What would you do?

[anewman]

Greetings,

I thought I would ask some other people’s opinions on my situation.

I’m 35, married, 2 little kids at home, and financially stable. I retired early from the military and my VA disability rating, and my wife’s investments, afford us a comfortable lifestyle.

I just graduated with a Bachelor’s in Religion (for personal fulfillment.) 4.0 at my final transfer University (private, regionally accredited) 73 credits were taken there. I went in as a CC dropout with 38 transfer credits, knocked out the 73 in 5 semesters and clepped out of 9 more while attending.

I have 19 months of GI Bill left. Voc Rehab available after that, which could run me all the way through medical school. I have no student debt now, and would have none upon graduation.

I handled 18 senior level credits in my major at a time at one point, but it was a stretch. My final semester involved 12 credits of senior level credits, including a scholarly capstone, a practical project capstone, and additionally completing the Biology CLEP and studying for and taking College Algebra by sufficiency. I handled that pretty well. Anything more than that and I think I would have had a nervous breakdown (not meant jokingly.)

If you were in my shoes would you do a post bac and go to DO school? (I had some rough community college grades 15 years ago when a family member was ill, failed out of a whole semester due to it.) there is a school and hour away I could attend for it. Two medical schools within 2 hours of my house as well.

My biggest concern is handling the stress. I don’t know how much worse it would be than what I’ve just done. I’m fairly well read in biology, chemistry, microbiology, etc.. though I never took them formally.

Being a medical doctor was one of my lifelong dreams before I became severely injured in the military. Affording college so I could do so was the reason I joined. Got kinda sideswiped when I got hurt in 2010... let the dream go. My recent academic turnaround has spurred me on to maybe take the risk. I don’t need the doctor’s salary, we are financially fine, I just want to help people and medicine fascinates me.

Sorry for any formatting mistakes, I am terrible at typing on my older iPhone.

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[deleted480308]

If stress worries you, then no...don’t do it

 

[Music_To_Medicine]

If I was you I would look into other areas of medicine for two main reasons. One, I would not pursue med school if I could not handle immense stress. Two, I'm not sure of the nature of your injury, but are you able to be on your feet for hours (6-12) at a time? These are the things I would consider if I was in your position. Additionally, if I had a wife and kids I would consider a shorter, cheaper and less intense path such as RN, NP, or PA. I do not mean to discourage or dissuade you but you asked what others would do in your situation and that is how I would approach the decision. Regardless of what you choose, I wish nothing but success and happiness upon your journey.

 

[DocJanItor]

As someone who is close to your age who just started medical school...don't do it. When I started my post-bacc journey I only had a g/f (now wife) and all the free time in the world. While we're going to be adding a little one to the mix soon, I can't imagine going through my post-bacc and beginning medical school with 2 kids and the associated responsibilities. Not to mention the years of rotations, internship, residency, and whatever follows. At this point it would realistically be 10 years (or longer) until you're out of residency. I was complaining last semester to my wife about just having puppies (don't get puppies during med school).

Anything more than that and I think I would have had a nervous breakdown (not meant jokingly.)

I can honestly say there's no comparison between college and medical school. Take whatever you did in college and multiply it by 5x for speed, then add clinical skills and other things on top of it. Your schedule is generally full from 9-1 most days, with some days being longer. When you're done with that, you still have to do all of your studying, which can be 6-8 hours a day for 5-6d a week. And that's just the first 2 years. In M3 it gets even more loaded.

As others have mentioned, if you're truly interested in helping people then there are far shorter and easier paths to that realm. You won't have the same autonomy as a doctor, but you won't have all the stress or responsibilities either.

I'm sorry your plans got derailed, and thank you for your service. I know that you sacrificed a great deal for others.

 

[anewman]

If stress worries you, then no...don’t do it

Fair enough. Thanks for the advice. Though I would point out, it's a particular level of stress that worries me. I guess I'm old enough to have found my breaking point in life.... I lack that idealistic illusion that 20~somethings have that they are invincible.

