stomach for US healthcare. get a volunteer gig at a public hospital or clinic. be curious about how the system works. (hint: "system" is WAY too strong a word for it.)

meanwhile start looking at universities you might want to attend, how to get accepted, and how to get financial aid.

you have to decide if you want to start practice, and start making a good income, with over $250k in federal student loans at 6%, starting in your mid-forties. or not.

best of luck to you.

 

[cardiologyfan85]

if your degree isn't recognized in the US, move on to another dream

if your degree is, ask yourself if you want to finally break even financially at 55ish

I thought about that too , basically if I had to go through college again it would be verging on impossible , it is not however yet it will take very long not to mention the debt that I would be in .
I do not desire another career to be fully honest , I am not passionate about something else .

Thank you for your reply

 

[cardiologyfan85]

Hi there

It is doable. Loans and such are there but can be tight at times. I believe that permanent residency gives you access but you will have to confirm that. Ask a local reputable college admissions office. Emphasis on reputable.

A plan to develop might be useful if you build in some checkpoints. For instance if you go back to school pick a programme that gives you access to the premed prerequisites but also would be useful to build a career with otherwise. If you see that your grades are in keeping with an application then great otherwise you are building a plan b or c as well.

When people talk of the reasons for wanting to pursue medicine they choose ones that are in keeping with altruism , wanting to help others and make a difference for the better in the lives of others. They might supplement with loving science and wanting a challenge. It is considered a faux pas to connect medicine with financial security or status. Although many end up in medicine because it is a way to maintain the financial security and status that they are accustomed to in their family of origin, This is not considered to be an explicit factor in choosing medicine and may be the product of more subtle shaping of career directions from the family and expectations around getting an education and a 'suitable' career/profession. It is considered poor form to choose medicine for factors of financial security or prestige so best not to be upfront with those reasons. However it is a profession where you won't have to worry about money. And that is important when picking a path. Also it is considered poor form to have a specialty picked out prior to starting school. The idea is to make a decision after broad exposure to the various aspects of the field.

Lots of reading on sdn and other places will give you a sense of the process. Do as much research as you can and try to find advisors and mentors and academic offices at local universities thst do career guidance along the way to understand what the process entails.


All the best.

Thank you for taking the time to comment informatively , truly grateful to you .
I think that volunteering for a few months will be great , at least I will have a better understanding of how healthcare system works in the US .
I desire to help others in addition to the reason that I have mentioned , I understand fully , that going to medical school to be rich later is a mistake not to mention a little unrealistic .
But to be fully honest , main reasons are to create a positive difference on peoples' lives and also , personal satisfaction of getting called "Dr." , I know it sounds kinda vain but its also a factor .
I just do not want to wonder for the rest of my life that I was not smart enough to be a doctor , its a huge challenge for me and I know that I will suffer until I get there .
I will take your advice and seek a career counsolar to get his/her feedback

Thank you again
Sorry for any misspells or grammatical mistakes

 

[cardiologyfan85]

the part where you get to start almost being a cardiologist is at least 11 years away. all of that is full time study. you don't get paid. you pay or borrow about $50k/yr or more, each year.

so being all nuts for cardiology now isn't sensible. you can be nuts for med school now if you want. you're in the same shoes as a US high school grad right now.

first things first: find out if you have the stomach for US healthcare. get a volunteer gig at a public hospital or clinic. be curious about how the system works. (hint: "system" is WAY too strong a word for it.)

meanwhile start looking at universities you might want to attend, how to get accepted, and how to get financial aid.

you have to decide if you want to start practice, and start making a good income, with over $250k in federal student loans at 6%, starting in your mid-forties. or not.

best of luck to you.

Thank you for replying

I have written a long comment but it disappeared for some reason .

I like the idea of volunteering for a couple of months to get a more comprehensive idea of what its like to work in a hospital , I wonder if I can shadow a doctor for a full day just to make sure that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life .
I can make a better final decision that way .

What concerns me is funding as I have absolutely NO money saved for college if it was necessary and for medical school afterwards , I still haven't figure out how am I gonna get it and how well will I do in MCAT later.

As for money , I am a simple guy , I just want a roof over my head in a relatively safe area and a car for transportation . I can live frugally on 40k and still can re pay my loan .
I dont have any personal life as it is , so sacrificing that does not seem very bad for me at the moment .

