Applicants to MD Programs 35 Years and Older???

[nontradmd]

Hey everyone, 

I am currently 35 years old and I am wondering whether it is reasonable to (re-)apply to MD programs - although I wish that I was 10 years younger  and admire those that have been able to get all of their training done by the age of 35, I was able to receive two interviews this past cycle and I am now trying to decide if it is worth re-applying and if there have been other applicants who have re-applied at older ages?  I know that age is not necessarily used against applicants, but I also recognize that there is a dwindling cost-benefit of training older applicants and it also requires a lot of energy to undertake the medical curriculum.  Would appreciate any thoughts from applicants who have made this work or whether it is best to become satisfied with the route that I ended up taking instead of medicine!  

[Bambi]

1. Your age is not a relevant factor except perhaps in your mind. You want to live with no regrets, you will be able to practice at least 40 years and if this is what you really want, you definitely should re-apply! 

[nontradmd]

6 minutes ago, Bambi said:

1. Your age is not a relevant factor except perhaps in your mind. You want to live with no regrets, you will be able to practice at least 40 years and if this is what you really want, you definitely should re-apply! 

Thanks for this re-affirmation that I try to remind myself of during this challenging process!  I know that I just need to think of my age as a benefit instead of a barrier and will try to keep thinking this way -- also still welcome any applicants who are older and successfully made it through the process! 

[notacliche]

Hi @nontradmd! First, kudos for applying in the first place and for getting those interviews! It takes courage and determination just to get there, let alone a good profile. If you have made it that far, it is just a question of perseverance, if you ask me. Definitely worth reapplying... IF this is truly what you want to do. 

I am now 40 and just got accepted to McGill after 3 applications (this was my first interview). I had a completely non-science background before deciding to take this path (when I was your roughly your age) so it was a steep ascent to say the least.

I can't yet speak to the energy required of med school itself, here are some of my thoughts (again, this is just speculation as I have yet to go through it all): 

1: You bring invaluable life experience to the profession. This will not only help yourself when faced with tough situations both at school and while practicing, but it can also help your colleagues and your eventual clients. Your understanding of complex life situations is most likely greater than that of many of your younger colleagues. 

2: You know what you want (hopefully!): From my anecdotal experience, many (hard to quantify) med students become disillusioned with the profession because they realize it may involve a lot of grunt work that is less glamorous than possibly expected. This, I believe, is an inevitability in most professions. Or they were just too young to think much about it before getting caught in this intense career current. If you have found yourself pursuing med school for its nobler and selfless values but also know - like all other jobs - it will involve a lot of frustrating bureaucratic and other serious headaches and heaviness, I think you've got a great vantage point. 

3. Age doesn't matter to anyone more than it does to yourself. I totally agree with @Bambi But life situations do matter. If you have a family or people who are depending on you either emotionally, financially, etc., this may be a decision you have to take with them in consultatio or in strong consideration. 

Just some thoughts from a fellow non-trad. Feel free to DM me if you'd like to chat about anything! 

Again, congrats on those interviews

 

[LostLamb]

I graduated from medicine at34. I was able to manage the call in my 30s as both clerk and resident…now at 42 I am starting to notice how draining it is and not sure if I’d have the same “vigor” for it if I was a trainee at this time. Some people have oodles of energy and excellent time management no matter their age and can balance everything well…I will say that as a childless family both in training and as staff I truly respect those who continued to care for kids while meeting medicine’s unrelenting demands.  I don’t think i could have done it. 
 

you really really need to reflect on why you’re pursuing the career, determine what you are and aren’t willing to sacrifice, decide if you’re ready to answer/ignore others who will constantly critique your choice of career , and evaluate your personal academic/training stamina. You’ll certainly bring lots of life experience that will be a massive benefit to patients and the field at large if you’re older—otherwise the impact of age is really dependent on the individual. Some of us are naturally young and energetic in spite of our age while some of us feel the effects of age a lot more than similar aged peers— Part genetics and part life/experience/environment. 

no one can answer this question except you. hopefully I’ve given you some food for thought. 

I would only say don’t let length of career be a deciding factor. 

Best of luck—whatever you choose!

[Butterfly_]

If medicine is your dream, don’t give up. 
I’m 32 now, just about to finish my first year of residency, and I have no regrets with my choice. If I went back in time, I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. 

With that said, call is certainly tough on the body. It’s so damn draining. It takes me at least 2 days to recover from one 24 hour call shift. (I’m recovering from one now and have another call shift tomorrow ) I think when I was in my 20s I wouldn’t have an issue, but I am definitely feeling it in my thirties.

great thing is, residency is temporary. You get to choose your lifestyle afterwards. If you don’t like call, just choose a specialty that doesn’t require any :)

[nontradmd]

Thanks so much to each of you for your helpful and interesting responses!   It means a lot to hear about your experiences and I appreciate you all taking the time to respond with some insight that I was looking for! 

