Too Old?

[CCEMTP2DOC]

Good Morning,

I understand this has been discussed adnausum, but I must admit I am worried. I will be 43 upon application to med school and would like to better my chances for acceptance. My grades will be good. ~3.70 GPA, ~3.55 sci GPA. 14 years experience as a medic, ec's, lor's, etc. I realize this is probably for nothing, but I would like some honest opinions. Thanks.

Rob

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[docbill]

Well 43 + 4 medical school + 3 Residency (FP) = 50 years old.

You can still give anywhere from 25-30 years to the community. So the short answer is NO, not too old.

Considering you have been helping people for the last 14 years, it is simply a 4 year break to improve on your training. Or you can say upgrade your training.

As long as you have the energy to do this, and the heart for the great dept. GO for it.

 

[HunterGatherer]

I agree. Good luck on the MCAT and get that DO letter.

Well 43 + 4 medical school + 3 Residency (FP) = 50 years old.

You can still give anywhere from 25-30 years to the community. So the short answer is NO, not too old.

Considering you have been helping people for the last 14 years, it is simply a 4 year break to improve on your training. Or you can say upgrade your training.

As long as you have the energy to do this, and the heart for the great dept. GO for it.

 

[wook]

Good Morning,

I understand this has been discussed adnausum, but I must admit I am worried. I will be 43 upon application to med school and would like to better my chances for acceptance. My grades will be good. ~3.70 GPA, ~3.55 sci GPA. 14 years experience as a medic, ec's, lor's, etc. I realize this is probably for nothing, but I would like some honest opinions. Thanks.

Rob

CCEMTP2DOC:

Agree, go for it! Oldest dude in our class started at age 50, he plans on doing GI which means at least 5 years for residency plus fellowship (I don't know how long fellowship is). He's now 54 and going strong!! So don't sweat it. You sound like you got a decent background!!


Wook

 

[UltimateDO]

Considering my fiancee had a 50+ year old in her class and I have a 60 year old lawyer in my class I think you are good to go. Just don't become a PGY 12 fellow...

 

[ChuckaZulu]

I'll have to use this line on my wife I've been a Medic for the past 10 years and will be about 41 when I finish my BS. She wants me to go to PA school with it being much shorter. I'll let her think I'm going PA until I get that acceptance letter (hopefully) for Med School.

Your not too old.

Well 43 + 4 medical school + 3 Residency (FP) = 50 years old.

You can still give anywhere from 25-30 years to the community. So the short answer is NO, not too old.

Considering you have been helping people for the last 14 years, it is simply a 4 year break to improve on your training. Or you can say upgrade your training.

As long as you have the energy to do this, and the heart for the great dept. GO for it.

 

[SuperTrooper]

Good Morning,

I understand this has been discussed adnausum, but I must admit I am worried. I will be 43 upon application to med school and would like to better my chances for acceptance. My grades will be good. ~3.70 GPA, ~3.55 sci GPA. 14 years experience as a medic, ec's, lor's, etc. I realize this is probably for nothing, but I would like some honest opinions. Thanks.

Rob

I have to say rob, that if I were an adcom I'd probably think you were going through a mid-life crisis or something. You were a medic for 14 years before you decided that medicine was right for you? What the hell took you so long to make this realization? I can understand 4 or 5 years, but 14 years!! I mean, you must have liked your job to have held-out for so long. Yes, people get tired of their jobs at about your age, but who doesn't? The key is to reinvigorate yourself, do things differently at work, find your passion again.

Here's my honest opinion. And when I say honest, I mean that this is the exact thing I would be thinking if my daughter/son was thinking about applying to med school at your age. You're too old!! You wanna switch careers, fine! But don't pursue a career that involves minimumum 4 years of extra school, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of tuition, likely being moved to a new city should you not get into a school in your home area, and having to put up with tons of onboxious medical school brats who think they're god's gift to mankind.

