Career Changers what was the turning point?

[Postbacprmed]

I am 24 year old, graduated from undergrad in 2006. I am now looking into a post bac premed certificate program. I was wonder what was the turning point? What life event or though occured that changed from I thinking about becoming a physician to I am going to medical school. I am nervous, excited & damn near freaked out! I am currently planning to apply for Fall 08 entry, working full time saving money to afford the program now! I am just curious and looking for some stories from others...

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[Law2Doc]

I am 24 year old, graduated from undergrad in 2006. I am now looking into a post bac premed certificate program. I was wonder what was the turning point? What life event or though occured that changed from I thinking about becoming a physician to I am going to medical school. I am nervous, excited & damn near freaked out! I am currently planning to apply for Fall 08 entry, working full time saving money to afford the program now! I am just curious and looking for some stories from others...

I think for a lot of us there was no turning point -- it was a thought process that had been going on for years and no real discernable event that got it going.

 

[JimT30]

I am 24 year old, graduated from undergrad in 2006. I am now looking into a post bac premed certificate program. I was wonder what was the turning point? What life event or though occured that changed from I thinking about becoming a physician to I am going to medical school. I am nervous, excited & damn near freaked out! I am currently planning to apply for Fall 08 entry, working full time saving money to afford the program now! I am just curious and looking for some stories from others...

You are already behind game for fall 08, are you planning on doing a post- bac first or apply while doing a post-bac?

I think the turning point for me was when I realized I was only 26 and had already reached the highest level in my field and was bored with it!

 

[Captain Fantastic]

+1 to what L2D says

...but I had an intersection of events that presented a chance to pursue a different course. My wife took a job that would support the family, my current tech job was wrapping up, etc., and I recognized it as the best opportunity to chase the dream. It was my "now or never" moment. That's when I decided to go back to school and roll my own post-bacc, but I had been working the idea around in my mind for years.

 

[DrMidlife]

I was working in industry for 15 years after getting a math degree. Everybody had their own crap story about what they'd be doing if they didn't have a family to support, or how they used to want to study architecture, or how the money's too good here to give it up and go be a concert pianist, whatever. Yawn. I meet very few people who are actually doing a job they want to do.

My crap story was wanting to go to medical school, probably starting when I was 33 when my niece was born. I talked the usual garbage about it, made excuses, etc. but I did get obsessed, and I couldn't stop reading about med students and residents and public health and Paul Farmer. I doubt I would have done anything about it, really.

But then I got sick with something that might have been chronically disabling, constant blood checking, scary meds, awful, and for 6 months of this I totally cowered down and took it and was afraid to lose my job thus my health insurance etc. etc. Then at my six month followup, the doc told me I was fine, really fine, it's over. He literally gave me permission to go to med school.

Left his office, went back to mine, wrote my resignation letter. Started bio & chem 2 weeks after that. I was 39. No husband or kids, no problems, no excuses.

So yeah, it got done in one day, but it took 6 years to get to that day.

 

[Buckeye4life]

I would say it was a culmination of things, some of which were what I perceived to be signs. I also read two books that made me start thinking about reaching my potential in life and were kind of the spark that fueled me to go for it. One was "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Osteen and the other was "Gifted Hands" by Dr. Ben Carsen.

 

[ORBeaver]

I worked as a technical manager at a company that downsized its
engineering staff at least six times in three years.
The first time the VP stood on a table and told us to "measure twice and cut once". It was worse than "Office Space".

I just completed my 40 credits of prereqs at the state university, and my AMCAS has been verified.

 

[gotmeds?]

I think the turning point for me was when I realized I was only 26 and had already reached the highest level in my field and was bored with it!

I was around the same age when I reached the highest level in my field -- paramedic. Of course, since there are only two levels where I worked (EMT-Basic and EMT-Paramedic), it wasn't such a huge accomplishment.

