I am 33 and have been accepted to medical school. In my former life, I was an accountant. I have been staying at home now for 4 years with my children. I need to ask the women out there the following questions:
1) What was your study schedule like (i.e. how many study hours during the weekdays and how many on weekends)?
2) What is the typical work schedule during the internship (3d/4th) years?
3) What is the typical work schedule during the residency years for family practice?

I have been working at this goal for 7 years. Now it is finally here. I need to know what I will be asking of my family. Needless to say...I want to be a doctor so bad it hurts. However, I also have a 4 year old, a 1 year old, and a supportive husband who has his own career.

I appreciate any advice you can provide.

Looking eagerly forward to words of wisdom!martha

I cant really give you much advice, as Im not in med school yet, but Id imagine the first two years are much like the hard sciences, going full-time as undergrad but with more frequent tests. I might have the wrong idea though.

What I want to ask is what school will you be going to? I'll be applying next year and some Illinois schools are on my list since I live only and hour or so from Chicago.(not during rush hour!)

The time committment is highly variable. I have 5 kids - had one as a premed, one in my 2nd year of med school, one 2 days before I started my FP residency & 2 in practice in a rural community. The first 2 years of med school involves a lot of time studying - a lot like undergrad BUT the volume of information you have to get through is at least doubled. You usually have some time during the day to study here & there, but there were periods of time when my family didn't see much of me for days at a time. The 3rd year is variable in time committment depending on the rotation - I thought this year was nearly as bad as the 1st year of residency as far as time away from family & you really have no control over your time during this year - expectations are pretty clear. My husband would agree that the 3rd year of med school was the worst followed closely by the intern year of residency. The 4th year was nice - you can pick some of the rotations & overall time committment was less. Plus I remember having more vacation that year. 1st year of residency, again, lots of time away & little control. Every 3rd or 4th night overnight in the hospital was my experience & the next day usually too tired to enjoy much. 2nd & 3rd year of residency - not too bad - once a week call & 1-2 weekends per month depending on the rotation. These are just my experiences -my med school & residency were average, I would think in terms of committment. My biggest struggle was my concern that others might see me as less committed to medicine & "the team" because I had children. Luckily, my husband had flexibility & was able to pick up sick kids, & generally be present for them when I was unable. You REALLY have to have a supportive spouse or support person in order to pull this off. It will be the hardest thing you will ever do. The time went quickly however. Looking back I don't know how I did it - but here I am & most days I feel it was worth it. GOOD LUCK -you can do it!

Thanks for the amazing story kluMD. I am in awe of how you completed a medical degree and had 5 children. Your input has really helped me to understand the differences in time commitment among the various years.

wow!!!! kluMD amazing!!!I would love to do exactly the same, but I am so close to my daughters right now, I feel like I would be missing out, I would be letting them down. How did you feel? How did you get thru it emotionally? Can I really leave my kids, should I just look into something else... this I ask everyday until I get accepted, and then I guess I'll really have to decide.

I want to be an MD sooooo bad, but I love my family sooooo much...

PS I would love to have 5 kids, I love children :goodvibes: