The Many Paths to Medicine

Nontraditional Medical Students

Take Different Routes to Medical School

When most people think about what it takes to become a doctor, they probably imagine more than 20 years of school, challenging classes, labs, endless studying, rounds, exams and residency training before being ready to actually be a practicing physician.

For some medical students, that path is not as clear, and they travel a different journey before entering medical school.  Although medical school can be more challenging for people who have been away from the academic scene for a time, these non-traditional students can also excel in areas of their medical education due to different life experiences and maturity. 

“In the ’70s and early ’80s, if you were any older than 27, for most, you were too old to start medical school,” said Judy DeMers, associate dean for student affairs and admissions at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences.  “But that all started to change in the late ’80s, early ’90s.” 

DeMers credits the women’s movement of the time

as a major factor for the increase of non-traditional

medical students.

“Many women were looking for the career they weren’t able to pursue 10 or 15 years before,” she explained.  “This was especially true of those who were already in the medical field, such as nurses, who now wanted to go back to medical school so they could gain greater autonomy in patient care.” 

However, it isn’t just women or people from the healthcare field who choose to attend medical school later in life.  Medical students who attend the UND medical school come from a wide array of backgrounds.  This variety of ages, undergraduate degrees, family situations and life experiences enriches the education students receive. 

Here we hear from an engineer, a teacher, a pastor and a lobbyist who were, or are non-traditional UND medical students and learn just what it was about becoming a doctor that caused them to uproot their jobs, families and lives to make a major career change to the field of medicine.

An Engineer

When fourth-year medical student Eric Deal entered the University of North Dakota as a freshman, he started on the pre-med route.  However, a summer job working in construction introduced him to engineering and he changed directions.  Later he would graduate from UND with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in structural engineering.

Following graduation, employment sent him to the mountains of Colorado to build a pipeline that moves the water from melting snow down the mountains to be used by the city of Boulder. 

“I really enjoyed what I was doing,” said Deal, a native of Wahpeton, ND.  “But it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

And so, only three years after leaving UND, Deal returned as a freshman medical student.

“I knew that I wanted to do it,” he said.  “I am really glad that I went back to medical school.  If I hadn’t, I would have always been an engineer wishing I was a doctor.” 

A Teacher

Growing up with a dad who is a pharmacist in Mankato, MN, Karin Lokensgard Pierce, M.D. ’06, remembers showing an interest in medicine early in her life. 

“I remember seventh grade life science class,” she said.  “We studied the parts of a cell and I thought it was so cool.” 

But, her dream would wait for a while.  At St. Olaf College, competing on the alpine ski team left little time to take the intensive courses needed to apply to medical school.  Still, she graduated with degrees in religion and mathematics.  After graduation, she spent a year as a ski instructor until a teaching position brought her to Grand Forks.  She taught mathematics at Red River High School for three years, taking the classes she needed for medical school in her spare time.

She was admitted to medical school at UND in 1996, but motherhood delayed the plan further as Lokensgard Pierce chose the career of stay-at-home mom for the next six years.

“Our first baby was three months old when I was scheduled to begin medical school for the first time,” she remembers.  “At that point, my head and my heart were consumed with nurturing our new son, and I couldn’t imagine handing him over to a daycare to raise.  I withdrew from medical school and tried to put the whole idea out of my mind.”

But six years and another child later, Lokensgard Pierce joined the Class of 2006 and hit the ground running.  She is now in her first year of residency training at the Grand Forks Family Medicine Residency Program. 

A Lobbyist

After graduating from the University of Montana with majors in political science and German, Karin Willis, M.D. ’05, began a ten-year career working in the public policy arena in Washington, D.C. 

The Bismarck, ND, native moved to D.C. fresh out of college because she knew she had to be part of politics. 

For five years she worked as a staffer on Capitol Hill for the likes of John Kerry on his POW/MIA affairs committee and Al Gore’s vice presidential transition team. 

“I loved it because I love politics,” she said.  “You don’t get paid a lot and you work long hours.  I lived and breathed and loved it.  But, I got a little burnt out.” 

Looking for a little more money and a lot more free time, Willis left the Hill and spent six years in the Beltway working on health policy.  She initially provided government relations and marketing services to the Army Medical Command and then became a consultant for health care firms that specialize in military health care. 

Her jobs kept her in the medical realm, allowing her to work with many doctors and nurses.  She was inspired by what they did.

“I got into politics because I wanted to change the world,” said Willis, who is in her second year of residency training at the UND medical school’s family medicine residency program in Bismarck.  “But I wasn’t and I wanted something more fulfilling.”

