I am posting this thread because I feel really depressed. Maybe I can say I might need comfort but I can honestly say I regret forever why I did not go to medical school.Let me tell you my story.
I am already 28 years old. I am currently an LPN and I am in school for my RN.I had my Med surg clinical in the hospital and walked right in the middle of a code seeing a very familiar young doctor doing CPR. When I asked the nurse precepting me, I found out that doctor is my former classmate in high school.We both graduated high school in 2002. Now, 11 years later, I never felt so low in my life, I was looking down on myself regarding my status in life.Compared to her, at 28 years old, she was already a doctor and I am still stuck as a nursing student. I was so ashamed that I even tried to avoid her. I feel like my status in life is so low compared to her.
Plus, add the fact that I always wanted to be a doctor all my life since I was a baby.But my mom told me why not just be a nurse first and when I have enough money saved, go to medical school.Also, add the fact that it took me almost 10 years before becoming an LPN due to some unforeseen life circumstances. Have I known that I will be in school this long, then I should have spent my $60,000 student loans on becoming a doctor(which is what I always wanted, which is my heart has always wanted.) instead of going through 10 years of nursing school.Dont get me wrong. I love taking care of people and being a nurse. But I've always been more interested in actually treating patients and more on the medical side than on the caring side.
I am so jealous of my high school classmate. I feel once I get my RN, it is too late to go to medical school since by that time, I will be in my 30s, I am already married, I am already too old to go to medical school maybe my body might not have enough energy anymore to go through med school related to age plus I cannot add any more student loans to my $60,000 debt.I wanted to be a doctor so much I am willing to go to medical school in any country as long as somebody helps me become a doctor.Sorry for posting this but I guess I just need to vent how sad I am.To any nurses out there, do you think I have the right to feel this way?Is it really too late for me to go to med school once I get my RN in my 30s?Thank you.
This might not make you feel any better but many people at one time or another regret past decisions.
I was quite the idiot before I went to the USMC, didn't get out until I was 25. I didn't finish my RN until 30. So you are ahead of me, don't mess it up :-)
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
thanks for all your replies my fellow nurses. Just to clarify, like I said, I love being an LPN nurse. I do not want to go to medical school just for the prestige and money. But because it is what I always wanted to do all my life. Everytime I see the doctors walk in, I envy them because I always wanted to be one of them.Every year, I always ask myself why I did not go to med school.I have a 4.0 GPA so academically I can qualify.I just do not have a chance yet to pursue it because first, I am honestly financially in need since I'm back being a nursing student for my RN. I only work once a week with my school schedule.Even when I can finally afford to be one when I become an RN, I will probably be in my 30's by that time that's why I feel too old. I dont think I will have enough physical stamina and brain power to survive medical school in my 30's unlike when I am in my 20's.
Anyway, sorry to all nurses. Please do not misinterpret what I said about my low status in life. I was not talking about having a low status as a nurse. I was talking about feeling very inferior because my classmate at 28 is already a doctor, even training other older doctors, and I am still here, a STUDENT.Thank you all for your opinions and encouragement.
OP, when I got my first job out of nursing school, I worked with a fellow RN who was 10 years my senior. She decided she wanted to go to med. school, but her income was needed. She did her pre-reqs one at a time until she had what she needed to get to medical school. She graduated, and she's been working in a specialty for at least 10-15 years. She did it with a spouse, two school-age kids and a house.
If you want it, it can be done. Thirties is not "too old." You're just getting started at that age. It would be sad for you to spend the rest of your life thinking, "What if?"
Face it, you are going to be a student for a while, whether you become an RN or go to med school. What do you really want to do?
You could always independently take courses one at a time, like my friend did, and work your way through the pre-reqs while you're in nursing school. That way you could get an idea what the courses are like, and if you decide med school isn't for you, you may be able to apply the credits to become an NP/PA.
A very good friend of mine did not begin medical school until he turned 41 and he is married with three kids. Now he is on board of admissions for a prominent texas med school...and a worked with a doctor who is a surgeon, she didn't start med school till her kids were in middle school!,,,..don't give up yet...you are only old as you allow yourself to feel! I'm a 45 yr old female nurse by the way!! Good luck!!
If you really wanted you could still go to med school. You'd have to take pre-med classes, pass the MCAT and get accepted into a school. Are you sure you really want this? Stop comparing yourself to others and think seriously about this. $60,000 is an awful lot of money for LPN now becoming an RN and still not graduated. How did you amass so much student loan debt in the first place?
Med school plan on $200-300,000 in student loans, many years unpaid, long hours residency, if you are internal med/family practice low pay, high debt, owned by the hospitals or insurance companies complete with micromanagement and non-complete clause! It is practically impossible to work independently these days due to low reimbursement and high overhead. If you specialize more years before you are able to practice. Long hours, not really conducive to marriage and family. Would your marriage survive medical school? Would your husband accept moving to another city/state where ever you could get into med school and then move again for residency? Reality is not as great as fantasy!
Your best bet is to get your RN as soon as possible and get working to pay off the student loans. Then if you want go back and get your NP and you can work alongside doctors and even be comparable to family practice doctor, of course, pay is less, but you'd be working much sooner and hopefully have a better work-life balance! There are plenty of NP programs around, much more than med school, even online programs so less chance of having to relocate for school.
There was a time I thought of going to med school, but then I thought about it and realized I didn't want to spend all the time and money just to become a workaholic Dr with lots of student loans and no time for a personal life.
