Made the decision...need advice.

[wdwrn]

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Hi all -

I am a 27 year old Registered Nurse (BSN) and have decided today, finally, that I am definitely going back to do the whole medical school thing. Starting from scratch, in life and in the process. I feel like I have to tell a few details of my background, so sorry for the wordiness. Here goes:

1. Decided I was fascinated with medicine my junior year of college when my dad got sick (cancer, among many things) and I was exposed to oh so much. Started pre-med classes (finished Bio I and Chem I, worked hard, but no problems - got A's). >> Dropped out of school to move home senior year because dad was too sick, and we ran out of money for me to go to school. >> Decided to go back to school, finish my last 30 hours for BA in Psychology, and apply to an accelerated BSN program and do the nursing thing. Made more sense financially, and med school seemed way too lofty>> Completed BSN in 12 months. Started work at major academic center. All I could think "nursing is great career, love my patients and learning medicine, wish I did the physician thing")....

Have continued to think about the MD/DO thing ever since I was a junior (college). Not one day has gone by without these thoughts.

I just relocated after a long relationship that didn't work out, and now that I'm on my own, I've done a lot of contemplating. I was in the process of applying for grad school to become an NP, and after years, hours, oh so much time soul searching, I've decided I'm never going to be content unless I become a physician. The idea thrills me, the process of starting over and doing the pre-med stuff is of course daunting. Still, all is exciting. I am not in a relationship, and don't have an interested anytime soon to get married or have kids (I don't think I want kids, at all). I feel like I need to do this now, before I'm 40 and wishing I "would have gone to med school when I was 30". Debt was the main thing holding me back, but I've figured out a few things, and ways to get over it. I do need some ideas from others on the best timeline to do this. However, I'm still in debt from nursing school, and would like to be responsible on the way I go about this. I am going to do all of my prereqs piecemeal at the local university, but I'm not positive when to start and what timeline to use. I just started a new job and do not want to go back to school for Fall 2014. It's too soon for many reasons. I think I'd be ready to go back in Spring 2015, but...it's an awkward time to start, as I'll need the first series of these classes. I'm thinking I wait until Summer 2015.

Anyways - anyone have suggestions of a good timeline? I will ideally still work FT at my nursing job. It's very flexible, I work 3 12 hour shifts per week, and self schedule. It's still doable to work FT and go back part-time, yes? I'm thinking:

Summer 2015: Bio I and II
Fall 2015: Chem I and Physics I
Spring 2016: Chem II and Physics II
Summer 2016 (OR, Fall and Spring and not take BioChem): Organic I and II
Use Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 to possibly take BioChem and start prepping for MCAT and get app stuff together
Take MCAT Spring 2017, apply June 2017
...go to school in 2018...when I'm...31. Ick.

Someone, reassure me, assist me. Anything. 😉

 

[Aelius]

Would not recommend starting in the summer. Material goes by too fast and there isn't enough time for the material to really ferment in your mind, even if you could hack getting good grades. I don't know how strong your math skills are but I would use summer as a refresher for math (algebra/trig) to prep you for physics. Or maybe Chem II, I found that to be easier than Chem I, that way you can start organic in the fall.

I don't see anything wrong with starting in the spring. Def no ochem or biochem in the summer.

Perhaps
Spring 2015: Chem I and Bio I
Summer 2015: Chem II
Fall 2015: Organic Chem I, Bio II
Spring 2016: Organic Chem II and Physics I
Summer 2016 Physics II:
Use Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 to possibly take BioChem and start prepping for MCAT and get app stuff together
Take MCAT Spring 2017, apply June 2017

 

[mavric1298]

just depends on the kind of learner you are. I'm doing orgo and phys 2 in the summer right now and it's really not that bad. I'm working full time at a hospital as well, so I know all about time crunch. From my point of view, 2 classes and work is the perfect mix, it's hard and you'll have little free time, but it's manageable.

Just look at your schedule, how many classes you have, and the best way to spread them out. One thing to watch for is when application cycles are; you basically have a bit of flexibility on when you finish within a year to be able to apply. I have schedule in an extra term so that if for whatever reason I need to take one more class or push something back a term, I won't run out of room. I also am applying so that I will still be in classes during application cycle year, so I'm not applying then have nothing to do. This way I get to apply basically a year before graduation (the typical Junior year application of sorts).

