Is 26 an old age to be finishing medical school?

this username isnt taken · 24-09-2010 11:18AM #1

That's what age I will be if I finish. I'm 20 right now. Not sure if I want to spend my twenties in college while most people my age are out living their lives. What if I find out down the line that I don't want to be a doctor..arghh.

Anyone got any input into this?

middaydemon · 24-09-2010 02:04PM

not too old by any means. I'm on a graduate-entry programme so the majority of us will be at least 26 by graduation. I'm a good bit older still, and I have no qualms. You can still live your life while at medical school!

briankirby · 24-09-2010 04:32PM

this username isnt taken wrote: »

That's what age I will be if I finish. I'm 20 right now. Not sure if I want to spend my twenties in college while most people my age are out living their lives. What if I find out down the line that I don't want to be a doctor..arghh.

Anyone got any input into this?

Depends how much you really want it.The average age finishig med school in the US is 29,although they specialise in much less years than it takes here.i know a guy who started in the english med programme in prague aged 28!He is now an ob/gyn in California.As i say,depends if u really really want it or if u want to enjoy life instead

Don Keypunch · 24-09-2010 05:35PM

I would imagine that it would be extremely rare for a GEM student to be even 25 upon graduation, I'd imagine the average age of a GEM graduate would be 29/30

Michael Collins · 24-09-2010 05:42PM

I'd say your age is the last thing you need to worry about. With so many graduates from technical courses doing PhDs these days you will probably end up being a young graduate in the overall scheme of things.

this username isnt taken wrote: »

Not sure if I want to spend my twenties in college while most people my age are out living their lives.

I think a lot of people would say college life is as good as it gets!

Sid_Justice · 25-09-2010 03:17PM

I'm 26 and in first year.

You're not interested enough tbh, do something else.

QueenOfLeon · 26-09-2010 10:55AM

Even if you go straight into undergrad from Leaving Cert you're still 24/25ish when you graduate! And most people in college are spending their early 20's there...

If you think you may decide down the line that you don't actually want to be a doctor, it might not be a commitment you should take now...just my opinion.

Odysseus · 26-09-2010 01:33PM

Michael Collins wrote: »

I think a lot of people would say college life is as good as it gets!

Personally I can't argue with that. I was 27 when I started my degree, 32 when I finished my masters. I'm 41 now and just started another masters with the RCSI. My only regret is that I have only just got back into study since I finished my masters in 2002.

I have a new study plan which if each step goes to plan will see me completing a PhD in about 8-9 years. I know working and studying and working can be difficult, but it is a great life. I have no rush to get a PhD, I want mine [if I eventually get there] to mean something, I don’t want one just to have “done” a PhD. If that means I’m nearly 50 by the time I get it, so be it.

tallaght01 · 26-09-2010 01:56PM

Odysseus wrote: »

Personally I can't argue with that. I was 27 when I started my degree, 32 when I finished my masters. I'm 41 now and just started another masters with the RCSI. My only regret is that I have only just got back into study since I finished my masters in 2002.

I have a new study plan which if each step goes to plan will see me completing a PhD in about 8-9 years. I know working and studying and working can be difficult, but it is a great life. I have no rush to get a PhD, I want mine [if I eventually get there] to mean something, I don’t want one just to have “done” a PhD. If that means I’m nearly 50 by the time I get it, so be it.

I think the issue here is that the OP will be doing nights and weekends for at least 10 years after graduation if they work in a hospital specialty. You know yourself...it's a lot to ask when you're in your mid 30s. Especially if the 100 hour weeks are still commonplace.

I think the OP is at least being realistic. I know the students are telling him you need to be an idealist to be a good doc. But I'd argue that being a realist would serve a potential medic better.

ORLY? · 26-09-2010 03:03PM

Firstly, finishing at 26 OP will make you 2 or just maybe 3 years older than the average undergrad medical graduate. Nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Are you thinking of doing grad med? If so, then I'd ignore the comments such as "the college life is great" etc. Doing grad med won't be nearly as pressurised as being a doctor but it's a lot more pressurised than any other college course and more pressurised than most jobs too.

Sid_Justice wrote: »

I'm 26 and in first year.

You're not interested enough tbh, do something else.

Really, I don't know where this is coming from. It's not possible to know if someone will like being a doctor until they are a doctor. You can make the best judgement you can now but you won't actually know if it's for you until you're there.

I'd say the questions to ask yourself are do you think studying medicine is for you? Do you have a good memory, a strong sense of curiosity, do you like problem solving and figuring out how things work? Is a life of continuous studying, courses and exams for you?

The other thing is, if after the years of study, the financial investment and other sacrifices, you find that after a while in the job you don't like it, would you be okay with moving into a field that you do like or would you feel compelled to carry on regardless?

HeadPig · 26-09-2010 06:54PM

Sid_Justice wrote: »

I'm 26 and in first year.

You're not interested enough tbh, do something else.

