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- May 18, 2009
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Alright, so I'm throwing this open to anyone who feels like they can help my pick what specialty/path would be a good fit.
Here's a few things about me:
1) Patient contact is very important to me. I did research for awhile back in undergrad, and couldn't see myself doing that for any time period, afterward.
2) I have little to no interest in running a business. So, owning my own practice really has little appeal.
3) Money isn't a huge deal to me (I say this as an idealistic first-year medical student, of course, but...). I'm not going to be in as bad a loan shape as some others are, and I have simple tastes.
4) I find the idea of a primary care, check-up doctor to be quite appealing. It's simple and kind of quaint, but that image and role really appeals to me.
5) I really enjoy working with kids (as you can bet, I'm leaning towards being a pediatrician right now...).
6) Not interested in surgery.
7) Hours/Lifestyle. This is kind of an issue. I intend to start a family someday. My father was a doctor (optho, partner/ran his own practice), and I did not see him often. When he was around, it seemed like he was always on call, especially when I was very little. I swore I wouldn't do that to my kids.
So, what do you all think? The idea of being a pediatrician (or other primary care doc) really appeals to me in almost every way, but I'm just worried about the being-on-call nature of the job. I'm not so much concerned about the residency period (since I know I'll be working my tail off no matter what I do), but I AM concerned about controlling my schedule to have sane hours/little call afterward. How much flexibility is there?
Thanks!
Here's a few things about me:
1) Patient contact is very important to me. I did research for awhile back in undergrad, and couldn't see myself doing that for any time period, afterward.
2) I have little to no interest in running a business. So, owning my own practice really has little appeal.
3) Money isn't a huge deal to me (I say this as an idealistic first-year medical student, of course, but...). I'm not going to be in as bad a loan shape as some others are, and I have simple tastes.
4) I find the idea of a primary care, check-up doctor to be quite appealing. It's simple and kind of quaint, but that image and role really appeals to me.
5) I really enjoy working with kids (as you can bet, I'm leaning towards being a pediatrician right now...).
6) Not interested in surgery.
7) Hours/Lifestyle. This is kind of an issue. I intend to start a family someday. My father was a doctor (optho, partner/ran his own practice), and I did not see him often. When he was around, it seemed like he was always on call, especially when I was very little. I swore I wouldn't do that to my kids.
So, what do you all think? The idea of being a pediatrician (or other primary care doc) really appeals to me in almost every way, but I'm just worried about the being-on-call nature of the job. I'm not so much concerned about the residency period (since I know I'll be working my tail off no matter what I do), but I AM concerned about controlling my schedule to have sane hours/little call afterward. How much flexibility is there?
Thanks!