[indefatigable]

I started my pre-med journey in my late thirties and med school soon thereafter.  Unfortunately, in my specific case, I ended up in a French-speaking medical school (long story) which I found very difficult to adapt to maybe partly because of a more advanced age (I knew basic French before starting).  I found the experience to be generally not very enjoyable and very limiting from both a personal and professional point of view.  It also ended up taking much longer than it should have which meant few personal growth opportunities and significantly more debt accumulation.  

As a resident, I don't find my overall work load/stress to be any higher than my previous career, probably generally less so - but that's partly the program that I'm in.  I find it actually easier than my particular med school school experience (even with occasional 24 hour call shifts).  I agree that age shouldn't be a barrier, but your life situations/preferences may become more restricted as you get older - you may be less likely to want/tolerate an "extra" years of training because having more autonomy may be more important - and have a desire to no longer be a "trainee".  Plus the years do matter if you're looking to be more settled down - it's easy to write a few years off in your twenties but later those years might be really important.  

[sdp732]

I'm currently 29 and just starting to study for the MCAT. I anticipate I may not get accepted my first try so goal is to be in med school by mid thirties. I'd also like to have a child at some point in the journey. So although I can't speak from experience yet, if it is what you want go for it!

[MissYad]

I got accepted in med school almost at 31  I come from a completely different background (communication & design), and now that the premed is done (in Quebec we go straight from premed to med, you just need to pass your classes), i find that the workload was very intense but less gruelling than my previous years of working in an agency while pursuing a degree part-time. The adaptation is hard, but the hardest parts, for me, were : 

- going from an accomplished professional to a newbie, and basically to have to build your credibility again
- dealing with moving to another city for my studies while maintaining my relationship and creating new friendships
- money - i was just done with repaying my student debt once, so i was in NEVER AGAIN mode - so i worked during my whole premed to pay my bills.
- having kids during the MD is a possibility for us, if it happens - it is going to be more challenging, but we take it one day / month / session / year at a time. We have several parents in our group. They make it work somehow haha!

i know several people who started MD in their late twenties / thirties, or foreign doctors who had to redo a residency when they were in their thirties or forties.

If this is your dream, by all means, go for it. You don't have the energy you once had, but you also have a better knowledge of yourself, your strong points and your abilities, and i find that i'm WAY more chill now when it comes to grades and performance. I don't compare myself to anyone because i know my worth, and set realistic expectations. Made a lot of friends too, it helps to have a network of people going through the same challenges. AND if you have a partner or family, it's important to be on the same page when it comes to the challenges and sacrifices that lay ahead for all of you. As my partner said, YOU are not going into medicine, WE are going into medicine.

It is hard, but it is not impossible. we'll see what happens in the next years, but after this first year, i do not regret my decision for a split second, and feel incredibly grateful and fulfilled. I hope it works out for all of you!
 

[a1b1]

Do-able, friend of mine from medschool was 36 when he got in. Older people do get in.

[powdermonkey13]

I’ll be 42 when I start residency. Planning on doing a royal college specialty. No regrets. And looking forward to the adventure.

[Borborygmi]

I was accepted at 35 to med school after a career change / second undergrad to get me there. I went to a 3-year medical school and am just completing my final year of a 5-year residency now. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now and love it every day. There are definitely some disadvantages to consider being an older applicant, in my opinion. These would be independent of the process of obtaining admission in the first place, which I also think is more difficult in some ways for older applicants, but I will leave these aspects of my response since it's not really what you're asking.

(1) Debt burden: with reduced time to practice, your debt burden will be more relevant for you than for someone in their 20s in medical school and is something to consider.
(2) Connection with peers during training: while this isn't ubiquitous, it does come up. Sometimes your life experiences and perspectives are a bit different in your 30s/40s than when you're younger (I certainly am not the same person I was when I was in my 20s). I don't mean this in any offensive/rude/judgmental way because I have also met a ton of absolutely amazing colleagues in their 20s that are wiser, more mature than me at my present age, and have done outrageously cool things that I couldn't fathom taking on myself. However, these differences can lead to some difficulty in relationship-building amongst peers during med school. It also makes things at times awkward during residency where many staff are younger than you. For example, I am a large man, and often I consciously stand in the back of the room when rounding as a team, etc. because as an older, large man, I find patients look more to me at times than to other people with more training/experience. I also absolutely never wear a white coat for the same reasons (aside from my opinions about the paternalistic associations of the white coat in the first place).
(3) Energy throughout residency: call schedules can be unpleasant at the best of times and I think this is perhaps worse when we're a little less young or if you're a person dealing with health conditions that lead to fatigue... or some combo therein. As I've gotten further along in residency and into my 40s, I take much longer to recover from call (particularly sleepless call... I'm not myself for probably 3 days afterwards) and I think I would be very challenged to do the typical R1 7 calls-in-a-month theme all over again if needed.
(4) Contractual obligations via CaRMS/etc.: if you have an established family (spouse, children, older parents, etc.), moving around the country as is obligated by CaRMS match can be a bit tough. The uncertainty of the process also puts some additional stress on relationships which can lead to potential resentments that need to be navigated.
(5) Age at establishing career: Once out of residency, there's the whole job prospects piece +/- fellowship training. Keep in mind it takes 1-2 years before you're established with regular income, etc. and that finding a job depending on your specialty may require further geographic moves.

