Is this a sensible Path for a 33 year old?

[AngelaChanel34]

I know I want to be a D.O. But as I have posted many times before Im almost 34 I have zero college nad I have two kids. I am trying to think of ways to support my kids and my dream of becoming a D.O. would it be smart for me to get a ASN in Nursing and use this to support my family and have the hospital I work for help with tuition? I can get a Bachelors Degree in Biology or another subject that will help me towards Medical School. So in the end if all fails I can at least futur my education as a Nurse and become a NP. Which isn't a bad option. Just entertaining some ideas any input and advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[7starmantis]

I think your never too old to pursue your dreams. I dont know that ASN is the fastest path to getting to DO school, but it would help pay the bills.

 

[Nasrudin]

I know I want to be a D.O. But as I have posted many times before Im almost 34 I have zero college nad I have two kids. I am trying to think of ways to support my kids and my dream of becoming a D.O. would it be smart for me to get a ASN in Nursing and use this to support my family and have the hospital I work for help with tuition? I can get a Bachelors Degree in Biology or another subject that will help me towards Medical School. So in the end if all fails I can at least futur my education as a Nurse and become a NP. Which isn't a bad option. Just entertaining some ideas any input and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Nope. Nothing sensible about it. But. Like Keith Richards. I'd rather be dead than sensible.

You've already done so much. Two kids and everything. Keep the journey steaming along. This is obviously something you want to do. So do it. Leave sensibility to the people up in the bleachers who would rather judge than do anything themselves.

You've obviously covered the Waterfront on this. I can tell by all the possible venues and tracks you've suggested. I had to face the same decision. How to keep the home fires burning, keep the rent paid, and how to take my shot while doing it. But I didn't have the two rugrats.

So there's your piece of the puzzle. Does your partner and/or family really support the venture. I've thought many times while going through the initial stages that I should have built organically around a career in nursing to simply be able to afford the process.

This **** is so expensive. It all but ensures that the next generation of physicians comes from upper middle class backgrounds by and large.

I took the the broke @ss biology student route. And forget career venues open to all those who can afford to spend their hours volunteering in Dr. Whatzhiznut'z lab. You won't have the time or the inclination to work for free. And that means your won't have built up the necessary lab skills to eek out a living doing science while paying for your application cycle. That's the price you will pay for parsimony. The fastest way to get to application point with no off ramp. Just you in the General Lee launching over the broken bridge while Hank Williams Jr. takes the onlookers to commercial break.

Only unlike in the Dukes of Hazard. This is real. If you can stomach that then go for it. If your children's expenses w/ support of your peeps aint enough then go the nursing route.

If you concentrate hard on fluent sequential nursing steps you will arrive at your application point with the ability to work in any town in the US for decent pay. And enough to pay for your application cycle. And you will do it applying to DO schools who are more than amenable to people in their 30's and 40's.

Either way. Get A's. Do some volunteering and put one foot in front of the other looking up only occasionally to stretch your neck. 5 years from now. Report back to us on your success.

Good luck.

 

[J ROD]

Nursing is the safe way to have a backup. I would have gotten my BS in that if I could go back and just taking the med school prereqs along with it. You pretty much have to have a BA/BS anyway so why not get one where you can actually make money from it. Not much you can do with a BS in Bio!!

Plus, you got to have your bachelors before you go NP so it would make that easier if you got the BSN.

You have a clean slate unlike most so make sure you get high grades no matter what. You can see how many are wishing they took things more seriously when they started. Every class counts......

 

[KingstonPre]

^^^ At most Universities, it would take like... 6 years... to complete a BSN plus the Med. school pre-reqs, that's why a lot of pre-meds don't go that route.

 

[J ROD]

^^^ At most Universities, it would take like... 6 years... to complete a BSN plus the Med. school pre-reqs, that's why a lot of pre-meds don't go that route.

6 yrs? Come on....

Its like only a few extra classes ochem, phy, and some math...

Do some summers.....4 yrs!

 

[KingstonPre]

You have to take A&P I & II before you can even gain entrance into an Associates of Nursing Program, that's a 5th year right off the bat.

"A few extra classes like Ochem..." in a 14-credit Nursing III block might cripple you.

...and those few extra classes... are actually 28 credits worth of classes, lol. I'm pretty sure they don't get their summers to themselves either.

 

[NTF]

With ZERO COLLEGE as you say I'd just get started on the core curriculum requirements for a Bachelor's since you're going to need it for most of career paths (except ASN) you mentioned. You should focus on the immediate task ahead of you, trying to do well as a college student and a mom. Don't spend too much time contemplating MD, DO, NP, PA, RN, etc. right now. Start with English 101, College Algebra, and then maybe some intro science courses. The Associate's programs will always be there if you should ever decide ASN is for you. No point hedging bets before you've even started.

