Session 2

In this episode, Ryan and Rich dive into the forums over at OldPreMeds.org where they pull a question and deliver the answers right on to you.

OldPreMeds Question of the Week:

What age is too old for medical school?

Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich:

Age is not a factor. Here are some facts and figures:

• About a thousand a year over the age of 30 matriculate every year into an allopath medical school which is about 5% of the total number of students who start the year.
• From that number, about 200 are of the age of 35.
• About 350 people a year over the age of 31 start osteopathic school
• 10-12 people a year over the age of 50 start medical school

Success Story:

One of our more recent success stories is Laisha Heedman, a nurse/midwife who recently graduated from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine at the age of 57. She has gone onto residency and family practice medicine.

Is there any bias that goes on with age?

The percentage of applicants is nearly the same as the percentage that you get accepted regardless of age range.

Applicants who are above 40 years of age seem to be less represented but there is no bias going on. Factors that may be affecting the demographics are difficulty in preparing, getting the grades, and doing things that need to get done when you are working full time and you have a family.

Many people who have been successful in other medical careers such as nurse/midwife, nurse practitioner, nurse, PhD researchers have also been successful at getting  into medical school at 40 and above.

MD vs DO?

The applicant base for MD schools is about 50,000 while for DO schools, it's under 20,000 - large difference.

For an applicant per seat basis, it is therefore more competitive to get into an osteopathic school than it is to get into an allopathic school.

Do older students have less years of good working time?

Different variables to consider:

• Burnout as one of the common issues of physicians
• Prior working experience in healthcare as a nurse/midwife or other medical-related

What the admissions committee will actually be looking for:

• Will this person be a good physician that you want to be treated by?

Links and Other Resources

OldPreMeds.org

Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are.

Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review.

Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned!

Email Dr. Ryan Gray at [email protected] or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.