 

[JustPlainBill]

If you're financially stable with 2 children and a wife who loves you, why put yourself through the beating that is medicine. I get the lifelong dream thing, I really do. You've got what most people are striving for -- take a page from Dick Winter's promise to himself at D+1 --- he said that if he made it through D+2 and through the war, he'd find a small piece of land with a farm and spend the rest of his life in peace. You've put enough on the line in your youth -- relax, watch your children grow, teach them about the world both the good and bad, be there for them and your wife, grow old with her, living, loving and laughing together in a life well spent. Too many of your brothers didn't get that chance and will forever be eternally young. My advice as a 55 year old retread attending -- don't do medicine at this point.....

 

[Noisewater-TDX]

I deal with a stress disorder. Med school def exacerbates it, but it isn't something that can't be handled.

If being a doc is your dream, do it. I'm 30 with a wife and 1 kid (6 months old) - It is doable. PA is also an option if you are worried about the number of years required for DO/MD.


PM me with any questions.

 

[anewman]

I deal with a stress disorder. Med school def exacerbates it, but it isn't something that can't be handled.

If being a doc is your dream, do it. I'm 30 with a wife and 1 kid (6 months old) - It is doable. PA is also an option if you are worried about the number of years required for DO/MD.


PM me with any questions.

Glad to hear you haven't found it insurmountable. Good luck! Wow, 6 months, that is a crazy rough age. My most difficult semester was when we had a 6 month old in the house.

The time commitment doesn't worry me. It's more of a personal fulfillment thing. I have an intense drive to be productive with the few years I have left. (assuming I live to 90, I still consider 55 more years to be few.) Part of why I did the Bachelors was to show my children that just because life beats you down, there is no excuse to not get up again. I also don't want to waste opportunities. GI Bill sitting at my feet not going to use bothers me.

Maybe I'll just do the post bacc for now and see how I feel after that. If I get through that and love it, then apply to medical school. If I hate it, then it's just one year of my life. I would have more options then with science courses added to my academic record.

 

[anewman]

If you're financially stable with 2 children and a wife who loves you, why put yourself through the beating that is medicine. I get the lifelong dream thing, I really do. You've got what most people are striving for -- take a page from Dick Winter's promise to himself at D+1 --- he said that if he made it through D+2 and through the war, he'd find a small piece of land with a farm and spend the rest of his life in peace. You've put enough on the line in your youth -- relax, watch your children grow, teach them about the world both the good and bad, be there for them and your wife, grow old with her, living, loving and laughing together in a life well spent. Too many of your brothers didn't get that chance and will forever be eternally young. My advice as a 55 year old retread attending -- don't do medicine at this point.....

Eh... I tried that. I spent 5 years overseas relaxing in Central America. It led to severe and nagging depression. I have an internal drive to challenge myself that requires me to absorb vast amounts of knowledge. I've worked in finances, overseen construction projects, run a rental management company, programmed computers (C, Java, C++, ASM, Perl, DHTML, SQL), designed microelectronics (PIC 8 bit microcontrollers,) successfully managed real estate and stock investments for family, written novels for personal catharsis, and intensely studied orthodox Christian theology because it was both interesting and important to me.

I'll probably die an old man, still looking for the next challenge to keep me going. At least lately I have gotten better about seeing my obsessions through to completion.

 

[Noisewater-TDX]

GI Bill sitting at my feet not going to use bothers me.

Maybe I'll just do the post bacc for now and see how I feel after that. If I get through that and love it, then apply to medical school. If I hate it, then it's just one year of my life. I would have more options then with science courses added to my academic record.

There are probably a dozen people in my class who are using the GI bill and at least 2 that are also on mil medical disability(@kristysmiles) .

