older students- RN to MD?

[petunia2016]

I am an older student about to start nursing school in the fall. I was wondering if there are any older students out there who are in nursing school and plan on going on to medical school. Or older nurses who are in or plan to attend medical school. For those that are, did you find age to be a problem in your endeavors? Did you graduate and secure a job as an RN before attending medical school? Did you continue to work while attending medical school? How did you fund your schooling? How many years do you have left in school?

I'm just curious for now. I have thought about attending medical school, but I have two young children, and I think I may have to wait until after they graduate if I decide to go that route. I'm 28 now, and I would be 37 when the youngest graduates. Am I just too old?

[D.R.A.]

To the OP, I am like you, I do not have the time to devote to med school right now. Being with my children while they are young is my number one personal endeavor.

Since all of us students have never been nurses, it could go either way. We may find that we love nursing, or we may find that we hate it. Such is the case with 90% of the people I graduated highschool with who all pursued career degrees. Some are pursuing their second career degree, while others are on to a professional degree. Case in point, no matter what you choose, there is always the possibility it won't be a good fit.

Since I am not an RN I can't firmly attest to the fact that anyone who likes being an RN will not like being a doctor or vice versa. But I think at this point I disagree somewhat that going the RN--->MD route is pointless....though perhaps if evaluated on a cost basis only. Any knowledge gleaned while nursing will certainly help when it comes to 'paying your dues' as a new doctor, as you will already have a more complex understanding of the workings of say a hospital from the ground up.