Those, I would say, have been my main experiences to consider as an older applicant. Would I do the whole thing over again if I had an acceptance letter in my hand? Definitely, 100%, no question. Everyone is different, though, and knowing what you're getting into is pretty important. Particularly past the medical school acceptance bit because getting into medical school, even if it's arguably the toughest step in the whole process, is only the beginning of a long road.

Hope that's helpful in some way. Best of luck!

[jb24]

I got accepted at 28, was really happy in medical school, but to be honest not that happy in residency. We are underappreciated and over worked. It's a very long and hard process. Nothing I've done compares to this. Think carefully about this path. If I could go back in time, I think I would not go. I had a high paying very comfortable job prior to medical school. At the end of the day, medicine is also a job in my opinion.

Residency is really something else. It wears on you...and I'm not even half way through yet. This is my honest opinion.

[IMislove]

2 hours ago, jb24 said:

I got accepted at 28, was really happy in medical school, but to be honest not that happy in residency. We are underappreciated and over worked. It's a very long and hard process. Nothing I've done compares to this. Think carefully about this path. If I could go back in time, I think I would not go. I had a high paying very comfortable job prior to medical school. At the end of the day, medicine is also a job in my opinion.

Residency is really something else. It wears on you...and I'm not even half way through yet. This is my honest opinion.

I concur, life pre med/residency happiness and QOL was higher than now lol. More rewarding job, but was it worth the loss of other good things in life? Things to think about.

[1D7]

The perspectives here will depend very heavily on their specialties. I doubt someone doing a neurosurgery residency at any age thinks it is easier than their former career.

Regardless, I think medicine can be an interesting and rewarding career, one where you can find a bit more meaning in your work. But keep in mind that for someone starting residency at the age of 40, over half the specialties will probably be close to intolerable because of the frequent stressful overnight work. On top of that, if you have established roots (i.e. kids), that often narrows things down further since many specialties have very limited job availability (i.e. you may have to move cities or provinces to find a job).

[HounsfieldUnit]

On 8/25/2022 at 10:09 PM, 1D7 said:

But keep in mind that for someone starting residency at the age of 40, over half the specialties will probably be close to intolerable because of the frequent stressful overnight work. 

Intolerability depends on the person.  If you like what you do, it can be very doable.  Many residencies can be hard--in fact, aside from the Royal College exam--often the hardest thing you've ever done in your life ('twas for me), but if you love what you're doing, it can help you persevere.

[innocentius]

I was finally accepted at .and now I am in . year. It will differ for everyone but personally, knowing what I know now, I am deeply regretting my decision. I probably should have moved on when I was not accepted by 24 but foolishly didn't give up because of lack of perspective. Like someone else said, it is just a job. I realise now that I don't feel particularly strongly about medicine as a career, certainly not at the cost that it came. But now, I will be . by the time I will be eligible to have this job. I have friends who did engineering and finished at 22-23 who all have well-paying jobs and were able to enjoy their 20s. I feel a sense of despair when I realize I will be a decade behind them by the time I finish and that my 20s were consumed entirely by this endeavor. Anyways, This was just to provide an alternate perspective. 

[jb24]

On 8/27/2022 at 8:54 PM, innocentius said:

I was finally accepted at 27 and now I am in 3rd year. It will differ for everyone but personally, knowing what I know now, I am deeply regretting my decision. I probably should have moved on when I was not accepted by 24 but foolishly didn't give up because of lack of perspective. Like someone else said, it is just a job. I realise now that I don't feel particularly strongly about medicine as a career, certainly not at the cost that it came. But now, I will be 33 by the time I will be eligible to have this job. I have friends who did engineering and finished at 22-23 who all have well-paying jobs and were able to enjoy their 20s. I feel a sense of despair when I realize I will be a decade behind them by the time I finish and that my 20s were consumed entirely by this endeavor. Anyways, This was just to provide an alternate perspective. 

I feel the same.