Pre-Med Mamas?

[Motivated Mama]

I have a B.S. in Biology and am 4 credits away from my MPH. The plan before kids was to have kids and then go to medical school while DH stayed home. It's been more of an emotional ride than I anticipated, but now that my three are 4, 3, and 2, I can see medical school on the horizon.

My plan is to take the MCAT in fall '11, apply in fall '12 for fall '13. I will be 30 when I start medical school and 35 by the time I am able to practice. I'm looking at the NHSC (National Health Service Corps) as a way to finance my medical education and then practice in an underserved area. I want to start as a general surgeon or pediatrician and maybe specialize in pediatric cardiology (or surgery) eventually.

Any other mamas looking at medical school as a future? Any in medical school or practicing with young children?

My babies will be 7,6, and 4 when I plan to start and 11, 10, and 8 when I graduate. I'll be studying hard for the MCATs during the next 9-10 months.

[ghuaghua]

I am a pre-med mama, but have quite a bit of school left. I took a break after one year of school to have three children (5,3, and 1) and am just now starting back. I have a LONG way to go, and probably won't be practicing anything until I'm about 40 :)

[Motivated Mama]

Having only completed one year of school is not such a bad thing. Now you will be fresh when you take the MCATs. I have to go back and basically re-learn everything. I'm just going to read through my textbooks, do the exercises, and then get a bunch of MCAT practice tests. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do for letter of recommendation. I will need one from the pre-professional committee and I haven't been in undergrad for 5 years. I'm sure they won't really remember and don't really know how to go about it. Not only that, but the professors that I was somewhat close to have all retired! I should be able to get a couple of good recommendations from the veterinarians that I work with. That will be interesting

[MissSJ]

[mambera]

I will be 30 when I start medical school and 35 by the time I am able to practice.

So... Maybe you know this already but are you considering residency as 'able to practice'?  Bc you don't get your license until after your first year of residency training and you aren't board-certified until you complete your residency.  So that's another several years after you complete med school (I think it's a 6-year residency for gen surg and 4 for peds but I'm not 100% on those numbers) before you can get assigned to an underserved area to start paying off your loans.

I just thought I would jump in bc I know I was not really clear about the training sequence when I started this whole thing. :)  Good luck with your studies!

[Motivated Mama]

Thanks mambera! Yes, by practicing I meant out of medical school and internship, and working as a resident. I've actually been doing a lot of research lately and have come upon the Navy HSCP (not the more common HPSP) scholarship. I really think this would be an excellent option for my family. I've been studying hard for the MCAT, which I plan to take in the fall.

[WildKingdom]

Originally Posted by Motivated Mama 

Thanks mambera! Yes, by practicing I meant out of medical school and internship, and working as a resident. I've actually been doing a lot of research lately and have come upon the Navy HSCP (not the more common HPSP) scholarship. I really think this would be an excellent option for my family. I've been studying hard for the MCAT, which I plan to take in the fall.

Just to keep you clear on the language, in medicine we still consider residency as "training."  Someone is "in practice" once they complete all of their training.  For example, I graduated med school in 2000, completed my internship in 2001, finished my internal medicine residency in 2003, and I started "practicing" after that.

So, if you want to do pediatrics (a 3 year internship/residency), you would finish your training at 37.  If you do general surgery, you would start practice at age 38.  If you do pediatric cardiology, it's an additional 3 years fellowship after your residency, so it would be age 41.

In Ye Olden Days, you could "practice" after only completing an internship.  That really doesn't happen anymore- you need to complete a residency and maintain board certification.

Sorry if I'm telling you stuff that you already know, but I think it's important to a) go into this with your eyes wide open, and b) not make a comment during a med school interview that would make you sound like you don't understand the process.

Good luck to you!

[Motivated Mama]

WildKingdom - I've been on a baby-making hiatus. Thanks for the tidbits Since I'm not planning on applying until next year, I've got some time to learn all of the specifics. The specifics were WAY different 7 years ago when I first took the MCAT.

[WildKingdom]

Congrats on the babies!  Feel free to PM me with any specific questions! Also, I see you're in New England.  Where are you?  I'm in NH.

[Motivated Mama]

Thanks! If I come up with specific questions, I'll definitely ask. I'm in Maine.