Bird,
Would you still pick medicine again as a career? Would you recommend it to your kids? Have you thought about re-training in a different field?
I could give the knee jerk answer and easily say, "No", but it's not that simple. I don't regret any decisions I've made (career wise). You make the best decision at the time with the information you have and move on. Asking, "Would you do it over?" isn't a valid question because you don't get to do it over. If you keep kicking yourself with that thought (in high pitched whiny voice), "I should have done this, I should've done that..." because you think
"the other" is so perfect, what would you do if you tried
"the other" and it turned out as imperfect as that which you previously thought would be great, too?
I don't live my life that way. Do your best, go as far as you can, change course if needed, take the good with the bad and keep moving. Don't second guess yourself and don't let other "second-guessers" make you do the same.
Would I recommend it to my kids, or what you are really asking is: would I recommend it to you?
I have as many answers to that question, as there are people asking. I always promised I'd tell my kids
not to go into Medicine (my kids are too young to be choosing careers right now, other than "unicorn trainer" or "barbie princess", two fields which I'm very bullish on right now.) Though I've told myself I'd discourage them, when they look up and say, "I want to do what you do, Daddy!" I find myself pround and wanting them to follow in my footsteps, thinking they'd be great at it some day. Will I push them towards it or dissuade them? No. Will I tell them the pro's and con's without candy coating it? Yes.
So what should they do, what should
you do....?
Find what will make them (you) happy. What that is, only they (and you) can truly know. What
I think, means nothing.
There are great things about being a doctor. There are tremendous, stresses, demands and downsides. Some people would love to be a movie star; others would hate the attention and scrutiny of fame. You have to find what's best for you.
That being said, I wouldn't recommend borrowing $250,000 then choosing the lowest paid specialty in medicine. I wouldn't recommend some specialties with brutal lifestyles. But again, what I think matters little. Some people like having to work all day, go home, get woken up a 2 am to come in a do the same surgery they've done 1,000 times, then have to work all day again with hardly any sleep, over and over again, for their whole life. Good. We need people to do that. Some specialties are wiser choices than others. That being said, are they all bad? No.
I do know that any "good" job, 6-figure job or desireable job will have hassles, headaches and challenges. There's no easy (legal) money.
Have I thought about retraining in a different field other than EM? Yes, and in fact I did. A different field other than Medicine? Thought about it. Haven't done it. Yet. (Probably won't, but wouldn't rule it out.)
I agree with RF. I have always said that EM is a good place to be but medicine is not a field I'd choose again.
For EM the thing that is killing the specialty is the now slavish adherence to self contradictory metrics. Every patient must be seen immediately, dispoed quickly, denied services and made blissfully happy. All while dealing with all the time sensitive issues that roll into the ER (STEMI=90 min, CVA=tPA in <60min from door, meningitis, testicular torsion, pneumonia, etc.).
Medicine as a field is getting buried in paperwork and insurance issues which increase overhead while reimbursement drops. It's a fatal cycle.
Agree, EPs are put in the most impossible situations, with the most unreasonable expectations and the least appreciation of any specialty. It's unacceptable, wrong and unsafe. If demands like these were place on commercial airline pilots, there would be a congressional investigation and hearings.
Those of you who say you'd not choose medicine again: what would you choose instead?
Here's the rub.
It's awesome to be the Wall Streeter... until the market crashes.
I know doctors who quit medicine to become lawyers.
I know lawyers who quit medicine to become doctors; businessmen who quit medicine to find a more meaningful career; doctors who quit medicine to make more money as businessmen.
It's easy to say "What I'm doing is terrible."
It's not that simple.
There's pro's, there's con's. Know them. Then pick what' right for
you.
Find
your path.