AIBU to apply for medicine at 39 after qualifying as a teacher?

I think you should talk to someone you trust, or a counsellor, about why you can't settle as you are, but always need a goal of a "next thing" that you think will finally make you happy?

It sounds as though you have all the right experience and academic background so I’m sure you could do it.The things I would think about are that when you qualify as an FY1 you will have a lot of overnight and shift work. Which is much easier in your twenties than in your forties.
And you will be managed by people who will be much younger than you. Your age is potentially a massive positive in terms of your communication and understanding , but it might make it more difficult to tolerate pointless protocols and the immaturity of some of your coworkers. It’s not until you have been qualified for a considerable time that you get some real autonomy.

YANBU in the sense that you only get one life, and if you’ve got a dream you may regret not trying more in years to come than throwing caution to the wind!

I’m 40 and at a crossroads myself- I have taken 7 years out from my previous career, and am now re-training in something I’m really interested in, it’s more of a gamble, but I thought oh well, I may as well give it a shot and see how it goes this year!

Wishing you the very best of luck whatever you decide to do 💐

If you were rejected for medicine 10 years ago, ask yourself why? What has changed? You will be 10 years older, making it so much harder.
And, even if you get to junior doctor level, you are then likely to be sent absolutely anywhere in the country for a job.

Look, if that’s what you want to do, go for it!
Many people retrain at your age (and older!!)

Dont let the naysayer stop you.

Im 🙄🙄😵‍💫😵‍💫 at posyers saying you just want to go back to Uni to avoid work. As if Uni meant not doing any work to start with. And even then, do what? If you can afford it, go for it.

Do you have tens of thousands to pay for yet another degree?
What happens when you graduate and are placed in a hospital at the opposite end of the country?
Do you have pets or a partner to consider in all this?
What happens when you get bored of medicine like you did with teaching?

You sound like me before I started my meds for ADHD. Genuinely. I occasionally will still make comments about going back to uni to do medicine but I’m not sure I would actually do it. For context I have a degree in an arts subject, a masters degree in a science, a postgrad qualification in counselling and a floristry diploma…

What was the point in teaching? Seems like a waste of money to me. Just putting yourself further into debt, sounds like you prefer being a university student sorry.

student Finance England rules changing for 2027 entry so full loans are available even if you have had prior degree funding.

If you can fund it, why not? I know someone who’s just finished her training aged 50.

Look into what you need to have before applying. As a postgraduate you need lots more recent and relevant work experience than an 18 year old. And you'll need a killer UCAT score (if you want to apply this year you'll need to get on it asap). How do you plan to pay for it? I know two people from my PhD who went on to do medicine afterwards, they were 10 years younger than you. It's not impossible but I think you do need to make the decision in the next year or so.

What sort of role in medicine do you want to do? Are you thinking of training as a nurse or paramedic or training to be a doctor? These obviously have quite different time frames, costs, impact on lifestyle etc etc.

It's quite weird to put all that effort into qualifying in one new career field then straight away consider starting again in another. I think I'd be exploring what the underlying yearning is. I wonder if you are slightly addicted to new starts - that sense of possibility and exciting challenge? As a recruiter, I'd be wary that you might not be serious about a career change so soon after another career change.

You’ve done a lot of education and steering towards a different career, it seems a bit strange starting again, almost like the never ending student.

did you do biology / scientific degree and PhD?

If you really want to do medicine, just be completely sure you can manage the time in education, any loans (as they’re huge these days, in my day, I took max as dis a degree and PhD and my loans totalled about 12k, and were much easier to most off as very small interest.
lastly, just consider the hours you’ll be doing as a trainee, my DB is now a
consultant, but was often working crazy hours during his trainee years before he was a consultant, it’s not so easy when you’re in your 40’s rather than your 20’s. There may also be considerable chopping and changing of hospitals as a trainee too, may require lots of travelling.
if you still fancy it after these things, and other issues that other posters point out, maybe see if you can apply. Consider a 4 year course too perhaps if your other degrees are in science

I think it’s a sense of FOMO/the one that got away, you have obviously achieved a lot academically but it seems like you need a new challenge to feel satisfied?

i had a friend who did this but never really got into the swing of clinical work after qualifying. It sort of seemed more that she had to prove she could.

i am a vet, a bit older than you and > 20 years experience. I find as you get older you struggle more with confidence and you take sad outcomes to heart much more than when you were younger. I couldn’t go back to the rigor of a hospital or emergency clinic now, I feel like a bit of a dinosaur. Not sure if it is peri or just what comes with age.

I would have loved to do medicine, I do kind of regret not doing it. At 18 and in my early 20s I didn't think I could manage with the people side of being a Dr. If I could have done it as an OU course and never had to see a patient I would definitely have done it.
I went down the science route instead, Masters and PhD then started a career in the pharmaceutical industry. Still very much in love with the human body and it's quirks. I'm also 39 this year and at a pause point having been made redundant. Oddly the thing I'm mostly looking for in a role is that people interaction and support.

I was unwell during my GCSEs and A levels which massively impacted me. I was able to go straight to a degree but I was in survival mode. I do think that had I taken pause after my GCSEs, done my A levels later medicine would have been an option. It took me 11 years to qualify in my industry and then worked for 8 years in a company. I qualified at the same time as my friend who has started medicine at the same time as me qualified as a GP. The idea of doing 5 years of study followed by 5+ years as a jr doctor to find where I fit in. I just don't have that in me any more, also I have a health condition that means working shifts would be very bad for me and this has gotten worse for me as I've aged

Previous roles have fulfilled the body side of my love of medicine, I'm now looking for roles that support the people side.

I would be asking yourself what would medicine bring to your life that you don't have now and also look across a wide array of jobs I health care.

I absolutely think you should do it as long as you are aware of all the points pp have listed. Being placed anywhere for F1, shifts etc.

I thought about it myself but am older than you and wouldn’t cope. Am working towards patient facing healthcare science instead.

How will you evidence that you are genuinely committed to completing a medical degree, and practicing as a doctor? Your work history is quite varied, and given you've only just qualified as a teacher I expect admissions tutors will have questions about why you are choosing this path and whether you will stick it out.

That said, there is no harm in applying if you are keen to!

When I was at a previous place of work, there was a student dr in her late 40’s. She’d been a pharmacist previously but had a late career change. She’s a GP now.

I'd say go for it. I'm late 30s and retraining - at the end of the day I could have another 35 years of work! almost as long as I've already been alive. Life is short, and you get 1 chance, so squeeze in as much as you can is my philosophy.

How would you fund medecine, another student loan ?

How will you fund it? Unless medicine is different I don't think you'll get student finance for qualifications at the same level as those you already have.

Menopause does do something that very badly impacted my motivation for work, but maybe being in a new career at that time of life will help with that.