Thanks

 

[Dullhead]

...My reasons to go to Medical school :
1- Its a challenge for me to prove myself that I can excel academically and achieve a dream that I always thought impossible
2-Social class and status associated with being a doctor
3-Being financially OK after a couple of years but money is not my no.1 motive to become a doctor...

...But to be fully honest , main reasons are to create a positive difference on peoples' lives and also , personal satisfaction of getting called "Dr." , I know it sounds kinda vain but its also a factor...

This is specific to only one part of your post, but it is my opinion that if you admit to any of the above (in your essays or interviews), even if those reasons contribute only a teensy percentage to your motivation, you are likely to significantly hurt your chances, if not sink them altogether.

 

[cardiologyfan85]

Just to add one fact here, there are some medical schools for students with foreign degrees only require 32 US based credits (which is basically a post bacc). I examined this several years ago and you have to look carefully at each schools site.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/nontraditional-international-student.521128/#post-10719244

Thank you very much !

I will look into that for sure , that was something that I did not know before , I was under the impression that my Bachelor's degree wont be even looked at in any Western country .

If I can get into one of these schools then it would be awesome because I will be like 39 or 38 after school and residency .

As much as I like Cardiology and Neurosurgery but I think its WAY too early now to aim for a specialty .
Plus these two have a seriously long residency 6-7 years !
So I think that I will forget about surgery and later pick a specialty with minimum years of residency ( because I am 30 )

Thank you immensely for the link
I will look into that for sure

 

[cardiologyfan85]

This is specific to only one part of your post, but it is my opinion that if you admit to any of the above (in your essays or interviews), even if those reasons contribute only a teensy percentage to your motivation, you are likely to significantly hurt your chances, if not sink them altogether.

Thank you for your reply .

I totally agree with you but I think that they are legit reasons to motivate oneself to go through the difficult and challenging medical school .

I was being totally honest , I am not interested in Medicine for income ( though it wont hurt ) .
But I will be more than satisfied with 80-100k especially after re paying the loan

As I stated above , after thinking about it . I decided to steer clear of surgery or any ambition in it due to the very long residency, again , its way too early to decide now as I need to focus on what I am going to do next , I still did not take the first step just yet .

I think that all decent human beings are intrinsically altruistic on different levels , thats why occupations that positively effect other peoples' lives are satisfying
But I'd also like to feel that I did something noble and amazing with my life , That I am smart enough and have what it takes to study for long hours , learning colossal amount of science in a limited time .

I feel that I have never challenged myself academically before , maybe now is the time .

I still think that Medicine is a risk for me , I still have those fears and doubts about my ability to get in and then succeed , my desire is strong yet my realism is kind of holding me back .

Thank you

 

[cardiologyfan85]

Why would you think that ? can you please elaborate ? .

Thanks for replying and providing advice

I suggest thinking about other career plans.

 

[petyr_baelish]

Find a US undergraduate institution that will give you transfer credit if the "take 32 US credits" route doesn't work.

And please, don't EVER say that you want the "status" because that is naive and nothing will sink your application faster. The only people, outside of a particular family dynamic, who will revere you for being a Dr probably came of age in the 1970s.

 

[cardiologyfan85]

Find a US undergraduate institution that will give you transfer credit if the "take 32 US credits" route doesn't work.

Thank you for replying .
The thing is that my degree is an art degree , so It wont help me interms of pre requisites ,
I was exploring the possibility of taking community college but as it turned out it is frowned upon and might jeopardize chances of getting into med school .

I am already making compromises , and I realized today that I should pick a medical field with the shortest residency due to my age so , surgery is definitely out of the question .

If I can somehow , just take all the pre requisites in 2 years then do well in MCAT .
So far , something is just very intimidating to me , I am scared of Medical school and the MCAT .

 

[Dullhead]

...So far , something is just very intimidating to me , I am scared of Medical school and the MCAT .

You need to take things one at a time. No point worrying about the MCAT and medsch now. Start by taking 1-2 pre-reqs and focus on doing well. One foot in front of the other, one step at a time.

 

[Goro]

See below. #2 is an honest obstacle.
2- I have no money and I have to depend on funding programs or scholarships fully .
Why would you think that ? can you please elaborate ?