In your post bacc i would suggest taking some really hard Immunology, Cell Bio, and Biochem. It will give you the best feel for the 1st year. I was woefully under-prepared by my nursing degree and pre-med work. Most people who did post-baccs or SMPs and had exposure to higher level sciences are the ones doing very well at the moment. Best of luck.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I will put in another vote to do it. I’m technically still active duty, but I know about joining to pay for school because you dropped out on a dream of med school. That’s exactly what happened to me.

My wife and I were doing just fine before I started my postbacc, but I wasn’t fulfilled. I really wanted to go to med school. We have a two kids under 4 and PCSed across the country for this program. It has been well worth it so far.

 

[anewman]

I will put in another vote to do it. I’m technically still active duty, but I know about joining to pay for school because you dropped out on a dream of med school. That’s exactly what happened to me.

My wife and I were doing just fine before I started my postbacc, but I wasn’t fulfilled. I really wanted to go to med school. We have a two kids under 4 and PCSed across the country for this program. It has been well worth it so far.

Kudos for the encouragement. Recovering from a partially paralyzed limb has made me a little addicted to overcoming challenges. I get where you're coming from. I think the military rewired me to where I'm not content with the easy life anymore.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Kudos for the encouragement. Recovering from a partially paralyzed limb has made me a little addicted to overcoming challenges. I get where you're coming from. I think the military rewired me to where I'm not content with the easy life anymore.

You've got this! Feel free to reach out if you ever have any questions.

 

[anewman]

Thanks to everyone who responded.

 

[Darth Doc]

Medical school stress is the stress of overwhelming amounts of work, and the self-induced pressure to do well. I had overwhelming stress 2nd year, but it was self induced due to lack of exercise, lack of sleep, over-caffeination, and self-induced pressure. That being said, it was nothing compared to the life stress I'd experienced previously. Age and life gave me a different perspective when I went through medical school.

I was a PA previously (also a great career option) which definitely helped some since I have numerous children (elementary, middle, and high schoolers when I started medical school). My husband has been amazing at getting us through this.

In your shoes, I'd take the classes to get ready for medical school. They'll also help you if you change your mind and go into a different medical field. You also seem like a life-long-learner and won't regret the classes even if you decide against pursuing a career in the medical field.

In addition, I'd get a job in the medical field now that doesn't require a huge education - if your disability allows it. Volunteer at a free health clinic. Become an EMT, an EKG tech, a phlebotomist, or a CNA. Doing something in the medical field will help you decide whether you want a full-time career (or not), what part of the medical field you enjoy (or not), and how much effort you want to put into something you don't have to do.

For me, this journey has been worth it. I graduate in May with my MD, and I don't regret any of this. But that's me. Only you can decide what's right for you. Get your feet wet in the medical field and find out if you like it and can do the work.

 

[kristysmiles]

Army veteran here using my GI bill and disability to get through medical school. I attended an online University full-time while in the Army to get my Bachelor's degree and graduated with a 3.95. My undergrad degree was writing intensive, which is a lot easier than a science intensive degree program. I completed my post-bacc with 4.0 and a lot more respect for Science majors. I would say if you really are unable to handle 18 credit hours then you shouldn't do it. Right now we are taking 29 credit hours and the material is much more difficult than undergraduate. Despite all this, it's honestly less stressful than being in the military, just a HUGE time commitment. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Greetings,

I thought I would ask some other people’s opinions on my situation.

I’m 35, married, 2 little kids at home, and financially stable. I retired early from the military and my VA disability rating, and my wife’s investments, afford us a comfortable lifestyle.

I just graduated with a Bachelor’s in Religion (for personal fulfillment.) 4.0 at my final transfer University (private, regionally accredited) 73 credits were taken there. I went in as a CC dropout with 38 transfer credits, knocked out the 73 in 5 semesters and clepped out of 9 more while attending.

I have 19 months of GI Bill left. Voc Rehab available after that, which could run me all the way through medical school. I have no student debt now, and would have none upon graduation.

