Kids?

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How many people here have kids and are going to go to medical or dental school? I had a number of colleagues that did it successfully -- one even delivered her 3rd child during medical school. But, man it can't be easy.

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I have three. I start in Sept. I don't think it will be much harder than undergrad with three kids was. I was doing research, volunteering etc. in undergrad, time with family was at a premium.
 
what we are trying to figure out is how to afford it- my husband has two more years of med school then residency, so it will be up to me to be the breadwinner plus the mommy. this task is scaring us both- we want to have kids now but cant figure this out.
 
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For me it has been bananas. New York City is way expensive, and the money that my school has afforded me to live on is sparse.

Falconer, I wouldn't bank on it being anywhere close to undergrad even with all the things you were doing. I was surprise at how much time studying takes (especially second year).
 
I'll be starting med school in August and I have one kid. My husband and I planned it that way...I had her after I had been out of college for a while (I had my med school prereqs done). I have stayed home with her and am now ready to go to school (she'll be in 2nd grade). I'm sure this will be more difficult than if I had gone straight to med school without a kid, but we've done our best to set this up ahead of time.
 
Oh don't get me wrong I have no illusion that med school and spending adequate time with my kids will be easy, quite the contrary. But heck if I eliminate all the extra crud in my schedule,as I've been doing, I'll have much more time for studying without affecting my time with my kids.
 
I'm going into my third year of med school with 2 daughters. It hasn't been easy so far, but it's been doable. My greatest fear is what happens now with clerkships. I've always been able to skip class if one of the girls is sick or has a school play or such. I know it won't be that easy from now on out. I just plan on making them my #1 priority and don't plan on sleeping for the next year or so. I still don't regret my choice though. I'm just glad I have adaptable kids!
 
I just finished my 1st year at DMU and I have 4 children. My husband is a pastor, so his schedule allows him some flexibility. It has been difficult, but certainly not impossible. I think time-managment is the key.

Truly, having a family has helped me keep my priorities straight! I want to do my best academically (and I'm doing fine), but my family always comes first.

Also, my children are somewhat older (15, 14, 12, and 8) so they are more independent and can help out around the house a little bit. They also understand Mom's need to study. So I can't really say what it's like having LITTLE children in med school. But I can say this last year was difficult, but do-able, even with children.
 
hey theres a few at our med school who have kids, thats very young uns, and get on with the course.
its more difficult than having a part time job - its something you putn more than your life ans soul into, isn't it?
but its possible from what I know. Finacial burdens are huge.
 
i start medschool in a couple of weeks and my wife and I are planning to start a family soon. it'll be hard and we know it, but we also can't wait at the same time.
any advice from the pros out there?

later
 
My wife and I had our first baby two months into my internship. We had no family around to help us, but it really wasn't as bad as many people had told us it would be. One of the General Surgeons that I worked with during medical school had a baby every year of his residency. Yes, that's five kids in the span of five years! Anyway, he's one of the nicest and happiest General Surgerons that I've ever worked with.
 
i have a 7 mo old baby and the wife is pregnant again.. its going to be tough.
 
This question is to ThePreachersWife and all other experts. I really want to go to medical school but don't think I will be able to go for a few years. Was it hard going back to school? How did you get into medical after a break?

Also my husband will be starting medical school next fall. Anybody out there have both spouses going to medical school and have kids at the same time? Is this doable?
 
are you, by any chance, related to doctora foxy, foxechica? :confused:
 
foxechica:

Going back to school was not a problem for me. I was a nurse for 14 years before I really went "back" to school--to medical school, that is. And medical school was altogether different from nursing school, but the study habits you form early on will either help or hurt you.

I always wanted to finish my B.A. in piano performance, so my undergraduate degree is in music. You can major in whatever you want before you apply to medical school, just make sure you have done well in the prereq.'s for whatever medical schools you want to apply to (I'm ending a sentence with a preposition--don't tell my grammar guru husband! :laugh: ).

And as for kids in medical school...I just deal with it. Sorry that that sounds so blithe, but it's true: My husband and I have a wonderful relationship, and he has great flexibility in his schedule, so we have had no problems so far. Planning ahead and time managment are the keys to having kids in medical school...IMHO. Others may think I'm crazy, but everything I've said is straight from the heart.

Sincerely,
ThePreacher'sWife
 
For Lee B...

Lee, how come your title was changed from "SDN Sleestack" to "SDN webmonster"? As a certified baby-buster and 70's cartoon junkie, I laughed at the "Sleestack" moniker. Did you get sued for copyright infringement?

Just curious. :)

I haven't been around the forums too much over the summer. Did I miss your explanation? Was it because all the SDN 'young-uns' had no idea what a "sleestack" was?

ThePreacher'sWife
 
I have an almost 5 year old and I am starting my second year. My husband is finishing up his master's degree, and hasn't worked full time for the last 3 years. I am lucky in that he liked staying home and was good at it. He has just started a new job at 6 hours a day, and so this year will be different, but since my son is in all day kindergarten, it's not as big of a deal as if he were a baby. If I didn't have a supportive spouse who knew that medical school would be this hard, I don't know how I would have survived. I've already seen 2 marriages split up in my class because of poor expectations.

We planned to have our son when we did (during my master's program) because I realized med school or residency or internship was not the time to have a kid. I think this is different if you're a male med student - several of my classmate's wives had babies this year and right before our first year, but the guys don't have to nurse the baby or stay home with the baby. I am not saying it's not hard, but the men I see in my class are getting along fine. Then again, they have super wives...

Financially we did it - even last year with BOTH of us in school. We made a budget and planned out our financial aid checks. WE also have a mom that would loan us money as needed at the end of the cycle - right before the financial aid comes in. But scraping by on financial aid wasn't as hard as I thought it would be- but we really don't live all that high on the hog anyway.
I also petitioned the financial aid office for more money and got it to cover preschool and health insurace for my son. Granted, that's more loans, but it is possible. Our financial aid office is magnificent.

My grades are not as high as they could be if I were single and had no children. But then my life would not be as rich nor as fun. Grades are secondary. My job as wife and mom are mmore important than the all important A.
 
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