Hi, I'm just starting to explore and learn more about the options with Family Medicine and am surpised with the variety of settings one can practice in :) A question I have, though, is in order to get the most out of your career as a Family Doc (good group, good salary, good amount of time for family), do you have to kind of choose a spot, plant yourself there, and set up camp for the next 10+ years? (Maybe that's an exaggeration, but you can't really move around in this specialty, or can you?) This is a preconception I had, but I'm finding myself to be wrong (in a positive way) about a lot of ideas I previously had. I guess the term "good" is relative, but according to averages, perhaps what could be considered "decent"? Thanks so much!

I'll try to answer you this way: family practice is essentially divided into three major pillars: rural practice, urban practice, and suburban practice. If your education gives you a solid foundation in all three environments, you should be able to move with relative ease from one kind of practice to the other. It's impossible for one to know the future, especially many years down the road, but I have seen with friends how they have changed from one type of practice to another and it has worked well for them. Two examples: One friend really didn't "fit" well with continuity care. He is now director of a university clinic doing emergency medicine three days a week, 12-hour shifts with a four-day weekend. He is quite content. Another friend had a private practice for nine years in a rural area, and had to move to another state for family reasons, and is now working in a suburban setting. That's the beauty of the specialty. You can tailor it to your needs even many years past training.

Hope this is of some help to you,

Nu

Thanks for your reply Nu! :)

You're most welcome. Hope it helps somewhat.