To want to train as a doctor?

[Duggee]

It's always interested me and something I really want to do! Is it crazy to think of doing it with children in tow? I wouldnt want to start for a few more years, but would starting in my mid thirties be crazy?

[Aspergallus]

The PA role sounds ideal for you. Good luck.

[horseygeorgie]

I very seriously considered it not too long ago. I am 31, with a 4 year old DD and am a single parent. In the end after much deliberation and soul searching I decided it just wasn't worth the sacrifice my DD would have make so I could cling on to a dream. After reading this thread I'm very glad I made that decision!

[Duggee]

I know it's not the same as a doctor! But I was just answering someone's question about having experiance with people and working in a hospital environment. I have a 2:1 bsc degree. The entry requirements are 2:2 in a science based degree. As my degree was in psychology the admissions said to study science modules 60 credits at level one and 60 at level 2. I can do that part time over 2 years (while I have one child at home). After that the postgraduate is 2 years. So I don't think its that long to study for.

[Defenderwife]

Being a healthcare assistant is slightly different from being a doctor......

Even with your new plan it will take years and years. Is it really worth it. I'm all for fulfilling a dream but you have to be realistic.

What school grades/undergrad degree do you have? Are you clever enough.

[Libitina]

Good luck and please keep us posted. It'll be interesting to follow your journey.

[PurpleDaisies]

Excellent! That sounds like a really good plan (if they'd been invented in my day I'd have definitely done that). Really good luck.

[Http]

That's fantastic! Hope it turns out well for you. Good luck!/

[bumbleymummy]

Sounds like a great plan :) good luck!

[Duggee]

Thank you all. I do have some experience. I worked as a health car assistant I'm my gap year and also during the university holidays. I've looked into it more and emailed some admissions departments. I'm going to study for a 2 years part time with the open university studying science modules and will apply to do a post grad as a physicians associate. it will be much more family friendly and will still be something I would love.

[Hi5Hello]

I think the difference is TheWaves and I have been thinking about this thread a lot is that when we went to Med School at 18 we did so with largely a peer group.

We went through the same experiences at the same time and all had children broadly within a couple of years... and there is huge support in that

I think its different coming at it from the other side and maybe being the only one in your set with children - because you will get very little sympathy from equally as knackered colleagues just because you have the school run etc... they won't understand

[MrsLupo]

Ex-medic here. I did it late, in my 30s, with small kids. Even medical school was tough, despite a supportive partner, a fantastically tidy mind and the fact that I really did love it. The job was something else entirely and nearly killed me. The crushing tiredness undermined both my physical and mental health and made it very difficult to be resilient in the face of day-to-day stresses. The patients were mostly fab and the feeling when you get it right and make a difference is second to none, but at the end of the day the toll it takes is just too great. I took a rotation out with health issues and never went back. I agonised about throwing away everything I'd worked for, but knew in my heart that it was the right decision, for me and even more so for my kids. When I look back I feel pretty bad about putting them through it all - the things I missed, the holidays that were trashed because I was studying, the crying down the phone when I'd had to stay late yet again. I haven't regretted my decision one iota, and that goes double given the new contract proposals.

Listen to the advice you're getting, OP. When I was in your position, not one of the many doctors I did work experience was anything other than positive about the idea of doing medicine in my 30s (although one did vaguely suggest it 'might be a bit late to do maxfax...'). And I did ask for candid opinions. Pretty much everyone now is saying the opposite. It's a shame it has to be like that though. Medicine needs mature entrants and career changers imo.

[Butteredparsnips]

It appeals because I'm fascinated by medicine, hospitals and anything related. I read medical research for fun, and read around it using text books, the Internet when I come across something I don't understand

What about people skills? Do you have any experience of working in Healthcare? you could look at voluntary work or at entry level roles (with training) to get a feel for the system and see if it is for you.

As others have said a medical degree is one thing. The actual job is very different.

[thewavesofthesea]

Going a little against the grain here.

I'm a junior doctor. A GP trainee, not far off qualifying. And I love my job.

However, I'm 31, and started med school aged 18. I have had 2 kids along the way and worked part time, but it will have taken 14 years + by the time I finish.

It has taken me that long to find my niche and find out how I love to practice and what my strengths are. I feel very privileged and blessed to do what I do; but it has taken a long time to get there.

So you could do it, but you need to be in it for the long haul. You may not find your niche immediately so training may take even longer than anticipated. Med school is tough, and I can't imagine doing it with kids. However having kids and maturity count for a lot. I have passed postgraduate exams well while having kids; I actually enjoy the study more now then when I was younger and make time for it. It takes a lot of childcare and expense, but doable if you are determined.