I've read many Dr's are unhappy and stressed out and regret it, or at least, their specialty. Also it is very difficult and time consuming for them to change specialties after graduation. There are plenty of overworked, unhappy doctors so don't think becoming a doctor will automatically make you happy.
Comparing yourself to others is no way to live because you'll always be able to find someone who you think is better than you or has a better life than you have. You have to be happy with yourself regardless of what others do or have!
Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.
Go be a doctor if that is your dream, but being a doctor isn't what it's cracked up to be. You have to weigh your dream against a brutal schedule, more schooling, more loans, expensive malpractice insurance, etc.
I dont think I will have enough physical stamina and brain power to survive medical school in my 30's unlike when I am in my 20's.
seriously? sorry but 30's ain't over the hill. I don't know how physically active you are but there are many people I know in way better shape in their 30's and 40's than their 20's. Also determining what you want in life becomes so much clearer than the confused/partying 20's stage.
Some of your thoughts as similar to sibling rivalry. I have 5 siblings, pretty much all of them got ahead before I was able to organize myself. I got into the electronic fields, its was ok but I never truly liked it. My younger sister has been a registered nurse for over 15 years already and I'm just in nursing school. She has a bigger house, cars and everything more than me. Yeah sometimes I envy her and wish I could turn back the clock, I've probably an NP by now if I had my life figured out earlier. But I will eventually achieve my goals.
But I do understand your liking for being a doctor and the medical field but there were several reasons why I saw nursing as the better route. A good suggestion would be for you to get your BSN then consider going to PA school. It not exactly what you want but it takes less time and is an affordable option to enter the medical arena with a masters degree. Another option is to stick in the nursing route and become an NP. But definitely don't stay in this field if its not what you want to be.
Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
I haven't had time to read the whole thread but there are med students you are much older than you. If you do a search "oldest medical student" I'm sure you will find some.
You have gotten some good info. I will add some more. What is really troubling you? If I made you a Medical Doctor right now would it really make you happy? Is the life of a MD, RN, LPN what you truly want? Life is what you make of it. Search deep inside yourself to find your path. The answer is there. It will lead you to contentment.
Specializes in public health, women's health, reproductive health.
Get over yourself. Sorry, but this is rather pathetic. You made your own self feel low. Regrets like this are a waste of time. You aren't even 30 yet and you are talking like it's over for you. Please stop. It's ridiculous. Your life experiences are most likely completely different than your classmate's, so making a comparison such as you have done seems, at the least, rather unfair to yourself. Try redirecting your thoughts to your accomplishments and stop imagining someone else's accomplishments devalue your own. And if there is something you want to do, make a plan and work on it. In the mean time stop thinking of yourself as a "lowly" student. Change the script.
Agreed.no matter what anybody says,the decision is up to me.i finally decided to go on to med school after rn school and that will make me happy.thanks so much for all your advice my fellow nurses.you don't have to reply anymore.THREAD CLOSED.
i feel this way, and i dont even know anyone like you had described. However, if you dont have kids? I would say DO IT. I have worked with med students your age and older. Its not that uncommon.
Firstly being a nurse is not lowly and secondly, maybe you been watching too much Grey Anatomy. In my clinicals the doctors are hardly around. I did a research paper and nurse get an average of 39-60 minutes per day with the patient. Nurses today are frustrated because they spend more time on a computer charting than with the patient. Doctors spend even less time with patients because they have to do lots of rounds on like each floor depending on where they work. You may be confusing your own pride with patient care. If your passion is for the patient, then being a nurse is the way to go. Even self it's never too late because your nursing experience will make you a better doctor. And about your classmate, CPR is probably the only time she even got to touch a patient, don't believe the Grey Anatomy hype, it's the nurses who run the floor.
I'm 10 years older than you are still in nursing school.
Yes! I always wanted to be an MD since I was child. Life happened and I had to leave school and support myself. I was a lucky kid, because I was smart and could pass for a little older. I did very well for myself. Fast forward 30 years. I was miserable. I got almost physically ill thinking about doing what I was doing for the rest of my life. And, it was a decent career! I just started taking classes while I figured out if med school with a husband and three small kids was a reality. Then, my in-laws got sick. I spent a lot of time in hospitals and at Doc offices. I discovered, that the kind of care I imagined a doc doing was not right AT ALL! I really wanted to do what the RN's were doing. Career solved. I just graduated with my AAS-RN and am continuing for the BSN and possibly the NP. I am in my mid 40's BTW. When I began school I said I am doing this because I need it and I am never going to blame my children for not pursuing my own passions.
A) Only YOU should be deciding what you want to be.
B) You have to look at the reality of your whole life and see if med school is truly feasible.
C) You should really contemplate why you felt that way. Why did you feel "less"? What is your thinking behind that? If you were an MD today, would feel "more"? Why? Be honest with yourself. When you are true to yourself, you will find the happy.
sorry but 30's ain't over the hill. I don't know how physically active you are but there are many people I know in way better shape in their 30's and 40's than their 20's. Also determining what you want in life becomes so much clearer than the confused/partying 20's stage. 
jdethman
66 Posts
That is rough, full stop.
This might not make you feel any better but many people at one time or another regret past decisions.
I was quite the idiot before I went to the USMC, didn't get out until I was 25. I didn't finish my RN until 30. So you are ahead of me, don't mess it up :-)