I handled 18 senior level credits in my major at a time at one point, but it was a stretch. My final semester involved 12 credits of senior level credits, including a scholarly capstone, a practical project capstone, and additionally completing the Biology CLEP and studying for and taking College Algebra by sufficiency. I handled that pretty well. Anything more than that and I think I would have had a nervous breakdown (not meant jokingly.)

If you were in my shoes would you do a post bac and go to DO school? (I had some rough community college grades 15 years ago when a family member was ill, failed out of a whole semester due to it.) there is a school and hour away I could attend for it. Two medical schools within 2 hours of my house as well.

My biggest concern is handling the stress. I don’t know how much worse it would be than what I’ve just done. I’m fairly well read in biology, chemistry, microbiology, etc.. though I never took them formally.

Being a medical doctor was one of my lifelong dreams before I became severely injured in the military. Affording college so I could do so was the reason I joined. Got kinda sideswiped when I got hurt in 2010... let the dream go. My recent academic turnaround has spurred me on to maybe take the risk. I don’t need the doctor’s salary, we are financially fine, I just want to help people and medicine fascinates me.

Sorry for any formatting mistakes, I am terrible at typing on my older iPhone.

 

[anewman]

Army veteran here using my GI bill and disability to get through medical school. I attended an online University full-time while in the Army to get my Bachelor's degree and graduated with a 3.95. My undergrad degree was writing intensive, which is a lot easier than a science intensive degree program. I completed my post-bacc with 4.0 and a lot more respect for Science majors. I would say if you really are unable to handle 18 credit hours then you shouldn't do it. Right now we are taking 29 credit hours and the material is much more difficult than undergraduate. Despite all this, it's honestly less stressful than being in the military, just a HUGE time commitment. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Thanks for the heads up. What made science more difficult than a writing intensive degree? My previous work was research and writing intensive, with a few thousand pages per class to study. I've come to wonder if what made it so stressful during that 18 credit hour semester was finishing a house remodel, moving 18 hours away, raising a newborn, and having severe health problems at the same time (my back degenerated due to obesity and compression on my nerves was rendering me unable to walk.) 60 pounds of weight loss does wonders for your spinal health!

 

[kristysmiles]

Thanks for the heads up. What made science more difficult than a writing intensive degree? My previous work was research and writing intensive, with a few thousand pages per class to study. I've come to wonder if what made it so stressful during that 18 credit hour semester was finishing a house remodel, moving 18 hours away, raising a newborn, and having severe health problems at the same time (my back degenerated due to obesity and compression on my nerves was rendering me unable to walk.) 60 pounds of weight loss does wonders for your spinal health!

There's a lot of memorization and complex topics in Science classes, and it gets difficult to keep everything straight. Prolonged and frequent exposure to the material definitely helps. Those in my class who did an undergraduate science degree, followed by a master's degree are doing much better than the rest of us. I honestly struggled more with my beginner sciences, because I wasn't used to the format or the beginner concepts. Once you get a good understanding of those it gets easier to learn conceptually, but it's still a lot of work in memorization. I currently used Sketchy Micro and Sketchy Pharm to help with memorization in medical school. I'm at the point where I recommend a Master's degree prior to medical school if you plan on doing any sort of competitive specialty.

If you're in the Reserves you can get TA approval past your Bachelor's degree (w/o 10 years TIS) if they are prerequisite courses for a graduate program. You can always try taking a few classes and see how it goes.

 

[Just Call Me Doc]

Greetings,

I thought I would ask some other people’s opinions on my situation.

I’m 35, married, 2 little kids at home, and financially stable. I retired early from the military and my VA disability rating, and my wife’s investments, afford us a comfortable lifestyle.

I just graduated with a Bachelor’s in Religion (for personal fulfillment.) 4.0 at my final transfer University (private, regionally accredited) 73 credits were taken there. I went in as a CC dropout with 38 transfer credits, knocked out the 73 in 5 semesters and clepped out of 9 more while attending.

