Need Direction in my Medical Career

[joeyVictory]

I'll start by first saying I love medicine and I look forward to one day working as an attending.

I'm half way through my third year, great grades, mostly honors on rotations, average step 1 score (228).

I'll leave most the personal details out, but at the end of M1 a person very close to me passed away. It was sudden, unexpected, and they were taken much too young. Over the last couple of years, I've really had a huge shift in thinking. I don't want to work my life away. I love traveling, cooking, doing things in ADDITION to medicine. I love caring for patients, but I also love other things equally.

I don't want to live my life like so many doctors do; putting in massive hours and never getting to truly enjoy life outside of medicine. I know not all are like this, but the vast majority have been in my personal experience.
My question is, what field and/or direction can I take that will allow me loads of free to travel, live life, etc. Maybe it's locums, maybe its something else. I really dont know, that's why I'm asking for some advice here. Ideally I'd like to work 30ish hours a week max and be able to take time off to travel for a month or two at a time., maybe a couple of times a year. I know owning your own practice may allow for this, but I really dont want the headache that comes with business ownership.

Any advice would be amazing. Thank you all.

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[KarmaIsTruth]

Military.

 

[KarmaIsTruth]

Military medicine, that is.

 

[Danglebells]

military medicine*

*after 4 years of medical school, 3-5 years of residency, 1-3 years of fellowship, and 8 years of service

 

[docbsb2015]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't EM be the closest to working the desired ~30 hours per week? The shift work would kind of suck at times, but as far total number of hours worked, wouldn't this be the closest?

I also have a "mentor" that my school set me up with and he's a hospitalist that works 7 on 7 off. He is always traveling to Hawaii, Vegas, etc. in his weeks off. I think he is taking a few weeks off here soon to go to Europe. This may also work for you OP

 

[beachbum353353]

Locum tenens like you said or urgent care might work

 

[Goro]

Join the clinical Faculty of a medical school.

Be a locum tenens or a hospitalist?

Go into Administration?

"Doc in the Box" at Walmart?

Specialize in OMM/OMT. You'll probably clear as much as any decent dermatologist or plastics doctor, with a lot less overhead.

I'll start by first saying I love medicine and I look forward to one day working as an attending.

I'm half way through my third year, great grades, mostly honors on rotations, average step 1 score (228).

I'll leave most the personal details out, but at the end of M1 a person very close to me passed away. It was sudden, unexpected, and they were taken much too young. Over the last couple of years, I've really had a huge shift in thinking. I don't want to work my life away. I love traveling, cooking, doing things in ADDITION to medicine. I love caring for patients, but I also love other things equally.

I don't want to live my life like so many doctors do; putting in massive hours and never getting to truly enjoy life outside of medicine. I know not all are like this, but the vast majority have been in my personal experience.
My question is, what field and/or direction can I take that will allow me loads of free to travel, live life, etc. Maybe it's locums, maybe its something else. I really dont know, that's why I'm asking for some advice here. Ideally I'd like to work 30ish hours a week max and be able to take time off to travel for a month or two at a time., maybe a couple of times a year. I know owning your own practice may allow for this, but I really dont want the headache that comes with business ownership.

Any advice would be amazing. Thank you all.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't EM be the closest to working the desired ~30 hours per week? The shift work would kind of suck at times, but as far total number of hours worked, wouldn't this be the closest?

yes it would be the closest for number of hours per week, but unless the OP plan to do all of those things alone, it by far wouldn't be the best for lifestyle. for example, i am on EM this month and i am doing this post from home right now because I am off all day today and tomorrow. this is great, but my wife is at work, my kids are at school, and it will be the same thing tomorrow. and then come sat and sun when everyone is home hanging out and watching movies, i will be at work.

OP- choose something you love that isn't known for having a crap lifestyle and look for the job that fits you. it is hard to say which specialty is the best because I have seen PICU docs with shifts where they are on for 7 days, off for for 2-3, have night call 1-2, then off again for 2-3, then on another 7 days, but I have also seen PICU docs that are on 7 days, the next week is backup for 7 days, then 2 weeks off. the NICU doc I worked with had a sweet gig where he had 2 weeks off every 4 weeks and those 4 weeks consisted of 3 easy weeks and 1 tough week, but i have also seen NICU docs work more than surgeons.

