Last chance at psych

[oldladypremed]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 35 year old mother of two and I have been nursing the dream of becoming a psychiatrist for longer then I can remember. I keep trying to push this dream away but it refuses to die. Ironically, its only recently that I've been able to seriously consider this becuase I have been diagnosed with ADD and placed on apropriate medication. I have since been able to complete most of my pre-med requirements with high grades. I have a year of organic chemistry to complete. (I also have a JD but thats another story!).

Anyway, my question is, is this dream still feasible. I would need at least a nother year to complete my pre-meds. My academic history is spotty and my premeds have been taken in several different places along the way. I feel comfident that I can do well on the MCATS but I don't have an inpressive list of accomplishments to show med schools.

But I do have a burning passion for this specialty. I have a history that I thin would make me well suited to help others. So what do you think?

Also, I do have two small children to care for. How horrible were your third and fourth year rotations through medicine and surgury etc? Is it manageable with a family?

Do you know any other old ladies in med school?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[medcat3]

oops! I posted a response to your question as a new thread. Check it out under "response".

 

[erkin777]

I started medical school at 36. There is a woman in my class that is in her 40's. So as far as age goes, don't worry about it. Actually, your age will count as a big positive in admissions.

Regarding being a mother and attending medical school, the subject has been discussed many times on other fourms here on SDN. Do a search and see if you come up with anything.

There is a person with the User ID of "DrMom" that attends OSU medical school and I think she is a mother. See if you can contact her. I am sure she can give you some advice.

 

[Psychobabble]

I am also an older student/resident and agree with the above post - definitely check out DrMom if she's still around.

Also, you mentioned that you have a burning desire to learn and practice psychiatry. I would encourage you to explore specifics of that and practice articulating it to others and, eventually, and admissions committee or interviewer. What or who has influenced you? Do you read psychiatric material/journals in your spare time? What specifically about psychotherapy or psychopharmacology do you enjoy? What is your view of psychiatry in this era? Etc.

You also might want to explore volunteering (very small amount of time since you obviously have your hands full with the kids) at a psych hospital or other facility. Talk to some psychiatrists ("informational interviews") to further clarify your ideas and beliefs about the field and to obtain relevant and timely info on current practices.

Finally, I wouldn't say that you don't have much to show for your prior endeavors, a JD would have taken great discipline, time and effort, and supports your intellectual abilities. I don't think it matters that the pre-med courses were separated by time or geography. MCAT scores will help you if you score well, but won't necessarily keep you from getting in if you score average.

Good Luck! It'll be great to have another one in the field with a passion for psych!

 

[oldladypremed]

Psychobable,

Thank you so much for those wonderful suggestions. You're questions about my interest in psych have really helped me begin to better clarify and describe this goal.

I am planning to begin volunteering in a local adolescent psych hospital over the summer. They have an excellent program, usually reservedfor student volunteers which I was able to talk my way into. I'll let you all know how it goes.

One of the things I'm hoping to do there is really clarify who is responsible for what in terms of mental health. Before I rush forward and get my psych degree I want to make darn sure that its the right degree this time! The one thing that has been discouraging lately is that several of the psychiatrists I have spoken to say that their job is mostly monitoring medications and that the leave the psychotherapy to the psychologists, nurses and social workers. I was hoping to be able to do both meds and psychotherepy.

I would love to hear about your journey into psch. You said you are also an older student. What did you do first? How have you enjoyed the process? What attracted you to psychiatry? How bad was the surgery rotation?

Thanks again.

-Oldlady

 

[Psychobabble]

Glad I could help and wow, you work fast! Lining up a volunteer experience so soon. Congrats.

I did a variety of things before med school (working for the government as a language analyst, then back to school to complete premed requirements, then onto med school in early-mid 90's) I had a pretty good idea that I wanted to do psych from the beginning but was torn between applying to med school and trying to compete for a clinical psych slot for a PhD degree. I was encouraged by MSW's, PhD's and MD's to go "all the way" with the MD degree, as it would open more doors and have greater flexibility in terms of psych, which may be true, depending on how one arranges one's practice these days. During med school, I became overwhelmed with the hardships of mostly, the physical stamina, requirements to get through MSIII & MSIV (I was already an old lady by then!) So I took time off after med school and was not sure whether I'd even go into residency. I attempted to market myself to the pharmaceutical/biotech companies, but did not receive much of a response without having at least a license and probably board certification. I made some progress in learning about medical writing, but ultimately, psychiatry kept calling my name and I've returned to do post-grad training. Where I'll end up from there I'm not sure (practice vs. writing vs. admin vs. research) Probably a combo of things.

I think one can create a practice that incorporates psychotherapy and psychopharm, but must be savvy about business. Be aware of what market you're tapping (socioeconomic neighborhoods/clientele, etc.) and what type of practice (group, individual or HMO/managed care). Most likely you will not be able to do much, if any, therapy in the latter setting. I had an MD therapist during med school who was also an older grad and she created a small but thriving individual practice in a nice neighborhood based on word of mouth referral only. She did not accept insurance directly and left that up to her patients to arrange, if at all. And, she kept her hourly rates reasonable so that if someone wanted therapy but insurance wouldn't pay for it, it would be a good investment in the person without breaking the bank (at least not too much!) She also had progressive ideas about med management - she was one of the early ones to advocate "micro dosing" as many, esp female, patients are sensitive to the macro doses that are recommended from clinical trials (done on men and women of all sizes and dosages are not tailored to any individual aspect, such as metabolism, sensitivity to drugs, etc.) She also believed, as I do, that med management, for the socially/occupationally functional patient, should be an option and an adjunct to psychotherapy, which has been shown to re-route neural circuitry as well, and more longlasting, than drugs. Of course, in the severely mentally ill, such as severe schizophrenia, one must advise lifelong meds as an adjunct to supportive (rather than insight-oriented) psychotherapy.

Ok, my diatribe is finished. Sorry for the long reply, but I'm into this as you can tell!

Oh, and the surgery rotations in school were really pretty interesting. Yeah, the hours were long, and I once got chewed out by an attending for acting like it was a "reading service" rather than a hands on type of rotation.LOL. But, once I gained his trust, he eventually let me close surgeries (i.e. finish the suturing myself), and I got to see a variety of neat things that I'll probably never see again - but what an experience. Holding a heart back (as a retractor for the surgeon) with my hand during a bypass procedure, getting to see what lung tissue feels like while it's still inside a person! And (this is the coolest thing) watching an excised portion of small intestine continue to peristalse while in the tray!!! How cool is that? Surgery is neat, but I don't have the stamina for it. I admire those who do, though.

Anyway, feel free to keep in touch (private email or whatever) if you'd like to chat more.

Good luck!