 

[ShyRem]

I was a mom and paramedic. Loved being a medic, wanted to go back to school when my kids were in school too so daycare wouldn't be an issue. Then I got hurt at work (a career-ending injury, as it turns out). So I went back to school earlier than planned. Med school was always a "wouldn't it be nice, but I'm pretty d*mn old now". But as I healed from my injury and went through my classes I started to say "Why not?? Who am I to say no?" So I applied. And here I am, starting MSII in a couple of weeks. Somebody pinch me.

 

[CremasterFlash]

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[polymer]

18 month deployment to iraq.

35 when I went, 37 when I came back. I helped pull security for the medics coming in and saw what they did (MD were attached in some cases).

I realized that this type of war will be here for generations. And not only soldiers but civilains are going to be hurt.

I made a vow on a really lousy night that I wasn't going to stop till I got in and was back in the sand with an MD behind me.

When I came back to work, I was promoted twice up the corperate ladder. Nice healthy bonusus and raises.

So what? I couldn't get it out of my head to be a physician. It has been the first thing I think about and the last thing before I sleep. During the day too.

That was my turning point. For what it's worth.

 

[Empi]

Hey, thanks for your service in Iraq. One of my children was in Iraq for most of 1996. She saw, firsthand, the amazing work the medics and doctors are doing over there to save lives.

I was a SAHM for just about all of my adult life. I started to go back to school when my youngest child went to school.

I have always been interested in medicine and alternative and complementary medicine. One of my daughters is a M4 right now. When she was in M1, she started regaling me with stories of a student in her class who was about 5 years older than me. This gave me hope that I wasn't too old to try to become a physician some day.

I started school full time and have been working toward that goal (either a DO or a mid level, I'm still trying to decide.)

 

[docdo2007]

I was also very busy in the professional world. So busy that I didn't realize it was compromising my health! Then I found out I was pregnant with twins, with a 4 year old already. I decided to be a stay at home mom and quit my stressful job for my children. That decision changed my life, it would turn out. Being at home with my children gave me the stillness and peace necessary to really evaluate my life (I know it sounds crazy but rocking a baby to sleep can be very peaceful). I wanted to leave a legacy for my children, and do something to show the love of Christ to those who may not ever meet Him in a traditional church setting. So, that's where being a doctor came into the picture. A lifetime of longing for something and not knowing exactly for what I was longing...until now. Now I will be starting as an MSI in August...9 days to be exact!

 

[Postbacprmed]

You are already behind game for fall 08, are you planning on doing a post- bac first or apply while doing a post-bac?

I think the turning point for me was when I realized I was only 26 and had already reached the highest level in my field and was bored with it!

Not behind just a typo, Fall 2009. Been thinking (more like obsessing) about medical school for almost 2 years now. I have been researching programs, and talking to Medical students & physicians trying to figure out if this is really what I want to do. Found this site a couple of days ago...happy I did. Thanks for sharing all your stories.

 

[EMTB2MD]

My defining moment was on May 6th. I was at a business meeting when a colleague of mine went into Vfib (I think) and lost consciousness right in front of me. Completely helpless I activated the EMS system and stood there and watched. The entire time I remember thinking to myself that I went into the wrong field and that I should be pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming a physician. I remember the next couple of nights waking up in a cold sweat and starting to map out the next 10 years of my life. Within the past year I have volunteered in a local hospital and also earned my EMT-B certification. My next step is completing my prereqs and applying to med school (class 2013). I'll be 38.

 

[PTtoMD]

It has been on my mind for years. Ever since i started PT school 10 years ago. I always thought i would eventually find the satisfaction i was looking for in my current career. I just figured i wasn't smart enough or young enough or skilled enough....to be a physician. I committed myself to my career in hopes that would be what i needed to fill this void. I reached my goals, got promotions, went back to school and advanced my PT degree, and taught at a university. I figured if i could really succeed in PT, i would be happy. I realized one of my gifts is working with others, making them feel comfortable and respected. I knew i could do well as a physician for the same reasons i do well as a PT. However, I continued to put this dream on hold. I focused instead on my family. I wanted more then anything to be a mother. It was 3 long years and two horrific miscarriages later my amazing daughter came into this world. With being overjoyed, i thought my med school dreams would finally fade into the past. TO my surprise they are still so alive. I don't ever want to say to my daughter....i always wanted to .....i only wish i had...I want to set an example that you can follow your dreams no matter what obstacles stand in the way. I realized that this must be what God has planned for me because He keeps this idea so alive in my mind despite my efforts to ignore it and move on. For the first time in my life I actually thought o myself, wait maybe i could do this, maybe I do have what it takes. SO here i am starting organic chem in the fall. For 5 years i have contemplated registering for this course and the day i took my daughter to campus and signed up was liberating!

