The Nontraditional Medical Student

Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD wrote an interesting article in the New England Journal of Medicine about nontraditional medical students. Ten percent of first year medical students are 27 or older and many have had other careers before medicine. While the medical school leaders he interviewed agreed that students who take a circuitous path to medicine are generally more confident, ask more compelling questions and have a broader vision of the world, they also may be more challenging for medical educators. The other issue is the fact that older applicants may not be able to practice for as long as their younger colleagues. In keeping with this theme, women are more likely to work part-time compared with their male colleagues so, while diversity may benefit a medical school student body, how does this impact society as a whole? Click Here to read the article.

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