When is it too late for a CS graduate to go for a career in medicine?

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. You are not too old to start a medical career. But I would not wait too long.

Well, I can't tell about MBBS related stuff. But I definitely know that if you love computer science and want to save lives by contributing to the medical world, you can surely do it. Few professors from your Department of Computer Science and Automation, IISc are running a company that works on Clinical Genomics. They find variations in DNA sequencing to diagnose/identify patients for various diseases very early so that it can be prevented and in some case even find treatments for it. Human DNA consists of huge data and that throws loads of difficult problems and challenges. You can check their website:  http://www.strandls.com . One of the founders Ramesh Hariharan also takes Advance course in Algorithms in your department and should be easily accessible at least to you.  I am not discouraging you from becoming a doctor, but just suggesting an alternative where you can utilize lots of stuff you already know to do something you like to do. It is always good to know people who can go to any extent to do what they like to do. All the Best !

dude! what is wrong with you IISc people....sorry , no offence, but, my brother , he's doing ME(CS) from IISc, and he too some how is more interested in medical field.  Anyhow, back to your problem, see, In India, its too much hotch-potch, when medical field is concern.BUt, let me answer your queries 1st. Q.What is the 'deadline' before which I should enroll myself in a formal course in medicine?  A.  It all depends upon, whether , you are going for All India PMT, state exam, or for centralised institutes like AIIMS, or JIPMER etc. Every one has different date, you have to check online for everyone, but in general , these exams starts from may. This is just like AIEEE. Q.Will I have to do a bachelors (MBBS) in medicine, or is a direct masters (MD) admission possible?  A. yes, you  have to do MBBS, its compulsory. plus its the basic foundation. After MBBS, you'll become general physician, after that, you need to go for MD/MS exams for specialisation. Q.How long will it take for me to complete a formal education in this field? A. In India, its 5.1/2 yrs long. including compulsory internship. but, ministry of health is planning to add 2 more years of internship. internship is paid, ofcourse, but, stipend differs from college to college. Q.How much money does it involve? A. This thing again differs from college to college. In govt colleges, it varies from 5000/yr in AIIMS to 20,000/yr in state colleges(approx) plus other charges. in private college, it varies from 2-5lac/yr. Q.The last one: Is it advisable to go for a formal education, or should I instead hunt for ways to contribute to the medical field through computer science (I won't be to happy with this option, though)? A. Medical Field is not all , what they show in movies, or Tv series. specially in India. plus, you need to clear your biology exam for HSC(12th). you must be around 27-28 now. so, by time u have cleared your MBBS you'll be 27+6= 33(given, you manage to clear all your exams in one go). Even, then, you cann't get govt job(age limit for govt. job is 30). after that, you cant practice in private, just as simple grad, because money is not good. If you plan to go for PG , which is 3 yrs more, so, you'll be able to be a decent doctor , by 36.   So, its not advisable. Plus we really need some cool and inexpensive gadgets, so that we can make our healthcare system better. for which, i think , you might help. These days medical /healthcare system is totally depend on engineering marvels. If still any query, feel free to ask.

My advice esp seeing your interest in saving  lives vs enjoy practicing medicine, there are other ways. I would recommend you pursue your career with a sideline into medicine. You don't need to know medicine for it just the basics. Find a doctor friend and ask him an area that could use improvement. For instance there was a guy in India who used his CS skills to solve a problem thats big in the underdeveloped world. Patients usually had a give a blood sample once and follow-up a second time for their anemia. And with most women presenting for the first time nearing labor, a lot with anemia were undiagnosed. Consequently there was very little 'cushion' for blood loss during labor and many died in the process. I forgot his name but this brilliant 26yr old guy used the existing Oxygen saturation probe and modified it to give a reasonably accurate reading of anemia in a matter of seconds. Now think of the potential. With computers and mobile phones everywhere imagine if someone could come up with a clever way to measure blood glucose level. A personal problem that im trying to solve is a simple probe that will connect to any mobile phone via the micro usb port and just give a clean output of the cardiac rhythm. Nothing sophisticated but a plain rhythm. Like I get an arrhythmia every now and then. It would help immensely if I could find out when I'm having it so I can avoid driving etc. Although a vast majority get arrhythmia that as asymptomatic not all are benign. Some turn dangerous. Perhaps just a simple electrical conductive probe. That's my 2c on it. Ps. Im a doctor, esp interested in problem solving with tech.

There are lots of opinions regarding this issue mainly negative . Most people are skeptical about having an accomplished career and then suddenly leaving all that to pursue a new career from the grassroots particularly in the Indian society. I know it because I faced it big time. You see I'm a MBBS student in a government medical college . But before my medical career start, I was a B.Tech IT graduate from one of the NITs . I even got job placement in two IT companies. When I was in class 12 and preparing for high secondary exams, I wanted to be a doctor. So as usual, I was preparing for AIPMT , AIIMS exams but my parents told me to apply for AIEEE and IITJEE too with the medical exams. Unfortunately, I was unable to crack the medical exams, but I cracked the AIEEE exam and got admitted to prestigious NIT. After consulting with my parents and friends, I decided not to waste my NIT seat and took admission there. But during my NIT and post NIT days , I couldn't leave my passion for medical science. So I left my job and with a single aim to get in a government medical college, I started preparing for the entrance tests . With a year preparation, I successfully cracked the AIPMT exam. By the way, I was 27 of age by then. So , in all, perhaps staying in your line would be a good idea, but if you are really passionate about it and willing to work hard for quite a long time, in a totally personal opinion of mine, go for it.

Biomedical engineering definitely needs CS knowledge ..! I don't think its a wise idea to go back to study medical degree.. There are better ways of utilizing same money and time (whihc goes into pursuing MBBS/MD so on in India/US) to save lives.. Please find research groups and startups in Biomedical Engg field(or start one as there are 1 or 2 in  India despite of its huge market). India has potential market to biomedical devices.  technology is very  crucial here.