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I enjoy my current career but I feel unfulfilled by what I can offer patients. I believe very strongly that I could be a good doctor and I have a particular interest in paediatrics. I'm 36 with a young family and my concerns are that if I am fortunate enough to gain entry on to a graduate medicine course in 2008, will my career prospects be compromised by my late start?

Authors: Luci Etheridge 

Publication date:  04 Aug 2007

You don't say what you are currently doing, although you obviously work in the health sector in some way as you look after patients. Although I don't want to sound negative, I feel a medical degree now would be a very tough path to take. A medical degree is a demanding programme of study, particularly if you need to work part time to pay for a young family. However, I do know people who have managed it. You do need to be aware that the whole structure of medical training is undergoing massive change. There will be a much greater requirement for junior doctors to choose between location and career choice. Basically, you can have the career path you want if you are prepared to move around the country. If you want to stay in one place you may have to compromise on specialty. There are enormous problems at the moment with projected numbers for training, and hundreds of doctors are facing unemployment. Although these problems may have been ironed out by the time you qualify, the future is uncertain. Also, have you checked whether, at 36, you will be accepted on to a medical course? Many places have age limits. By the time you have done the degree followed by two years of foundation training, you will be 42-43 at the start of a specialty training programme. With increasing competition for places, your age may put you at a disadvantage. I would advise seeking some good, impartial careers advice face to face. Speak to someone senior in the career you are currently in. Are there options within that career you haven't explored? If you can, speak to a paediatric consultant at a local hospital, preferably the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health representative. They should have a good knowledge of the current state of training.

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Luci Etheridge specialist registrar Great Ormond Street Hospital, London