Putting off medical school to serve in the military?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

DeadCactus

Full Member
Lifetime Donor
15+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2006
Messages
3,103
Reaction score
1,925
I was hoping for some advice or opinions from people who entered Med school a little later than normal.

I'm currently an undergrad student doing the pre-med thing. I am torn between two decisions though. Part of me is simply so eager to become a Doctor that I want to immediately go to med-school and become one as quickly as I can.

Another part of me wants to take a few years off and serve as an officer in the Marine Corps; to take a few years to just live life outside of a classroom and do something completely different from what I have been doing (Engineering) and what I will be doing (Medicine).

I know ultimately the choice will be one I have to make alone, but I was hoping for some input from people who have entered Med School later in life...

Members don't see this ad.
 
I don't have much to add since I'm not in medical school yet. However, just want to say follow your gut feeling, you'll never go wrong. :luck:
 
To be honest if you truly want to serve your country there is nothing wrong with applying "later" in life to medical school. I was prior service and applied at the age of 38 with NO problems whatsoever. Medical school will always be there and from what I gathered they appreciate prior servicemen/women. Good luck!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I'll disagree. I started med school at 30, I'm hoping to do Cardiology. I'll be done with fellowship and starting to practice at 41. Not as old as some people on this board, but it would be really nice to be a little younger.

I'd much rather have started at 21 and been practicing by 32.

The training program for physicians is incredibly long.

If maturity is an issue, I don't think putting school off is a bad idea.
 
If you have an itch to try something else, do it now... you don't want to regret it later after you've gone through 4 yrs of medschool and 4 yrs of residency (i.e. 8 yrs of hell). Maybe you'll try the Marines and decide you absolutely love it and want to be a lifer. You don't want to have any regrets later... of course you could always regret not starting earlier (like me...). But anyway, good luck on your decision.
 
I was hoping for some advice or opinions from people who entered Med school a little later than normal...

I know ultimately the choice will be one I have to make alone, but I was hoping for some input from people who have entered Med School later in life...

The pros and cons depend very heavily on you -- your particular strengths and weaknesses, your ultimate career goals, etc. So without presuming to advise you on what you ought to do, I can tell you that I am very glad to have spent some years on active duty (in the Air Force) prior to medicine. I rode in a couple of F-16s, saw the world, went to Iraq, "worked" in NATO... I'm hoping to start medical school at 29, and see only advantages in the path I took.

Your results may vary.
 
I was hoping for some advice or opinions from people who entered Med school a little later than normal.

I'm currently an undergrad student doing the pre-med thing. I am torn between two decisions though. Part of me is simply so eager to become a Doctor that I want to immediately go to med-school and become one as quickly as I can.

Another part of me wants to take a few years off and serve as an officer in the Marine Corps; to take a few years to just live life outside of a classroom and do something completely different from what I have been doing (Engineering) and what I will be doing (Medicine).

I know ultimately the choice will be one I have to make alone, but I was hoping for some input from people who have entered Med School later in life...


While I don't know much about the military (and there is actually a board on SDN with folks who know a lot more), I would think based on all the recruiting mailings I've seen that physicians are currently in high demand for the military right now. Thus you can probably get some funding for med school if you commit to practice in the military for a bit afterwards, and serve your country as an officer in a more needed capacity after med school, instead of before.
But as others have said, and should be evident from this nontrad board, you can certainly do medicine later in life.
 
Go find MoosePilot (I think that's his name..). He was in the military while applying to med school and I believe he had to ask for permission to apply to med school. He did get in last year with permission to attend, but if i recall it took a few years for the military to agree to let him go. There are quite a few folks in my class who are on military scholarships and will graduate with no debt.
 
Top