Interest in Medical Field but a few questions

[BioReverie]

I'm still a senior in highschool, so I'm just trying to check out possible career choices, and I've narrowed it down to something in the medical field or something regarding computer science. I'm leaning more towards the medical field because of the ability to help others, the challenging aspects and the job stability, but there are a few things that are making me concerned.

1) I've been searching on a lot of forums for things regarding Physicians, and MANY of the people keep saying that they are worried about the medical field because of future changes in health care. I'm pretty much curious as to why so many people are fearing the changes in health care, I've did a bit of searching about it but couldn't find anything specific.

2) My parents have a combined gross income of <$120,000, so I'd most likely be getting a bunch of loans. I hear many people graduate med school with debt amounting to greater than $100,000. Knowing that I would amass such a debt, is it recommended to go to med school (even though I'm genuinely interested in medicine, I'm just worried about debt preventing me from having the funds to buy a house, start a family, etc).

3) Residency. I know that's way off, but I still hear a lot about that too. Particularly, this matching service. I'm wondering, do you apply for residency in fields of interest? Meaning, if one wanted to be an anesthesiologist, you would apply for residency in that field? What would happen if you did, and you do not get accepted to any of those? Does that mean you would have no chance in becoming an anesthesiologist? Could you try again at a later point?

Thanks!

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[docB]

1) I've been searching on a lot of forums for things regarding Physicians, and MANY of the people keep saying that they are worried about the medical field because of future changes in health care. I'm pretty much curious as to why so many people are fearing the changes in health care, I've did a bit of searching about it but couldn't find anything specific.

This is a very complicated issue. The short version is that the vast majority of doctors are paid by billing medical insurance companies and government programs that provide medical coverage like Medicare. The amount we get paid depends on the laws and regulations governing these companies and programs. There is a great deal of political activity happening that will change these laws and regulations and therefore how much we are paid. Many of of are worried that these changes will lead to us being paid a lot less.

2) My parents have a combined gross income of <$120,000, so I'd most likely be getting a bunch of loans. I hear many people graduate med school with debt amounting to greater than $100,000. Knowing that I would amass such a debt, is it recommended to go to med school (even though I'm genuinely interested in medicine, I'm just worried about debt preventing me from having the funds to buy a house, start a family, etc).

Medical education debt is a very big issue. Most med students come out with >$250,000 in debt. While this is a cause for concern most people are eventually able to pay these debts off because most physicians make relatively high incomes. It's not easy but it is doable. The general consensus is that it's good to be conscious of the debt issue but you shouldn't let it alone dissuade you from a career in medicine. And it certainly shouldn't stop you from considering it at this point.

3) Residency. I know that's way off, but I still hear a lot about that too. Particularly, this matching service. I'm wondering, do you apply for residency in fields of interest? Meaning, if one wanted to be an anesthesiologist, you would apply for residency in that field? What would happen if you did, and you do not get accepted to any of those? Does that mean you would have no chance in becoming an anesthesiologist? Could you try again at a later point?

Yes, you apply for residency in a field of your choosing. If you don't get accepted (ie. don't "match") then there are options but that whole system is insanely complicated. For now you should know that every field has its own degree of competitiveness and the majority of people who go though the process come out satisfied with their programs.

 

[deleted202457]

I'm still a senior in highschool, so I'm just trying to check out possible career choices, and I've narrowed it down to something in the medical field or something regarding computer science. I'm leaning more towards the medical field because of the ability to help others, the challenging aspects and the job stability, but there are a few things that are making me concerned.

1) I've been searching on a lot of forums for things regarding Physicians, and MANY of the people keep saying that they are worried about the medical field because of future changes in health care. I'm pretty much curious as to why so many people are fearing the changes in health care, I've did a bit of searching about it but couldn't find anything specific.

2) My parents have a combined gross income of <$120,000, so I'd most likely be getting a bunch of loans. I hear many people graduate med school with debt amounting to greater than $100,000. Knowing that I would amass such a debt, is it recommended to go to med school (even though I'm genuinely interested in medicine, I'm just worried about debt preventing me from having the funds to buy a house, start a family, etc).

3) Residency. I know that's way off, but I still hear a lot about that too. Particularly, this matching service. I'm wondering, do you apply for residency in fields of interest? Meaning, if one wanted to be an anesthesiologist, you would apply for residency in that field? What would happen if you did, and you do not get accepted to any of those? Does that mean you would have no chance in becoming an anesthesiologist? Could you try again at a later point?

Thanks!

1. It's way too early for you to even start worrying about the health care bill. It keeps getting changed and by the time it is finalized some of the bad stuff for drs will be out (I hope), and if not it won't be the end of the world. Also, drs make good money and still will even if the salary is cut. Just remember, it is just about the only job with security and chances of being replaced by a machine or something is very slim anytime in the near future. So once again, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE BILL, especially if you ain't even in medical school yet. Just have fun in high school.

2. Yes most ppl take out loans, and will have closer to $200k debt (just for med school, not counting undergrad), but so what? You can easily pay that back once you start practicing. Debt should be the last of your worries. No you may not have the money to jump straight out of residency or a fellowship and have 3 kids and a 5 bedroom house, but you will. You just may have to be smart with money for a few years before you can. But once again, don't worry about this until closer to time to apply for med school. Unless you're a freaking genius, you will probably be paying for medical school with loans. Scholarships are few and far between.

3. Really don't worry about this. You have a LONG time before you get to this point. Heck you'll probably even change your mind on what you want to be a few times. You apply to a residency position and if your scores are good enough you can get accepted to a program, but you usually will pick a few programs to apply to just in case you don't get in. And if you don't get in to the top choice you can wait a year and try again, but that would be idiodic b/c it was probably due to your test scores. Once again, don't worry about this.

You should be worrying about getting into a good college somewhere, and then once you're there you still have to try and get into medical school, which may not even happen, or you may decide you want nothing to do with medicine. So maybe shadow a dr and see if you like it. But until college, just try and have fun while you can.

 

[Vicviper]

Also, since you're still doing some searching into your future profession, and you're interested in learning more about the fields, you should definitely check out the associated health professions, such a dentistry, pharm, etc - you never know what you might really enjoy, so I'd highly suggest shadowing different professions and specialists to not only see what you think that you'd enjoy doing, but to learn what you think you could see yourself doing for the rest of your life.

As per your questions, even though my father, an MD, was glad that I chose dental for my profession because of all the headaches and red tape physicians deal with these days, and are likely to in the future - one way or another, being a physician (or a health care professional of any type) is still going to be a great and rewarding profession, no matter what anyone in Washington does.

And yes, loans are pretty nuts, I'll be about 320k in debt by the time I'm done, but one way or another, dentists and other doctors really don't go broke or have to default on their loans particularly often, and you'll always be able to find a job somewhere, but possibly just not in the exact place you want to be.

For residencies, most of the time it works out one way or another, but it's very important that you don't go into a profession with the thought that, "I'll only be happy if I get to do this one specialty." Something that comes up occasionally in pre-dents or new dental students is that they say "Oh, I don't want to be a dentist, I only want to be an Orthodontist / Oral Surgeon - I really don't want to be a general dentist." Like in dental, certain med specialties are competitive, and if you get the grades and test scores to make you competitive, great - if not, well, you're still a doctor of some type, and there's still things you can do. But again, it's very important to keep your mind open - especially since you've got so much time left to go. Good luck!