 

[wdwrn]

Do you think taking Organic, Bio, and Physics all in one semester is doable while working full-time?! I'm all in if so, but...

and thank you so much for replying so quickly! I agree, I started to think summer is a bad idea after I posted that.

 

[mavric1298]

No, I absolutely wouldn't take those three at the same time while working. 2 of 3 is doable, but all three is a hard load for people even without work. From my experience, bio (which I love, and am a bio major) was the hardest of the three, or the one requiring the most amount of time. Physics is a fairly cut and dry thing to learn, much like math. It's operations, rules, and order. Orgo/chem/bio I feel are a totally different animal, with complexities and nuances that make it more time intensive. Maybe that's just me, but difficulty was bio/orgo>chem>phys/math.

 

[popopopop]

What about your extracurricular activities like shadowing and volunteering? A job as a nurse doesn't give you a pass on these things. Spend a year at your job and see if they can drop you down to part-time. If you're going to wait a whole year before you began, grab the AAMC outlines for the MCAT and start making organized notes on the Biology section. The physiology portion will be really easy and you can self-learn the cell/molecular stuff right now as they are lighter.

 

[wholeheartedly]

I don't think starting in the summer is a bad thing. Just realize the pace is faster. I kinda preferred summer classes and did better in the. Fewer people, more interaction with prof and TAs. I wouldn't try three hard pre reqs while working full-time though. Doable? Possibly, but it's good to start med school not burned out with your sanity intact.

So yeah, I think your original plan seems ok. Do you have any shadowing or volunteer activities?

 

[Fedaykin]

just depends on the kind of learner you are. I'm doing orgo and phys 2 in the summer right now and it's really not that bad. I'm working full time at a hospital as well, so I know all about time crunch. From my point of view, 2 classes and work is the perfect mix, it's hard and you'll have little free time, but it's manageable.

I've always found that I can deal with no free time once I get into the swing of things. My busiest was a summer when I was taking two classes and working three jobs. The closest I had to a day off was Tuesdays when I was free after 3PM. Honestly, time passed quickly.

 

[katiemaude]

First of all starting med school at 31 is no big deal. I am starting at 36. 🙂

You have a solid plan. Try two courses and see how it goes. You can slow your roll if you get overwhelmed. Definitely take it easy the first semester and take one class if it's a summer session. I took summer classes and loved them but the pace is crazy. You also really need to learn this material and if the prof takes short cuts... Oh well.

The cool thing about hospital work is that there always seems to be a part time position somewhere if you need it. Consider dropping down to 24s if things get nuts. You will need time to shadow and volunteer as well. It took me four years to do all the prereqs and jump through all the hoops while working FT, apply and get accepted (I would have started after 3 years if I was accepted the first go round. As it stands I was accepted a couple months after my first failed cycle when I was wait listed, so I had an extra year I earn money and decompress...while knowing I had a spot. Not complaining!)

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[engr2dr]

First of all starting med school at 31 is no big deal. I am starting at 36. 🙂

You have a solid plan. Try two courses and see how it goes. You can slow your roll if you get overwhelmed. Definitely take it easy the first semester and take one class if it's a summer session. I took summer classes and loved them but the pace is crazy. You also really need to learn this material and if the prof takes short cuts... Oh well.

The cool thing about hospital work is that there always seems to be a part time position somewhere if you need it. Consider dropping down to 24s if things get nuts. You will need time to shadow and volunteer as well. It took me four years to do all the prereqs and jump through all the hoops while working FT, apply and get accepted (I would have started after 3 years if I was accepted the first go round. As it stands I was accepted a couple months after my first failed cycle when I was wait listed, so I had an extra year I earn money and decompress...while knowing I had a spot. Not complaining!)

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Hi katiemaude,
I am so excited to see your post. I have started preparing for med. school and if everything goes well, I am hoping to get into the med. school when I am 36. I am trying to balance this with my FT job so it gets overwhelming at times.

Good to know there are other 36 year olds there as well!

Sincerely,
Debashree.