Pros & cons of being a doctor?

[Rbrav]

Those of you who read my previous post know I'm not too enthused about being a doctor. But, I'm in medical school, and I'm going to try to make the best of it. To that end, I'm trying to generate a list of good reasons to go into medicine, and reasons it's not so great. This is what I have so far.

PROS

1. Pay
Doctors may not make a killing, but they make a six-figure salary, which is enough for me. I don't have to live like a zillionaire, but I want to be able to comfortably support a family, and I should be able to do that on a doctor's salary.

2. Job security
This has always seemed a bit nebulous to me, since I don't know many adults that have lost their jobs, but I do know this is still very important and reassuring.

3. Helping people
Whether or not medicine is your thing, there should be some comfort in the fact that you're working to improve people's health and quality of life. These people may give you crap, etc., but you're still doing a good thing.

CONS

1. Malpractice
Of course, anyone can (and does) get sued nowadays, but the constant specter, plus the disgusting amount doctors have to pay to be insured, isn't particularly heartwarming.

2. Outlook on future
A lot of posts here indicate that people don't think physicians have a particularly bright future. Pay is declining, respect is waning, lawsuits are increasing, people in other jobs are muscling in to provide care, etc.

3. Lifestyle
This depends on specialty, of course (I don't want to work more than 50 hours a week), but being a doctor seems stressful and demanding (not to mention the process of getting there in the first place!).

Anyone want to add any pros and cons or offer additional thoughts on the ones I've listed?

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[fpr85]

Those of you who read my previous post know I'm not too enthused about being a doctor. But, I'm in medical school, and I'm going to try to make the best of it. To that end, I'm trying to generate a list of good reasons to go into medicine, and reasons it's not so great. This is what I have so far.

PROS

1. Pay
Doctors may not make a killing, but they make a six-figure salary, which is enough for me. I don't have to live like a zillionaire, but I want to be able to comfortably support a family, and I should be able to do that on a doctor's salary.

2. Job security
This has always seemed a bit nebulous to me, since I don't know many adults that have lost their jobs, but I do know this is still very important and reassuring.

3. Helping people
Whether or not medicine is your thing, there should be some comfort in the fact that you're working to improve people's health and quality of life. These people may give you crap, etc., but you're still doing a good thing.

CONS

1. Malpractice
Of course, anyone can (and does) get sued nowadays, but the constant specter, plus the disgusting amount doctors have to pay to be insured, isn't particularly heartwarming.

2. Outlook on future
A lot of posts here indicate that people don't think physicians have a particularly bright future. Pay is declining, respect is waning, lawsuits are increasing, people in other jobs are muscling in to provide care, etc.

3. Lifestyle
This depends on specialty, of course (I don't want to work more than 50 hours a week), but being a doctor seems stressful and demanding (not to mention the process of getting there in the first place!).

Anyone want to add any pros and cons or offer additional thoughts on the ones I've listed?

Why on earth are you still in medical school then? Do something that interests you! I'm a "freshman" (at a community college ) and would die to be in your place right now!

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

I'm not insulting you, fpr, but please don't be naive. There are a huge number of medical students (and even more residents) who were unbelievably motivated, powerful applicants who now feel betrayed and disillusioned. Just read their posts - you can search way back and track their progress from Undergrad to Resident. Why do you think Dermatology, Radiology and Opthalmology are so competitive? Is it just a coincindence that the most brilliant, qualified students happen to go into the "lifestye" specialties? Do you really think 90% of all Dermatology residents just happen to be AOA?

Once again, it's not an insult - naivity is just a natural part of being early in the process. If it weren't for that, there would be far fewer medical school applicants...

To the OP:

In my opinion, the biggest "Con" is the loss of many years of your life to studying. Knowledge does free the mind, but as one poster said, many people aren't too keen on sacrificing their 20s for their career.

 

[ParisHilton]

Free drug rep pens. You'll have a lifetime supply. This makes it all worth it in the end.

 

[edmadison]

I agree with UseUrHeadFred on the biggest "con". As for the others, those cons are some much smaller than for other jobs. It makes me sick to hear people who earn in the top 2% of all Americans complain about their financial situation (Its always the anesthesia people too). There is no other job like medicine: High Pay, High Prestige, High Job security. As for the future, Docs have been complaining about it since the 70s. Have they lost some autonomy? -- Certainly, but much of that is not necessarily bad from a public health standpoint. When it comes down to the bottom line, docs make the same if not more than they used to. As a profession, we should thank our lucky stars everyday we have it as good as we do. Just look at docs in other countries.

Ed

 

[banner]

I agree with UseUrHeadFred on the biggest "con". As for the others, those cons are some much smaller than for other jobs. It makes me sick to hear people who earn in the top 2% of all Americans complain about their financial situation (Its always the anesthesia people too). There is no other job like medicine: High Pay, High Prestige, High Job security. As for the future, Docs have been complaining about it since the 70s. Have they lost some autonomy? -- Certainly, but much of that is not necessarily bad from a public health standpoint. When it comes down to the bottom line, docs make the same if not more than they used to. As a profession, we should thank our lucky stars everyday we have it as good as we do. Just look at docs in other countries.

