Now mature but still wish to study medicine

justgrowing

Hello,

I'm a little wary of posting here but this has been on my mind and I'd like to talk to someone about it.

I have wanted to study medicine for many years, since I was a child actually. I wasn't allowed to take science in school however so it wasn't an option for me until the graduate programme was announced. I do have a bachelors degree which I got several years ago now and I aimed to enter medicine as a graduate. Unfortunately my family were absolutely against the idea and sabotaged my attempts to study, to get a scholarship and repeatedly told me I was stupid (and a whole lot more) to even think of trying it. Obviously they weren't going to act as a guarantor for a loan either.

I eventually moved out and it became about survival. I got a job and have been working years now. But the desire to study medicine has not gone away. I have a chronic health condition and I'm not terribly well off financially. But I still would love to follow my ambition and enter a medical programme. I think with some supports in place I could manage to get through the programme.

Would this even be possible at this stage? Could I enter as a mature student? I presume I'd have to pay full fees as I've already attended university before? Are there grants or supports available?

You would think after many decades of doors being shut to me I'd have lost interest in this but unfortunately I haven't. I think I'll be 80 and asking lecturers if I can sit in on their classes...

Iscreamkone

If this is your dream then find a way to make it work.

If you look in to it you will find someone older, someone poorer, someone sicker that has overcome all the hurdles and still got there.

happyoutscan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058212576/now-mature-but-still-wish-to-study-medicine

Would you look into something like midwifery or nursing? I'm only suggesting, as I know of two people nearer 50 that have both entered these study fields in the last couple of years.

Go for it!

justgrowing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118003797#Comment_118003797

Yes this is very true. I suppose I might just need some more information on the process as right now it seems quite a hurdle.

justgrowing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118003840#Comment_118003840

Thank you for the reply and suggestion!

whadabouchasir

AS a previous poster has said there will always be someone who is sicker, older or poorer. It's a point well made. If it has been your ambition to study medicine then I think the next step is to thoroughly research it. Would Gradmed be an option? It is a year or 2 shorter, although you need to have a 2:1 ata minimum. You are correct in saying that you will have to pay fees as a mature student , who would be undertaking a second undergrad degree if you went down the mature student route.

I think that with medicine it can often be seen as a "prestigous" course to study. The danger is that people can end up studying it because they like the idea of studying ,medicine rather than the actual course itself. Also the function of a Medical degree is to train its graduates to be compotent Doctors, that's it. If you don't want to be a Doctor then I would advise against studying medicine. If you're not quite sure about whether or not you want to be a Doctor then I would advise talking to Doctors about their careers and Jobs. If you are quite certain that you want to work as a Doctor, then go for it. Once you Graduate from Medicine then there is another year as an Intern then 4 years of further training on a scheme to be a GP or a minimum of 6 years training if you pursue a hospital based speciality, which in practice can often end up being over a decade. All of this is not meant to put you off, it's more to provide you with some perspective, studying medicine is a considerable time and financial investment.

Yintang

OP, just curious to see if you took this any further?

Asking because my sister really wants to go back and get her physio degree. She's a sports therapist so has some background and can do an accelerated 2 year graduate programme. However she is worried that she'll be 52 graduating and will be the oldest in the class by a long way!