You've constructed a mental wall that I see as difficult in overcoming. I have students who have overcome greater challenges.
1- My BA is most likely not recognized by the US , does that mean that I have to go through college again ?
A- The fear or doubt that might get myself in over my head .
B- The financial burden that Medical college induce if I ever going to be able to get in
C-My age : if I have to go thorough college again that's 4 years + 4 years med school , then a few more years of residency . it would take me at least 15 years to become a Cardiologist and realize my dream .

This is why one goes to college as a pre-med; to find out if one can cut it or not.
So far , something is just very intimidating to me , I am scared of Medical school and the MCAT .


Frankly, these are piss-poor reasons for wanting to become a Doctor. If you want to prove something to yourself, become a Policeman, a Navy SEAL or a US Army Ranger.
My reasons to go to Medical school :
1- Its a challenge for me to prove myself that I can excel academically and achieve a dream that I always thought impossible
2-Social class and status associated with being a doctor
3-Being financially OK after a couple of years but money is not my no.1 motive to become a doctor.

 

[oldanddone]

1. your fear. you need to deal with it. it may be warranted, in that this turns out to be an untenable option, and you need to cross that bridge when you come to it. currently it is blocking you from getting the information gathered to develop your plan of attack. it is stopping you from starting. try to go and talk that out with someone close. you will get support on the message boards by looking up past threads of similar feelings. find people to share your struggles with. when you are in school, you will have access to therapists and counsellors, and hey, why not see what they can do to help things like fear of failing that gets in the way of even starting.

2. an arts degree. you still haven't said what kind of arts degree. a bachelor of arts? a fine arts degree? a craft that you learned? it will be important to see what kind of credit you can already get towards a degree in the U.S. or towards med school. you may not have that many credits left to do. maybe only the sciences. my bachelor's degree was an arts degree. so i went back for just the prerequisite sciences i needed.

3. yes, community college is less desirable than a university. i'm not sure of the particulars. i'm not even sure if the community college has courses with labs - that's often important to have a lab component. you need to talk it out with local university's career counselling. just say you are thinking of becoming a student, and you need help to plan out what you need and what path you need to take. cross-check with a few med schools and their websites. they often list what kind of prerequisites they require.

4. often it is important to have a fulltime courseload, some schools will be willing to look at whether you were working as well, in terms of part-time courseloads, but i'm not sure. again. check in with some med schools/ a lot of med schools/ a few career counselling departments at universities that have pre-med counselling. i say a few, in case you get a few differing opinions.

5. that being said about a fulltime courseload, if you have not had a lot of exposure to the sciences, it is worth it to start off with babysteps, just do a course at community college and see what kind of work it entails. if you didn't do sciences in highschool, i believe that means that you need to do a few extra courses. it used to be that the courses that are prereqs required having done highschool level courses, or an equivalent basic course at uni/college. i don't know how this works in the states exactly. i'm from the canadian context but applied heavily to u.s. schools when i was making applications. so if you didn't do physics at highschool, you may need to do a basic physics course that is the prerequisite to the med school prerequisite Intro to Physics. that would give you some space to start at community college to get your footing. you may want to just audit courses before you take them for real marks. see how you do, how you keep up, prepare yourself to take the real thing with a good grade. lots of ways to address this. but you need info and lots of it. see point 1.

6. yes, prestige is also considered a 'no-go' reason. it's good you are sharing what truly appeals to you. Docs are respected members of a community, even if that is getting more eroded every year. However, it is considered a 'bad' reason to go to med. So get ready with what the official narrative is on what are good reasons, and start to shift your talking. so that when you talk to the docs you are shadowing, in your applications, and in your interviews down the road your story fits the approved narrative. ask other people why they chose. some may give the 'real reasons' (i.e. lots of reasons that may fall either side of the official good narrative). look it up on this forum - there are threads with people saying 'why are you going to med'. the stories generally will give you what the sanctioned answers are. if you translate 'prestige', the sanctioned transaltion may mean that you want to take 'leadership'. look up what leadership means in this context. a good leader is not necessarily one who is deferred to/given prestige. but about inspiring a team, etc. this point doesn't need to be addressed so fully now, as points 1-5.

all the best. and hey, the cowardly lion in wizard of oz is one of my favourite characters. fear is not final. but procrastination and under-preparation can be.

