Becoming a Doctor at a late age

[EldrickOnIce]

As a successful, mature student you have a definite leg up on kids. Academic requirements are high, but this isn't news.
You need to apply or you will forever wish you had.
Good luck!

[pgsieve]

The University of Calgary also has a fantastic resource that outlines all of the specifics and questions you might have:

https://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/pr...nual-2016-2017

[looooob]

http://mdadmissions.ucalgaryblogs.ca
IMO Ian Walker does a great job with the admissions blog

[Ozy_Flame]

If you go to U of C, and do family medicine, it's basically 5-6 year commitment rather than a 8-10 year if you go somewhere else and pick a specialty.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by looooob

http://mdadmissions.ucalgaryblogs.ca
IMO Ian Walker does a great job with the admissions blog

I knew it was hard to get into med school, but I would have expected half the applicants with a 4.0 to get in.

[Makarov]

My two cents: you may want to do a bit more research regarding the plausibility of being accepted without a full four year undergrad degree under your belt. Speaking from my own law school experience, although technically only two years of university courses were required, I would say 96 or 97% of successful applicants had an undergraduate degree. And medical school admission is SIGNIFICANTLY more competitive than law school admission. So might be worth asking yourself whether you are prepared to invest four years into this endeavour.

That said, I totally understand the appeal of medical practice. It is rewarding, personally and socially and financially, in ways that nearly no other career is.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Makarov

My two cents: you may want to do a bit more research regarding the plausibility of being accepted without a full four year undergrad degree under your belt. Speaking from my own law school experience, although technically only two years of university courses were required, I would say 96 or 97% of successful applicants had an undergraduate degree. And medical school admission is SIGNIFICANTLY more competitive than law school admission. So might be worth asking yourself whether you are prepared to invest four years into this endeavour.

That said, I totally understand the appeal of medical practice. It is rewarding, personally and socially and financially, in ways that nearly no other career is.

Most last schools are a pure numbers game. The schools, for the most part, don't consider whether you have a degree or not, unless you are a borderline admission. The reason so few law students don't have bachelor degrees is a matter of personal choice by the students. Personally, if I could do it again, I'd look at a masters before law school.... Or maybe just mess around for two more years.

[opendoor]

If the barrier to entry is too high for medical school, becoming a Nurse Practitioner would be a good alternative. The job description is fairly similar to a GP (primary care, diagnose/treat illness, prescribe medicine, order tests, etc.) but it'd be an easier road to get there. You'd be looking at a 4 year nursing degree, 2 or so years of work experience, and then 2 years of part time work and part time study for your Master of Nursing.

Personally, the very real possibility of doing an unrelated 4 year degree and then not even getting into medical school at the end of it would probably put me off the idea of that route for someone your age.

[vtec260]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Do it!! Why the hell not. I’m assuming from your technical career currently you already have an undergrad degree of some sort.

I’m slightly biased though. I’m a 35 year old mother of 4 and I’ve always tossed around the idea of going back to school to get into the medical field. I like to believe I could still do it if I really wanted to. So I think the same logic applies to you, except you’re in an even better position with regards to freedom of your time. Do it!!

My wife was a nurse and she got tired of working shift work and wasn't terribly happy. We made decision for her to go back to school as long as we could afford to without going into huge debt. I

In her early 30's, while going to university, we had our second child (parents helped out big time in raising two kids while schooling), and she managed to finish her degree in another health care field. She is much happier now and still has 25 year career to look forward to that she'll enjoy. It was difficult several years to juggle sleep, studying, raising family, etc. but no regrets at all.

[DoubleF]

Wastedyouth, if being an MD is important to you, you'll figure out how to do it. My dad did something similar to what you are contemplating now. At a similar age to you he went back to school to get a business degree and then get his Charted Accountant degree. He must have been around 36 or 37 when he went back to school and around 39 when he began the CA school of business courses. A few years after he graduated, he was partner of a small firm.

Keep in mind...
- He worked while studying. We didn't have enough funds for him to focus solely on school. IIRC, he would come home from work, play with us a few hours/have dinner, study, tuck us in/play with us, study more, before going to bed at a reasonable time at night.

