MD student switch to DVM student

[angeldoc10]

I am wanting some input from current vets and vet students. I am a non-traditional student (age 53). I started out 35 yrs ago to be a vet and then married one. So now, after 8 kids and 10 grandkids can return to finish my dream. But at this age, I also have an interest as an MD.
So I applied to both and got into both.
I am currently in my 2nd semester in medical school and am supposed to start at Ross University this May.

So my issue- what to do?
If I stay in Med School, I will be done in a little over 3 years, but then have a 3 year residency. I am trying to get my rotations in my hometown so I can be by my husband and family. Also, with my rotations there I am hopeful to get my residency in my hometown as well- otherwise I am gone another 3 years or my husband has to move.

If I start Vet School, because of my med school bkgd should make very high grades the first semester for sure (same classes pretty much) I would have a high chance of transferring out into a couple of the US Vet schools (whom I have already spoken with). But if I did not transfer, then I'd be away for 2 years and then finish the last year at the US Vet School in our state- Columbia, MO. So in all, I'd be done in 3 1/2 years and could set my own practice up wherever I wanted- which would eliminate the issue of being gone more years from my husband and family.
BUT- the debt load would be high- over $200K in student loans. Also, the avg mean of vets today appears to be around $75K. I have a very strong business background and feel I could certainly increase that by adding several business ideas into the practice that are not currently being done by vets. But that high of debt coupled with the cost of a clinic- are rather concerning.

So just wanted everyone's input on their thoughts between the two, the future of vets, etc. Thanks!!

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[nohika]

I am wanting some input from current vets and vet students. I am a non-traditional student (age 53). I started out 35 yrs ago to be a vet and then married one. So now, after 8 kids and 10 grandkids can return to finish my dream. But at this age, I also have an interest as an MD.
So I applied to both and got into both.
I am currently in my 2nd semester in medical school and am supposed to start at Ross University this May.

So my issue- what to do?
If I stay in Med School, I will be done in a little over 3 years, but then have a 3 year residency. I am trying to get my rotations in my hometown so I can be by my husband and family. Also, with my rotations there I am hopeful to get my residency in my hometown as well- otherwise I am gone another 3 years or my husband has to move.

If I start Vet School, because of my med school bkgd should make very high grades the first semester for sure (same classes pretty much) I would have a high chance of transferring out into a couple of the US Vet schools (whom I have already spoken with). But if I did not transfer, then I'd be away for 2 years and then finish the last year at the US Vet School in our state- Columbia, MO. So in all, I'd be done in 3 1/2 years and could set my own practice up wherever I wanted- which would eliminate the issue of being gone more years from my husband and family.
BUT- the debt load would be high- over $200K in student loans. Also, the avg mean of vets today appears to be around $75K. I have a very strong business background and feel I could certainly increase that by adding several business ideas into the practice that are not currently being done by vets. But that high of debt coupled with the cost of a clinic- are rather concerning.

So just wanted everyone's input on their thoughts between the two, the future of vets, etc. Thanks!!

Okiedokie, I'm not a vet student, but I can address bits and pieces of this post. Do you have any current debt from med school right now? That would be compounded on to your vet school loans.

Also, no, you won't make high grades your first semester because of your med school experience. You'll know possibly how to study, but there's no way you know anatomy of cats, dogs, pigs, horses, cows, etc, just because you know a human's. It's totally, ridiculously different. Also, Ross has a ridiculously high drop-out rate. They flunk and fail out hundreds of people a year.

Have you worked in a clinic at all? Have you any vet experience? Vets are being hurt by the economy, badly. Read some of the controversial posts over in the pre-vet forum - economic euthanasia is huge right now, unfortunately, since families were hit so hard by the economy. Also, 75k right out of school for a new grad is probably less likely than you'd like to think. Business plans or not, it's hard.

Also - if they're not being done by clinics, there's probably a good reason. It's nothing like human medicine - you don't get paid well, you're yelled at a lot, and none of your clients have insurance. You can't save everything. You'll potentially forced to euthanize many animals you could have saved...if only their owners had the money. You can't absorb everything.

Medicine, unless you have an extreme passion for the hard, ruthless work you'd do as a vet, medicine is probably the better choice for where you are.