 

[oldanddone]

also - there are many schools that put full courses on the internet as open source material. I believe MIT does this, and others. If auditing costs money, but can't get funded by loans, these open source university courses can be a useful way for you to pre-study for when you go to university. the investment of the textbook, time to watch the lectures, and ways to find practice tests online to see how you are doing. wish i could point you to the websites that show open university course listings, but don't know that much. just that they are out there.

 

[cardiologyfan85]

You need to take things one at a time. No point worrying about the MCAT and medsch now. Start by taking 1-2 pre-reqs and focus on doing well. One foot in front of the other, one step at a time.

Thank you very very much , for your insight , I will try Shadowing as a first initial step at the same time I will research and explore my financial options / viability

 

[cardiologyfan85]

See below. #2 is an honest obstacle.
2- I have no money and I have to depend on funding programs or scholarships fully .
Why would you think that ? can you please elaborate ?

You've constructed a mental wall that I see as difficult in overcoming. I have students who have overcome greater challenges.
1- My BA is most likely not recognized by the US , does that mean that I have to go through college again ?
A- The fear or doubt that might get myself in over my head .
B- The financial burden that Medical college induce if I ever going to be able to get in
C-My age : if I have to go thorough college again that's 4 years + 4 years med school , then a few more years of residency . it would take me at least 15 years to become a Cardiologist and realize my dream .

This is why one goes to college as a pre-med; to find out if one can cut it or not.
So far , something is just very intimidating to me , I am scared of Medical school and the MCAT .


Frankly, these are piss-poor reasons for wanting to become a Doctor. If you want to prove something to yourself, become a Policeman, a Navy SEAL or a US Army Ranger.
My reasons to go to Medical school :
1- Its a challenge for me to prove myself that I can excel academically and achieve a dream that I always thought impossible
2-Social class and status associated with being a doctor
3-Being financially OK after a couple of years but money is not my no.1 motive to become a doctor.

Thank you for giving an honest and straightforward answers , I can clearly see veracity in your comment and I appreciate the elaboration and advice .
That mental wall is real , I just have to figure out wether I can overcome it or not .
I just do not want to settle for mediocrity in my life and I have never pushed myself to the absolute limits .
Thats why , the expression " mental wall" appealed to me because that always has been my problem and as I matured enough I realized that I am capable of so much more when I do not surrender to self-doubt

I thank you again and I will pay close attention and consideration to what you have mentioned .

Thank you again

 

[cardiologyfan85]

1. your fear. you need to deal with it. it may be warranted, in that this turns out to be an untenable option, and you need to cross that bridge when you come to it. currently it is blocking you from getting the information gathered to develop your plan of attack. it is stopping you from starting. try to go and talk that out with someone close. you will get support on the message boards by looking up past threads of similar feelings. find people to share your struggles with. when you are in school, you will have access to therapists and counsellors, and hey, why not see what they can do to help things like fear of failing that gets in the way of even starting.

2. an arts degree. you still haven't said what kind of arts degree. a bachelor of arts? a fine arts degree? a craft that you learned? it will be important to see what kind of credit you can already get towards a degree in the U.S. or towards med school. you may not have that many credits left to do. maybe only the sciences. my bachelor's degree was an arts degree. so i went back for just the prerequisite sciences i needed.

3. yes, community college is less desirable than a university. i'm not sure of the particulars. i'm not even sure if the community college has courses with labs - that's often important to have a lab component. you need to talk it out with local university's career counselling. just say you are thinking of becoming a student, and you need help to plan out what you need and what path you need to take. cross-check with a few med schools and their websites. they often list what kind of prerequisites they require.

4. often it is important to have a fulltime courseload, some schools will be willing to look at whether you were working as well, in terms of part-time courseloads, but i'm not sure. again. check in with some med schools/ a lot of med schools/ a few career counselling departments at universities that have pre-med counselling. i say a few, in case you get a few differing opinions.

5. that being said about a fulltime courseload, if you have not had a lot of exposure to the sciences, it is worth it to start off with babysteps, just do a course at community college and see what kind of work it entails. if you didn't do sciences in highschool, i believe that means that you need to do a few extra courses. it used to be that the courses that are prereqs required having done highschool level courses, or an equivalent basic course at uni/college. i don't know how this works in the states exactly. i'm from the canadian context but applied heavily to u.s. schools when i was making applications. so if you didn't do physics at highschool, you may need to do a basic physics course that is the prerequisite to the med school prerequisite Intro to Physics. that would give you some space to start at community college to get your footing. you may want to just audit courses before you take them for real marks. see how you do, how you keep up, prepare yourself to take the real thing with a good grade. lots of ways to address this. but you need info and lots of it. see point 1.

