Planning PA School Around Children/Pregnancies

[rpd27]

Hi everyone,

I am in desperate need of advice regarding how to plan out the next 6 years. In an ideal world, I would attend PA school and get pregnant during the clinical year, take the PANCE, have my first kid, and start looking for my first job when he/she is a couple months old. However, that would put me at having him/her in about 4 years (I would be applying 10 months from now for a June 2019-June 2021 academic cycle), and my fiancé is not willing to wait that long (he is much older than I am), especially because we would like to have 3 kids.

The other options include having one or two kids before PA school. I've done the math out (as much as can be estimated about things like this), and going to PA school after the first is born would mean he/she would be about 12 months old when I started. Having two kids before starting the program would mean that they would be about 2 years old and 6-9 months old when I started.

These are the only options I feel I have before my prerequisites pass the 10-year expiration point. 

Any advice on what path you would recommend taking would be GREATLY appreciated.

[Jdabrowski]

It's doable to have kids and be in PA school, but every person I have spoken with will say it is HARD. Most spend time with the kids THEN study when the kids are sleeping i.e. they don't sleep themselves. If you are up to the challenge of that for 2-2.5 years then go for it and get pregnant now, but it could change your life so you may not go. You also need to make sure you have one heck of a support system. Personally I say hold off the tell the fiancé to suck it up that this is YOUR education and it is HIGHLY important you do well and it will be extremely tough without kids (to each their own).

For those with small children and going through PA schools, I am convinced you are witches ;) and kudos I could never handle that without an AMAZING support system.

Sorry if this sounded harsh.

[rev ronin]

If your fiancé is not willing to wait to have kids, is he willing to help raise them while you're in PA school?  To be blunt, parenthood and PA school are both very, very time-consuming and anything less than 100% support from your husband-to-be is unlikely to result in success.  He will of course say he is, but you have to be the judge of his character and commitment before you commit yourself to any particular course.