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

[DrRedT]

AIBU to consider applying for medicine at 39 after just qualifying as a teacher?

I’m 39 and have just qualified as a secondary science teacher. I have a permanent teaching job and genuinely enjoy it, so this isn’t about wanting to escape teaching.
But medicine was what I originally wanted to do, and lately I’ve found myself seriously considering applying again.
My route into education wasn’t traditional. I missed the usual qualifications when I was younger due to ill health, returned to education as an adult and eventually completed an undergraduate science degree, a Master’s and a PhD. I applied for medicine years ago but didn’t get through the initial screening stage and ended up taking a different path.
Alongside academia and teaching, I’ve worked for the ambulance service for several years taking 999 calls, so I do have experience of healthcare, dealing with people in crisis and communicating calmly when someone is frightened or distressed.
Oddly, qualifying as a teacher has made me think about medicine more, not less. I’ve realised that the part of teaching I love most is working with people — explaining complicated things clearly, building trust, adapting my communication and helping someone who is struggling.
I know medicine would mean starting again at around 40, years of training and a significant financial commitment. But equally, I’m going to be 45 one day regardless, and I don’t want to reach that age wondering whether I should have at least tried.
I wouldn’t give up teaching just to apply. I’d carry on working and apply for medicine alongside it. If I didn’t get in, I already have a career I enjoy.

So, AIBU to seriously consider applying for medicine at this stage of my life, immediately after qualifying for another profession?
And particularly interested in hearing from doctors/medical students, mature students, teachers who’ve changed careers, or anyone who went into medicine later in life. Would you think I’d lost the plot — or would you apply and at least find out

I was diagnosed as autistic with combined ADHD after finishing my PhD! Missed secondary education as it wasn’t diagnosed when I was younger, diagnosed with depression and OCD instead

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?

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.

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.

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 💐

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.

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?

Ah, I see you have a ADHD diagnosis. Maybe counselling then, to help you be more settled

I'm all for pivoting, workwise (done it myself a couple of times in my 50s😂) but what's changed in the last 10 years?
Why did you not try again instead of training as a teacher?

I would say what do you have to lose? It’s a tough gig but life is very short. My brother qualified as a doctor at 32 and he loves what he does. Good luck

You seem like you don't settle to anything for long. Why would medicine be different.?

Both careers are difficult, stressful but rewarding, I'd guess? If you can, and you want to, at least look into it seriously by talking to unis, any doctors you know etc. You'd probably get paid more once qualified, so if you can afford the training period, that might offset it?

I'm a doctor (hospital consultant). I would say think very, very carefully about going into medicine in your 40s. You could apply for graduate entry which is 4 rather than 5 years, but you'd still have to get through the admissions process including UCAT or GAMSAT, and grad entry is far more competitive than undergraduate entry. The course itself is time-consuming and these days it's very expensive as well. High tens of thousands in student loans as a minimum. Then you could be placed anywhere in the country for your foundation training, and then there's application to resident doctor training schemes which again currently entail moving frequently over large areas of training programmes. Shifts, on call and night work are tougher the older you get in my experience. I don't do shifts any more but my nights on call I absolutely dread now. Moreover, being a doctor isn't what it used to be - when I was training there was much more a feeling of being on a team, having patients that you could follow up properly, having reasonable facilities for food and rest when on call - now it's so busy and disjointed, there isn't the time to spend with people, there's so much bureaucracy (appraisal and revalidation!) there are complaints coming in regularly which are very stressful as a resident doctor if you're complained about. There are lots of other people being trained to do things that doctors did or still currently do, this is under the guise of aiding patient care but in fact it deskills some doctors because they can't get the exposure to patients. The NHS is a huge unwieldy system which is falling apart at the seams and I definitely wouldn't recommend starting off in it as a doctor in your mid to late 40s. A lot of my colleagues in their 50s - experienced & good doctors - want to leave but can't for financial reasons mostly

You must have missed most of the medical threads here about working conditions. It’s not generally a recommended career these days from the perspective of those actually doing the job. I’m not sure another degree and career path will settle your job wanderlust. Counselling or Ritalin might be better!

Plenty of people who hate the idea so I think it’s a specific type of person thst would embrace this. I’m like you OP and have a similar list of degrees. Although in my defence, the Masters was required for me to practice following the undergrad. I love my role but could definitely see myself switch careers in 10 years and trying something new. Some people just enjoy trying new career experiences and applying different parts of themselves

Ask yourself if you can afford to study and not work full time, will you keep up with a challenging academic workload, are you okay with being placed anyway, are you okay with the blood and likely vicarious trauma? Go to an open day and ask for the things you need to know. Maybe sart a new thread asking doctors who trained as a second career. Then go for it! You don’t want to reject the chance you didn’t take. By the time you finish the degree you’ll have been teaching for years and might be ready to move on. The average teaching career is only 5 years.