Ed

Actually, for the amount of work they do and the amount of responsibility they have, Docs are actually undercompensated. When you start divinding their salary by hours they work (for even more depressing numbers account for overtime), the hourly rate isn't in the top 2% anymore.

Oh, and since MDs fail miserably to participate effectively in the political process, "job security" is really an illusion as it is elsewhere.

 

[SupremeGeek]

"What do you do?"

"I'm a doctor."

That one sentence makes the whole frikkin six piece of cr*p motherf***** sh*tting years worth it.

As you can tell from my expletives, I'm right in the middle of those 6 years and I can't wait to get out, I just want to be a doctor and get on with it. I've toyed with other careers on the side, all media-arty stuff and it's made me much more determined to be a doc, job security (at least here in the UK) is very important to me. Many of my friends are musicians, directors and stuff - which I'd love to do, but I think I'd find it MORE stressful than medicine in a weird way.

 

[Tiki]

Pro: Having a job that intellectually stimulates and challenges you.

I've worked in alot of crappy jobs that are so boring that I've wanted to bash my head into the wall and watch my brains leak out onto the carpet. Medicine is a challenge--something that a geek like myself craves.

 

[Mumpu]

Great opportunities for teaching.

 

[8744]

Not to mention you get to touch naked people.

 

[8744]

The OP needs to chill out, stop thinking so much, and quit bitching. First and second year of medical school are not a representative sample of what medicine is all about.

Not to mention that compared to, say, picking avacados six days a week medical school is easy. All you have to do is sit on yer' ass in air-conditioned splendor listening to lectures for the first two years. You don't have to sweat. You don't have to produce anything. You can pass by only being accurate 70 percent of the time.

Heck, when I was an engineer if 30 percent of the details on my plans were wrong I would have been fired...and black-listed making it difficult for me to ever work again.

The first time you walk into a room as a fourth year medical student and a throng of the patient's family spontaneoulsly stop talking and listen respectfully to what you say you will see the advantage, from a prestige point of view (which is important, dammit), of being a physician.

 

[8744]

3. Lifestyle
This depends on specialty, of course (I don't want to work more than 50 hours a week), but being a doctor seems stressful and demanding (not to mention the process of getting there in the first place!).

Dude, everybody in America works more then fifty hours a week except maybe those big sweaty girls who salt my fries at Burger King. I don't know what profession you will be happy in if your criterion is that you only work forty hours per week.

 

[PeterGriffin]

Dude, everybody in America works more then fifty hours a week except maybe those big sweaty girls who salt my fries at Burger King. I don't know what profession you will be happy in if your criterion is that you only work forty hours per week.

Dentistry...

 

[Trismegistus4]

To the OP:

In my opinion, the biggest "Con" is the loss of many years of your life to studying. Knowledge does free the mind, but as one poster said, many people aren't too keen on sacrificing their 20s for their career.

Questioning that con, I posted this in another thread:

1. "You have to sacrifice your 20s, the best years of your life, to med school, 80 hour weeks in residency, etc." Sacrifice them in what way? What else would I be doing? People who make this objection seem to think that everyone who is not a doctor spends their 20s living some kind of glamourous, jet-setting life replete with exotic vacations and exciting adventures. Look, I'm 27. I've spent the last 4 years working in a corporate IT job. I get up in the morning, I go to work, I come home in the evening. I get 2 weeks of vacation a year. Except for my modest exercise regimen, I pretty much spend my spare time sitting around my apartment reading or watching movies. I'm a pathetic loser, I know, and there are people my in my circumstances (like some of my coworkers) who get season tickets to sports games, go nightclubbing, etc., but that's not me. I suppose I could have spent some time backpacking around Europe or something, but I had never heard of that sort of thing being done until recently, and frankly I'd be too chicken to give up my "stable" job and attempt to live day-to-day by picking up odd jobs here and there. If I had gone to med school straight out of college, and were now in residency, I'd hardly be sacrificing much of anything.

I realize some people do spend their 20s living on the edge and enjoying it, but not everyone is that kind of person, and I'd even venture to say that the vast majority aren't.

So, I'm curious, to those who think "sacrificing your 20s" is the biggest con, what's the specific reason? Is it just that you would like to spend more time going out with friends, going to bars, sporting events, or something similar?

Actually, for the amount of work they do and the amount of responsibility they have, Docs are actually undercompensated. When you start divinding their salary by hours they work (for even more depressing numbers account for overtime), the hourly rate isn't in the top 2% anymore.

Do you mind my asking where you got this information? And which professions are in the top 2% if medicine no longer is?

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

I, too, had a job prior to pursuing medicine. When I had a job, I was making money, I was going to buy a house, I started investing in my retirement, and was preparing to potentially build a family. Although I was "sacrificing" 45 hours a week to my (non-altruistic) job, the remainder of the time was mine to do with as I please.