Dude, seriously, medicine sucks and it takes you so long before you know anything at all. Just when your medical skills reach their zenith you'll seriously be implementing your exit strategy for retirement.

My vote: too old.

Good Luck with everything, whatever you decide.

 

[FutureDocDO]

Good Morning,

I understand this has been discussed adnausum, but I must admit I am worried. I will be 43 upon application to med school and would like to better my chances for acceptance. My grades will be good. ~3.70 GPA, ~3.55 sci GPA. 14 years experience as a medic, ec's, lor's, etc. I realize this is probably for nothing, but I would like some honest opinions. Thanks.

Rob

I'd say go for it. Seriously, why did it take so long? With those numbers you could have been a doctor by now. Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

 

[FutureDocDO]

I'll have to use this line on my wife I've been a Medic for the past 10 years and will be about 41 when I finish my BS. She wants me to go to PA school with it being much shorter. I'll let her think I'm going PA until I get that acceptance letter (hopefully) for Med School.

Your not too old.

It'll be funny if you keep it from her even when you get into medical school. If you get into a medical school that also offers a PA (i.e., DMU-COM) degree you can hide it from her for two years and then for your rotation you could just tell her you're doing advance training. Imagine the look on her face when she finds out.

 

[davematthews]

I have to say rob, that if I were an adcom I'd probably think you were going through a mid-life crisis or something. You were a medic for 14 years before you decided that medicine was right for you? What the hell took you so long to make this realization? I can understand 4 or 5 years, but 14 years!! I mean, you must have liked your job to have held-out for so long. Yes, people get tired of their jobs at about your age, but who doesn't? The key is to reinvigorate yourself, do things differently at work, find your passion again.

Here's my honest opinion. And when I say honest, I mean that this is the exact thing I would be thinking if my daughter/son was thinking about applying to med school at your age. You're too old!! You wanna switch careers, fine! But don't pursue a career that involves minimumum 4 years of extra school, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of tuition, likely being moved to a new city should you not get into a school in your home area, and having to put up with tons of onboxious medical school brats who think they're god's gift to mankind.

Dude, seriously, medicine sucks and it takes you so long before you know anything at all. Just when your medical skills reach their zenith you'll seriously be implementing your exit strategy for retirement.

My vote: too old.

Good Luck with everything, whatever you decide.

Thats quite an opinion and full of generalizations. You are not on a ADCOM committee and have no clue what a 42 year old adcom may think, AND you do not have good reasoning behind your statements.

Why did it take 14 years? Why dont u ask Rob first then make a response. Does Rob have a wife, family, and kids? Maybe it just wasnt the right time for him. Perhaps he has faced many many challenges in his life and he feels that this is the next one. Your statement is very judgemental.

ROB- you have to remember that the great ones, before the are great, are many times lloked upon as being dreamers, crazy, irrational, not realistic... then they go on to be revered and talked about because they do/did something most of us dont have the courage to even consider.
If you want it, do it. Its that simple.

 

[ShyRem]

I'm 38 now, I'll be 39 when I start med school in the fall. I was also a medic for over 10 years when I went back to school for my BS. I looked at it this way: if I *don't* try, I'm the one saying "NO". And I'm worth more than that. I'm going to make THEM say no.

But at least one said "yes." And I can't wait to get started.

 

[CatsandCradles]

Good Morning,

I understand this has been discussed adnausum, but I must admit I am worried. I will be 43 upon application to med school and would like to better my chances for acceptance. My grades will be good. ~3.70 GPA, ~3.55 sci GPA. 14 years experience as a medic, ec's, lor's, etc. I realize this is probably for nothing, but I would like some honest opinions. Thanks.

Rob

Good afternoon

I say go for it! I'm one of those people who have just gotten out of college and will be entering medical school without any medical experience whatsoever. Actually I do have a little bit of experience as a EMTB, but my experience is but a grain of salt compared to your 14 years as a paramedic.

With those 14 years, and your good science GPA - I'd bet money that you would make for very good physician.

