Is graduate entry medicine (and becoming a doctor) an unrealistic goal?

I am a 1st year GEM student with 2 children.

It is very doable although it is without a doubt a tricky balancing act. Pre-clinical GEM phase is very full on as it's condensed down to 18 months. The pace of learning is fast and you absolutely can't allow yourself to get behind.

I commute an hour+ each way to uni because we didn't want to move. Clinical phase might be a bit trickier as we'll be moving about on placements. So you are right to give this some serious consideration before taking the plunge!

Hope it all works out.

1. You're not too old. I'm on the grad course at Southampton, final year, aged 28. I am not the oldest, by some distance.
2. Re: funding, you will get almost full funding on a graduate course, depending on your wife's income, so that shouldn't be too difficult. You can also work part-time during pre-clinical and possibly also clinical years, as well as during holidays.
3. You will walk into a grad course with work experience like yours as long as you smash whichever aptitude test you go for.

Southampton is where I’ll be aiming for, have you any advice or insight for getting on to the course?

As long as you fulfil the basic entry requirements (2.1 in any degree, C in A level chemistry) it’s all about getting a good ukcat score, as that’s what they use to decide on who gets interviewed. At interview it’s pretty standard medicine stuff, they’ll love your work experience but I would also recommend doing some kind of shadowing in a hospital so you can talk about the role of the doctor as opposed to the paramedic. Can you make friends with someone in an ED and shadow them? Not sure where you work but I’ve found that the consultants in Bournemouth, Dorchester and Basingstoke were very friendly and I’m sure would be willing to help. You could do a few weekend shifts and that would be helpful.

If one of your main concerns is relocation, keep in mind that throughout your training as a doctor, you will be expected to move sometimes vast distances on a regular basis, essentially up until you're a consultant. Although the time of relocation is relatively predictable, you often won't know where until a few weeks notice.

Yeah this is something I need to find out more about. It was my understanding that once you secure a place with a Deanery you then will typically stay with them and relocate within their district, unless you’re really set on a specific speciality that will take you elsewhere?