Veteran neonatal nurse practitioner begins medical school at 69 and prepares for family-medicine residency at 72
Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft, a 69-year-old, is about to begin medical school after a career spanning more than four decades as a neonatal nurse practitioner. She aims to complete her training and start a family-medicine residency at age 72 in Michigan.
Her ambition to become a physician dates back to childhood, but she first earned a nursing degree and spent many years in the NICU. She took pre-medical courses in the evenings and later joined a newly created neonatal NP program in Southern California, which launched her clinical career.
After completing the NP program, she returned to Michigan in 1981 and continued working in neonatal care. Now, nearing 73, she is preparing to transition from nursing to a physician role, illustrating that long-term goals can be pursued at any age.
This writeup was produced by pharmadog from original reporting by STAT.
Original headline: “Opinion: I started medical school at 69 and will begin residency at 72. Here’s what I learned”
read at STAT ↗
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