Non-Trad Questions

[beedee12]

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Hey guys,

I am a 27 year old RN who has always considered going to medical school. I always lacked self-confidence and initially didn't do well in school. I've been an RN for 2 years now and the nagging feeling that I should do more in the medical field is growing more every day. Initially, I thought I would be satisfied with being an Acute Care NP, but I want more education and training than what goes into those programs. I've also considered PA school since it is a much shorter time commitment than MD/DO school. I just wonder if I will always regret not becoming a doctor, but I also wonder if I am too old at this point.

My first couple of years at community colleges were not great 1.98 at 41 credits and 2.18 at 39 credits. I then went to a 4 year school for education (plus some science classes) and got a 3.10 at 67 credits. Left to pursue my LPN and onto my RN and RN-BSN. I got a 3.76 at 33 credits for my RN and a 4.0 at 30 credits for my BSN.

That means I currently have a 2.94cGPA and a 2.86sGPA. I plan on starting this summer and throughout the next year taking approx. 30 credits of science courses as a post-bacc student. Given the upward trend of my grades (and the maturity that has come with age), I believe I can get A's in this courses which would give me a 3.07cGPA and a 3.45 sGPA. From my understanding/research, I believe that with a high MCAT and my medical field experience, I could get into a DO program. (Please correct me if I am wrong).

My question here is... is it worth it? This is something I have always dreamed of, but at this point, I wouldn't be starting medical school until I am 30. I'm married (with a very supportive SO) and eventually want kids (not for awhile, but definitely at some point). Am I giving up starting a family by starting medical school this late? Maybe I see if I can find a PA school to accept me with those grades and stick with that? Any advice/words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time!

 

[virtussis]

My question here is... is it worth it?

Unfortunately, this is the portion that you have to answer for yourself. 30 is certainly not to late, but none of us will be able to evaluate your own life goals and how they fit in with a medical education.

My advice would be to make sure your post bacc contains classes that fulfill the minimum requirements for medical schools and will allow you to do well on the MCAT. You may not completely need to retake classes to do well on the MCAT, but your previous GPA suggests that you would need to heavily "refresh", if not re-learn. The level of depth in basic sciences needed for the MCAT far exceeds what is taught in nursing school, per the nurses I've talked to in the past. A number of the RN to MD/DO success stories on SDN involve retaking almost all of the pre-reqs, and a substantial time commitment.

 

[RNthenDoc]

Allied health Chem and bio don’t count for med school, so the first step is to knock out all of the prerequisites. You’d need perfect grades to get your GPA up much at all.

Next step is killing the MCAT!

Basically, if your employer will pay for your prerequisites there’s not much harm in taking a stab. If you don’t kill prereqs and kill the MCAT, you can always alter course at that point.

Definitely weigh out the length of time it will require, though. Took me 2.5 years to go from BSN->Med school applicant.

 

[Goro]

Hey guys,

I am a 27 year old RN who has always considered going to medical school. I always lacked self-confidence and initially didn't do well in school. I've been an RN for 2 years now and the nagging feeling that I should do more in the medical field is growing more every day. Initially, I thought I would be satisfied with being an Acute Care NP, but I want more education and training than what goes into those programs. I've also considered PA school since it is a much shorter time commitment than MD/DO school. I just wonder if I will always regret not becoming a doctor, but I also wonder if I am too old at this point.

My first couple of years at community colleges were not great 1.98 at 41 credits and 2.18 at 39 credits. I then went to a 4 year school for education (plus some science classes) and got a 3.10 at 67 credits. Left to pursue my LPN and onto my RN and RN-BSN. I got a 3.76 at 33 credits for my RN and a 4.0 at 30 credits for my BSN.

That means I currently have a 2.94cGPA and a 2.86sGPA. I plan on starting this summer and throughout the next year taking approx. 30 credits of science courses as a post-bacc student. Given the upward trend of my grades (and the maturity that has come with age), I believe I can get A's in this courses which would give me a 3.07cGPA and a 3.45 sGPA. From my understanding/research, I believe that with a high MCAT and my medical field experience, I could get into a DO program. (Please correct me if I am wrong).

My question here is... is it worth it? This is something I have always dreamed of, but at this point, I wouldn't be starting medical school until I am 30. I'm married (with a very supportive SO) and eventually want kids (not for awhile, but definitely at some point). Am I giving up starting a family by starting medical school this late? Maybe I see if I can find a PA school to accept me with those grades and stick with that? Any advice/words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time!

Only you can answer if it's worth it. What does your heart tell you?

There are MD schools and all DO that reward reinvention.

Some of my all time best students have been in their 30s and 40s. One's a PGY2 or 3 in southern CA, at age 53 or so.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Hey guys,

I am a 27 year old RN who has always considered going to medical school. I always lacked self-confidence and initially didn't do well in school. I've been an RN for 2 years now and the nagging feeling that I should do more in the medical field is growing more every day. Initially, I thought I would be satisfied with being an Acute Care NP, but I want more education and training than what goes into those programs. I've also considered PA school since it is a much shorter time commitment than MD/DO school. I just wonder if I will always regret not becoming a doctor, but I also wonder if I am too old at this point.

My first couple of years at community colleges were not great 1.98 at 41 credits and 2.18 at 39 credits. I then went to a 4 year school for education (plus some science classes) and got a 3.10 at 67 credits. Left to pursue my LPN and onto my RN and RN-BSN. I got a 3.76 at 33 credits for my RN and a 4.0 at 30 credits for my BSN.

That means I currently have a 2.94cGPA and a 2.86sGPA. I plan on starting this summer and throughout the next year taking approx. 30 credits of science courses as a post-bacc student. Given the upward trend of my grades (and the maturity that has come with age), I believe I can get A's in this courses which would give me a 3.07cGPA and a 3.45 sGPA. From my understanding/research, I believe that with a high MCAT and my medical field experience, I could get into a DO program. (Please correct me if I am wrong).

My question here is... is it worth it? This is something I have always dreamed of, but at this point, I wouldn't be starting medical school until I am 30. I'm married (with a very supportive SO) and eventually want kids (not for awhile, but definitely at some point). Am I giving up starting a family by starting medical school this late? Maybe I see if I can find a PA school to accept me with those grades and stick with that? Any advice/words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time!

Okay since I am what you hope to be (i.e. over 30 and in med school and a former RN) I will try and help. I also decided I wanted to do med school at 27 so we got that in common. It will take a couple years just to get in and once you do the real work starts, lol. As far as starting a family, I certainly did it anyway (one kid before, one during so far). If you have a spouse who can stay home and support it can work. Got to be real with you tho. DO is going to be 80% primary care by the time you graduate (FM, Peds, Community IM). So if those don't sound like things you want, maybe do the PA. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have more questions.