 

[JustPlainBill]

Go to a good FM residency where they prepare you to work out in the boonies --- then join either the State Department or CIA and get stationed at an embassy -- you'll be able to travel, have diplomatic status and get paid well with good retirement and job security --- plus, if you get lucky, the embassy will come under attack, you'll be issued body armor and a weapon and get to go shoot bad guys while the world falls in around you, watch the chopper lift off as you and 2 of the other embassy types are running towards it with mortars going off all around you and you'll need to exfil over a vast desert landscape by stealing a Mercedes armored vehicle and/or technical while leaving a burning trail of fires in your wake as you shoot and loot your way to freedom -- then write a best selling novel, appear on the national TV shows, get approached about a movie deal and then, with the profits, buy a small 3rd world country and install yourself as dictator for life ---- figure you can do all that in about 10 years ---

<note -- the part up to "good retirement and job security" is for real --->

 

[joeyVictory]

Go to a good FM residency where they prepare you to work out in the boonies --- then join either the State Department or CIA and get stationed at an embassy -- you'll be able to travel, have diplomatic status and get paid well with good retirement and job security --- plus, if you get lucky, the embassy will come under attack, you'll be issued body armor and a weapon and get to go shoot bad guys while the world falls in around you, watch the chopper lift off as you and 2 of the other embassy types are running towards it with mortars going off all around you and you'll need to exfil over a vast desert landscape by stealing a Mercedes armored vehicle and/or technical while leaving a burning trail of fires in your wake as you shoot and loot your way to freedom -- then write a best selling novel, appear on the national TV shows, get approached about a movie deal and then, with the profits, buy a small 3rd world country and install yourself as dictator for life ---- figure you can do all that in about 10 years ---

<note -- the part up to "good retirement and job security" is for real --->

Thank you all for your responses.

@JustPlainBill particularly appreciate your response (you too @Goro). Definitely an interesting route and something to think about; although I feel like I might miss the US/family and friends if I was permanently living overseas. I will certainly consider this option.


I'm guessing if my goal is to live Stateside but have large chunks of time off (1-2 months, a few times a year) plus a reasonable work week (30-40 hours max), locum tenens might be my best bet. Is it reasonable to think I could pick up a locum shift when I wanted, work for a specified period of time, take my time off (1-2 months), then come right back to locums.......repeat infinity? If that is how locums works, this would essentially solve my dilemma.

Goro - I do particularly enjoy practicing OMM, but never genuinely considered practicing it in a full scope because I thought just the opposite; difficult to find patients/make money doing it. Is it really that easy to make big bucks by going heavy on OMM?

 

[22031 Alum]

I was going to suggest locums as well. Search for posts by cabinbuilder, the way she has shaped her career may appeal to you!!

 

[JustPlainBill]

Thank you all for your responses.

@JustPlainBill particularly appreciate your response (you too @Goro). Definitely an interesting route and something to think about; although I feel like I might miss the US/family and friends if I was permanently living overseas. I will certainly consider this option.


I'm guessing if my goal is to live Stateside but have large chunks of time off (1-2 months, a few times a year) plus a reasonable work week (30-40 hours max), locum tenens might be my best bet. Is it reasonable to think I could pick up a locum shift when I wanted, work for a specified period of time, take my time off (1-2 months), then come right back to locums.......repeat infinity? If that is how locums works, this would essentially solve my dilemma.

Goro - I do particularly enjoy practicing OMM, but never genuinely considered practicing it in a full scope because I thought just the opposite; difficult to find patients/make money doing it. Is it really that easy to make big bucks by going heavy on OMM?

Hey -- head over to the Family Medicine forums -- Cabinbuilder put together a thread on "How To" locums tenems that may be helpful -- and permanently living overseas? hey, you can vacation stateside -- I grew up that way as a military brat -- in a way, I was thankful to be away from the extended family -- gained some real nice life experience.

 

[hallowmann]

Thank you all for your responses.

@JustPlainBill particularly appreciate your response (you too @Goro). Definitely an interesting route and something to think about; although I feel like I might miss the US/family and friends if I was permanently living overseas. I will certainly consider this option.


I'm guessing if my goal is to live Stateside but have large chunks of time off (1-2 months, a few times a year) plus a reasonable work week (30-40 hours max), locum tenens might be my best bet. Is it reasonable to think I could pick up a locum shift when I wanted, work for a specified period of time, take my time off (1-2 months), then come right back to locums.......repeat infinity? If that is how locums works, this would essentially solve my dilemma.

Goro - I do particularly enjoy practicing OMM, but never genuinely considered practicing it in a full scope because I thought just the opposite; difficult to find patients/make money doing it. Is it really that easy to make big bucks by going heavy on OMM?

As an FM doc, you could easily incorporate it. Most places I've seen that incorporate OMT have a clinic day, and they staff it with people from their FM days. They also get referrals from local PM&R and Ortho docs in the area.

Given that you want to do locum tenens, it may be better to just become skilled in it and incorporate it if the site wants.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

Rheumatology, baby.

Many rheumatologists are only working part-time (it's easy to do this with rheum and thus the specialty has become very popular among young working mothers). Mid-30s hours/week is very easily doable.

 

[petyr_baelish]

Really solid suggestions in this thread.