The landscape is changing, no doubt, and the NHS may not survive. But I cling to and cherish the bits I love. The patients (mostly :-) )

[imwithspud]

I would say yabu. It takes ages to qualify. Maybe you could do something else in the medical field that wouldn't take quite so long to qualify for, like nursing?

[nocoolnamesleft]

lougle

Very well put indeed. May I borrow it?

[Dancingwithcrutches]

spot on lougle.

[Excited101]

Don't do it op, it isn't worth it

[curvyredmug]

Want another example of work life balance? I gave the hospital where I worked 6 months notice of my wedding and was on the rota to do nights that week. They refused to change it despite having the notice in writing. In order to get away I had to do swaps which meant I did 14 x 12 hour shifts in a row before I got married.

[curvyredmug]

Another one saying don't do it. My husband and I are both doctors and I wouldn't encourage my kids into it. Yes, it's a fantastically interesting job, but it isn't worth devastating your life for. Mid 30's is far too old.

[lougle]

At the end of the day, nobody can tell you it's not worth it -that's a personal judgement. But I've just returned to nursing (ICU) after an 8 year break and I've noticed how much older and sicker the patient population is. Patients would have been in ICU years ago are on the wards. Patients who would have been in hospital are at home. The workforce is spread thin.

I did 13.25 hours at work yesterday (1 hour 15 mins of breaks 15/30/30 spread through the day) and 1 hour commuting. The doctors do similar shifts. Our patients need complete monitoring and care. The doctors have to use the information that the nurses give them to decide on a plan of action. Do they prescribe fluids for a patient whose urine output is dipping, but risk overloading their already strained heart? They have to make decisions quickly and hold the information of several patients in their mind at once, making sure they don't mix up which is which.

Most doctors I speak to say that they had no idea what they were signing up for, and while they would mostly say they can't imagine doing anything else, I'm not so sure that it's because it's the only thing they could want to do, but more that it has consumed so much of them that there isn't anything left.

[dotvicky]

As a nearly-40-year-old mummy (two boys, 6 and 8) and a junior doctor (F1), I have mixed feelings about saying that you should do it. If someone had told me 6/7 years not to go for it, I wouldn't have listened and probably still wouldn't! :D

I love being a doctor overall - what it represents is wonderful - so amazing to be there for people at their most vulnerable.

However... I really can't stress enough how tough it is as well. I did a 9am to 10pm shift yesterday. I woke up before 6am this morning because I'm having flashbacks to things I should have done better but thought I'd get up and use the time to do some research stuff that needs doing to stay competitive. I have another 10-hour day today (and every day for the rest of the week).

I've had to go the au-pair route as no nanny or other childcare option would cover the hours I work. I have been very lucky/hard working and got a very competitive job that keeps me local so I am (so far) avoiding the hour-long commutes that would have been almost guaranteed in this actually relatively small deanery. I have a very supportive husband who has been great picking up the slack on the childcare front and helping me after emotionally traumatic days. I have a great family who've been helping me out financially (although even with that, we've had to downsize the house, have had almost no meaningful family holidays for 5 years and are in a lot of debt). As of next year, if Jeremy *unt has his way, I may be earning even less than I am now (worked it out at £7.74 an hour at the moment for the actual hours I'm working) and won't have even the current meagre safeguards protecting my hours. Already, patients are queuing in A&E because the funds have been cut again and again at our hospital (and everywhere else) and it's not even winter yet. And the press still likes to paint me and my colleagues as lazy, money-hungry plebs.

Never let anyone tell you not to do something you care passionately about, I didn't and here I am and I'd still choose it again... I think...

Cheers
Vicky

[nocoolnamesleft]

Realised that I didn't give my usual real example of how medicine takes over your own life, and that of your extended family. That would be the evening my mother rang me one evening, just before I was going to head into work:

"I'm really sorry to have to tell you that your grandma died today, but it's okay, I've told everyone we can't have the funeral until you've finished your week of nights".

[Phoenix67]

stopping I would still go to medical school but I would definitely leave the NHS asap, i.e. straight after foundation training. I would consider doing my training abroad in Australia/New Zealand/Canada then return at consultant level.

Unfortunately, emigrating is not an option for me at the moment. Therefore I'm looking in to options that are close to medicine but give a better work/life balance.

[FeliciaJollygoodfellow]

There was a thread about this a few months ago.

One thing that was brought up was that it would be incredibly difficult to actually get into med school - the amount of training means you would be nearing retirement age when you qualify. It might be deemed too mush of a risk (for them, I mean) especially as you have children to consider.

This is not even taking into consideration the issues raised recently!