taking 8 years to finish medical school?

[futuredoc828]

Hi!

I have a chronic pain and fatigue disability that is not likely to get better or worse. It has been my lifelong dream to be a physician. I have been doing a little research (and contacting medical school disability offices), and it looks like taking 6-8 years to complete medical school is a possibility. I did complete 2 years of college successfully while having a reduced courseload (the other 2 years was before my pain started).

Now I am trying to decide if it would be worth it. Any thoughts?

I know that my disability has made me a more compassionate and caring person, and I would like nothing better to become a psychiatrist and help people with chronic pain.

Thanks for any replies.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[costales]

Does your fatigue disability involve decreased mental acuity/"brain fog"? Med school is a stressful and strenuous endeavor that demands alertness for prolonged periods - for studying as well as for the wards. Undergrad is no comparison.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Completing med school in 6-8 years is possibility only because 1) you are in a special program like MD/PhD or OMM fellowship and research year, or 2) because you keep failing your classes. There is no med school that offers any part time program and no med school is going to voluntarily go into it knowing you are likely going to fail. And the people who keep failing usually have major problems finding a residency. If your problem affects school where you can foresee not being able to complete med school, you should probably find something else.

 

[AnthroDocFL]

Hi!

I have a chronic pain and fatigue disability that is not likely to get better or worse. It has been my lifelong dream to be a physician. I have been doing a little research (and contacting medical school disability offices), and it looks like taking 6-8 years to complete medical school is a possibility. I did complete 2 years of college successfully while having a reduced courseload (the other 2 years was before my pain started).

Now I am trying to decide if it would be worth it. Any thoughts?

I know that my disability has made me a more compassionate and caring person, and I would like nothing better to become a psychiatrist and help people with chronic pain.

Thanks for any replies.

Sorry to hear about your medical condition. As others have stated, and I'm sure you are well aware, medical school is a rigorous undertaking that cannot be taken lightly. It depends on how much disability you experience, because making medical decisions is a serious responsibility. But since you say you have contacted medical school and have received encouraging responses from the disability offices regarding 6-8 years to complete, then I wouldn't simply give up. If it's your lifelong dream to become a physician and you think you are up to the task.. then you must make the personal decision whether or not to apply (it doesn't matter what anybody on SDN thinks, the decision is yours).

You should consider asking your doctor for their professional opinion about a medical career given the severity of your condition.

Good luck, I hope your dreams become a reality.

 

[Druggernaut]

Even if you were able to make it through medical school, you'd have to get through residency, which wouldn't have the option of "decelerating" you to half-speed, since they'll only receive money to train you for the standard length of the program (4 years in psych). I'd also be concerned about the way residency programs would view taking twice as long to go through medical school, even with a disability. And it's always a gamble to lock into a specialty even before you get into medical school, since you may find that you hate it.

Some people wash out of medical school due to mental health or chronic fatigue issues that weren't a problem before, so I'd be very leery of getting involved in such an undertaking if I already had difficulties. But this is all armchair quarterbacking, so you should get your physician's opinion on the matter.

 

[AnthroDocFL]

Even if you were able to make it through medical school, you'd have to get through residency, which wouldn't have the option of "decelerating" you to half-speed, since they'll only receive money to train you for the standard length of the program (4 years in psych). I'd also be concerned about the way residency programs would view taking twice as long to go through medical school, even with a disability. And it's always a gamble to lock into a specialty even before you get into medical school, since you may find that you hate it.

Some people wash out of medical school due to mental health or chronic fatigue issues that weren't a problem before, so I'd be very leery of getting involved in such an undertaking if I already had difficulties. But this is all armchair quarterbacking, so you should get your physician's opinion on the matter.

Excellent points.

 

[ShyRem]

While medical schools are required to make "reasonable accommodations", an argument can definitely be made that what you appear to be asking for is not "reasonable". If you need a reduced courseload in undergrad, you will need much much longer than 8 years to complete medical school.

Let me explain: undergrad is (full time) 15-16 credits. You took reduced courseload, and could handle less than that, let's say 10 credits. Medical school is 30 credits a semester. This would then take you THREE times as long to complete just the didactic portion of school. Then you get to third and fourth year where as a student I put in about 80 hours a week just in work and then studying on top of that. With your need for reduced workload, you may need three to four times longer (if any school would be willing to do this accommodation). Now all that time you will need to pay full time tuition. There is no part time tuition for medical school of which I am aware. At current rates of (conservatively) $50,000 per year, you are looking at six years to complete MS1 and MS2, six to eight years to complete MS3 and MS4. That's a lot of money, and well above any government financial aid limits. You would need to be independently wealthy to afford it.

Now let's get to residency. Residency is grueling, time consuming, emotionally and physically demanding. There is no residency that I know of that will let you work that little and extend that long. The rules don't allow it. And a residency program would be hard pressed to justify ranking you knowing of your significant limitations given the many thousands (and yes, it is thousands) of other applicants with no such limitations that are begging for any spot in the match.

While I do not doubt your background would give you a compassionate edge over others, if you are truly desirous of pursuing this path I would get your medical problem under control, show you can handle the rigors of medical school with appropriate undergraduate workload, then apply. This is not a path for the faint of heart.

Good luck to you.

 

[PMPMD]

Hi!

I have a chronic pain and fatigue disability that is not likely to get better or worse. It has been my lifelong dream to be a physician. I have been doing a little research (and contacting medical school disability offices), and it looks like taking 6-8 years to complete medical school is a possibility. I did complete 2 years of college successfully while having a reduced courseload (the other 2 years was before my pain started).

Now I am trying to decide if it would be worth it. Any thoughts?

I know that my disability has made me a more compassionate and caring person, and I would like nothing better to become a psychiatrist and help people with chronic pain.

Thanks for any replies.

It is possible to take 8 years to complete medical school, but in these cases, taking that amount of time was not planned from the beginning (to my knowledge). I.E., people start out on a 4-year curriculum and may end up taking longer for various reasons. Also psychiatry is a 4 year program. So, you could be looking at 12-16 years. You may want to consider psychology as an alternative that could allow you to get some of the satisfaction of patient interaction without the long length of training.

 

[Chimpanzee]

It's definitely going to be a huge challenge, but it's not impossible. I would explore other options before taking this route. There may be other professions within the health sector that may satisfy your calling, but not require the gruesome requirements that come with medical school and residency. Again, it's not impossible, but worth looking into other fields. Good luck

 

[futuredoc828]

Hi,

Thanks for your opinions. Fortunately, I do not experience "brain fog."

I talked to my physician (he is a great guy who has been there for me for nearly 7 years). Part of me wants to be a doctor even more so I can be there for someone else like he has been there for me. He thinks I could do it, but it all depends on how much I want to suffer. He is a bit biased because he wishes he hadn't been a doctor. However, I know it is my decision alone to make.

I am currently working as a medical transcriptionist, and there is NO way I can keep doing this for the rest of my life. I need something more challenging.

If you feel inclined, please say a prayer for me as I try to figure out what to do with my life.

 

[Whiskeypunch]

There is no way you are going to make it through medical school and residency. That's just the reality. Having seen the workload involved from many of my family members, it's just not going to work with chronic fatigue/brain fog/chronic pain/psychosomatic train wreck stuff.

The good news is that there are hundreds of other careers that are fulfilling, financial rewarding and intellectually stimulating that require a significantly lower work load than medicine.