 

[waytogo]

It was something that I had always thought about even during my musical training. Actually obsessed would be a more accurate description. However, I did not feel like I had a motivational reason aside from the standards reasons. So I continued in my perfectly good field that I was good in. As a graduate music performance student, I had a career ending injury and years of an undiagnosed major illness (followed later by diagnosis and surgery). I couldn't play for years. It was during this horrible time that I was given the reason I wanted. It was this experience that gave me the opportunity for insight, experience, and personal reflection. Ultimately I realized that I really did not need a "reason" but personal clarification of my reasons. The other thing that this experience gave me was it let me see how strong I am and it let me see what type of person I really am.

 

[Kate6058]

As a kid, I'd always wanted to be a doctor. I was obsessed with all the non-fiction medical shows on TV (anyone remember the old school show The Operation on TLC?), became a hospital volunteer, and loaded up on science classes in high school to prepare for being a college pre-med. However, I was struck with serious low self-esteem when it came to chemistry and physics and math, and after a few weeks of these courses in college I dropped them because I was convinced I wasn't smart enough to handle them. I always said... if you dropped me in a hospital to work, I'd love it, but I just can't do these courses. Anyway, I became a film major (a legitimate interest of mine) and worked 2 years after graduation in television before realizing it just wasn't enough, that I wasn't doing anything that could benefit other people or affect change and that I had no opportunities left for learning. I still deeply desired to be a physician. I originally thought I'd go back and study nutrition because I was still convinced I couldn't go back and take all those pre-reqs at this point... but after a week in my intro nutrition class I knew I had to do pre-med. So, here I am, I'm 25 and planning to apply next June for fall 2009. I've made it through gen chem and physics is up next and still a little scared, but I know I'll get through it.

 

[RxnMan]

I had a job as a lab monkey, doing research for a local doc. Every now and again, this doc would let me hang out with him on rounds. I knew from the work I enjoyed research, but I thought about patient care. I decided to volunteer at the big local ED to test myself (think signal to noise ratio). I discovered I loved it, and the rest is history.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

I think it was me sitting back on my fat ass during my tenure as a computer programmer (a company I part own), thinking about my prior dreams and about what I haven given back to the community and life in general. Has what I done so far in life been worthwhile? I didn't like where I was career-wise and life-wise, so I started a gradual process of determining what I truly wanted out of life. It lead me to here and beyond with a life in medicine, what I wanted to do years ago anyways but for various reasons never happened then. It's happening now.

 

[Faze2]

I think for a lot of us there was no turning point -- it was a thought process that had been going on for years and no real discernable event that got it going.

yeah im sort of in the same boat. It was always something I wanted to do but I was an idiot in college and I was quite lazy. Pre med and lazy don't really go hand in hand. I guess the kick in the ass I needed was when I got home from school and i was applying to all of these jobs. Some of them were actually good jobs where I'd be making good money. But every place I went, I just thought, 'Could I really come here every day and be happy?" The answer was always a resounding NO. When I thought about what would make me truly happy, it was always medicine. So after about a month of interviews and questions about 'So why do you want to work in marketing/insurance/business/sales/etc?' and having absolutely no answer for that, I realized I gotta man up and get back in school. So I did, and I've never been happier in my entire life. It's amazing to me what people are capabale of when the are enthusiastic about something. In the past year I have not missed a single class yet, and I am doing awesome. I am so glad I did this, and it was awesome to meet so many people who are doing the exact same thing as me.