I'm 42 and a consultant, having followed the "traditional" path into medicine from school. I enjoy my job and don't regret it. But would I start the whole shebang from scratch again now, being an F1/2 in my late 40s, finishing training at the very earliest just past 50 (for GP) or even later for any hospital specialty? Absolutely no effing way. Life is easier as a consultant but I still do late nights and get called in at all hours when on call.

You'd probably be fine at med school, if you managed to get a place. But junior resident doctor years are SAVAGE. It's not something to do just because you feel like you might have missed out.

so many excellent replies, I appreciate every single one.

to answer a few questions, I don’t intend to apply this September, probably not even next year, I want to give this serious consideration, and also allow myself to teach, and enjoy that, because I do!

i didn’t reapply for medicine because I only had a 2.1 undergrad degree, no GCSEs or A levels, so I started working in the NHS and thought I wasn’t good enough for medicine.

during that time I’ve stayed within the NHS, got my masters, PhD and worked within research, research was lonely and isolating and didn’t want to lecture, so I decided to teach, and I really enjoyed it.

but seeing the year 11s plan for college, talk of medicine, it’s reignited my old dream, and it’s made me wonder if I could do it.

the possibility of moving, relocation, dreaded night shifts, and every other thing posters have mentioned is so helpful, because it gives me more to think about, and if this is a realistic option for me, and it’s made me so glad I posted!

I graduated with a medical degree and wanted to be a doctor for similar reasons to you. Lasted 1 year in the NHS before massive burnout. Out of my 6 med student housemates who studied medicine, only 1 is still a doctor. Working conditions are horrific. Sadly in the NHS there is no time to even care for patients properly, let alone having great conversations. Maybe consider becoming a counsellor?

In your situation, I would give this serious consideration.

Specifically because you don't have a family to support and could afford it. Both of these are hard-no otherwise. But they are the only hard-nos in my view.

If I reflect on why I became a science teacher, it was because I love learning (rather than loving teaching). If I had the time and resources, I'd carry on learning without the teaching.

Another thing is that it takes so long to train a doctor and it costs such a lot to do so, the NHS wants to get its money's worth (regardless of how many doctors then choose to work abroad). So someone who's in their 40s will have fewer working years left and uni admissions may also ask why would someone qualify as a teacher and then switch careers immediately - would it even be worth them giving you a place if you already show evidence of changing your mind? I know this may sound harsh but medicine and being a doctor are harsh environments so if you did apply you would need to think about all these aspects

Serious question here - do you want to be a doctor or just study medicine?

Do you want long hours, constant customer care, risks of complaints, registration etc. I work in primary care and would say that many doctors tell me they wouldn’t recommend the profession to their children.

I wonder if you’re somewhat addicted to study and interest, rather than thinking about the actual job.

Youve only just qualified as a teacher, why not enjoy doing that?

Honestly, sounds like studying is your safe place and you're looking to extend your studying even more....

What is it about the work of a Dr that interests you? What sort of role or specialism are you thinking of?

Do you see yourself doing clinical practice or do you think you'll get bored again when the next piece parchment is presented?

Graduate entry is incredibly competitive. You would need a very good application form and very high UCAT scores to be considered. I interview at a medical school in London and the graduate entrants take my breath away every time.

I am a hospital consultant and 52. I simply cannot imagine being a resident doctor at this age. If you were a family member, I would strongly discourage you. But I wish you all the best whatever you decide.

I understand the comment about wondering whether you should have at least tried. I always wanted to do law and had often thought about going back to study but didn’t for various reasons, and felt the same way.

But there came a point where it didn’t make sense to consider it anymore, and I just had to accept that it wasn’t going to happen. By my early 40s I was earning enough that a career change certainly wouldn’t have made sense financially in terms of what I would be able to earn in future, as well as not being able to afford to stop work/reduce hours to study, and having a preteen DC who wasn’t that far off the university years (and costs!) themselves.

It sounds like you are in a completely different financial situation to me, in that you apparently could afford to study and you would be on track to higher earnings in future … but I’m still not totally convinced that it would make sense to go to give it a shot at your age, given how long the study would take.

I do think your biggest challenge would be even getting accepted. You’ve been rejected once, and you’ve now got the added challenge of having to explain why you’ve just finished a teaching degree and convincing them that you would stick at medicine.

the possibility of moving, relocation, dreaded night shifts, and every other thing posters have mentioned is so helpful, because it gives me more to think about, and if this is a realistic option for me, and it’s made me so glad I posted!

The thing is, you'll have to do nights, anti-social hours, bank holidays, weekends - it's not optional - especially when you're training. You might get lucky in terms of moving and relocating, but there's no guarantee of it.