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Should You Pursue Medicine as a Second Career?
Articles
June 30, 2024
Many people wish they had gone to medical school. If you’re in another career and want to go beyond wishing, there’s a lot to consider. Whether you’re transitioning from a different field or reigniting a long-held dream, the path to medical school as a second-career student is unique and requires careful planning.
However, it is possible. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges’ (AAMC’s) 2023 Matriculating Student Questionnaire, 17.2% of new medical students in 2023 were over the age of 26 when they started their MD or DO programs. In fact, coming to medical school after working in another field for several years has potential advantages for your ability to handle medical education, residency, and beyond. This article looks at what you’ll need to consider as you prepare to jump from your current career to a medical career.
What’s Your Why?
Before diving into the application process, take time to reflect on why you want to become a doctor. Are you working in another healthcare-related role where you’ve had an opportunity to work with (and better understand the role of) physicians? Have you always kept up with medical research?
Try to explain why you’d feel more excited to get out of bed in the morning if you were a doctor than you would in your current career. Medical schools will want you to be able to articulate your motivation. Getting your motivation clear in your own mind can also help you maintain your focus and persevere when medical school becomes tough.
Do You Need to Take or Retake Science Classes?
Medical schools require specific prerequisite courses, typically including biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. If your previous education didn’t cover these subjects, you’ll need to complete them. If your GPA in these courses wasn’t competitive (or if you finished your degree more than five years ago), you may want to re-take these classes. Consider enrolling in a post-baccalaureate pre-med program designed for career changers.
Make sure you know what GPA you need to achieve in your courses – check the websites of medical schools you might be interested in applying to, or check the American Association of Medical Colleges’ (AAMC’s) annual list of average GPAs and MCAT scores for students who were accepted to medical school.
Can You Handle the MCAT?
Preparing for the Medical Colleges Admission Test (MCAT) is a part-time job in and of itself. Consider it your first practical test of your commitment to pursuing a second career in medicine. Can you make time for MCAT study? Do you even want to?
If you do, plan to devote about 10 hours of study time per week for 12 to 16 weeks. Focus on high-yield MCAT topics, and consider taking a prep course or hiring a tutor if needed.
Do You Understand the Financial Commitment?
An October 2023 fact sheet on medical school costs from the AAMC reports that the median cost of one year of medical education for 2023-2024 was $41,737 at a public institution and $69,788 at a private institution. 70% of medical school graduates had medical school debt, and the median level of debt for all four years of medical school was $200,000.
If you are considering medicine as a second career and have a family, you will need to carefully plan how you will afford medical school. Consider speaking to a personal financial advisor as well as a financial aid officer before you apply to medical school so you have a clear idea of your strategy for making ends meet while you study. Financial aid (mostly in the form of graduate loans) exists for medical school, and private scholarship opportunities may be available.
Don’t forget that you’ll not only need to cover medical school tuition. Post-bacc classes, application fees, MCAT prep materials, traveling to interviews, and other expenses add up quickly. You can find some resources for alleviating the cost of preparing for the MCAT or applying to medical school, such as the AAMC’s Fee Assistance Program.
Can You Balance Your Responsibilities?
Managing family commitments while you prepare for and then attend medical school is difficult, but still doable. For inspiration, consider Dr. Sarah Merrill, a neurosurgery resident whose nine children were at her medical school graduation in 2022. The secrets to her success included:
- Getting buy-in for her goals from her husband and children
- Consistent scheduling of study time and other preparation
- Tapping her support system of extended family
If a mother of nine can make it happen, you almost certainly can, too. Lean on the people around you so you can carve out time to prepare your medical school application. Another important aspect of balancing your responsibilities is ensuring you’re adequately rested, nourished, and have opportunities to relieve stress. Embed good self-care habits, such as regular exercise, into your routine at the beginning of your career change journey.
What Do You Bring to the Table?
As we mentioned above, when you’re an older medical school applicant, you may have some personal qualities and professional skills that younger students may not have developed yet. For example, a career-changing medical student is more likely to have personal experience of becoming a parent or experiencing bereavement than medical students right out of undergrad, giving them additional insight into caring for patients.
Older students are also more likely to have developed healthy coping mechanisms for handling stress and emergencies. Finally, as professionals with several years of work experience, you’re more likely to have more experience managing workplace politics and collaborating with other professionals. Be realistic about the challenges medical education poses while also having faith in your ability to succeed, and you can make your dreams of being a doctor a reality.