 

[gman33]

Question about supporting your kids, are you a single mom?
If you don't have anyone to help with the bills, the nursing first route might be okay. It will take longer, but you might need to make some tradeoffs.

Think about what you want out of your career. Forget about titles for now. What in medicine appeals to you? Do you have to end up as a doc?

If not, NP might be a good route. You can take things a step at a time and still make some money along the way.

If you start with nursing and want to get to DO, it is a very long road.
4 years - BSN
1-2 years - med school pre-reqs
1 year applying to med school
4 years med school
3-5+ years residency

So your looking at maybe 15 years until you are out practicing and earning a decent living. That's a long time, so think about it before you start.

I started at a similar age, but I already had a bachelor's degree and no kids. I'm not saying not to do it, but just put a lot of thought into it.

Another thing, getting a bachelor's degree is the first step. Pick something you'd like to do if med school doesn't work out. Nursing is ok, but anything is ok. Med schools won't care what your degree is in.

 

[agirl]

deleted.

6 yrs? Come on....

Its like only a few extra classes ochem, phy, and some math...

Do some summers.....4 yrs!

 

[agirl]

I agree.

With ZERO COLLEGE as you say I'd just get started on the core curriculum requirements for a Bachelor's since you're going to need it for most of career paths (except ASN) you mentioned. You should focus on the immediate task ahead of you, trying to do well as a college student and a mom. Don't spend too much time contemplating MD, DO, NP, PA, RN, etc. right now. Start with English 101, College Algebra, and then maybe some intro science courses. The Associate's programs will always be there if you should ever decide ASN is for you. No point hedging bets before you've even started.

 

[J ROD]

You have to take A&P I & II before you can even gain entrance into an Associates of Nursing Program, that's a 5th year right off the bat.

It's not like that where I am from!

"A few extra classes like Ochem..." in a 14-credit Nursing III block might cripple you.

True. But, from what I saw from a girl I dated, the classes were not that bad.

...and those few extra classes... are actually 28 credits worth of classes, lol. I'm pretty sure they don't get their summers to themselves either

At my school, they take BIO I and II, Gchem I and II, and A/P I and II, Micro, some math (not sure what)

So, they have some of it already......

See inside post!!

 

[J ROD]

most nursing schools have a gap period between application and admission. Prerequisites for nursing in my state school pertinent to medical achool application only include:A&P, Microbiology and 1 chem class.
so if you do the right thing take Micro, chem I and A&P for science major, you'll still need general chem II, physics I &II, organic I and II, biochem + some upper level biology class, not to mention its a bad idea to take organic I and II in the summer. so that means you need to take extra time to take organic chemistry seperately. Dont forget those classes comes in certain order, you need to take general chem first before you take organic chem, no biochem class before you can make it through organic chem I and II. so thats a two or three year plan.
In nursing school, generally, you'll never have time to jungle in between nursing and premeds class, otherwise you grades will suffer and no medical school will like that. you need make as many As as possible. being in nursing doesnt give much of a leeway on GPA.
once you are graduated and ready to "build your bank", first year nursing is very demanding mentally and physically because theres so much you need to learn. managers dont like the idea you need to adjust your schedule because you have schools to attend. once you pass the stage of being a newbie, two years has already gone by.... now its time to take some flexible shift and make adjustment for your tuesday and thursday classes.
Been there, done that, not fun, I never rest for a minute in those six years, I didnt have a boyfriend I need to entertain except the first two years and my parents even helped me out on tuition. I dont have kids needing my time and attention. It did just take me six years to finish a BSN+ all the premed classes and my checking account still suffered because I had to pay all that money for my premed classes.
If I'm the OP, I will think about it this way, I dont want to lose a year practicing as a doctor, so I'll do my best as a biology major, try to get in in my senior year. if thats not happening, then I may go back to nursing and it'll take me only two more years to finish all nursing classes.
Enough about all that nagging, the OP could just ignore me. its ultimately your decision...
The good thing is you dont have to decide now, you can start taking classes and test the water first, if you make all As, why not go straight ahead with biology and medical school? I'm not saying nursing school is easy, most schools require a 3.5 and above to get in.

Apparently, nursing programs vary alot then...

 

[agirl]

deleted

Apparently, nursing programs vary alot then...

 

[KingstonPre]

See inside post!!

You left out Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and a myriad of other mandatory courses regardless of which state.

Pre-meds don't do nursing, it's a stressful path, but if you feel you can handle it by all means

 

[J ROD]

You left out Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and a myriad of other mandatory courses regardless of which state.