Most people don't "take their work home with them" per se. My weekends were totally clear, I could take a day off here and there if I wanted to. I had a regular schedule and could plan events, budget my money, and purchase items with relative freedom. If I wanted to buy season tickets to a sporting event or take three day weekends to travel, so be it. The ball was in MY court, scheduling was extremely flexible. As long as I did my job, everything else was up to me.

In medical school, many of these things are generally out of the question. Naturally, there are exceptions. But I don't know a lot of Med Students who own houses, have even started on their retirement, or have any schedule regularity to speak of.

In short, med school is FAR from "real life".

For example, a huge personal concern of mine is figuring out how I am going to have enough stability to start a family. I'm slightly older than the average med student, and I'd really prefer not to wait until I'm almost 40 to have kids.

 

[JattMed]

Why not just drop out!?
The world is not what it seems...........shave your head........paint three horizontal stripes across your forehead, don a saffron robe and go find the meaning of life as you trek through India and the Himalayan Foothills.
Who knows what you'll find, but it will sure likely eliminate this internal struggle you have regarding medical school.
Ya might even come back ready to continue medschool.
All I am really saying is you need some time off-take a year leave if ya can-figure things out.

 

[8744]

Dentistry...

I stand corrected.

 

[8744]

I, too, had a job prior to pursuing medicine. When I had a job, I was making money, I was going to buy a house, I started investing in my retirement, and was preparing to potentially build a family. Although I was "sacrificing" 45 hours a week to my (non-altruistic) job, the remainder of the time was mine to do with as I please.

Most people don't "take their work home with them" per se. My weekends were totally clear, I could take a day off here and there if I wanted to. I had a regular schedule and could plan events, budget my money, and purchase items with relative freedom. If I wanted to buy season tickets to a sporting event or take three day weekends to travel, so be it. The ball was in MY court, scheduling was extremely flexible. As long as I did my job, everything else was up to me.

In medical school, many of these things are generally out of the question. Naturally, there are exceptions. But I don't know a lot of Med Students who own houses, have even started on their retirement, or have any schedule regularity to speak of.

In short, med school is FAR from "real life".

For example, a huge personal concern of mine is figuring out how I am going to have enough stability to start a family. I'm slightly older than the average med student, and I'd really prefer not to wait until I'm almost 40 to have kids.

Very true. On the other hand, there are fairly few real jobs where you can roll out of bed at 0930 and show up late wearing your pyjamas. (scubs). I found that first and second year were low stress most of thetime because, although I usually went to every lecture, I never felt like I was under the gun to be there exactly on time. (Even though I usually was.)

Tests are hard and studying can be a real pain some times. No doubt about it. But it is medical school. I found that with good time mamagement skills and by settling for a passing grade I could still have the free timetospend with my family, run with my dogs, and even watch too much TV.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Dentistry...

True. We try for 35 hours a week or less. 35 is our average, so give or take a few.

For specialists, 8-5, three days a week isn't uncommon.

 

[PeterGriffin]

True. We try for 35 hours a week or less. 35 is our average, so give or take a few.

For specialists, 8-5, three days a week isn't uncommon.

Man, I really wish I would have looked more into dentistry before I started med school. The lifestyle seems to fit what I'm looking for in my future and I'm really interested in dentistry as well. Too bad I had tunnel vision ever since I started undergrad with my goal of getting into med school.

 

[toofache32]

"What do you do?"

"I'm a doctor."

That one sentence makes the whole frikkin six piece of cr*p motherf***** sh*tting years worth it.

This is a little off topic, but I've always been curious why people answer that question this way. "I'm a doctor" doesn't tell me anything, because it's so non-specific. "I'm an OB/GYN" actually tells people what you do every day. "I'm a doctor" is really code for "I'm smart and rich and you should respect and worship me even though we just met."

 

[care bear]

This is a little off topic, but I've always been curious why people answer that question this way. "I'm a doctor" doesn't tell me anything, because it's so non-specific. "I'm an OB/GYN" actually tells people what you do every day. "I'm a doctor" is really code for "I'm smart and rich and you should respect and worship me even though we just met."

i disagree. . .i have met plenty of nurses who respond to that question with 'i'm a nurse', but no one assumes they are being arrogant. i have also heard people say 'i'm a teacher' without specifying whether they teach elem. school, jr high, or high school (big difference there!)

 

[PeterGriffin]

"I'm smart and rich and you should respect and worship me even though we just met."

There are doctors who aren't that bright and there certainly are doctors who aren't rich.

 

[Trismegistus4]

i disagree. . .i have met plenty of nurses who respond to that question with 'i'm a nurse', but no one assumes they are being arrogant. i have also heard people say 'i'm a teacher' without specifying whether they teach elem. school, jr high, or high school (big difference there!)

Not to mention that most people outside of medicine aren't familiar with many specialties. If you say you're a surgeon or a family doc, most people will know what you're talking about, but if you go around introducing yourself as a nephrologist or a rheumatologist you're going to get a lot of blank stares.