 

[turnandburn]

I'd stay in med school. My 2c

 

[microscp2]

sent you a private mail. You need to know also that in Missouri, they will not give you Licence, unless you complete 3 years of residency if you are a foreign medical graduate. Missouri is one of 15 states that do this. The rest are after 2 years and only 2 states will give licence after just one year of residency. I know this since I was contemplating to finish my intern year and get Licenced, then I could work at my husband's office (he is a physician) but called the board and was informed. You may go to fsmb.org and see it yourself.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I
So I applied to both and got into both......
I am currently in my 2nd semester in medical school and am supposed to start at Ross University this May.

Wait....how does that work? You applied to both and got in during the same app cycle? Unless Ross starts a semester later than most schools. Did you knowingly accept offers from both schools at the same time, not mentioning this to either one of them, knowing that you would either jump ship in the middle of one or the other? And if so...isn't there something a little...um...wrong with that? And you're in an MD/PhD program? I'm a tad confused...Maybe you could clarify.

 

[Minnerbelle]

holy crap! 8 kids and 10 grandkids at 53???

 

[Trilt]

Well, do you want to be a veterinarian or a (human) doctor?

(Not knowing your past experiences, desires, life situation and such, it's rather difficult for anyone to tell you the best course for you. I'd say talking about it with your family and doing a good amount of soul searching will help you more than us.)

holy crap! 8 kids and 10 grandkids at 53???

Have kids in early twenties, those kids have kids in early twenties - that's not too bizarre.

 

[Gordon Sims]

sent you a private mail. You need to know also that in Missouri, they will not give you Licence, unless you complete 3 years of residency if you are a foreign medical graduate. Missouri is one of 15 states that do this. The rest are after 2 years and only 2 states will give licence after just one year of residency. I know this since I was contemplating to finish my intern year and get Licenced, then I could work at my husband's office (he is a physician) but called the board and was informed. You may go to fsmb.org and see it yourself.

Don't forget about malpractice insurance. I'd think it would be exceedingly difficult to get insured or cost-prohibitive without completing residency.

 

[alliecat44]

Also keep in mind that if you go to Ross your final year MIGHT be at Missouri--but there's a good chance it might not. You have very little say in the school you end up attending for clinics.

I'd stay in med school, but that's just me.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Have kids in early twenties, those kids have kids in early twenties - that's not too bizarre.

My mom had 4 kids by the time she was 29, and I thought that was a lot. But I guess it's all about perspectives. I guess Michelle Duggar can easily have 20 grandkids in the next 9 years.

After all that though, I totally admire the OP's energy to pursue such a huge ordeal (med school OR vet school)!

 

[Nexx]

Don't know where micro came up with the foreign-trained bit for MO and licensure for medical doctors, we've got nothing in the OP to say that.

Anyhow as far as the actual post goes.... First, congrats on getting into both schools. You need to decide which career is best for you and I think that is the main issue. With that said I think you have a lot of things saying "stay in human med."

As someone mentioned already you can't guarantee you are going to get high grades in vet med simply because of your current grades. Not saying it isn't likely or possibly, just not a guarantee. You will be moving away from your familly, living in a new place, adjusting to a new culture, adjusting to a new school. There is also no guarantee that you will be able to transfer schools (say after the first year or two). Yes someone said it might be possible but that would depend on the grades you get (see above caution), space available in a class, etc.

Next on the list, debt. You may already have some debt built up from this first year of med school, you may already have personal debt from the past 40 years. Now you are looking at taking on $200k+ for vet school. Have a look at your financial situation and budgeting. You are talking about graduating and setting up a new practice (more debt!). You simply cannot count on your business ideas helping your new practice be so successful and so efficient that you will immediately be making enough money to pay it off.

