Quote:
Originally Posted by Wastedyouth
Oh, I forgot, the reason I put the 18 month time frame on moving forward with this is, I want to ease myself into it, whats two years lost really, when I am starting so late already? I can research, maybe do some pre-training and practice and studying to make my transition into the education requirements a little easier.
Anyways, thanks everyone for the responses, a lot of them really brightened my day as I sit in a camp alone onshore in Turkemistan on Christmas Eve!
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Hey Wastedyouth! Clearly that name isn't ironic with you deciding to do this at this point in your life! (just kidding)
Ok, so I've done something similar to what you're doing: I went back to school later after years in the work force, and went into a healthcare/medical field. Now I know some will say "chiropractors aren't real doctors", but let me stop you there because we do pretty much the exact same basic medical education until we get to the clinical practice side of things. We also had to complete over 300 patient visit in our internship to get our D.C. degree. I don't know exactly what you would need to do in your internship/residency, so you'd have to ask an MD about those details. From my friends who are MDs, I understand that it's probably the most grueling and emotionally challenging portion of your requirements.
I went back to begin my undergrad education at 26, which is quite a bit older than most students, but obviously it will be a bit more of a gap for you. I found it awkward to be around such young people again, and you will find that there's very little you have in common with them, which will makes things socially awkward at times. However, I found that because I was going back later, I was more mature and able to handle the stresses of the program better, and my work ethic was a lot better than most of my classmates. This was especially true when I got to chiropractic college, where I was of the mindset to just put my head down and work as hard as I could through the program. People in their 20s don't do that quite as easily, and I saw some students really struggle with the time commitment required to really succeed.
Make no mistake, this will be your entire life once you're in Med school. I mean, day and night, including nearly your entire weekend, will be dedicated to your studies. Even if you're a good student, this is a whole new game. One other thing I have to ask: You mentioned going to NAIT, and I saw you had a couple science courses thrown in there, but biological sciences are probably some of the hardest academic courses out there, even in undergrad. I hope sciences come easy to you, because that ability will be tested. I found organic chemistry particularly challenging for example. If you can get past that, you'll do just fine in the rest of your education.
Now to address what I quoted: Don't delay. That's the one piece of advice I wish I had been given when I was younger. Don't delay. If you want to do this, jump in NOW and start working on it. It takes so long to get through a program like that, and that's if everything goes perfectly to plan. Things can happen during your time in school and it could take longer than you expected. I personally had a delay in beginning my grad program because it was in the U.S. and I had issues getting all the immigration paperwork finished in time to start a semester and had to delay a little. I have several stories from classmates who needed to take some time off during their education for reasons of personal health (both physical and mental), economic reasons, family reasons, commitment reasons, etc. You are already starting late, so any further delay to beginning the program would be problematic for you in the future. Being in med school in your 40s vs. your 20s is a big difference, just in terms of energy level and handling sleepless nights at times.
Another thing that I should mention is that this is such a good degree to get for a multitude of career paths, not just practicing medicine. Being an MD gives you the credentials necessary for consulting and advising, research, teaching, etc. etc. etc. You will be set up well long term to apply that education to varying job opportunities and career paths. The one thing I love about being in this world is that you're never truly finished learning. There is a constant upkeep and maintenance of your education, and even then you still will have trouble knowing everything out there. That's where specialization and becoming an expert on your particular branch of medical science is important. I guess I would say that you should make sure you really love whatever you specialize in, because if you get bored by it or find it too easy, you might not be able to maintain the work ethic necessary. You will need that passion to get you through the days of drudgery or extreme stress. Also, consider how you would plan to practice. Would you rather work in a hospital or in a private clinic? It's a little different in Canada, but there are a LOT of practice options down here, and it's something to consider.
As for the 2 year thing, that just gives you the opening to begin applying to med schools. You will probably take a full year to go through the application process, including the MCAT exam. Make sure you explore multiple options, but I would strongly advise against getting your medical degree anywhere other than Canada or the U.S. as you will have problems getting your license afterwards.
One other thing you could do is ask around to see if there are doctors in different specialities you are interested in to see if they will let you shadow them for a day or two. Doing that will give you some insight on what a typical day looks like for them. There are issues with HIPAA that have to be cleared with each patient, but most will let you sit in if you are a prospective medical student. For that reason, you might not be granted access until you are further along in your education, but ask anyway. It's a very valuable experience.
If you have anything specific you would like to ask about my experience, you can always PM me and I will do my bet to help. There are lots of little things I'm probably forgetting even now, but a specific question would jog my memory.
Good luck! It's a challenging yet rewarding life you're looking at.