I'm all for you paramedics entering medical school. You bring a lot of experience with you and that benefits everyone - espeically benefiting the patients too.

Best of wishes and God speed!

C&C

 

[dr.z]

Go for it!

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Good Morning,

I understand this has been discussed adnausum, but I must admit I am worried. I will be 43 upon application to med school and would like to better my chances for acceptance. My grades will be good. ~3.70 GPA, ~3.55 sci GPA. 14 years experience as a medic, ec's, lor's, etc. I realize this is probably for nothing, but I would like some honest opinions. Thanks.

Rob

Rob - Your dream is only for nothing if you don't try. I was 43 when I applied - 44 when accepted - and I'll be 45 about two weeks after school starts in the Fall. When I finish an Internal Medicine residency, I'll be 51. I figure that I'll practice somewhere between 15 - 20 years - to my mind, that's a long and happy second career - and I'll be treating the Baby Boomers when they're most in need of care.

On the other hand, you'd probably like some practical advice. The truth is, some allopathic schools are not going to be very open to you - right or wrong is another argument - it's just how it is. I applied with top-notch stats (if I do say so myself) and got some secondaries but no interviews. I was, however, accepted with a scholarship by my state allopathic school and I can't wait to get started! I have always been told that osteopathic schools are much more open to us non-trad-non-trads but I held my AACOMAS until after I heard from my state school (I was open to the osteopathic philosophy and my state's osteo school is absolutely terrific, but - to be honest - for me, it was an option but it wasn't my first choice) so I have no experience there.

SuperTrooper, it's a long and complex story about why I spent 20 years in hospital finance before I decided to chase my long-held dream of medicine. I did indeed hit a mid-life crisis when my Dad died three years ago - I realized that medicine was now or never. Personally, I think working my tail off to reinvent my life was a creative response to a mid-life crisis - I guess my adcom thought so, too - we actually discussed it. You are absolutely entitled to have your opinion treated with respect, but I'm certainly glad that my adcom didn't share your view (I was the oldest person in the room, by the way).

Good luck, Rob.

 

[CCEMTP2DOC]

Thats quite an opinion and full of generalizations. You are not on a ADCOM committee and have no clue what a 42 year old adcom may think, AND you do not have good reasoning behind your statements.

Why did it take 14 years? Why dont u ask Rob first then make a response. Does Rob have a wife, family, and kids? Maybe it just wasnt the right time for him. Perhaps he has faced many many challenges in his life and he feels that this is the next one. Your statement is very judgemental.

ROB- you have to remember that the great ones, before the are great, are many times lloked upon as being dreamers, crazy, irrational, not realistic... then they go on to be revered and talked about because they do/did something most of us dont have the courage to even consider.
If you want it, do it. Its that simple.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful insight. I will answer some of your questions, Why did it take so long? I decided almost 4 years ago to do this. I needed to finish my B.S. So, actually I decided at the 10 year mark. Still a long time, but it was when it was right.
This is not a midlife crisis. I have known I wanted to do this for a long time.
I am married with 2 children. My wife and I adopted our children from Russia in 1999. My daughter was born with amniotic band syndrome and has had a couple of surgeries at the local childrens hospital and many more at Shriners Hospital in Erie, PA. She is the most incredible person i have ever met, she is incredibly high functioning, and smart as a whip.( My wife kids me about being in russia 9 yeras ago.) I was stalle din my attempt to start my B.S. by major abdominal surgery. When I finally said enough is enough, I took some time off, collected my thoughts, got everything straightened up, and went for it. Throughout my entire bachelor's, I have worked 60+ hours/week.
I will have gotten 200+ hours of shadowing in and some volly time. I am a critical care paramedic, there is nothing higher for me to achieve. I enjoy my job, there is no burnout. I realize that this hasn't been the most direct route;but it is what has worked for me. I could have got it done 10 years ago, but I wouldn't have been as good of a doctor. Has this been one of my dreams? Yes. But, I refuse to stop dreaming. Why should one stopp trying to better theirself? Sorry for the rambling. Keep the opionins coming.