6. yes, prestige is also considered a 'no-go' reason. it's good you are sharing what truly appeals to you. Docs are respected members of a community, even if that is getting more eroded every year. However, it is considered a 'bad' reason to go to med. So get ready with what the official narrative is on what are good reasons, and start to shift your talking. so that when you talk to the docs you are shadowing, in your applications, and in your interviews down the road your story fits the approved narrative. ask other people why they chose. some may give the 'real reasons' (i.e. lots of reasons that may fall either side of the official good narrative). look it up on this forum - there are threads with people saying 'why are you going to med'. the stories generally will give you what the sanctioned answers are. if you translate 'prestige', the sanctioned transaltion may mean that you want to take 'leadership'. look up what leadership means in this context. a good leader is not necessarily one who is deferred to/given prestige. but about inspiring a team, etc. this point doesn't need to be addressed so fully now, as points 1-5.

all the best. and hey, the cowardly lion in wizard of oz is one of my favourite characters. fear is not final. but procrastination and under-preparation can be.

1- sir , thanks a lot , I have read your comment more than once ,its more than informative as well as extremely helpful. As for my fear / fears , I should first experience a medical environment by shadowing and volunteering at a hospital or a healthcare clinic , I want to make an informed decision rather than a fearful or impulsive one .
Unfortunately , I cant talk about this to someone who is close for personal reasons however , I have told a couple of friends about this and their consensus was that I am smart enough but I should be fully aware of the commitment that I will make and should know what I am getting myself into

2-My Bachelor's is useless : its Arts in Translation from a middle eastern country , I am not mentioning it for privacy reasons . Just to be clear , the word " useless " is not directed toward arts yet it is regarding the fact that the degree is from a middle eastern country . Furthermore , I did not take any science classes in college as it works differently in the middle east , you cant choose what to study and what not to study , they were all about Translation , Translation theories and skills .. Etc ( I am a bilingual , I know Arabic beside English ) .

3- thats a very pivotal and salient point , I was highly immature in high-school and neglected science altogether and failed 2 years due to physics not out of inability to comprehend it but rather out of immaturity and extreme negligence and nonchalance , Its useful to take basic physics at a community college prior to the extensive pre med physics but that would make me lose valuable time and I am not very young .

4- career counseling is definitely on my list .
5- there is no way around getting a few extra science courses in my caseI haven't studied science for a very long time .
6- I understand that might hurt me in interviews and what have you , yet I feel like I was a loser with my previous negligence and poor performance in my studies that the only way to redeem myself for that is to challenge my mental ability and choose a challenging profession , Medicine is a noble profession and extremely challenging , and also , I have doctors in the family , so it is also a desire for me to dwarf their achievements by becoming a doctor in the most medically advanced country in the world , I know it sounds weird but it plays a part in my motivation . Helping people and making a difference are also among my list of reasons that fuel my desire for wanting to become a physician .

* wether I decide to go to medical school or not , I want it to be a responsible decision not out of fear but out of a careful study of options and evaluation of all elements that are effecting my life , I see doctors as bright and smart, hard working and noble ... I want to become one of them , maybe I will respect the person that I see in the mirror more , if I ever became a doctor , self - worth and a sense of pride .
I just dont wanna look back and go crazy over the ( what ifs and what might have beens )

I might not admit often , that while I have been a good person and achieved fairly well considering the circumstances, but I truly feel that I am " an underachiever who took the path of least resistance and settled for mediocrity , without academic achievements with many fantasies of grandeur and a couple of stillborn dreams "

I am pouring my heart out because this could be the move that either would make me or break me , either will be a panacea to all my problems and redeem my past mistakes or a step that would put me in debt for many years to come . Yet I truly believe , that once I get into Medical school I would do whatever it takes to graduate.

Thank you and sorry if I sounded emotional because I really am just as I am writing this , just visualizing myself in medical school makes me choke in emotions and I want to live that and cruise towards a period of personal achievement and a noble profession .