I have 19 months of GI Bill left. Voc Rehab available after that, which could run me all the way through medical school. I have no student debt now, and would have none upon graduation.

I handled 18 senior level credits in my major at a time at one point, but it was a stretch. My final semester involved 12 credits of senior level credits, including a scholarly capstone, a practical project capstone, and additionally completing the Biology CLEP and studying for and taking College Algebra by sufficiency. I handled that pretty well. Anything more than that and I think I would have had a nervous breakdown (not meant jokingly.)

If you were in my shoes would you do a post bac and go to DO school? (I had some rough community college grades 15 years ago when a family member was ill, failed out of a whole semester due to it.) there is a school and hour away I could attend for it. Two medical schools within 2 hours of my house as well.

My biggest concern is handling the stress. I don’t know how much worse it would be than what I’ve just done. I’m fairly well read in biology, chemistry, microbiology, etc.. though I never took them formally.

Being a medical doctor was one of my lifelong dreams before I became severely injured in the military. Affording college so I could do so was the reason I joined. Got kinda sideswiped when I got hurt in 2010... let the dream go. My recent academic turnaround has spurred me on to maybe take the risk. I don’t need the doctor’s salary, we are financially fine, I just want to help people and medicine fascinates me.

Sorry for any formatting mistakes, I am terrible at typing on my older iPhone.

Just to add some support, I'm a Navy vet that started med school at 40 and am currently in my third year. I also know several other vets with families that are going through med school right now, so it is definitely do-able. In regards to the stress, med school is definitely stressful but I actually found my post-bacc classes and the application process the most stressful. Pass-fail helps relieve some of the pressure and, in my experience, you ramp up so that while the responsibilities may increase, you are somewhat better able to handle it as you go along. There are definitely trade-off's in family life but you at least get to go home most nights so beats military training/deployment op tempo. If being a doctor is truly your lifelong dream then I would say go for it.

I would agree with your plan of focusing on the 25-yard target and working on knocking out the pre-reqs and prepping for the MCAT. I'd also get in some good shadowing to make sure you have a clear idea of the job and get some clinical time for your applications. Though DO schools are just as good, I wouldn't count out the MD schools to keep your options open. They may look past your grades 15 years ago if you keep up a good track record during your post-bacc.

One thing to keep in mind is that you may have less control in your fate for the match for residency so may have to uproot post-med school. As in the military, strong support from your family is key and the final decision should be after a long talk with them.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

 

[anewman]

Just to add some support, I'm a Navy vet that started med school at 40 and am currently in my third year. I also know several other vets with families that are going through med school right now, so it is definitely do-able. In regards to the stress, med school is definitely stressful but I actually found my post-bacc classes and the application process the most stressful. Pass-fail helps relieve some of the pressure and, in my experience, you ramp up so that while the responsibilities may increase, you are somewhat better able to handle it as you go along. There are definitely trade-off's in family life but you at least get to go home most nights so beats military training/deployment op tempo. If being a doctor is truly your lifelong dream then I would say go for it.

I would agree with your plan of focusing on the 25-yard target and working on knocking out the pre-reqs and prepping for the MCAT. I'd also get in some good shadowing to make sure you have a clear idea of the job and get some clinical time for your applications. Though DO schools are just as good, I wouldn't count out the MD schools to keep your options open. They may look past your grades 15 years ago if you keep up a good track record during your post-bacc.

One thing to keep in mind is that you may have less control in your fate for the match for residency so may have to uproot post-med school. As in the military, strong support from your family is key and the final decision should be after a long talk with them.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

Thanks for the heads up. We have discussed it and my wife is okay with a temporary relocation for residency. Physician jobs are abundant in our region because no one wants to move here so there is no reason we couldn't move back.

I talked with the admissions counselor today and they think I have a very good shot at the medical school associated with their university; assuming I do well on the post bacc. I suppose I start in the Fall! We have a lot to get in order before then so that I can have singular focus on my studies without neglecting family interaction.

