Still trying to decide...?

[Beth]

Hey Everyone-

The basics....Beth (if you didn't figure it out from my very creative SN)-25 years old, Ben-25, DS1-7, DS2-2. We currently live in TN , but are from OH. My husband and I have been together for 10 years, and he has been talking about med school off and on for about the past 5 years. He is currently a FF/paramedic. He works part time in an ER, so he has a very good idea of what a doctor does on a daily basis. I just finished reading Med School Confidential. I am really glad that I read it, b/c I had no clue what becoming a doctor entailed. I want as few surprises along the way as possible and think that we should plan for the worst but hope for the best!

Ben currently works 2 jobs so I can be a SAHM. I am basically a single parent now....room mom, soccer, baseball, cub scouts, finances, garbage duty, etc. I could go on and on, but I am sure you can all relate! =) I LOVE being a SAHM and am used to him being gone all the time. That part doesn't scare me. I am most worried about being broke and the kids not being able to participate in normal kid activities.

We are hoping that we can live with my in-laws during undergrad so I can work full-time and pay for as much it as we go. That would be great, b/c the kids would get all the attention they need! The part that scares me the most is medical school. If we end up away from family, I am working full-time, and we are broke...what will we be able to give our kids?! I only have an associates degree (Administrative Assistant), so I don't have significant income potential.

My husband wants me to consider going through the military, and I don't want anything to do with it! The only reason I would consider it, would be for the stipend during medical school. Thoughts from anyone who has done it this way would be appreciated!

This is the biggest decision we have ever made, and I am filled with so much emotion!

~Beth

**UPDATE** (3/24/12)
We are going for it! =) We feel very confident with our decision. We were just in Ohio for Spring Break and Ben met with a counselor at Cleveland State Univ. (He still needs his undergrad) Our house if for sale, so hopefully that wont take forever! We are going to live with my in-laws so I can work full-time. Ben said that along with meeting med school requirements, he could also apply for PA school following his undergrad.
I know that this site is a MEDICAL SN, so I will mostly be lurking! Hopefully you will hear more from me in about 5 years. Thank you for all of your suggestions, warnings and kind words back in October...one step at a time!

[MissCrabette]

Welcome! People can and have done this on one income and/or on student loans. There will be others chiming in about the military route. One thing I would say is try to take this one step at a time and see where it takes you. That's something I struggled with and still do, but there's really no telling the future and how every single piece of the puzzle will fall. That's especially true given how early in the "game" you are. Don't make yourself crazy with thoughts of med school when you aren't done with undergrad yet.

[Deebs]

Beth,
Welcome! Does your DH want to be a doctor, or does he love being a FF/Paramedic? If he stays in his current profession but obtains a bachelor's degree, his earning potential will be so much greater. We know MANY FF/Paramedics with more than two kids and a wife who stays home to raise them, and they do pretty well. I think the key is for him to pursue an undergrad degree first, and then think about next steps.

[peggyfromwastate]

We are in the military system. My dh did medical school through the military- we are in the last year of residency inthe military system.

How much undergrad does he need before he can apply for med school? There is an age limit on applying for the military route I believe. But I'm bot sure what it is. My dh was about 25 when he started med school.

[MrsPotts]

Hi Beth! I'm originally from Ohio - what part of Ohio are you from? I agree with MissCrabette - don't freak out over anything that hasn't happened yet!! Take it one step at a time and you just make it work for each step in this process. My DH is a MSII, and no kids yet - but plenty of these ladies have done it and I'm sure it will make you feel better to hear their advice.

[diggitydot]

Medical school will most likely be away from family and you'll be broke -- it's doable, though. It isn't easy or fun, but totally survivable. We had three kids and I started being an at-home mom with them during med school. Doable, but not loads of fun.

The medical school/training crapfest is a lot like a football game. There are tons of little (and not-so-little) accomplishments along the way. Just keep plugging along and you'll get to the end zone.

