NP to MD

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NPtoMD39

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I’m a 39 year old single Mom.

I’m currently a PMHNP (psych NP) and am interested in going to medical school.

Anyone here think I’m too old?

Also I heard after one year of residency government will hire you or you can do cash practice in some states? Which states are those? (Asking because hey, I’m old).

What do psych residents make (for my ROI calculation)?

Thanks!
Nope, not too old.
 
I’m a 39 year old single Mom.

I’m currently a PMHNP (psych NP) and am interested in going to medical school.

Anyone here think I’m too old?

Also I heard after one year of residency government will hire you or you can do cash practice in some states? Which states are those? (Asking because hey, I’m old).

What do psych residents make (for my ROI calculation)?

Thanks!

It's not just of question of can you (probably not) are you too old (probably not), but should you. No.

Only doing one year of residency training is an unbelievable mistake that no one should ever pursue on purpose. It makes employment extremely difficult if not almost impossible, and the MD is not worth the trouble for it. The money isn't good and doesn't make sense for the level of debt and your current earning potential. You can read lots of threads about termination of residency training and questions about what kinds of jobs an MD alone or MD just with an intern year allow you to do. Having one year of training and getting a license to practice doesn't set you up to have a psych cash only practice. You would be better off as a PMHNP all around.

There is a ton of debt, and the process is terrible to get an MD and to finish the path to board certification, which is the only way it makes sense to go.

Your current plans, from what I can tell, it makes zero sense whatsoever for you to pursue the MD and residency. You're looking at 7-8 yrs of training minimum, with a quarter million in debt, 4 yrs unpaid, and 3-5 years at 80+ hrs a week at $50K, and I have no idea what kind of undergraduate courses you need to take at this point, or GPA repair.

Nevermind that you're a single mom. How are you going to manage 80+ hr work weeks for the latter two years of medical school, and then for the 3-5 years minimum of residency training? If you have a support system, are they prepared to move to anywhere in the entire country? Because many med students or at the point of residency, find themselves having to make a move to a location they had little choice in.

As far as child care, this bring us to your last question. Most residents make around $50-55K per year.

It's not just a question of age. Your plan makes zero sense.
 
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^not to threadjack but I am so.curious. A question about the above. I know residency is 80 hours/week for 3-5 weeks but aren't some programs "front loaded" such that they taper off in hours as they progress ( are more intense in the start and get easier)? Only asking bc family friend is a Psych resident and that's what she said about her program...she is PGY3 I believe. Just asking out of curiosity- I always thought that's from the family planning perspective.
 
It probably doesn’t make financial sense anymore but you can do the math. If your goal is to provide the best care then yes, go to a full psych residency as a psych NP is remotely as well trained

If you just want a normal life with reasonable money, find a good supervising physician and stay an NP
 
You are not old for medical school.

However, it seems that you care about finance and your current career sounds not bad at all.

Financially, this makes absolutely no sense. Preparation for your MCAT and application might take extra years before you matriculate at a medical school.

If you just dislike your current job, you might hate the clinical years and residency... Unless you have a stunning background, your chance to MD schools is pretty low; if your primary reason for this career change is the prestige of being a doctor, later you might not be satisfied with going to a DO school either...
 
The NPs that I've had the fortune of working with have been excellent clinically, and have had the respect of everyone they worked with whether in clinic, hospital or other specialized setting. I'm sorry you're not receiving that respect.

It sounds like you would easily be accepted into medical school but I am among the camp that doesn't see it being worth it. The advantage of a real job (vs med school and residency) is it's still more flexible, you can arrange appointments for yourself or your kid/pick kid up from school ( if that is still a concern) without worrying about academic penalties etc.
 
What does "non-white" have to do with any of this? Literally no one can tell your race (or gender) on an anonymous online forum but you haaaaaaad to go there.

God I hate 2019.

Take your race-baiting elsewhere, and if you're looking for "more respect" as an NP then I'd leave the race-baiting at home altogether.
 
The NPs that I've had the fortune of working with have been excellent clinically, and have had the respect of everyone they worked with whether in clinic, hospital or other specialized setting. I'm sorry you're not receiving that respect.

It sounds like you would easily be accepted into medical school but I am among the camp that doesn't see it being worth it. The advantage of a real job (vs med school and residency) is it's still more flexible, you can arrange appointments for yourself or your kid/pick kid up from school ( if that is still a concern) without worrying about academic penalties etc.
Thank you for appreciating NPs! I appreciate you!!
 
You can practice in ~33 states with one-year post-grad training if you are a US grad but you will be limited... I have a friend who is doing that now and he is not doing too bad (200k/yr)... You can also make that as a PMHNP so that would be a waste of energy/time/money in your situation.
 
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You are not old for medical school.

However, it seems that you care about finance and your current career sounds not bad at all.

Financially, this makes absolutely no sense. Preparation for your MCAT and application might take extra years before you matriculate at a medical school.

If you just dislike your current job, you might hate the clinical years and residency... Unless you have a stunning background, your chance to MD schools is pretty low; if your primary reason for this career change is the prestige of being a doctor, later you might not be satisfied with going to a DO school either...

What? A physician is a physician when it comes to 'prestige' (whatever that is) regardless of degree. I work with DO and no one cares.
 
^not to threadjack but I am so.curious. A question about the above. I know residency is 80 hours/week for 3-5 weeks but aren't some programs "front loaded" such that they taper off in hours as they progress ( are more intense in the start and get easier)? Only asking bc family friend is a Psych resident and that's what she said about her program...she is PGY3 I believe. Just asking out of curiosity- I always thought that's from the family planning perspective.

Depends entirely on what residency program you choose and what specialty. Plenty of residency programs even in Psych have multiple months of 70+ hour weeks especially at busy large hospitals with consult needs. This not to mention that the first year, 6 months are going to be FM, IM, and Neuro heavy with hours that can push to 80 a week.

In internal medicine a calm consult rotation is probably 50 to 60 hours of work a week. A bad week on a wards rotation can easily hit over 80 hours.

Residency isn't easy.
 
What? A physician is a physician when it comes to 'prestige' (whatever that is) regardless of degree. I work with DO and no one cares.

Indeed no one cares. But I was just worried that OP might care, based on what she said why she wants to change her career.
 
Indeed no one cares. But I was just worried that OP might care, based on what she said why she wants to change her career.
Sorry... I just read your post again. I misinterpreted it.
 
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