I guess in the end it seems to me you have a lot of things stated that seem like you are trying to justify vet med which leads me to believe you are more interested in it. Although for the reasons I listed above it seems like you may need to sadly stay away from it. That is unless you are prepared to be far away from your family for 4 years, be able to handle the $200k+ loan burden WITHOUT counting on your innovative business ideas or other things that may not pan out (i.e. count on on your new grad and your family salary alone)

Best of luck whatever road you choose


p.s. for the rest of you my g/f's parents have 9 kids aged between 16 and 30, her mom is in her early 50's

 

[libster06]

I am usually one to encourage lifelong dreams and I admire your optimism. However, hate to say this, but at this point it simply would not be worth it in your case to switch to vet med. Your perfectly laid out plan seems great on paper, but is based on opinions, theoreticals and probabilities. You've somehow assembled this best-case-scenario and unfortunately, it likely has a lot of flaws.

First (as addressed above), vet school curriculum is not like medical school curriculum. For you to go into vet school with that mindset is extremely presumptuous and would automatically hinder you. Just because you know that a hindlimb contains a tibia and fibula, doesn't mean you'll breeze through anatomy. It's more complicated than that. Bones vary species to species, and unfortunately unlike medical school, you need to know that the fibula in a horse is fused to the tibia, and in the cow the head is fused, but the bottom is a completely separate bone.

Secondly, as stated earlier, I'm not sure you fully understand the concept of Ross. Transferring from one vet school to another is a really drawn out process in which you have to prove to them why they should consider you. It requires multiple letters of recommendations, as well as a very high GPA (top 20% or so) (which may or may not be your situation come the time). Also, the clinical year at Ross is based on how well the student meets the criteria of desired school and it is ultimately the school's decision to accept the student, in which case availability of spots play a role as well.

Lastly, the obvious topic- debt. I am 23, and have huge concerns about debt. I can't fathom considering embarking into this debt 30 years later, coupled with the debt of owning a practice. Your average vet salary is variable depending on where the practice is at, so as you said you could "set it up anywhere" but salaries very depending on where exactly you're practicing, regardless of your business skills or new practices. If you set up a practice in a ritzy urban neighborhood, you'll likely make upwards of 70-80K. If you set up shop in a middle class suburban neighborhood, it's not so solid. I'm not saying you have one foot in the grave and one on the banana peel, but when so many younger new grads spend 30 years working to repay their loans, it would seem that you would be steadily working til you were 80.

Sidenote: Ross doesn't do federal loans, so your already sky high tuition loans would have to be through a private bank at a regular interest rate... definitely something to think about.

 

[Whaweep]

Have you worked in either veterinary or human medical clinical settings? Yyou should know what you want to do as far as career. People or pigs? It took me 1 month to realize I made a mistake and 14 years to correct it.

 

[Whaweep]

Just because you know that a hindlimb contains a tibia and fibula, doesn't mean you'll breeze through anatomy. It's more complicated than that. Bones vary species to species, and unfortunately unlike medical school, you need to know that the fibula in a horse is fused to the tibia, and in the cow the head is fused, but the bottom is a completely separate bone.


That's OK you flush about 95% of that "knowledge" after graduating.

 

[libster06]

That's OK you flush about 95% of that "knowledge" after graduating.

I was referring to the assumption that the OP made that "because of my med school bkgd should make very high grades the first semester for sure (same classes pretty much)"

 

[nelonvet]

I certainly don't mean to be rude...just realistic. You make way too many assumptions about medical and/or veterinary school and then continue to do so about what you will or will not be doing with your medical or veterinary degree after you graduate.

It's nice to have goals and plans, but you must realize they may not work out to forces sometimes outside your control.

Hence, because of that, you need to ask yourself: if my plans do not work out in the medical school, will I be happy just being a doctor?

If my plans don't work out in the vet career, will I be happy just being a 9-5 vet?

Which one will make you happier if the answer is both no or yes to the two above?

That's what you should go with, the baseline/fundamental knowledge that no matter what happens, whether your "higher/better" plans for your career don't work out, will you be happy for the rest of your life being "just" a physician or vet?

 

[nyanko]

That's OK you flush about 95% of that "knowledge" after graduating.

We're supposed to wait until we graduate to flush it?

 

[libster06]

We're supposed to wait until we graduate to flush it?

Right??!

 

[eventualeventer]

I prefer composting, myself. In a few weeks, the epidemiology from last fall should be ready to put in the garden.

 

[libster06]

I prefer composting, myself. In a few weeks, the epidemiology from last fall should be ready to put in the garden.

Hehe... made me lol