The age gap

[mattl]

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Its my first year in medical school, currently 25, and i have noticed that the youngest person in class is 21 and the oldest is 25(me). I hope to get my MD at 29 which is 2 to 4 years behind the "norm" which is 25 to 27 years old. Will what little age gap hurt me in becoming a successful surgeon? i have been told by many that the younger student will receive a better placement and have a better career. Is there any merit to that?

Also to clarify is a nontrad student older then 23 when entering medical school?

thanks

 

[Law2Doc]

Its my first year in medical school, currently 25, and i have noticed that the youngest person in class is 21 and the oldest is 25(me). I hope to get my MD at 29 which is 2 to 4 years behind the "norm" which is 25 to 27 years old. Will what little age gap hurt me in becoming a successful surgeon? i have been told by many that the younger student will receive a better placement and have a better career. Is there any merit to that?

Also to clarify is a nontrad student older then 23 when entering medical school?

thanks

2-4 years behind the "norm" will have no impact on your career. You'd have to be much older than that for it even to come up.

A nontrad is generally anyone who didn't go straight from high school to college to med school, so technically you meet the definition, but at 25 few people and no residency directors are really going to differentiate you from the typical 22 year old.
FWIW, your school is pretty unusual to have 25 be the oldest.

 

[icm]

going through this forum, you should know that a 2-3 year age gap is of no concern to most of the non-trads who are much older. Hell, I'm starting to realize that I'm a good deal older, in that I won't be matriculating until 2009 or 2010 when I'm 27,28.

It's understandable that age may be an issue when it comes to surgeons but 2-3 years isn't anything. Especially if you stay in shape. I'm not too clear on the structure for residencies, but there has to be some way to show you're aging well. I'm 24 and I look like I'm 16, and my body acts like it.

 

[MedSchoolFool]

From my POV....I would say anyone who will graduate medical school before their 30th birthday is not a non-traditional student.

Isn't 23 or 24 the average age for starting medical school anyway? The OP might have a year or two on that, but I don't see that as a significant difference. You're still young....be proud.

 

[RxnMan]

Its my first year in medical school, currently 25, and i have noticed that the youngest person in class is 21 and the oldest is 25(me). I hope to get my MD at 29 which is 2 to 4 years behind the "norm" which is 25 to 27 years old. Will what little age gap hurt me in becoming a successful surgeon? i have been told by many that the younger student will receive a better placement and have a better career. Is there any merit to that?

Also to clarify is a nontrad student older then 23 when entering medical school?

thanks

Not in the least. The oldest person in my class is 40. The biggest obstacle to him being a surgeon (or him being any type of doctor,) is his Step I scores and his grades, which are self-determined. The same goes for the rest of us young-uns.

This "norm" stuff is garbage. Your classmates are trying to pysche you out.

 

[gotmeds?]

Being 2 - 3 years older than the typical med student is really stretching the definition of non-traditional.

 

[S-Mart]

Its my first year in medical school, currently 25, and i have noticed that the youngest person in class is 21 and the oldest is 25(me). I hope to get my MD at 29 which is 2 to 4 years behind the "norm" which is 25 to 27 years old. Will what little age gap hurt me in becoming a successful surgeon? i have been told by many that the younger student will receive a better placement and have a better career. Is there any merit to that?

Also to clarify is a nontrad student older then 23 when entering medical school?

thanks

Just to piggy-back on this guys thread... How does age affect your career? I'll be about 32 when I graduate from med school (no, I'm not there yet) . Is this gonna hurt my job opportunities? I never actually considered age a problem, particularly considering that the older you are the wiser you are.

 

[chrisjohn]

No effect. Residencies are primarily based on merit.

 

[beetlerum]

I've heard surgery residencies really liking young people. My guess is it would be unlikely but not out of the question that being 2-3 years older would hurt you a little. There are comparatively fewer nontrads in surgery and they tend to be less understanding about being older.

 

[chrisjohn]

There do tend to be more "young" folks in surgical residencies because of the length and the amount of time spent at the hospital.

Personally, I'd love to do a surgical residency but at my age and having a wife and thinking about starting a family, it just isn't realistic. Kind of like Ranger School, you need to go when you're young and dumb. You just don't know that it isn't supposed to hurt so bad yet. 🙂

 

[QofQuimica]

Its my first year in medical school, currently 25, and i have noticed that the youngest person in class is 21 and the oldest is 25(me). I hope to get my MD at 29 which is 2 to 4 years behind the "norm" which is 25 to 27 years old. Will what little age gap hurt me in becoming a successful surgeon? i have been told by many that the younger student will receive a better placement and have a better career. Is there any merit to that?

Also to clarify is a nontrad student older then 23 when entering medical school?

thanks

Hopefully njbmd, who went to med school in her forties and is a surgery resident in her early 50s, will see this thread and respond. But I think that you really won't need to worry about being able to get a surgery residency in your late 20s assuming that you are a competitive applicant. I agree with chrisjohn that surgery tends to be self-selecting, and that most older students chose not to become surgeons for personal reasons as opposed to because they can't hack it or because there is discrimination against them. If it makes you feel any better, I'm two years older as an M1 than you will be when you're completely done with medical school, and the surgeons I've dealt with at my school are constantly trying to convince me that surgery is my secret dream career even though I have no intention of ever going into surgery. 🙂

 

[powerbooki]

njbmd rocks! I look forward to meeting such people one day. I am ten years older than the norm and I am interested in surgery. I think 20 years in surgery is plenty to make me satisfied. I assume we are talking about career duration after residency/fellowship, not ability to learn or stamina. I am glad Q is not interested in doing surgery, any one with 43S on MCAT may just be too much competition for me 😀

 

[GreyBlueEyes]

look on the bright side: the older you are, the less chance of being a new doc/surgeon and having patients who say "but s/he is SO YOUNG!" while doubting your ability 😉

 

[Pemberley]

...even though I have no intention of ever going into surgery. 🙂

So just out of curiosity, Q, what specialty/subspecialty are you thinking of?

There do tend to be more "young" folks in surgical residencies because of the length and the amount of time spent at the hospital.

Personally, I'd love to do a surgical residency but at my age and having a wife and thinking about starting a family, it just isn't realistic. Kind of like Ranger School, you need to go when you're young and dumb. You just don't know that it isn't supposed to hurt so bad yet. 🙂

I agree, I think self-selection is a huge factor. I don't think my skill set and interests make me a good fit for surgery anyway... but if I did, I would still have major qualms about my age and having time for whatever family I might start.