Good luck as you finish up! Thanks for your service.

 

[Forever Geebs]

Thanks for the heads up. We have discussed it and my wife is okay with a temporary relocation for residency. Physician jobs are abundant in our region because no one wants to move here so there is no reason we couldn't move back.

I talked with the admissions counselor today and they think I have a very good shot at the medical school associated with their university; assuming I do well on the post bacc. I suppose I start in the Fall! We have a lot to get in order before then so that I can have singular focus on my studies without neglecting family interaction.

Good luck as you finish up! Thanks for your service.

You're on the right path, but if I may, please do not put all your eggs in one basket because of what your counselor told you. Medical schools receive thousands of applications per cycle and very few get admitted. You need to be the most competitive applicant you can be with a stellar GPA, MCAT score, and extracurricular (clinical volunteering, non-clinical volunteering, shadowing, research, leadership, etc.).

Best of luck to you.

 

[anewmanx]

You're on the right path, but if I may, please do not put all your eggs in one basket because of what your counselor told you. Medical schools receive thousands of applications per cycle and very few get admitted. You need to be the most competitive applicant you can be with a stellar GPA, MCAT score, and extracurricular (clinical volunteering, non-clinical volunteering, shadowing, research, leadership, etc.).

Best of luck to you.

I appreciate the sentiment. It's kind of a one shot situation for me though. We will not be leaving this area for medical school, and this school and one other within a 2 hour range are the only options. I also have very specific reasons I would like to study and eventually work in their hospital system,.I had a very ill child who had 15 surgeries and practically lived in the NICU and PICU wards the first three years of his life. If this path doesn't work out, I'll just continue down the path of a Master of Divinity and aim for working as a hospital Chaplain. I have nothing to lose by trying, aside from potential stress. I actually make money going to school from the GI Bill so that is hard to say no to.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I appreciate the sentiment. It's kind of a one shot situation for me though. We will not be leaving this area for medical school, and this school and one other within a 2 hour range are the only options. I also have very specific reasons I would like to study and eventually work in their hospital system,.I had a very ill child who had 15 surgeries and practically lived in the NICU and PICU wards the first three years of his life. If this path doesn't work out, I'll just continue down the path of a Master of Divinity and aim for working as a hospital Chaplain. I have nothing to lose by trying, aside from potential stress. I actually make money going to school from the GI Bill so that is hard to say no to.

Praying that God will make your path clear to you, and that you will be happy with it.

 

[Forever Geebs]

I appreciate the sentiment. It's kind of a one shot situation for me though. We will not be leaving this area for medical school, and this school and one other within a 2 hour range are the only options. I also have very specific reasons I would like to study and eventually work in their hospital system,.I had a very ill child who had 15 surgeries and practically lived in the NICU and PICU wards the first three years of his life. If this path doesn't work out, I'll just continue down the path of a Master of Divinity and aim for working as a hospital Chaplain. I have nothing to lose by trying, aside from potential stress. I actually make money going to school from the GI Bill so that is hard to say no to.

You realize that before you can practice, you have to complete residency after medical school? And said residency and where you end up completing it is based on factors outside of your control, a la match. If you’re not familiar with residency and match day, I encourage you to research and acclimate yourself with the process.

There’s more I would like to share, but in the interest of time, will hold off for now until you’ve had a chance to reply.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[anewmanx]

You realize that before you can practice, you have to complete residency after medical school? And said residency and where you end up completing it is based on factors outside of your control, a la match. If you’re not familiar with residency and match day, I encourage you to research and acclimate yourself with the process.

There’s more I would like to share, but in the interest of time, will hold off for now until you’ve had a chance to reply.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am familiar with that, and that is a short enough period that my wife and I were able to agree on it. Four years away from home for medical school in addition to residency, on the other hand, was not a tenable situation. The downgrade in quality of life we would experience if we sold our home and moved to another area (where cost of living is higher,) would be horrible.