32, Mother of a toddler...

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knowthyself

The Underdog
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born and bought up outside US...thats a lil info about me.
I am looking ladies who were or are in similar situation and are planning on pursuing their medical career & who are well into it. How did / are you going about it? Looking for motivation to jump start. Care to share your experiences:)? Coz its not easy esp when you have a young family. I wonder if anybody here is in a similar situation....:p!

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born and bought up outside US...thats a lil info about me.
I am looking ladies who were or are in similar situation and are planning on pursuing their medical career & who are well into it. How did / are you going about it? Looking for motivation to jump start. Care to share your experiences:)? Coz its not easy esp when you have a young family. I wonder if anybody here is in a similar situation....:p!


Hi,
Well I am going through the motions now. I am a single premed mother of an eight year old, so slightly different but definitely a challenge to juggle around school. It is hard for me to balance my daughter and studying without getting so overwhelm part of the time but I do it. I can only survive doing this by a whole lot of determination, will power, and of course God. But that's me. Finding out what works for you will be all about trial and error, some things will work while others won't. I think the most important thing to remember is keep your eye on the prize no matter how difficult it will get, cause in the end you will be happy that you did. I wish you the best on your journey (lol that's my daughters name) :):)

EDIT: Oh and I am 28 and will be applying to med school in 2010 for 2011.
 
My girlfriend is 23 and doing it. Now that I'm done with undergrad we are nearby so I can help out more significantly than I was(I was only around on weekends). She did an art/psych undergrad and then I convinced her to do med school after she got pregnant. :laugh: She's coping with it extremely well. Plenty of sleepless nights for her though. Still, she manages to come in top 5 in all of her classes(commuting an hour and taking two classes/semester) and has a 3.8 science gpa. She has her mom watching her when she's at school but she mostly studies once our daughter is asleep. She said she wouldn't be doing nearly as well if she didn't have her back up against the wall and if she didn't have a little girl that she was doing it all for. It can be done.
 
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I'm doing it! I'm 30 with a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 9 month old, and am starting med school in a few months. Undergrad was hard, we had a nanny part time during the day so I could go to class and study when I was home, and I just had to take it slower than I would have wanted (like 12 credit hours per semester). This fall, my son will be starting K, and my daughter will be in preschool part time, so we just need to have full time childcare for the baby. Luckilly, I got into a school that has PBL, so we only need to be in class about 10 hours/week give or take depending on the week. So, my plan is to still have a part time nanny (maybe 20-30 hours/week) so I can study for part of the day, spend some time with the kids from the time that the nanny goes until after dinner, then daddy takes care of the kids while I study until bedtime. I'm sure that we'll make adjustments as needed, and I just am going to keep flexible, the key is time management!

I know that there will be things that I miss out on both at home and school. I don't expect to be at the top of my class, and I won't be on the PTA. But it is just for a few years, and I'm sure it will be over before we know it. My kids and family will be better off with me as a doctor, and I'll definately be happier. So, the sacrafice now is worth it!
 
born and bought up outside US...thats a lil info about me.
I am looking ladies who were or are in similar situation and are planning on pursuing their medical career & who are well into it. How did / are you going about it? Looking for motivation to jump start. Care to share your experiences:)? Coz its not easy esp when you have a young family. I wonder if anybody here is in a similar situation....:p!


I give you so much credit! I can't relate... but, I really do think that if you want it enough... you can do it. I've met quite a few physicians who've managed to make it through medical school with families, etc. Good luck :)
 
I have a 4 yr old and a 6 yr old. They were 2 and 4 when I went back to school. It is totally doable, at least the post-bacc part. I am nervous as well about med school, but I have good support.

As Kateb4 said, you will miss some things - both at school and at home, but it really is only a few years. At the end, you will be much happier for having done it and your children will be proud of how strong and capable you are! Good luck to you.
 
Couldn't help but notice the title and had to post! I am really proud mothers with children that go back to school, just like my own mother did! The BEST of luck to all above!
 
I'm not a single mother, but I do have a 3 year old and a newborn! I've been working full-time and attending grad school in the evenings for the last several years. Getting ready to apply med school next year. It hasn't been super easy, but it's been do-able so far!
 
You are all my heros!

My lazy ass waited until my baby was in school.
 
you can totally do it!

im a single mom of a 3 1/2 year old (im 21). i had her at 17, wasnt really sure what i wanted to major in. i go to a college right outside of boston that has a single parent program. my daughter and i live on campus year-round in a beautiful apartment, the school helps a ton with tuition, and i get free daycare to anywhere in the area that i want to send her. i have had my fair share of sleepless nights...in fact, i pull 2-3 all nighters a week during the school year because i take 18 credits of pure science (all my electives/writing designated courses were done, bc i was actually originally a communication major! big switch during my sophomore year).

this year i will take physics/orgo, then i take MCATs next july, 2009.

my family definitely helps me out a lot...they live across the country in arizona (i came here with my daughter by myself when she was 8 months old to be in the single parent program), but they will take her for a few weeks during final exams. they also help me a ton financially so i dont have to really work while im here at school w/ her.
 
You are all my heros!

My lazy ass waited until my baby was in school.

There is nothing wrong with that either. Some mothers choose to be more involved in thier children's lives than choosing thier career objectives first.

Many of the physicians I work with who have families wish they had more time for their kids...since once the kid hits 10-12 they don't want you to be involved so much anyway, so you have to maximize the time early on. It is funny though, the ones who had kids early before/during school wish they would have had the kids later, and the ones that had kids later on during residency/fellowship wish they would have had them earlier. Grass is always greener!

The most important thing to children is time, not the stuff you give them, or the places you take them. Just time. That is perhaps my biggest concern about starting med school this year with two little ones at home. I hope that I am able to make enough time for them throughout school and residency as they are my first priority. (although some would probably chastize me by saying if they were my first priority, I wouldn't be going into medicine)

No doubt anything is doable, but you just want to make sure you do it in a way that you don't have any regrets about it once it is too late.
 
There is nothing wrong with that either. Some mothers choose to be more involved in thier children's lives than choosing thier career objectives first.

Many of the physicians I work with who have families wish they had more time for their kids...since once the kid hits 10-12 they don't want you to be involved so much anyway, so you have to maximize the time early on. It is funny though, the ones who had kids early before/during school wish they would have had the kids later, and the ones that had kids later on during residency/fellowship wish they would have had them earlier. Grass is always greener!

The most important thing to children is time, not the stuff you give them, or the places you take them. Just time. That is perhaps my biggest concern about starting med school this year with two little ones at home. I hope that I am able to make enough time for them throughout school and residency as they are my first priority. (although some would probably chastize me by saying if they were my first priority, I wouldn't be going into medicine)

No doubt anything is doable, but you just want to make sure you do it in a way that you don't have any regrets about it once it is too late.

Absolutely. You can't have everything in life.

By my plans, the earliest I'd be able to matriculate is 2010, so two years from now. I'm home on maternity leave right now, but am going to resign from my job when I get back. That gives me 2 years as a stay at home mother (which I'm loving btw!). My oldest will be starting school by the time I start med school and my newborn now will be 2. Since the first two years of school gives you the most free time (comparatively), even my youngest will be in preschool by the time things get really tough for me.

And yeah, my family is my top priority too. I don't care what anyone says. . I dont' care if its not PC. It's the truth and I won't deny it. Med school falls into the #2 spot and so be it. My family is still #1.
 
Thanks a lot for your inputs. It really feels good knowing I am not the only one in the boat!
Thanks again!
 
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