Ask a nontraditional medical student anything...

[NuttyEngDude]

I am 40 years old though I will state that I am single and have no children which is probably not typical of most nontrads my age. Hmmnn... I don't really fit in anywhere! Oh, well, here is the place to ask an over the hill medical student anything!

Hi Helen, thank you very much for being so open and helpful! Being older, single, etc, I'm wondering what kind of support network you have and what you do when things get very stressful. I sometimes feel I dont fit in with trads due to age difference as well and potentially going to somewhere new and different might be tough. What are your thoughts?

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[Helen Wheels]

i'm curious how older students interact in the clinical years/residency with attendings who are 10+ years younger.

I haven't started rotations yet, obviously, but I am not expecting it to be a huge problem. One thing I have learned from working with classmates this past year is that I can definitely learn from younger people. Just because they are young doesn't mean they don't have knowledge. As the year went on, for the most part, I no longer focused on people's ages. I focused on people as the person they are and not their age. And I hope others do the same when they interact with me (and I think they do). Just leave the attitude behind and get into learning mode and all will be well.

 

[Helen Wheels]

Hi Helen, thank you very much for being so open and helpful! Being older, single, etc, I'm wondering what kind of support network you have and what you do when things get very stressful. I sometimes feel I dont fit in with trads due to age difference as well and potentially going to somewhere new and different might be tough. What are your thoughts?

For me, the good news is that I was accepted to a school one hour from the home I own and have lived in my whole life. I was happy to be able to stay in the living situation that I am used to. The bad part (and I have mentioned this earlier in this thread) is that living so far from campus puts a crimp in your social life with classmates. I'm just not around in the evenings for things. I try to occasionally stay around in the evenings for social stuff but if classes end at 2 PM, I'm not likely to want to stick around until 8 PM to go out.

I don't mind that my classmates are younger. I think it is, generally speaking, invigorating to be around younger people. However, drinking is a big deal, at least at my school, and I'm not likely to participate in events that focus around EtOH (though I don't mean to imply that every social event is drinking, just a lot of them).

Unfortunately for me, I don't have much family left in the area. My parents are deceased. I talk to my siblings on the phone a lot. Otherwise, I would have to admit I am pretty lacking in the social support department. Medical school is hard and it is stressful. It would really have been nice to have more social support this past year but it is what it is. On the other hand, you have to spend so much time alone studying I think that everyone starts feeling more isolated. On top of that, you will find that friends and family no longer understand your day to day life anymore. They think they do, but they don't. They don't understand that if you don't study all day every day for the next two weeks you won't pass your next big exam. This isolates you even further.

Here are my recommendations:

--I would recommend living close to campus, if you can, preferably even in apartments where there are lots of other medical students.
--I also recommend pets, regular exercise, and a good antidepressant!

 

[wholeheartedly]

--I also recommend pets, regular exercise, and a good antidepressant!

i think that's where the ETOH comes in with the younger crowd

 

[jldub]

I apologize if this has been asked but:

How many different physicians did you shadow and how many total hour did you shadow?

I'm trying to build up the shadowing hours but wondering how many some other nontrads did.

 

[Helen Wheels]

I apologize if this has been asked but:

How many different physicians did you shadow and how many total hour did you shadow?

I'm trying to build up the shadowing hours but wondering how many some other nontrads did.

Some of the other nontrads can jump in here since I am not typical in this department. I only shadowed a DO for a few hours to get the DO letter required to apply to LECOM. Most of my clinical experience comes from working in psych, in various settings - inpt, outpt research, psych ED - for over a decade.

If you can get a job with patients that is a very efficient way to go - paycheck and clinical experience at the same time.

 

[startoverat40]

Just leave the attitude behind and get into learning mode and all will be well.

Thanks for your response. I don't have any attitude or problem with working with people younger than me, and I respect younger people who have vastly greater knowledge than I do. I respect them for their kowledge, and for their station.

I asked my question backwards, and so it came off as an attitude towards working with younger people. I didn't mean it at all like that. Thanks.

 

[jldub]

Some of the other nontrads can jump in here since I am not typical in this department. I only shadowed a DO for a few hours to get the DO letter required to apply to LECOM. Most of my clinical experience comes from working in psych, in various settings - inpt, outpt research, psych ED - for over a decade.

If you can get a job with patients that is a very efficient way to go - paycheck and clinical experience at the same time.

Thanks for the response anyway. After tomorrow I will have 20 hrs with an ophthalmologist and 40 with a radiologist and I was just wondering what a standard number was.

 

[Helen Wheels]

Thanks for your response. I don't have any attitude or problem with working with people younger than me, and I respect younger people who have vastly greater knowledge than I do. I respect them for their kowledge, and for their station.

I asked my question backwards, and so it came off as an attitude towards working with younger people. I didn't mean it at all like that. Thanks.

Startover, I wasn't directing my response to you. I meant what I said very generally. I remind myself sometimes to leave the attitude behind.

 

[startoverat40]

 

[QofQuimica]

maybe I should have asked my question the other way around, cause that's how I meant it. How do attendings treat med students who are 10+ years older than them?

Same as they treat med students who are 10+ years younger than them for the most part. You will find as both a med student and as a resident that your attendings' attitudes and practices run the gamut. Some are cool and go by their first names, even with the med students. Some are old-school and very formal. Some are jerks and will decide they don't like specific students/residents for whatever reason (maybe age?). Some are jerks to everyone because they have Axis II personality disorders and that's just how they are.

In all of your interactions with those above you in the hierarchy, do not chalk up interpersonal conflicts as being due to age. While it's possible that someone irrationally dislikes you because of your age, it's far more likely that they would dislike you because of a perception that you think you know everything and/or are entitled to special treatment because of your age. You don't, and you aren't. That 26-year-old intern and 30-year-old attending know more than you do simply by virtue of having been training that much longer. They may be total idiots in all other contexts, but inside the hospital, they're your master craftsmen, and you're their apprentice. If you think about it that way, you won't get so caught up in the issue of age, which really is irrelevant when it comes to your status in the medical training hierarchy.

 

[startoverat40]

Thanks Q !