Rob

 

[CCEMTP2DOC]

Thats quite an opinion and full of generalizations. You are not on a ADCOM committee and have no clue what a 42 year old adcom may think, AND you do not have good reasoning behind your statements.

Why did it take 14 years? Why dont u ask Rob first then make a response. Does Rob have a wife, family, and kids? Maybe it just wasnt the right time for him. Perhaps he has faced many many challenges in his life and he feels that this is the next one. Your statement is very judgemental.

ROB- you have to remember that the great ones, before the are great, are many times lloked upon as being dreamers, crazy, irrational, not realistic... then they go on to be revered and talked about because they do/did something most of us dont have the courage to even consider.
If you want it, do it. Its that simple.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful insight. I will answer some of your questions, Why did it take so long? I decided almost 4 years ago to do this. I needed to finish my B.S. So, actually I decided at the 10 year mark. Still a long time, but it was when it was right.
This is not a midlife crisis. I have known I wanted to do this for a long time.
I am married with 2 children. My wife and I adopted our children from Russia in 1999. My daughter was born with amniotic band syndrome and has had a couple of surgeries at the local childrens hospital and many more at Shriners Hospital in Erie, PA. She is the most incredible person i have ever met, she is incredibly high functioning, and smart as a whip.( My wife kids me about being in russia 9 years ago.) She has told me to go for it. I was stalled in my attempt to start my B.S. by major abdominal surgery. When I finally said enough is enough, I took some time off, collected my thoughts, got everything straightened up, and went for it. Throughout my entire bachelor's, I have worked 60+ hours/week.
I will have gotten 200+ hours of shadowing in and some volly time. I am a critical care paramedic, there is nothing higher for me to achieve. I enjoy my job, there is no burnout. I realize that this hasn't been the most direct route;but it is what has worked for me. I could have got it done 10 years ago, but I wouldn't have been as good of a doctor. Has this been one of my dreams? Yes. But, I refuse to stop dreaming. Why should one stopp trying to better theirself? Sorry for the rambling. Keep the opionins coming.

Rob

 

[SuperTrooper]

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful insight. I will answer some of your questions, Why did it take so long? I decided almost 4 years ago to do this. I needed to finish my B.S. So, actually I decided at the 10 year mark. Still a long time, but it was when it was right.
This is not a midlife crisis. I have known I wanted to do this for a long time.
I am married with 2 children. My wife and I adopted our children from Russia in 1999. My daughter was born with amniotic band syndrome and has had a couple of surgeries at the local childrens hospital and many more at Shriners Hospital in Erie, PA. She is the most incredible person i have ever met, she is incredibly high functioning, and smart as a whip.( My wife kids me about being in russia 9 yeras ago.) I was stalle din my attempt to start my B.S. by major abdominal surgery. When I finally said enough is enough, I took some time off, collected my thoughts, got everything straightened up, and went for it. Throughout my entire bachelor's, I have worked 60+ hours/week.
I will have gotten 200+ hours of shadowing in and some volly time. I am a critical care paramedic, there is nothing higher for me to achieve. I enjoy my job, there is no burnout. I realize that this hasn't been the most direct route;but it is what has worked for me. I could have got it done 10 years ago, but I wouldn't have been as good of a doctor. Has this been one of my dreams? Yes. But, I refuse to stop dreaming. Why should one stopp trying to better theirself? Sorry for the rambling. Keep the opionins coming.

Rob

You sound like an amazing person Rob. Good luck to you and your future plans. My earlier reply was a bit cynical for sure, but I was being honest, and I think I was a little rough because the question you're asking was being directed to an audience i'm skeptical of. A lot of these people on SDN are young, have had a lot of financial support, have never had a job, don't have kids. They have no regrets in life. Maybe I'm wrong about the people who replied to this thread, and I'm sure I'll get flamed out for this. Definitely there are exceptions like ShyRem and the other medic that replied.