And so, at the age of 28, when the typical medical students are already halfway through their residency training, Willis began taking the courses she would need to get into medical school and volunteering at area medical centers to be sure it was what she wanted. 

When she told friends and family of her plans to move to Grand Forks and begin medical school, she received mixed reactions. 

“My boss at the time was impressed and completely supportive,” she said, acknowledging that it would be unusual to finish her residency training at the age of 40.  “I was afraid of what my parents would say, but my dad was thrilled with the idea and that really propelled me.”

“The only ones that told me I was crazy were the doctors,” she laughed.

A Pastor

Although the connection between being a pastor and a doctor may not seem obvious, David Carlson, M.D. ’91 (Psychiatry Residency Program ’95), found his interest in medicine intersecting with his ministry more often than not.

“I had acquired an interest in medicine long before seminary.  Visiting parishioners in the hospital kept it front-to-mind,” said Carlson.  “Often they were afraid to ask their doctors questions and many times the answers were not clear.  I’d end up being the go-between at times.”

Carlson, a Bismarck, ND, native, graduated from Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN, in 1982 and was ordained in the American Lutheran Church (now Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) that same year.  He served parishioners in eastern North Dakota for five years, helping many of them through tough times.

“I had training to help them only so far in certain areas,” he said, “then I had to refer them to a mental health professional.” 

He began thinking about going back to medical school and even began taking the required classes in organic chemistry and biochemistry “on the side.”  It was when tragedy hit that he reached the turning point in his life. 

“When my daughter had cardiomyopathy [a disease or disorder of the heart muscle] when she was just a baby, I spent even more time in the hospital, observing the health care system,” said Carlson.  “Her death propelled me into looking seriously at medical school.”

Not surprisingly, Carlson chose psychiatry for his discipline.  Currently he practices at Dakota Clinic in Fargo, Solutions Behavioral Healthcare in Moorhead, and also serves as director of medical student education in psychiatry for the Department of Clinical Neuroscience and the psychiatry clerkship director for the UND medical school.  He hasn’t deserted his past, however, as Dr. Carlson is still also Reverend Carlson. 

“I never lost my interest in theology,” he said.  He still holds a position with the synod office, helping new pastors transition into the ministry as well as helping pastors address issues of conflict and pastoral care within their congregational or chaplaincy settings.

He feels his pastoral background serves him well in his practice.

“I think I pay attention more closely to the viewpoint and backgrounds of patients,” he said.  “People all have their own stories in life, which are important to people’s current thinking, choices and needs.”

Challenges and Benefits

Getting into medical school is just the first step for would-be doctors.  Then you have to get through

medical school. 

“Some of our older students have a hard time adjusting to being students again,” said Richard Vari, Ph.D., associate dean for medical education for the UND medical school.  “Medical school is hard, especially the first year.   But once they get through that, they know if this is what they want to do.”

Willis agrees.

“I had my doubts when I first moved back to Grand Forks,” she said.  “But after a year I knew this was what I wanted to do.” 

Many older students also have families, which can be difficult to juggle while in medical school. 

“Suddenly I was a student again,” remembers Deal. “I no longer had any income or benefits and I had no free time to spend with my family.” 

But more often than not, non-traditional medical students have maturity and experience to handle difficulties and give their all to becoming doctors. 

“Older students also bring a lot into the small group work we have in our curriculum,” said Vari.  “All those experiences are valued and are brought into their group to enrich the learning experience.”

In the medical school’s patient-centered learning curriculum,

students teach each other through

small group learning. 

“My teaching experience really came in handy in the first two years,” said Lokensgard Pierce, who received the North Dakota Medical Association Peer Teaching Award as a sophomore medical student. 

“Many serve as role models, mediators and do conflict resolution in the group,” said Vari.  “I like to look to them for leadership roles in the class.” 

Non-traditional students often shine in the clinic setting as well. 

“They are more consistent,” said Vari when asked what makes the older students different from their classmates.  “They treat school like a job.” 

“I think the third and fourth years were a little easier for me to adjust to,” said Lokensgard Pierce.  “I already understood what it meant to get up, get dressed and go to a professional work environment every day.”

“There is definitely a benefit in maturity,” said Deal.  “It really helped to have experience working with people in a professional setting.” 

Although DeMers says that the majority of applications still come from traditional students, there will always be a few who finally get around to making their lifelong dream of becoming a doctor come true. 

-Amanda Scurry

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