What are my chances?

[ChienYi]

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Throughout my life, I always thought about medicine as a field that involved a lot of patient interaction, body fluids, and etc. My sister's training as an anesthesiologist confirmed this impression. With more research about the medical field, however, I've come to realize that there are professions within medicine where I can avoid a lot of what I thought was unpleasant - radiology and pathology. If I aim for medical school, I'm interested in committing myself to either profession.

However, I am turning 31 this year. By the time that I am done with my medical training, I will be at least 45. Are there any radiology or pathology private practices that actually hire someone in that age bracket? My previous work experience is in research and consulting, so I've actually acquired a lot of skills that are emphasized in radiology and/or pathology - investigative analysis, writing white papers for marketing purposes, etc.

Any thoughts?

 

[ChE04]

I'm curious as to how you are going to avoid bodily fluids as a pathologist? 🙂

I would say your age is not going to significantly limit your chances, but the parts of medicine that you find unpleasant (based on your post) are a large part of what medicine is about. You might try shadowing the fields you are interested in as it seems like you don't know a whole lot about them, or medicine in general. Given your dislikes, I would definitely re-evaluate whether or not you want to devote the amount of time to the process of becoming a doctor, and whether you can convince ad coms that you should be given the chance--I don't think they will buy the "I'm going to be a radiologist" line. Also keep in mind that you are not guaranteed pathology or radiology residencies even after matriculating into medical school.