med school

[Deltamud77]

I am thinking about going to med school as a non-traditional student. Non-traditional in that I am 31 and married. I have all the pre-reqs out of the way and have scored well on some MCAT practice tests (29 give or take). Are there any docs or future docs on the board? What are your recommendations? Obviously, med school is very rigorous, but what does that entail? Is the sacrifice worth it? I realize this is hunting forum, but I am a hunter and want some good ol' boy perspective and not some egg head from who knows where.

[Chuckle12]

I'm finishing up my first year of med school right now. I was a "semi" non-traditionla student in that I got my masters and was 27 when accepted. UMC in Jackson is known for taking a good number of "non-traditonal" students every year. We have 4 people over 30 in our class (oldest is 38) and over half the class is above 25. The lifestyle of a med student is VERY rigorous and will take up a lot more of your family time. I'm fixing to walk out the door now, but om me with any questions you might have and I'll be happy to help you out with anything you need.

[Jeff]

In our class well over half the people that started school married ended divorced. Just very very difficult to make enough time for everything. If you do it, just make sure that not only you know what you are gettinginto, but just as importantly that your wife and children know what they are getting into. I have been out five years now and I will never regret my decision to become a doctor. I would go through the hours and hours of studying, dragging books to the duck blind to make a hunt just to get awawy, and having no life for four years. Once you get that behind you it is a very rewardng experience and a good way to make a living. The biggest thing that would concern me in your shoes is your family, it seemed to me to be very difficult to have a family life during med school.

[GordonGekko]

30 yrs old finishing up my first year of law school...with a wife and twin 2 year olds.... I know it's not Med School but there's a good bit of similarity (at least in the amount of work required). From a general standpoint, it takes planning, organization, high tolerance for stress, and the most understanding wife in the world. My wife is great, but honestly it gets tough at times real tough (like during finals).... I have the impression that med school may be a little less intense, simply because its a longer program and there isn't so much emphasis on starting out well (in law school if you don't finish in the top 10% your first Semester the chances of interviewing on campus are slim). There are some other things that escalate the stress of law school that I'm not sure are involved in Med school, but either way it is a LOT of pressure to do well so you can set your own path. It also rarely leaves time for family, if you view it like a 60 hr. a week job, where you work 3-4 hrs a day on weekends I would imagine you will be O.K., but if your spouse isn't prepared for this type of time commitment don't even THINK about it anymore...or decide which is more important Med. School or your family....

I think Jeff is right on with professional school (Law or Medical) in that somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 out of 4 marriages that enter professional school don't make it to graduation. So, be aware of the immense strain it will put on your marriage (and that you may be percieved as the selfish one who is pursuing their dream at the expense of the family).

Is it worth it, well my marriage is probably better now (with the exception of some really bad days, like when i got a cold during finals) than it was when I was doing a job I wasn't cut out for and felt miserable. So, honestly there are ways it can help a marriage, too. But, remember when you are scheduling study time...schedule time for your family too...even if it means you only average 5-6 hours of sleep a night (you can do fine like that trust me )....

Good luck in your decision if you wanna run it by me shoot me a PM and I'll give you a shout even if I don't know Med School, I can help you out with some general professional school advice.

[Blackduck]

Been there and done that. What kind of life are you planning when you get done? 32 or so when you start. 36 when you get out and the earliest you can get done with a residency you will be 39-40. Then you have to build a practice and try and reclaim all of those gorgeous morning you missed over the past seven years. No to mention any childern that come along. But it is a great profession regardless of what some of the chukleheads around here think

[Seymore]

DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!

I am speaking as a kid of a surgeon who started med school at 30. Four years of med school, then 5 years of orthopaedic residency. Dad was never home. I was seven when he started and a senior in high school when he finished and he missed all that. I didn't go to med school for that very reason.

[bigsprig]

mud...check your pm

[Seem too Xtrema2 you?]

I am in my second year of med school, but haven't even turned 24 yet, so it's hard for me to place myself in your shoes. However, like Chuckles said (Chuck...pm me sometime by the way, are you at or OOS med school??) there are several people in my class over the age of 30 (5 that I can think of right off hand). Like these other guys said, it depends on how what your priorities are and how well you manage your time. It's no cake walk by any means, but if you are driven and it's your calling, I feel (and see through others) that you can make time for it all--and not every residency is as grueling as an ortho one--there are specialties that will provide you more and less personal/free time for your kids, wife, hunting, etc...feel free to pm me as well with any specific questions, I will be studying for the Step1 with after I get done turkey hunting and/or bass fishing during the days (one positive of med school is you still get spring break...which starts today..booya!)

[MC3]

i'll letcha know thursday afternoon....after match day.......

i'm on my way out, and the curriculum has totally changed since i started. so chuckles and others will have a better perspective on the first couple of years. but,

is it worth it? if being some type of doc is what you want to do, it's worth it.

time? you have to learn to manage your time well. unfortunately it will take up some of your hunting/fishing/sleeping time, but you can still have time for plenty of that and time for your wife if you manage your time. gotta MAKE time for your family, period.

age? one of my closest friends in my class started when he was 30, went to PT school, did that for a while and now he's going into orthopedics. (has a wife, a 2yr old, and twins on the way). at best, working again by 39. i haven't asked, but i don't think he'd say it wasn't worth it.

rigorous? will be at times....other times it aint' all that bad. it all depends on what you put into it....the bare minimum is not very rigorous, at least from what i've seen

you gotta make the decision. will it suck sometimes, yes. will you wonder why in the hell you did it sometimes, yes. it's a roller coaster. i've had some of my best days (and some of my worst) in the last 4 years, but i'd prolly do it all over again.

[Seymore]

It it worth it to the family members is a better question to ask. I say if you are pushing 30 with a wife and kids, you have made your decision. To put them through that is both egotistical and self centered. If somebody wanted to go to med school they should have thought about that before they had a family.

Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine. I went to many a little league game and boy scout function without my Dad. Everybody else's Dad was there. Where was mine? Putting some drunk who wrapped his truck around a tree back together. Yes, I'm bitter. Maybe one of you will go into psych and can help me work through it.

[Blackduck]

Seymore is your daddy a surgeon in Tupelo?

[Seymore]

He was. He left Tupelo in the early nineties and now works at Garden Park Memorial in Gulfport.

[Seymore]

Here's a question for you docs. What course is it in a surgical residency that turns a doc into an a-hole? Most of the med docs I know are okay, but, surgeons are a different story. They kind of remind me of the guy in the movie "The Right Stuff" that kept asking his wife, "whose the best pilot you ever saw? You're looking at him baby".

[sondance]

Seymore that is too funny. I am not a doc but work with surgeons almost daily and most are like that. THey have to be. You can't doubt yourself when someone elses well being is on the line. After a while aerrogance steps in. Best way to deal with them is to let them know you know a thing or two. COuld be hunting, working on cars etc... then make them out to be a dumb booty on that subject. Instant respect. Just do not do it in the OR. SOrt of like crapping on a mans bed. That doesn't get forgotten

[Seymore]

A psychiatrist, an internsal medicine doc, a pathologist, and a surgeon were out duck hunting when a duck flew over.

The psychiatrist says, "That looks like a duck, but, we need to talk to it about whether it feels like a duck. Is it comfortable in knowing it's a duck."

The internal medicine doc says, "I think that is a duck, but, we need to run test to confirm it is a duck. It might be best to watch it and confirm it is indeed a duck.

The surgeon jumps up, BAM BAM, the duck hits the water. He then turns to the pathologist and says, "Go make sure that was a duck I shot."