Pre-meds don't do nursing, it's a stressful path, but if you feel you can handle it by all means

My school has a certain number of humanities that have to be taken in both programs but no specific classes. It's around 9 or 12 hrs. Not hard to get.....since you need them in both.

 

[KingstonPre]

My school has a certain number of humanities that have to be taken in both programs but no specific classes. It's around 9 or 12 hrs. Not hard to get.....since you need them in both.

Lucky, I haven't heard of a program like that in my state.

 

[AKPMD]

Am I the only one who seems to want to dissuade the Op? I don't want to sound harsh, but this is the reality and most of the people here aren't in a position to give you advice whether or not you should pursue your dreams.

Whether or not you should pursue medicine has to depend on these questions:

How old are your kids, and how will you support them while you're away?
How strong are you in the sciences?
How much money do you currently have?
Do you have a significant other/parents who are able to support you+family?


All these people are telling you to pursue your dreams, but this is the reality. Sometimes compromises need to be made, including your dreams.

In the unfortunate case that your kids are reaching the age where they need a desperate need of a parent figure (around 8-18), and you're barely keeping up with the bills, and you're terrible with the sciences...then I don't think taking this risk is the right way. If this is indeed the case, you're going to need to sacrifice your dreams for the better of your family.

That's how I feel, I would love to hear feedbacks from other people.

 

[EdLongshanks]

So your looking at maybe 15 years until you are out practicing and earning a decent living. That's a long time, so think about it before you start.

Too many fudges built into that time line. You apply to medical school during your last year of college, so that year does not add in.

Secondly. Different people consider different wages to be a decent living. Residents don't get paid well compared to attending physicians, but they make what some people consider a decent living. Someone living on a nurses salary might consider the life of a resident to be not that bad.

I've spoken to several residents and found out that they are moonlighting to get the wages higher. One 3rd year resident told me that he made over 6 figures during his 2nd year of residency (this is in a low wage state). Granted, he didn't spend much time at home ....

 

[J ROD]

Am I the only one who seems to want to dissuade the Op? I don't want to sound harsh, but this is the reality and most of the people here aren't in a position to give you advice whether or not you should pursue your dreams.

Whether or not you should pursue medicine has to depend on these questions:

How old are your kids, and how will you support them while you're away?
How strong are you in the sciences?
How much money do you currently have?
Do you have a significant other/parents who are able to support you+family?


All these people are telling you to pursue your dreams, but this is the reality. Sometimes compromises need to be made, including your dreams.

In the unfortunate case that your kids are reaching the age where they need a desperate need of a parent figure (around 8-18), and you're barely keeping up with the bills, and you're terrible with the sciences...then I don't think taking this risk is the right way. If this is indeed the case, you're going to need to sacrifice your dreams for the better of your family.

That's how I feel, I would love to hear feedbacks from other people.

I agree its not the best decision to go back but the OP sounds like they are going to do something. So, might as well give them some of our thoughts on how to make it work better.

 

[Nasrudin]

Am I the only one who seems to want to dissuade the Op? I don't want to sound harsh, but this is the reality and most of the people here aren't in a position to give you advice whether or not you should pursue your dreams.

Whether or not you should pursue medicine has to depend on these questions:

How old are your kids, and how will you support them while you're away?
How strong are you in the sciences?
How much money do you currently have?
Do you have a significant other/parents who are able to support you+family?


All these people are telling you to pursue your dreams, but this is the reality. Sometimes compromises need to be made, including your dreams.

In the unfortunate case that your kids are reaching the age where they need a desperate need of a parent figure (around 8-18), and you're barely keeping up with the bills, and you're terrible with the sciences...then I don't think taking this risk is the right way. If this is indeed the case, you're going to need to sacrifice your dreams for the better of your family.

That's how I feel, I would love to hear feedbacks from other people.

Well yeah I agree. I try to always be conjectural and contextual. But at the same time. For people like us there's so much to say forget it just stay put that I will always give encouragement.

I don't think encouragement is the same as "....hey man....follow your bliss bro...like...nevermind the haters man...."

 

[gman33]

Too many fudges built into that time line. You apply to medical school during your last year of college, so that year does not add in.

You apply after you are done the prereqs.

If you pursue a degree in something else like nursing, the OP's goal was to finish that first and start earning some money.

It might be longer if she is working while finishing up.
I was assumming completion of all the nursing stuff before doing the prereqs. In that case, there would be a gap year.

In any case, let's say 12 years. That is still a long time.

I never said not to do it, just make sure you know what you are in for.

And yeah a resident's salary isn't that bad for some. If you are supporting yourself and 2 kids, that would be an issue for many.