Who are you to make that judgement?

this username isnt taken · 26-09-2010 08:56PM

I'd also like to add; I suffer badly from depression, and I'm wondering if there are any alternative career paths following a medical degree than becoming a doctor? When I was in school the idea appealed to me but now I find it hard to summon the energy to care about much so I know I wouldn't be able to cope for long as a doctor. So could anyone tell me, does depression ever really go away..because if it doesn't I might as well quit.

this username isnt taken · 29-09-2010 03:11PM

^

Anybody know if a person who suffers from depression can ever be a doctor??

ThatDrGuy · 03-10-2010 02:41AM

If you're not suffering from depression working for the HSE then there is something wrong with you. Im 26. I was a first year reg for 2 months or so until the abuse drove me out. I graduated at 23. The last 3 years of my life have been pretty damn $hit to put it mildly. Dont be in any hurry to graduate - defer as long as you can. Believe me - it's all downhill from there.

jmn89 · 03-10-2010 11:34PM

I'm 22 and I'll be graduating this year (probably not helpful to the OP), but I'm the exception - most people will be around 24 and there are a good few in their late twenties too... 26 is by no means old.

With the aging demographics in this country, you can expect to be practicing for a good fifty years!

@ previous poster: am so sick of people giving me reasons not to finish Med School! I'm in my final year and a bit of encouragement would be great! Instead, we just have doctors of all ranks telling us why the HSE, Ireland are **** - enough already.

I'm enjoying it now, and fully intend to enjoy it when I graduate. Sure, the hours will be awful, the pay is half what it was five years ago, the grants are less... but it's still an extremely privileged position to be in.

Odysseus · 06-10-2010 08:59PM

this username isnt taken wrote: »

^

Anybody know if a person who suffers from depression can ever be a doctor??

Doctors are human too and therefore prone to all types of issues. I'm a psychotherapist, I know have have treated doctors with all types of conditions, not only with doctors but with the whole medical professional there can be various issues, I have treated but know personally a good few doctors who have had addiction problems for example. With something like depression there are different types if we go with the ICD-10, so I cannot see a mild-moderate case of depression meaning the person could not work, it would depend on the effect is would have on their ability to perform their duties in my understanding.

Maybe one of the doctors here could elaborate on the ethics in question.

Edit: Just to add I'm in the HSE 13 years now, whilst I have a lot of issues with the organisation, not only has it not killed me yet, but I still enjoy my work;)

lctake2 · 07-10-2010 02:51PM

I'm in premed now, I'll be 25 when I graduate. The reason I'm 19 starting college is because my depression really came to a head during 6th year. I decided to basically take a year out, focus on my health, got lots of CBT, a good psychiatrist and some meds for a while. Best decision I ever made. It's not worth dragging yourself through such a stressful exam, course and then job without dealing with your depression first

CerebralCortex · 07-10-2010 03:04PM

this username isnt taken wrote: »

That's what age I will be if I finish. I'm 20 right now. Not sure if I want to spend my twenties in college while most people my age are out living their lives. What if I find out down the line that I don't want to be a doctor..arghh.

Anyone got any input into this?

I think you may be having some fantasies about people "... out living their lives...". I think finishing college whether it's your mid twenties or your early twenties provides the same challenges, the only difference with medicine is that you're a qualified doctor, which isn't to shabby an advantage.

LizT · 09-10-2010 11:10PM

I'm not studying medicine but I'll be fully qualified for my career (SLT) when I'm 21. If I could go back and do it again, I'd do another degree first so I'd be a bit older graduating.

I think, especially for a career like medicine, being a little bit older and more mature is a pro and not a con.

medic_1 · 19-10-2010 01:43AM

I'm going to be 30, yes 30, when I am STARTING undergraduate medicine! Worked in primary healthcare for the last 7 years and finally got the bottle to go and do it! It's never to late to do whatever you want in this life.

etymon · 19-10-2010 09:17PM

I'm 26 and in 1st year GEM... ehhh... I definitely went 'out and lived' my twenties or whatever you want to call it but maybe it's hard for someone at 18/19 to grasp that 26 is not OLD. Now, when I was 18 I would have thought so but trust me... you won't be any different, you will probably have a bit more cop-on in fact. Anyway, college is fun, really sociable and most people in my class would be about 30 when we graduate I would say.
The only downside is, yeah, you'll be doing an intern year at 30 but we all are glad of our previous degrees, experience and general memories of doing whatever it was we did before we decided to do medicine. I wouldn't change a thing. And neither would anyone in a hospital asking a 23 year old 'me' to do anything in any way important.
Anyway 26 ISN'T OLD

Or so I keep telling myself.

spagboll · 22-10-2010 02:04PM

ill be hitting the wards at 27

The 17/18 year old staright out of school are alot rarer in med that I thought they would be, even in the 5/6 year programs the freshers tend to be a bit older, I take my hat off to people who can take med on so early and make a success of it, I wouldn't have been up to it at that age

Is 26 an old age to be finishing medical school?

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