To retrain in healthcare in late 40s?

[Elizo]

Hi all,

There are many threads related to this but I wanted to get some specific views. I am 46 part-way through a biology/ chemistry undergrad (I have an undergrad in Social and Political Sciences and A levels but nothing science related except Psychology..). I am really enjoying the challenge of studying biology and chemistry and have done some hospital volunteering which has confirmed I would like to work in a clinical environment, directly with patients using my biology and chemistry (and obviously subsequent training) and in a role where progression is possible. I will finish the degree at 48 and my only son will be shortly heading to uni (if all goes to plan), no partner currently.

I am really not sure what role to focus on. I started thinking about medicine but despite having excellent stamina, a good academic record and energy am wondering if too late, I then considered Physician Associate, but seems like there are lots of issues with that role. Paramedic is another option but is physical side too much to start at 50 (I am very fit and healthy atm)? I want to look into OT but I don't think it would allow me to apply bio/chem knowledge in way I am hoping. Working in healthcare feels like the path I should be on, but is it a pipe dream?? I have had a successful career in civil service/ charity senior management but am clear I want to do something else for this second half of my career.

I am reasonable to want to make this move
I am unreasonable to want to make this move

Any thoughts would be great, thank you

If you'd like to work directly with patients, what about being a pharmacist? Hospital based? It would be another 4 year degree though. Pharmacy technician? You could go directly into training without any more university education, but progression is limited unless you want to go into management.

Healthcare science might suit you given your academic background, but I don't know much about it

Not really thought about that because I don't think you get to work with/ support patients in the way other roles I have mentioned do. Although maybe I don't understand all the options - will look at it too. Thanks

You definitely won't be able to apply your degree in OT role, however, I still highly recommend looking into it purely from the standpoint that it is a very varied role and you can work virtually in any sector from patient-facing services (stroke recovery, paediatrics, vocational rehab, surgical rehab, SS major adaptations, mental health the list is virtually endless) to more niche areas like equipment design, accessibility consultancy for architectural projects, social justice work etc. So you can really choose your own path here.
However, if you are dead set on using your biochem skills, any title which ends with "therapist" (OT, PT, SaLT etc.) is not the right path.

Thank you I will. I have seen some online videos about the role etc so will look at those as it does look really interesting.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I am an OT and, like yourself, I changed my career later in life.

oh thanks so much really appreciate that as it isn't a role I know much about.

Pharmacy or healthcare science?

I'm a hospital pharmacist and most of us are ward based and we definitely are very involved with patients. Most of us specialise in a clinical area (eg critical care, stroke, cardiology, renal, paediatrics etc etc) so are embedded in the MDT. It's a really interesting, varied and rewarding job and I love it. You would have to do another degree though so I'm not sure that would be feasible for you.

Thanks - really good to know - are there are Masters conversions for graduates? PA, paramedic, nurse, OT all seem to have 2 year Masters which are more feasible.

@Elizo no not for pharmacy unfortunately.

You could look to become a pharmacist which in hospital is a very clinical and patient facing role - however, you would need further expensive qualifications and I believe this route is very competitive also.

You could look into becoming a clinical scientist based in a hospital lab. There is not the direct contact with patients but the work is absolutely critical to patient care and you might work closely with healthcare professionals to support and train them. You could lean into teaching or simulation in clinical environments, especially if you went into something like haematology lab delivering blood products. That would be very linked to your current undergraduate degree, I'm not sure what further qualifications are needed.

On a similar note you could look into becoming a clinical librarian. Again this is not a directly patient facing role but you would work closely with healthcare professionals, helping them to answer clinical questions by accessing research, supporting their development etc. For example in some places I have worked a clinical librarian attends some handover or clinical governance meeting where patient cases are discussed and can then help the team by going off to look at research related to questions raised by a case. Junior doctors are sometimes also supported by clinical librarians to do research relevant to quality improvement work.

You could become a clinical physiologist - somebody who undertakes and interprets procedures/investigations. They are usually subspecialised: cardiac, respiratory etc. That's very sciencey and patient facing. Along similar lines you could think about becoming a sonographer. Both of those options I believe require a further degree but not sure.

Then there are other allied health professionals such as OT, PT, audiology etc - all patient facing but requiring further training and possibly less directly related to your degree.

I'd out a shout out for nursing as well. Ward nursing can be absolutely brutal but you could attempt to get to specialist practitioner status as fast as possible and work in non-ward based settings. The career is incredibly diverse.

This is all incredibly useful, thanks. I am interested in nursing and there do seem to be many options for progression, although ANP takes a very long time (I think). But at least you'd be doing good work in the meantime.

sorry is specialist practitioner the same as ANP??

I retrained (my original degree is politics and then I trained as a primary teacher) at that age and went into SALT. Lots of biology in the swallowing assessment side of things, and I quite like the problem solving aspect of communication work for the field I went into - adult learning disabilities. Lots of peers on my course went to work in in-patient settings such as stroke wards and enjoy that - I'm just a community person myself.

I've moved up to a B6 after a year and a half in-post and the team are determined to keep me in the service so keep trying to make sure B7 vacancies are around as well (no way I want one for a good while at present) - can do the 2 year Masters route, but I did the 3 year second degree one just because geographically we're in a bit of a funny spot in terms of unis that run the course.

I also really enjoyed phonetics and all the work with spectrograms and the IPA chart - which I always think of like the periodic table of human communication - that kind of scratched an itch in my brain.

Going in to nursing purely because you want to be an ANP is going to be difficult. You would have to like the core of nursing for it to work as you will be doing that a long while before you progress.

I'd spend a lot of time looking at the different Allied Health Professional jobs on NHS Careers as there are quite a few that are closer to your criteria of patient contact but sciencey.

Yes sort of I think. I tend to think ANP is more for roles with significant overlap into a doctor role (eg ANPs see patients as doctors do and in some roles carry a doctor's bleep and/or prescribe), whereas specialist practitioner on the whole seems more like a specialist advanced nursing role - but the terms may be interchangeable to an extent. What's called what probably varies from trust to trust!

I know two people who've only qualified as doctors in their early 50s, so don't rule that out.

I really wouldn't recommend nursing, DH is a nurse and the shifts are a killer. I can't imagine how tough they are in your 50s, his colleagues struggle. And progression isn't guaranteed.

What sort of salary are you looking for? That's relevant

@Elizo if only this were on the Mature Study and Retraining board where all this excellent advice would be seen by other people exploring similar options to yours.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

Have a look at healthcare science apprenticeships (website:www ahcs.ac.uk). There are a wide range of roles, some patient facing, and you can get paid while you train

www.england.nhs.uk/healthcare-science/what is a better link for finding out more about healthcare science

Have you considered looking into Diagnostic Radiography. I did it as a mature student and it was great. Enough patient interaction to have really high job satisfaction, but with not too much that you’re feeling totally burnt out. Really interesting cases, choice between different modalities eg MRI/CT/ultrasound, also lots of scope to progress to learn to do procedures under imaging guidance. It’s been the best thing I’ve done! Earning potential can be pretty good if you’re wanting to progress too, or if you are interested in shift work.

I know some Unis offer it as a 2 year masters (I didn’t do this).

I know a lot of these roles start on band 5, but I would hope to be able to get to band 6 in a few years and then ultimately band 7 or even 8 (I know unlikely in time I have and with some of these roles). I'm not going to have much spare cash, but that will be OK. Pension will be a factor because although my salary is currently much higher than it will ever be in healthcare, NHS pension is gold! Not a motivation but a nice addition...

oh brilliant will look at that!

great thank you