Keep in mind that medical school is a biatch. I know people who have gotten divorsed during medical school, and it was definitely precipitated by the fact that your life is on hold for that four years minimum. Your situation requires special thought, and i"m sure you've given it a lot of thought. I don't know about your daughter, but if she has limb ambutations or vision problems this may exacerbate the stress felt by your wife.

Anyhow, as I said, good luck.

Just keep in mind that it's gonna be a hard road ahead.

 

[tkim]

Medic for 12 years before entering med school @ 35, now MSIII. Married, two kids - one newborn. The going can be rough, but I'd rather feel useful for the rest of my time rather than wonder every day if I should have pursued my dream.

That being said, there is absolutely no reason not to explore PA as an option. While there is less autonomy and pay, that will depend on what specialty track you pursue as a PA. There are massive advantages to going the PA route, which is why I struggled with the choices as well. Ultimately I chose to pursue a medical degree. So far so good. Good luck.

 

[Slitherin]

If you want to, and you think you can then do it. Ignore anyone who say's you are too old. Many classes have 40-50 year olds including mine.

 

[CCEMTP2DOC]

You sound like an amazing person Rob. Good luck to you and your future plans. My earlier reply was a bit cynical for sure, but I was being honest, and I think I was a little rough because the question you're asking was being directed to an audience i'm skeptical of. A lot of these people on SDN are young, have had a lot of financial support, have never had a job, don't have kids. They have no regrets in life. Maybe I'm wrong about the people who replied to this thread, and I'm sure I'll get flamed out for this. Definitely there are exceptions like ShyRem and the other medic that replied.

Keep in mind that medical school is a biatch. I know people who have gotten divorsed during medical school, and it was definitely precipitated by the fact that your life is on hold for that four years minimum. Your situation requires special thought, and i"m sure you've given it a lot of thought. I don't know about your daughter, but if she has limb ambutations or vision problems this may exacerbate the stress felt by your wife.

Anyhow, as I said, good luck.

Just keep in mind that it's gonna be a hard road ahead.

Thank you for being candid. I understand It is going to be tough. As far as my daughter. If you didn't know, you would couldn't tell. Thanks to Shriners, she now has 5 "fingers" on her one hand and 4 on the other. She is a very normal child and,as I stated, very smart. She was also born with bilateral club foot, one of which needed correction, and alcaptanuria. So, on paper, you would think this girl is a mess. Many people told us to avoid adopting her, but now we, actually she, is having the last laugh. Once again, I thank everyone for their wonderful insights. Please keep them coming.

Rob

 

[babloo]

My mom's friend completed her residency in psychiatry at the age of 56. She worked with a group for 3 years. Now she has her own solo practice and lots of $$$$$$$$.
Never say its tOOOOOOOOOOOO late. Never. Good luck.

 

[colt]

Go Rob!!!

 

[Dotsero]

Go for it man! I am 43 yo and a first year at DMU (and I not the oldest in my class). Had similar stats as yours and worked as a RN in the ED prior to med school. In some ways attending med school as an older student has its advantages; you don't sweat the small stuff, you typically know who you are and your limitations and your hormones are under control (i.e. not trying to date, get married etc...) so your not as distracted. On the other hand the young'ins have usually come right out of undergrad and have those study skills down pretty well. You'll be 51 someday anyway, might as well be 51 and living the dream (and saving lives)!!

 

[notnarcsDO]

Go for it! Best of luck to you. Age does not determine if you will be a good or bad physician. You have a great GPA, so just nail the MCAT and you will be in.

 

[CCEMTP2DOC]

bump

 

[scpod]

bump

I'm beginning to think that us "old" folks are not the minority. I just turned 42 and I'm not sure that I'll be the oldest in my class, but I guess I'll find out at the end of July.