I’m a current master’s student in a speech-language pathology program. I LOVE my field, but I see a lot of potential for if I become an ENT-SLP specialized doctor. (We treat the same populations, but ENTs treat surgically and pharmacologically, while SLPs treat via rehabilitation services across the lifespan.)
I’m trying to find pros and cons for doing this, though. I’m already 26 and graduating next July (2019). My husband fully supports me but has his concerns about that much more school and loans—as do I.
I dream of the ability to spearhead both areas, but would that be needed? Or is this an obselete pursuit to become such a niche specialist?
Also, I’d love to have kids. Thus, I may need a couple of years in between going back to a program. Would I need to take all the exact pre-reqs for medical school, as I will already be an M.S. with Bio I, Stats, and all neuro and A & P courses completed in my current program — on track for a 3.71 GPA (any anatomies were for speech and hearing Sciences specifically).
Thoughts and advice appreciated in advance! 🙂
I would imagine you will need all the pre-reqs for medical school. There might be some overlap. You'll need Organic Chemistry, Physics, Biochem, etc... for sure, if you don't already have them. Plus an MCAT, volunteering, research, etc... so it might realistically take a couple of years of work just to prepare your application for medical school. Then tack on 4 years of medical school and another 5 for residency. And you might find you need to add more years for research in order to make the dream come true. Your age should not be an issue as I was 27 when I entered medical school and I have friends who are women who started med school in their 30's. However, since the road to becoming board certified in ENT from where you are now would be quite long you should consider what your personal goals for having a family are (and life in general) and whether that will fit with medical school/residency. Also consider the lifestyle you will have while training in a surgical sub-specialty putting in 100-120 hour weeks. Will you and your family be okay with that? Maybe, maybe not. It's doable but you need to consider what fits with you and your husbands life.
Your goal of incorporating SLP into an ENT practice doesn't sound totally unreasonable. I would imagine there is some synergy between the fields but there is also a lot more to ENT that has nothing to do with SLP that you will have to learn and spend an immense amount of time on as well (at least during training), so if the non SLP portions of ENT aren't of interest to you that's something to consider. Also you should consider how you will maintain your SLP knowledge & skills during this long journey to become an ENT specialist because I could it be quite difficult to do if you aren't using them while you are focusing 100% on medical school and then a surgical sub-specialty. By the time you are finished training will you even remember how to be an SLP? You might find that by the time you are finished you really don't use it at all. How do you think you would feel about that?
All that being said, I would be quite weary of attending medical school if the only thing you want to do is ENT. It's a surgical sub-specialty focusing on one extremely specific part of the body and thinking you will be interested in that now is fine but once you are in medical school and get great exposure to the field you might find it's not for you. You might find surgery isn't for you at all. Even if you do like it, ENT is one of the most competitive specialties to get into and just because you want to do it doesn't mean it will realistically happen. So ask yourself, If you attend medical school and you aren't going to have a shot of ENT (because of board scores, 3rd year scores, lack of research, whatever it is there's probably a million other reasons why it might be hard to match into), or you realize surgery isn't for you and need to choose a different specialty, would you still want to be a physician? Would you deeply regret the time, money, and stress that you devoted towards pursuing it? That is a critical question for you. It's great to have goals and I think it's fine if you already know what you want to do one day (plenty of people do) but just understand life happens and for many, they go into medical school thinking one thing and leave doing another. ENT would be possible but far from a guarantee (in fact depending on what medical school you get into it may even be a long shot) and you need to consider whether you'd be happy being another kind of physician.
So you would have a lot to consider here. I wouldn't rush this choice. Shadow ENT's. Ask them what they think. Talk honestly with your husband and with yourself. Going down this path would be very expensive in regards to your time, money, and enjoyment of life (at least in the short term), so you should really know for sure that this is what you want for your life. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible but you need to consider whether this long winding risky road is one you want to go down. Good luck.