New and Just Starting out

I have been reading some of the posts for the past week and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Dawn, I am 37 and my husband is 34, we are both nurses. My husband has been wanting to go to med school for some time now but wasn't quite ready. Now he is ready to start...we live on the Mexico border and he had been considering going across to school but has since thought better of it and will use that only as a last resort. For all the years we talked about his going to school it didn't seem that big of a deal, but now it seems a little overwhelming. How do you pay for it here in the states for one. What are his chances of getting in? How far will we have to move? I am starting to wonder if he should join the military...or is he too old? I am afraid that with our income we won't qualify for deferred student loans, and I am not sure I can support our family (we have 2 girls ages 6 and 9), and pay his tuition, books and expenses. Plus I am worried that he is too old or they don't want students who are married and have kids, and we would be wasting our time to try to go on this side of the border...I have even looked into the Caribbean schools haha... well anyway, I am glad I found this website. I am feeling excited, proud and scared to death is this normal? haha.

[houseelf]

Hi Dawn,



Welcome to the boards. My dh and I have some friends who went to foreign medical schools after unsuccessfully attempting to get into domestic institutions. From what they tell us, it can be difficult for spouses to obtain work in already strained economies and it may be more difficult for the medical student to obtain a residency in the more competitive specialties. With this being said, our friend REALLY wanted to go to medical school and is glad that he made this choice. I think that his wife has made peace with her unemployment somewhere on the beach!!!



In all seriousness, I don't envy your difficult decisions. Medical school/residency can be ...trying...on a family so hopefully you will the support that you need here. Best of luck!



I look forward to meeting you below--



Kelly

wife of 2nd year general surgery resident

[Meenah]

Welcome Dawn,

I'm Luanne, my husband went to medical school in Mexico in the 1970s, he did what they call a 5th pathway and did his residency at NYU (where he went tot undergrad). He is now a Pulmonologist at the Medical Center of Princeton. He was single when he was in Mexico, but he loved it. We have been married for 1 1/2 years. I didn't have to suffer through school with him!!! I am also a nurse (ER and Endoscopy).

Luanne

[DCJenn]

Welcome Dawn!



I don't think there's any age limit to becoming a doc! I don't know if there are age limits for the military system- he'd need to talk to someone at an HPSP program or at USUHS to find out.



There's a lot to think about and is is really hard work for everyone. In some ways I think it is harder on the families- but it's not easy for anyone. Theres someone here whose husband has a foreieng medical education (Luanne- you?) so they will be better able to answer those questions.



But welcome anyway!



Jenn

Hi and Welcome! Sorry I'm so late in chiming in...I've been busy outside enjoying the few nice days we've had this spring!!! We're in MN and for some reason, even though it is May, the temperature doesn't want to lift above about 35 or 40 F !!!



I don't think that your husband is too old at all...has he gone to the OldPreMeds website? It is a great resource for non-traditional pre-medical students and can be found at http://www.oldpremeds.net or through the student doctor network.



I am also putting my own medschool plans on hold for several more years (no telling if I'll end up following through with it in the end ). He should definately contact Dave from OldPreMeds or go over to their message forums/email group to get more information!!!



Congratulations on starting off on this journey....we just recently crossed the finish line and are finished with med school, residency and fellowship...we've been in "real life" now for almost a year (wow how the time flies!) I look forward to getting to know you!



Kris

Dawn...



Welcome. My husband is an older foreign medical graduate. He will be Chief Resident as of July 1st. He has already signed a contract for the following year to be a fellow in cardiac/vascular anesthesia. He is at a major hospital in Boston.



So age and the location of medical school is not always a bad thing. In my husbands case, it was a good thing.



Determination pays off!



Leslie

Thank you so much for all the replies... and the advice, I am suddenly feeling not so at odds. I am so glad I found this group and look forward to getting to know you all.... Again thanks for all the replies!!



Dawn

My husband is currently in a residency program where the oldest first year resident (fresh out of med school) is a mom in her 40s. It is very possible for your husband to do this.



I also have a friend whose husband went to a Carribean medical school. They really enjoyed their time there and he ended up first getting a residency position with UT Southwestern (a REALLY prestigious place) in internal medicine and then decided to switch to ER and got into the Baylor program (an even MORE prestigious place) in Houston. So, being a foreign trained American physician doesn't necessarily hold one back from doing well with a residency in the states.



Since you guys are on the border, have you looked into the UT system? It is much cheaper to apply to all of the schools in the system for a set fee - and they have a bunch of schools with UTSW being the "flagship". They also have an osteopathic school in Ft.Worth.



Another note about Mexico: My mother in law emigrated from there and most of my husband's family either live there, have immigrated from there, or visit there often. OK, here's the note : If you guys are totally "gringo" looking you may encounter bias one way or another. My inlaws tell stories of serious crimes and racism against others around Mexico City simply based upon the color of the victim's skin (ie lighter means your more likely to be a victim). There are also some cultural barriers apparently based upon different factors. If you guys have actually spent time in the interior of the country (not just the border) then you'll probably be fine - provided you have some functional knowledge of Spanish. Anyway, good luck!



Jennifer