 

[cardiologyfan85]

Please excuse any grammatical errors or misspells , I am typing through my phone and didn't get to proofread

Regards

 

[oldanddone]

Hi there -

Once you do your due diligence, and research what the path entails, you will find out that if you have a Bachelor of Arts, albeit from a university that may not have good recognition, and in a discipline that was very dedicated, you may be entitled to quite a few transfer credits towards a new bachelor's. you may even have a B.A. already, and only have to do a post-bacc. Time spent researching this with local universities and their pre-med counselling offices will tell.

Your abilities with English and with translation are clear. You might find some interesting volunteer opportunities that include a medical translator role - perhaps even some work that is clinically relevant while you are on your path. Very neat.

Sounds like your friends are giving you some good feedback, and they are encouraging you as well as reminding you to do your research.

I am not unfamiliar with the kinds of issues like fear, low self-worth, an all-or-nothing idea that medicine will prove self-worth or confer self-worth. An anonymous message board is easy to start getting these things verbalized and out in the open. It is not the best, though, for truly processing these things. And these things will need to be processed sooner rather than later. Getting the MD will not help them resolve. Resolving them is one of the hurdles on your way to medicine.

There are various ways to go about resolving emotional stuff, one of the best from a western perspective is some one-on-one talk and guidance with a person trained to bring about resolution and transformation in others - a therapist. You will have free access to a therapist when you are in school, and you may have access now through social agencies especially if you fit certain mandates like new immigrant, or something else. Unfortunately the mandate is often for short-term models of six sessions only. School therapists likely have longer opportunities. If you have access to some finances, you might find a great therapist with reasonable rates on a sliding scale for a person who is not working/in school. there are also good websites for self-exploration, and also workbooks to buy that give exercises to do on your own. being witnessed by another human being, in person, when they are trained to guide you transformation can ultimately be that more powerful. so can groups. there are also self-help groups. Consider accessing services, as you are getting to the heart of what holds you back, and it is important to be supported when you do that kind of vulnerable work. You can't get the support you need for that on a message board. You just can't.

For that reason that the message board and its mandate does not create a proper space for deep emotional work, message boards have rules around not giving medical advice or any kind of professional-level support. You are getting to the heart of things now, which goes beyond the raison d'etre for this message board, so time to find the places that address the emotional aspects of what you are dealing with.

This board is excellent for checking out questions you have about info you find out when you research the path to med school/other possibilities from where you are. As you get to understand the more emotional aspects of the path, you will need to go elsewhere, though, to the places of expertise for those matters. So I don't want to keep going in this vein, and it is wonderful to hear you get to the heart of your fears and low confidence, but it is not a place that I want or can go with you, as it is not in keeping with this message board, for very sound reasons. that journey just cannot get the support and safety it needs on an anonymous message board designed primarily for the mechanics of knowing what hoops to jump through. But I want you to know that this is a wall that many others have surmounted, with guidance and help, and that guidance and help is out there. what a gift for you and the folks who are right for that particular journey - i leave that gift to you and them.

 

[cardiologyfan85]

Hi there -

Once you do your due diligence, and research what the path entails, you will find out that if you have a Bachelor of Arts, albeit from a university that may not have good recognition, and in a discipline that was very dedicated, you may be entitled to quite a few transfer credits towards a new bachelor's. you may even have a B.A. already, and only have to do a post-bacc. Time spent researching this with local universities and their pre-med counselling offices will tell.

Your abilities with English and with translation are clear. You might find some interesting volunteer opportunities that include a medical translator role - perhaps even some work that is clinically relevant while you are on your path. Very neat.

Sounds like your friends are giving you some good feedback, and they are encouraging you as well as reminding you to do your research.

I am not unfamiliar with the kinds of issues like fear, low self-worth, an all-or-nothing idea that medicine will prove self-worth or confer self-worth. An anonymous message board is easy to start getting these things verbalized and out in the open. It is not the best, though, for truly processing these things. And these things will need to be processed sooner rather than later. Getting the MD will not help them resolve. Resolving them is one of the hurdles on your way to medicine.

There are various ways to go about resolving emotional stuff, one of the best from a western perspective is some one-on-one talk and guidance with a person trained to bring about resolution and transformation in others - a therapist. You will have free access to a therapist when you are in school, and you may have access now through social agencies especially if you fit certain mandates like new immigrant, or something else. Unfortunately the mandate is often for short-term models of six sessions only. School therapists likely have longer opportunities. If you have access to some finances, you might find a great therapist with reasonable rates on a sliding scale for a person who is not working/in school. there are also good websites for self-exploration, and also workbooks to buy that give exercises to do on your own. being witnessed by another human being, in person, when they are trained to guide you transformation can ultimately be that more powerful. so can groups. there are also self-help groups. Consider accessing services, as you are getting to the heart of what holds you back, and it is important to be supported when you do that kind of vulnerable work. You can't get the support you need for that on a message board. You just can't.