[Beth]

Thanks for the replies, ladies. He is somewhat content in his current job, at best. There is so much more he wants to learn and do. I don't know too much about what his dept. offers in terms of raises for additional degrees. I think that is is around 5-7 %. I also believe that they recently cut out tuition reimbursement. This is a whole other story that I wont get into, but his pay was recently cut 4.9%, the city wants to take away his pension, and increase the retirement age. We moved to TN, b/c he was making around $8/hr. as a paramedic in OH! We are willing to live within about 800 miles of Cleveland, but very few depts. are hiring. We all know the state of the economy, and cities are very quick to cut "unnecessary" jobs like police, fire, and EMS. Some depts. pay $80K/yr, some $35K. The ones that generally pay more are boring....few fires, very little EMS.

I have reservations about the whole lets try it and see thing. I kinda feel like we are in it for the whole shebang, or we're not. Most departments have age caps for taking their test and Ben would be too old at most places in 5 years after his undergrad. We feel like his best chances for getting into med school, esp considering he is a non trad, would be with a premed degree. What kind of job can you get with a premed degree is we don't move onto med school? If we are able to finish undergrad with little to no debt, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to move onto something else.

[v-girl]

Welcome! I have no advice.

[Beth]

He doesn't have any college education.
We are from Cleveland, the east side. He is looking into Cleveland State.
I don;t mind going without, as long as my kids have the basics and then some. I think that I could overcome my Target addiction...with some help.
Peggy-are you glad yall went the military route? Pros/cons?

[MrsPotts]

I used to work in Independence Beth If he needs to go for his Bachelor's - then premed is his best bet. It's great he has experience as a paramedic that he can put into his app. But once he starts his Bachelor's - he will need to get started on research, etc for his application to med school. Definitely focus on getting the Bachelor's and into medical school before getting scared about it! We are here to help

[oceanchild]

Welcome! Med school is a long road from a high school diploma. It's definitely doable, but he should be sure he wants it if he's going all in. It sounds to me like he should maybe look at physician's assistant and nursing degrees as well. Being a doctor isn't the only way to do interesting medical work.

[diggitydot]

I don't known if this is helpful, but my dude was a non-trad and his undergrad degree is in biology. He would have gone on to a master's program and become a teacher had med school not worked out.

Pre-med isn't bad, but it might limit him if he decides that medicine isn't what he wants to do afterall.

[Momo]

Oceanchild beat me to what I was going to suggest. I have a friend who started out by getting a 2 yr nursing degree& throughout the past several years has become
NP (nurse practioner).

[Vanquisher]

Welcome! Med school is a long road from a high school diploma. It's definitely doable, but he should be sure he wants it if he's going all in. It sounds to me like he should maybe look at physician's assistant and nursing degrees as well. Being a doctor isn't the only way to do interesting medical work.

This. Look, you have to be really, really, really sure you want to be a doctor and nothing else. Otherwise it will eat you up and spit you out covered in so much debt that you won't know which way is up. I wanted to go to medical school too, once upon a time. DH went, with the idea that I would go later so that we could have kids and things. You know, do life! Anyway, now I know that there is NO way in hell that I will do med school. I still would love to be a doc, don't get me wrong, BUT there are other things I would like too. If there are other things that your dh would like, well, then do that.

You don't have to have a degree in pre-med in order to go to medical school. In fact, some of the best applications are the ones that AREN'T pre-med or biology. He should seriously consider getting a bachelor's of science in nursing. He can take the medical school pre-reqs while getting that degree, but he'll be so much cooler. He'll be instantly employable, for one thing. Most bachelor's degrees don't get you very far in the way of much of anything right now. The bachelor's in nursing would. Furthermore, he'll be able to decide from there to go onto graduate school in nursing, PA school, or medical school, and would be a good candidate (depending on grades and extra curriculars, of course) for all three programs. It is my personal opinion, though, that medical school is not all that it's cracked up to be.

Take it one step at a time, like the others have said!

[moonlight]

Welcome! Med school is a long road from a high school diploma. It's definitely doable, but he should be sure he wants it if he's going all in. It sounds to me like he should maybe look at physician's assistant and nursing degrees as well. Being a doctor isn't the only way to do interesting medical work.

This is what I would suggest. Has he gone to the university and talked with the councilors about his options? I would turn over every stone before arriving at the decision to go for medical school. Its a very difficult option for non traditional and "older" applicants. Looking at Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant tracks as well as medical school.