I am a pharmacist. I want to continue my education. I am considering either an md phd or a pharmd. I am a mother of 4. 8yo 7yo 5yo and a 3yo. I work flexible hours. I prefer to go to medicl school but i don't want to sacrifice my family on the way. Is medical school that rough....

Hi JJ123,

in my opinion medical school is not easy, not because it is intellectually so difficult, yet more a matter of having to invest a lot of time in years and hours per day in it. First there are the basic years, which although this has improved, patient contact is still limited and it is a matter of perseverance managing it, later you cover your time in hospital, which also has improved, yet still takes many hours a day. Then compete for a training post.
Obviously with you pharmaceutical background you would have an major advantage, yet you problably will still have to do the same numbers of years. As everything now a day is a speciality, including GP, you would think of an investment of approximately 10 years or more.

Hi Rick,

I don't mind the length of it; I want to know if through out the years i can designate the hours from 8am-4pm daily. The other programs like phD and PharmD I understood that its possible.

Medicine is demanding in terms of personal study time required in the early years of the degree, and clinical rotation emphasis in the later years of the degree. And depending on which hospital you are placed, you may be required to travel a little (it comes down to the university's structure and hospital links).

Do you have a partner to help you through med school?

you mean a study partner? I figured that i will meet one there.

Hi JJ123,

at medical school my hours were usually 8.15 till 17.00 /17.30 during the first 4 years. Saying that the mornings you did not have to attend, the afternoons were mandatory.
During my hospital years (2-3 years) hours were something like 8.00 - 18.00 hours, regularly you had a 24 hour on call.

While specialising you will have to accept long hours.

As said more recently things have changed and there are better opportunities regarding part time work and also the emphasis is more on learning new skills than on hours.

Even so it is not an easy option

No, I meant a life/relationship partner - boyfriend, fiancee, husband.

My husband is supporting me with whatever decision I make. He genuinely has no problem if I go to medical school, and for the next 4 years he will have to help me through it. My children is another story, I am not sure if they will feel the same way when I will be pre-occupied; and I am scared that this decision will haunt me when they get older and they will have a legitimate case against this decision. You should know that your responses are helping me in ways that you wouldn't imagine to arrive to a decision that will leave me feeling fulfilled and not regretfull; however I don't want to kid myself I am not there yet.

Well then that's a question only you and your children and husband can answer. It makes it much easier with your husband's support. Medicine will make demands on your family time that's for sure.

I've seen women make it work between medicine and family before so it's not impossible. And her family has been a well-functioning one as far as I know.

I wanted to thank all of you for giving me your advice. I decided to go for my pharmD degree. I am applying for next year.

Good luck with it. If I were you, I'd make the application for medicine anyway, and then make the decision whether to accept if there was an offer.

If I didn't receive an offer, well then there'd be no regrets and lingering questions of 'what if..'.

ok i am still debating if medical school is an option. I have more specific questions; as I understand it the first 2 years is classwork ~8-5pm ,the next 2 years is hospital rotation and the hours depend on the hospital; then one takes his boards, once he passes he continues 2 more years in hospital for specialty all through out one has exams, am I even remotely close?

Not necessarily. What you are describing is a very traditional approach to medical education. In new medical schools (and newer thinking old med schools) student contact with patients occurs from the 1st week of study. I think it will be very hard (impossible) for you to study medicine and attend all compulsory elements of the curriculum in the hours you propose (unless, of course, you can arrange childcare). A PhD would (usually) offer you much more flexibility.

Hi Anne,
thanks for your response, yes I have child care help the whole week. So what information do you think that I need to know regarding medical school;i.e which years are the most demanding does it get easier etc....

ok I did a lot of research and it seems that I will be gooing for my PhD instead. Many mdmoms have the same predicaments that I have as a pharmcist mom. So I decided that academia will better suit my needs. I need to take my GRE'S and decide whch area I want to do it in. I have a BA in psychology and a BS in pharmacy. My GPA in both is above 3.5. Anyone knows a field that I could go into that would utilize both of my backgrounds???