😀 Obviously you have a decision to make. Going to medical school WILL take up almost all your time, and residency even more. However, while you are not the traditional student, you are still young and have time on your side. It will be much easier for you to go to medical school now and have babies later, than the other way around. You don't want to go through life wondering what if, so my advice to you is: figure out what your priorities are. Do you want kids now and are content with your career, or can the kids wait a lil longer in order to ensure yourself the best chance at success. It sounds like your fiance will not have time to care of babies and what would that leave you to do? Are you going to have kids so someone else can take care of them while you pursue a career in medicine? Be smart! You don't have kids yet, make a decision for now on one or the other. Don't make things harder for yourself than they have to be. If kids are more important to you than medicine, then dedicate your time to being a good mommy now. If medicine is in your heart, do that first, gain some life experience and be a good mommy later! As far as the radiology residency, i believe it is no longer than four years, but i could be wrong; it is my understanding that no matter what residency you decide on, it will be a challenging, exhausting, rewarding experience.
Good Luck!

Thank you for the good advice. In response however, I am passionate about medicine and that is my problem. I have no desire for children now but I am trying to anticipate the future. I am interested in knowing how others have done it, how they feel the best way to plan is? I am thinking that if both my now fiance and I are at work when we have children later, will most hospitals provide daycare for those working there? Is it impossible to have children during my time in residency? I read in a previous post that a female professor suggested to her group at a medical retreat that the best time to have kids is before medical school. Can that be true?? Can anyone tell me how they did it?
Thanks again!

I was the one that posted that a professor said the best time to have kids was before medical school. Personally, I can only think of a few women who had kids before or during medical school. I know a several women who had children during residency.

For those that had their kids before medical school - I think the kids were a little older when they started med school - I think it would be a huge challenge to have a child during med school or during the first year of residency. Of the people I can think of that had a baby during med school - one had the baby during second year of med school, and then I think extended school an extra year, basically taking some time off before starting 3rd year rotations. The other person had her babies during 4th year, and also postponed starting residency for a year.

I don't remember any women having babies the first year of residency, but after that, different people had different approaches. Some took off around 6 weeks when they had the baby, and then went right back to work after that. I'm guessing the husbands had more flexible schedules to help out. While the hospital didn't provide daycare, there was a daycare program right by the hospital. Good daycare can be expensive. One resident actually extended her residency an extra year, basically working every other month for the last two years of residency.

As for Radiology - from what I remember, it is now a 5 year program for everyone (there were a few 4 year programs left, but no more). You have to do a first year internship in either primary care or a transitional year (rotate through various fields, similar to the 3rd year of med school, but as an intern). You then do 4 years of the radiology residency.

Radiology has a reputation for being a very lifestyle friendly specialty. I have to wonder if it is a little less so now with all of the interventional radiology that is going on - procedures that may need to be done on an emergency basis.