Can a Mom Do it?

[kpaul]

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I'm 24 and married with 2 kids (2 year old & a 2 week old). I graduated 3 years ago with a Finance Degree. I had a 3.3 GPA and i did not take college serious. I will have to go back and take 12 hours of pre-med.

I've been a personal banker for 2 years, and i decided that i want to be a pediatrician.

I know i can do it, i just want to know what to expect. How many hours a day should i plan for class and study time in Med School. My kids are in day care, but it will be tough to pay for daycare, if i'm in Med School. I will not plan on working, while in medschool. I did the math and for a 4 year program, and i will have to get a $200,000 loan for tuition and to replace some of my income to keep the family machine running.

I figure 4 years in med school, and 1 year internship, and 2 years residency. Is this correct?

After i graduate, what will my schedule be like for my internship and residency?

I just want to hear from a mom that has done it.

most importantly, will i be able to be a mom and a wife?

thanks

 

[anon-y-mouse]

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[ombastic]

12 hours of premed? have you taken any of the prereqs for med school?

 

[mshheaddoc]

Many women have done it. SDN has a partner site mommd.com . If you go there MANY women are in your shoes. There are quite a few women on SDN as well who have mananged both.

Just make sure you have the prereqs done:
Chem I and II
Bio I and II
Physics I and II
Ochem I and II

Some schools require additional upper level biology, biochemistry, or genetics, so research what schools you are applying to.

If your husband is working he can help support you and maybe pay for living expenses so you don't have to take out as much for loans. Every person has a different home life and different experience and for some people it works, for some people it might not.

With that said, You and your husband are the only two to decide if its right for you. With that said, there are many on this board who have succeeded and I'm sure a few who didn't make it. Just like any other profession.

 

[bottles999]

I'm 24 and married with 2 kids (2 year old & a 2 week old). I graduated 3 years ago with a Finance Degree. I had a 3.3 GPA and i did not take college serious. I will have to go back and take 12 hours of pre-med.

I've been a personal banker for 2 years, and i decided that i want to be a pediatrician.

I know i can do it, i just want to know what to expect. How many hours a day should i plan for class and study time in Med School. My kids are in day care, but it will be tough to pay for daycare, if i'm in Med School. I will not plan on working, while in medschool. I did the math and for a 4 year program, and i will have to get a $200,000 loan for tuition and to replace some of my income to keep the family machine running.

I figure 4 years in med school, and 1 year internship, and 2 years residency. Is this correct?

After i graduate, what will my schedule be like for my internship and residency?

I just want to hear from a mom that has done it.

most importantly, will i be able to be a mom and a wife?

thanks

Not a mom here... However, I think you underestimating the time it will take to Get into med school - IMHO. That alone will be a task that will take atleast 1 - 2 years to get all the pre-req's, as others listed, out of the way as a post-bacc. You can do that and work or take care of the lil ones, to avoid day care costs, via evening classes. The big drawback there is the class selection is very limited for evening classes.

In addition, there will be maybe a 2-3 month hiatus when you need to study and be very focused when you prep for the MCAT. Its hard to recommend taking classes at the same time, let alone other activities. If you peruse these boards you will find other threads that discuss other aspects of the application process and pre-req's One more thing, you'll also need shadowing time and/or volunteering at a hospice or health care facility.

These are just the activities that lead up to having the privilage just to apply competitatively to med school. I have to admit, had I asked someone two years ago this list, I woulda been quite discouraging from the get-go. However, It is doable, but takes alot of committment on your's an of course your family's part too.

Wish you the best!!

 

[lilnoelle]

Well, I'm not one who can say "I've already done it" although there are many here that have. I'm a M1 though... finished 4 weeks of med school and have taken my first exam. I have two children, a 3 year old and a 1 year old. My husband works, but is not making enough money to support us all. Basically, I'm taking out the max I can for loans and that includes money for daycare expenses. I'm planning on working in primary care in an underserved area of the state (primary care includes pediatrics as well as a few other fields) and so I have a forgiveable loan that covers my tuition and gives me a monthly stipend. This means that my loans will be around $80K instead of $280K. My kids are in daycare for a good 10 hours of the day and I study some after they go to bed.
I'm feeling really good how all of it is working out. I don't really feel that I have a lot less time with my children than I did working full time. Probably the most important thing is that I don't let myself get overstressed and take it out on my family. So far that hasn't been a problem.
I'm sure things will be worse in my first year of clinicals and even worse in residency... but one step at a time, right?

 

[montessori2md]

I agree with everyone else : ) And wanted to add that you should think about alternatives to day care -we've convinced my mom to help out, so that will cut costs a bit, though we're still going to do child care part-time cuz my mom works, too. We're also trying to eliminate as much of our excess expenditures before I quit working altogether (like you, my earliest entry date is sept 2008) -so things like car payments, etc, aren't an issue. Your older child might be in kindergarten when you start M1, so that would seriously cut down on costs.

I'm fortunate to have a boss and a family that are uber supportive, and I've told my husband that if this gets too stressful, we can pull the plug. So far, he rates a "6 or 7" out of 10, 10 being perfect, with me working part time, taking classes part time, and studying (which gives me about a 55hr/wk schedule). Because my current job pays next to nothing (hi, part time teacher?), it won't hurt so much when I quit working, and it's a big incentive for my hubby to be supportive (to heck with debt, I will actually have a decent income someday and he can kick back a bit). I don't know how much the money thing will be an issue for your family, but I think if your husband (and you) are prepared for the worst, you'll be able to focus better on studying.

I think being a mom has made me a better student, because every minute I spend in class or studying counts -because it's time I'm taking away from my son- so I don't mess around the way I used to, I pay attention to my instructors more, and I'm much more organized now.

 

[mommy2three]

it can be done.....i have faith that it can be done 🙂
however you will get the general "are you insane?" comments from about everyone and anyone who knows what you are doing....come up with some snappy retorts now 😉

 

[Flopotomist]

As an M1 non-trad here, I would say this - Can it be done? Of course. Many parents are doing it, and are doing it very well. If you ARE going to do this, make sure you talk to a number of medical students and get a realistic idea of what you are about to get yourself into. I would also STRONGLY recommend talking to a number of health care professionals and analyzing your motives to see if there are any other positions that would satisfy your personal goals that weren't MD (eg look at PA, NP roles - a lot of patient contact, responsibility, autonomy, decent pay - years less training).

Also keep in mind the strain that you will be placing on your marriage. Talk to your husband and make sure that you are including him in the decision making process (if being a Mom is hard, being a single Mom would be nearly impossible).

One other challenge you face is your background. As a non-science major in undergrad, the first year you will be studying a bit harder than everybody else just to keep up. I am in class, lab or studying around 12 hours a day 5 days a week with 3-4 hours a day on weekends. There will be a long line of people saying "Oh, I only study for 8 minutes a day" but understand that the majority of people study quite a bit more here than in undergrad.

This certainly isn't meant to discourage you, but to give you at least one student's (my) experiences so you can make an informed decision. Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you like.