Many people wish they had gone to medical school. If you’re in another career and want to go beyond wishing, there’s a lot to consider. Whether you’re transitioning from a different field or reigniting a long-held dream, the path to medical school as a second-career student is unique and requires careful planning.
However, it is possible. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges’ (AAMC’s) 2023 Matriculating Student Questionnaire, 17.2% of new medical students in 2023 were over the age of 26 when they started their MD or DO programs. In fact, coming to medical school after working in another field for several years has potential advantages for your ability to handle medical education, residency, and beyond. This article looks at what you’ll need to consider as you prepare to jump from your current career to a medical career.
What’s Your Why?
Before diving into the application process, take time to reflect on why you want to become a doctor. Are you working in another healthcare-related role where you’ve had an opportunity to work with (and better understand the role of) physicians? Have you always kept up with medical research?
Try to explain why you’d feel more excited to get out of bed in the morning if you were a doctor than you would in your current career. Medical schools will want you to be able to articulate your motivation. Getting your motivation clear in your own mind can also help you maintain your focus and persevere when medical school becomes tough.
Do You Need to Take or Retake Science Classes?
Medical schools require specific prerequisite courses, typically including biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. If your previous education didn’t cover these subjects, you’ll need to complete them. If your GPA in these courses wasn’t competitive (or if you finished your degree more than five years ago), you may want to re-take these classes. Consider enrolling in a post-baccalaureate pre-med program designed for career changers.
Make sure you know what GPA you need to achieve in your courses – check the websites of medical schools you might be interested in applying to, or check the American Association of Medical Colleges’ (AAMC’s) annual list of average GPAs and MCAT scores for students who were accepted to medical school.
Can You Handle the MCAT?
Preparing for the Medical Colleges Admission Test (MCAT) is a part-time job in and of itself. Consider it your first practical test of your commitment to pursuing a second career in medicine. Can you make time for MCAT study? Do you even want to?
If you do, plan to devote about 10 hours of study time per week for 12 to 16 weeks. Focus on high-yield MCAT topics, and consider taking a prep course or hiring a tutor if needed.
Do You Understand the Financial Commitment?
An October 2023 fact sheet on medical school costs from the AAMC reports that the median cost of one year of medical education for 2023-2024 was $41,737 at a public institution and $69,788 at a private institution. 70% of medical school graduates had medical school debt, and the median level of debt for all four years of medical school was $200,000.
If you are considering medicine as a second career and have a family, you will need to carefully plan how you will afford medical school. Consider speaking to a personal financial advisor as well as a financial aid officer before you apply to medical school so you have a clear idea of your strategy for making ends meet while you study. Financial aid (mostly in the form of graduate loans) exists for medical school, and private scholarship opportunities may be available.
Don’t forget that you’ll not only need to cover medical school tuition. Post-bacc classes, application fees, MCAT prep materials, traveling to interviews, and other expenses add up quickly. You can find some resources for alleviating the cost of preparing for the MCAT or applying to medical school, such as the AAMC’s Fee Assistance Program.
Can You Balance Your Responsibilities?
Managing family commitments while you prepare for and then attend medical school is difficult, but still doable. For inspiration, consider Dr. Sarah Merrill, a neurosurgery resident whose nine children were at her medical school graduation in 2022. The secrets to her success included:
- Getting buy-in for her goals from her husband and children
- Consistent scheduling of study time and other preparation
- Tapping her support system of extended family
If a mother of nine can make it happen, you almost certainly can, too. Lean on the people around you so you can carve out time to prepare your medical school application. Another important aspect of balancing your responsibilities is ensuring you’re adequately rested, nourished, and have opportunities to relieve stress. Embed good self-care habits, such as regular exercise, into your routine at the beginning of your career change journey.
What Do You Bring to the Table?
As we mentioned above, when you’re an older medical school applicant, you may have some personal qualities and professional skills that younger students may not have developed yet. For example, a career-changing medical student is more likely to have personal experience of becoming a parent or experiencing bereavement than medical students right out of undergrad, giving them additional insight into caring for patients.
Older students are also more likely to have developed healthy coping mechanisms for handling stress and emergencies. Finally, as professionals with several years of work experience, you’re more likely to have more experience managing workplace politics and collaborating with other professionals. Be realistic about the challenges medical education poses while also having faith in your ability to succeed, and you can make your dreams of being a doctor a reality.