For that reason that the message board and its mandate does not create a proper space for deep emotional work, message boards have rules around not giving medical advice or any kind of professional-level support. You are getting to the heart of things now, which goes beyond the raison d'etre for this message board, so time to find the places that address the emotional aspects of what you are dealing with.

This board is excellent for checking out questions you have about info you find out when you research the path to med school/other possibilities from where you are. As you get to understand the more emotional aspects of the path, you will need to go elsewhere, though, to the places of expertise for those matters. So I don't want to keep going in this vein, and it is wonderful to hear you get to the heart of your fears and low confidence, but it is not a place that I want or can go with you, as it is not in keeping with this message board, for very sound reasons. that journey just cannot get the support and safety it needs on an anonymous message board designed primarily for the mechanics of knowing what hoops to jump through. But I want you to know that this is a wall that many others have surmounted, with guidance and help, and that guidance and help is out there. what a gift for you and the folks who are right for that particular journey - i leave that gift to you and them.

I appreciate your answer and read it carefully .
Although Medicine for me , even in the most optimistic scenario , would be a risk . But I don't know how to do anything else and I must think of a degree to help me make a living in the states , I will talk to counselors and therapists if necessary but eventually it is my decision to make taking in consideration the sound advice thatI received from this forum and from what I read regarding similar situations

Your comments really helped me and shed the light on some factors that I might have otherwise missed and I am thankful for it .

I will try to find any scholarships or funds for refugees/ immigrants that might immensely help me in my quest , if I was not broke I would have felt much better about my choice .

I am stuck between determining wether this is a hard choice to make that would lead me to a life of achievement and fulfillment or simply a wrong choice for me to make , hence , I am gathering as many opinions as I possibly can to weigh my options .

Without tooting my own horn , but I am a fairly smart person and I believe with the right amount of hard work and dedication I can get things done eventually , the first step however is to get funding or land a scholarship . That would be amazing .

Unfortunately as an immigrant I cannot relocate freely to another state other than the one Immigration will assign to me so that would play a role in my decision and my choices are limited yet for med school if I made it that far , I will move to the location of the school in which I will matriculate .

I read about a hundered topic that say " is it worth it ?" And I have to say that while certain things are disconcerting about the idea of med school but I know that once I wrap my mind around it I will feel happiness and joy despite the long hours of studying , sleep deprivation and a huge debt hovering around my head yet still , I won't just dismiss the idea by thinking myself out of it .

I hope you don't mind if I keep you guys posted , I know that I am one out of millions of nontraditional students out there but I know for certain that you guys will advise me and guide when I need it and for that , I am indebted .

Maybe one day , I will share a distillation of my long journey not only with this life changing decision but about the grieve circumstances prior to it .

My gratitude is too immense to be put down in platitudenous words .

 

[ddmbmom]

Lots of excellent advice here for you, I just want to share that non US citizens are not eligible for government subsidized student loans so you will have to dig deep for financial assistance. Also, I will be 48 when I start the 7 year schooling so please don't think you are too old and that you need to hurry through your process

 

[cardiologyfan85]

Lots of excellent advice here for you, I just want to share that non US citizens are not eligible for government subsidized student loans so you will have to dig deep for financial assistance. Also, I will be 48 when I start the 7 year schooling so please don't think you are too old and that you need to hurry through your process

Thank you !

I have heard about that , its unfortunate for me yet totally understandable

But I heard that driven refugees / immigrants with good language skills and an ambition for academic studies might get financial support of some sorts ,
I have no idea how will I get loans / grants for me to cover prerequisites and medical school not to mention MCAT tutoring and then Med School but if I got an opportunity for that , most likely I will do it .
I will begin with talking to career counselors and even therapists to see if the fears I have are reasonable or created by lack of self-confidence and self- doubt .

I dont think that there is any career decision that is easy to make .

I know that I will suffer in this path but at least I can find comfort in the results afterwards , I'll get to help people as a doctor ! Which is a big deal in addition to the other points I have mentioned earlier .