ABD,
Thanks for your thoughts! Just curious, how exactly do you think life should be "different" in terms of family, job, hobbies? And different from what? The primary care physician that I shadowed was a single mom with kids, and she was very prompt to leave her work between 5-6pm. I guess if you are a surgeon you might be working 80 hrs/week, or some other specialty that's always on call - then it would be slightly less normal.
On the other hand, I'm currently in basic sciences research and my colleagues have all kinds of crazy schedules! I used to work 80 hr weeks myself for quite a while. I kind of feel like being a doctor I'd have a more normal life (after residency, perhaps). This is why this prompt seems so bizarre to me.
I like your idea about how medical education will enhance my life outside of work.
Not a problem. I have pretty much accepted from the beginning that I would be working 60+ hours per week, easy. I just have that type of personality, always like to be doing something. With this year off, I have been driven half crazy by the lack of structure in my life. I stressed the importance, to strike a balance between work, play, and family. As a type a personality in athletics, school, you name it, I usually focus so much on particulars that I can get out of whack. I talked a bit about balance, as I feel trying to be well rounded can really make life more enjoyable.
For me, it's all about making enough time for my future family and myself. I want to be there for my kid's athletics, ballet, music rehearsals etc. and also develop & keep a loving marriage with my future wife. I also want to maintain competition in running and triathlon. Busy schedule?? YUP! But I see myself being able to balance all these things. They are that important to me.
Are you leaning more toward a career in primary care? I remember a close family friend, a pediatrician, telling me "there will always be people to take care of, no shortage of sick individuals. If you wanted to work all day, no one would stop you." Now, that might be an slight overstatement, but I think it's important to consider. So, I think you should consider if you want to work 80 hour weeks while taking care of a family. I know a pediatric orthopedic who works long hours and still manages to spend time pursuing interests and spending time with his family.
Perhaps a lighter workload would leave more time to pursue hobbies like reading, writing, sports or whatever excites you. But really, you should consider what you specifically want out of life. Next, consider what type of medicine you see yourself practicing. How do those two goals, medical and non-medical work compliment each other and make your like more awesome (not necessarily easier!) or do you see those future goals provoking excessive conflict for you? This is totally individual, as each person wants different things out of life and out of their medical education. Some might want to train to go abroad in relief efforts for under-served areas. Others might dream of owning land in the country and want to practice rural medicine. Still, some might crave the "craziness" of big city life, and see themselves working in a Level 1 trauma center, where your case load will be anything but predictable. It's complicated. It's crazy. But that's the beauty of these questions, the freedom to individualize your response.
Hope that helps
ABD
