Too old to apply to medical school?

[PAtoDoctor]

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Hello!

I am a relatively new PA and the more I work, the more I think about applying to medical school. I just don't know if I should even consider it because I would have to start studying for the MCAT soon.

Luckily, I will have very little to no debt from PA school when I finish my obligation. I wouldn't mind this decision not making me a large, if any, financial gain in the long run. I just don't want it to cost me. I make a pretty decent salary right now considering I work in an outpatient clinic for a FQHC. I also work per diem for an urgent care. So considering the low levels of stress (though I am still new so it can be pretty stressful), making this amount of money is very hard to leave behind to be a student that earns no income again.

On the other hand, I couldn't start school until I'm 33 because breaking the contract is very expensive. I am a woman and I do want a family soon. I don't know if I should just be happy where I am or if the "what ifs" will haunt me forever.

Other Things:
I haven't calculated it forever, but I think my science GPA was like a 3.50? This includes like 3 full time semesters of straight As (some are retakes so DO GPA would be higher?).
Do undergrad courses expire? I started undergrad at 18 and remember courses expiring in 10 years for PA school apps.
If I consider the one bridge program (PA -> DO) or other three-year programs, would it be especially not worth it since most of them have primary care specialty requirement?
Can I work during medical school? I am a pretty fast learner and barely studied during PA school. I know PA school is way easier, but most of my classmates were putting in a ton of hours studying.
How much time do med school courses take a day? I heard they were mostly optional. I found the most draining part of PA school the long and required days when I am a better self-learner.


Thank for all your advice and opinions in advance!

 

[differentiating]

Out of curiosity, what is your reason for wanting to go to med school? It's not clear to me why you would want to make this switch.

I would consider the fact that you may be taking on around 150-200k of debt for medical school, and that it will take you quite a bit of time for this plan (you may need some GPA repair, especially since DO schools no longer do grade replacement, in addition to 4 years of medical school and 3+ years of residency). I know a few people who had flexible part-time jobs during MS1/2, though personally I wouldn't recommend it, and it would be impossible to work during MS3/4 given the expectations during rotations. I think many schools (including my alma mater) have moved to 1 or 1.5 preclinical years, so that would shorten the amount of flexibility for working. So you very well may wind up with a net loss, depending on your current salary.

During preclinical years, my med school usually had 2-10 hours (varied week to week) of mandatory small-group learning per week, but lectures were recorded and so could be watched on 2x speed on your own time. The amount of mandatory sessions (and whether lecture attendance is mandatory) seems to vary widely between schools. Of course, the amount of study time needed is significantly more in order to keep up with the volume of information.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Honestly if having a family is super important to you I probably wouldn't. Everybody always smiles and says "But you can do everything!" and...... it's just not true. You can still be a wife and a mother and a medical trainee, but your partner has to understand you'll be working 80+ hour weeks and 28+ hour days at times, even as a medical student (depending on where you go to school).

Everyone talks about duty hour restrictions but in my experience those restrictions are fake. What are you going to do, report the dean of your medical school? Then they won't write your letter for residency/fellowship........

In the end, it's whatever you want to do. Only you can decide. But if you like your job, I'd take that and run with it dude and settle down. 28-36 hour shifts are hard on relationships, even if you do your best.

If you couldn't care less about a marriage or kids, and you're OK with sacrificing money and free time, then yeah go to med school.

To answer your specific questions:
-can you work during school? No. No shot. You're living off borrowed money

-will it cost you financially? If you wind up in peds, FM, or IM, probably. It definitely won't benefit you. Now, if you end up in derm/cards/GI, yeah, you'll be rich, but is all that suffering really worth the cost? Not to me. I'm here because I love people, that's the only valid reason IMO.

-hours worked in med school depend on your school. If you have long required days, it's awful. If you can just self-study for two years, you can probably get away with only studying like 60 hours a week. As a clerkship student, you'll be putting in 80+ hour weeks on surgery and IM (depending on school). Less so on the others

-yes, bridge programs aren't worth it financially or even time wise.

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[Redpancreas]

Your questions are difficult to answer because a lot depends on the reasons you’re doing this and your goals which you haven’t expanded on.

1.) You can work, but most don’t because they want to focus on maximizing their academic record and CV for residency.

2.) I don’t know about course load, but you’ll get a quick answer by calling your undergrad, asking them, and confirming with medical school admissions offices.

3.) No one can tell you how difficult medical school will be. It’s dependent on your abilities and again, goals as some career paths are more competitive than others.

Overall, it seems like you want to have everything: the quickest transition to MD/DO possible, the ability to work during medical school, possibly a competitive specialty which would take a long time to complete, and a family. You’re not going to get everything. I suggest that if you want better advice, you formulate a more detailed vision so we can better speculate on the reality of it.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

It’s not worth it unless you’re independently wealthy.

Many factors that I won’t get into on this tread point to doctors probably making similar salaries as PAs in the future so unless you are doing it purely out of wanting to be the leader then don’t bother

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to pre-med

It’s not worth it unless you’re independently wealthy.

Many factors that I won’t get into on this tread point to doctors probably making similar salaries as PAs in the future so unless you are doing it purely out of wanting to be the leader then don’t bother

There are plenty of good reasons why someone should not change from one professional career to another, and depending on specialty it is conceivable that shifting from PA to MD won't be worth the 7-11 year delay in making an attending salary vs staying where the OP is, but this is over the top.