- He had myself and my brother to deal with and he still somehow made time to play/hang out with us pretty much every day. At the time, I believe I must have been around 8 or 9.

- He achieved a 3.7 or 3.8 GPA while doing all of this. Part of it, he claims, is that as an older student, he was there to get that degree and not dick around. He'd read the chapters before hand to familiarize himself with the topics in class prior to the topic being presented at the lecture. He claims by doing so, he would actually understand the topics when it was presented and could ask questions in the lecture regarding topics he didn't understand. This would reduce the average study time as he wouldn't have to spend as much time to figure out concepts on his own himself after the lectures.

If being an MD is that important to you and you are serious about achieving it, I don't think it will be as big of a grind as you think. It'll just be a different type of journey that you walk in comparison to the previous journeys you have taken so far.

I think its worth contacting someone at the school registrars and ask to see where you currently stand for enrollment. Possibly ask a career councilor at those institutions to see what road blocks you may encounter and talk to individuals in the know about the possibilities regarding job prospects. You're never too old to be a better version of yourself.

Good luck. Don't forget to enjoy the journey.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by vtec260

My wife was a nurse and she got tired of working shift work and wasn't terribly happy. We made decision for her to go back to school as long as we could afford to without going into huge debt. I

In her early 30's, while going to university, we had our second child (parents helped out big time in raising two kids while schooling), and she managed to finish her degree in another health care field. She is much happier now and still has 25 year career to look forward to that she'll enjoy. It was difficult several years to juggle sleep, studying, raising family, etc. but no regrets at all.

If shift work is an issue. Don't become a MD. The shifts that I work as a nurse are nothing compared to the shifts that I see doctors work where 18 hour days are not out of the norm. I have personally seen a doctor who worked for 36 hours straight (with some breaks for sleep).

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

- He achieved a 3.7 or 3.8 GPA while doing all of this. Part of it, he claims, is that as an older student, he was there to get that degree and not dick around. He'd read the chapters before hand to familiarize himself with the topics in class prior to the topic being presented at the lecture. He claims by doing so, he would actually understand the topics when it was presented and could ask questions in the lecture regarding topics he didn't understand. This would reduce the average study time as he wouldn't have to spend as much time to figure out concepts on his own himself after the lectures.

.

Perfect! I couldn't have put it better myself.

For those that don't know, I'm also a University Professor, and I beg my students to do this type of work that is bolded. It cuts down so much on your work if you do things ahead of lecture. Familiarize yourself with concepts and facts beforehand. Workout the terminology so that you understand the language being used in the lecture. Go in with certain questions in mind, and if they aren't answered in the lecture, ask the question at the end. The problem is this requires the maturity to recognize that you will have work to do no matter what, and it's best to be proactive with that workload rather than retroactive and try to cram at the end.

I always say that if you want to retain anything in a course, you need to view/review it 3 times at minimum. The 1st is when you read the assigned book chapters/readings/etc. The 2nd is when it's presented in class, where you can clarify any misunderstandings of the material. The 3rd is when you review for an exam/assignment/whatever. Some items take more repetitions to retain as it may not come easily. This is where I advise students to learn it in a different way than when they first learned it. I.e. If you read the information the first time, you should find a partner and say it out loud to them or have them orally quiz you. If it's appropriate, write out a flow chart or diagram of the information. In some cases you can find videos online that go over the information in a more digestible way. Know which style of learning (reading, auditory, visual, kinesthetic etc.) is best for you and make sure you study using that style.

I have other tips and tricks to help with efficient studying. PM me if you want to know more.

[Wastedyouth]

I have already started a few preliminary courses in Bio, Chem and Biochem in preparation. They are of course all self study courses.

But I figure I can ease myself into it.

[Sample00]

Wow, just wow is all I can say. Good on you for considering it. If that's where your passion lies, then nothing should stop you from pursuing your dreams!!

Not that this is similar to what you want to accomplish but this past September I started Grad school and am trying to achieve a Master's degree. I turned 54 last October. It was a bucket list thing and my wife told me to either s**t or get off the pot. I decided to take a big dump!

Best wishes to you and continued success!!