Different Career Options

[MsBrain]

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I'm a fourth year pre-med preparing to graduate in May. I plan to take my MCAT in January and apply to medical school after I graduate. Lately, I have been questioning whether a career in medicine is really for me. I know that medical school is really challenging and I don't mind doing the work, but the residency/internship years are giving me red flags. I don't feel that I would have the capacity to work 30 hours shifts and sometimes average over 100 hours a week while trying to maintain sanity. As much as I would like a career in medicine, I think some of these working constraints placed on residents are unrealistic for anyone trying to conduct a normal life. I'm wondering if there are other fulfilling health care careers that I can pursue that are compatible with the prerequisite classes pre-med students complete and don't consist of life altering work hours.

 

[DesertPT]

PA school comes to mind first obviously, especially since I'm guessing you've been getting some patient contact under your belt as part of your prep to apply to med school (and hours of direct patient care experience is a huge factor in PA school admissions). I'm not sure but I think the pre-reqs are pretty much going to be similar. Other things like PT school, Dental school, etc. are probably going to require some extra work (eg. PT school requires generally >100 hours observing various PTs, dental school requires the DAT, etc), and you'd be left having done a lot of things you didn't need to do in order to get into those programs.

I'm not a pre-med but I've seen a few threads on the boards recently discussing the very questions you are asking (especially about the residency hours issue). Others more qualified than me will probably jump in, but I think the general consensus is that if you aren't 100% sure medicine is for you, or, if there is anything else you could see yourself doing, then maybe you should at least give those options fair consideration.

I think you'll struggle to get through 7-11 years of medical school and residency if you're heart isn't totally in it or if you aren't certain why you want to be in medicine. It also depends if you can see yourself being happy without being the "top of the medical totem pole" so to speak. Some of your concerns are similar to some of the thoughts I had when considering medical school (though I never committed myself as a pre-med). They are legitimate concerns that you should address before you sink yourself into a ton of debt and a long term commitment to what is possibly the world's most difficult professional education.

 

[AlteredScale]

I'm a fourth year pre-med preparing to graduate in May. I plan to take my MCAT in January and apply to medical school after I graduate. Lately, I have been questioning whether a career in medicine is really for me. I know that medical school is really challenging and I don't mind doing the work, but the residency/internship years are giving me red flags. I don't feel that I would have the capacity to work 30 hours shifts and sometimes average over 100 hours a week while trying to maintain sanity. As much as I would like a career in medicine, I think some of these working constraints placed on residents are unrealistic for anyone trying to conduct a normal life. I'm wondering if there are other fulfilling health care careers that I can pursue that are compatible with the prerequisite classes pre-med students complete and don't consist of life altering work hours.

Podiatry, optometry, PA, Pathologist's Assistant (PathA), Lab manager, clinical lab scientist are a few.

Perhaps as an inkling of encouragement, a physician CAN have a normal life post-residency. They may choose to work 40 or 80 hours a week. It's all dependent on them.

Best of luck!

 

[cliquesh]

I'm a fourth year pre-med preparing to graduate in May. I plan to take my MCAT in January and apply to medical school after I graduate. Lately, I have been questioning whether a career in medicine is really for me. I know that medical school is really challenging and I don't mind doing the work, but the residency/internship years are giving me red flags. I don't feel that I would have the capacity to work 30 hours shifts and sometimes average over 100 hours a week while trying to maintain sanity. As much as I would like a career in medicine, I think some of these working constraints placed on residents are unrealistic for anyone trying to conduct a normal life. I'm wondering if there are other fulfilling health care careers that I can pursue that are compatible with the prerequisite classes pre-med students complete and don't consist of life altering work hours.

Some residencies, like PM&R, radiology, pathology, Opthalmology, derm, and rad/onc, are pretty reasonable, like 50-60 hrs a week. There are rules that forbid working more than 80hrs per week, at least for acgme residencies. It sucks, but it's not so bad if you like what you're doing. If, however, you barely like medicine it is a soul crushing experience.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Some residencies, like PM&R, radiology, pathology, Opthalmology, derm, and rad/onc, are pretty reasonable, like 50-60 hrs a week. There are rules that forbid working more than 80hrs per week, at least for acgme residencies. It sucks, but it's not so bad if you like what you're doing. If, however, you barely like medicine it is a soul crushing experience.

One more post and I'm starting a fundraiser on SDN to send you on vacation to the Maldives.

 

[mek117]

I'm a fourth year pre-med preparing to graduate in May. I plan to take my MCAT in January and apply to medical school after I graduate. Lately, I have been questioning whether a career in medicine is really for me. I know that medical school is really challenging and I don't mind doing the work, but the residency/internship years are giving me red flags. I don't feel that I would have the capacity to work 30 hours shifts and sometimes average over 100 hours a week while trying to maintain sanity. As much as I would like a career in medicine, I think some of these working constraints placed on residents are unrealistic for anyone trying to conduct a normal life. I'm wondering if there are other fulfilling health care careers that I can pursue that are compatible with the prerequisite classes pre-med students complete and don't consist of life altering work hours.

If you have any questions about medical lab science (MLS, aka "med tech") feel free to PM me. I also couldn't decide between medicine and PA coming out of undergrad, so I did a master's in lab science and got to do research and work in the clinical lab for a few years. It really is a great career, and part of me is really going to miss it! At the very least, it's a great segue it to more clinical careers, but so few people know about it.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

Why not consider graduate school for a PhD? Many people that are interested in healthcare suggest other careers but never mention a doctoral studies. There are many opportunities as a PhD graduate: clinical research or translational research and working at hospital, medical center, biotech, or university. If you enjoy doing research and want to make an impact on medicine then this is another possible career that had growth and stability.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Why not consider graduate school for a PhD? Many people that are interested in healthcare suggest other careers but never mention a doctoral studies. There are many opportunities as a PhD graduate: clinical research or translational research and working at hospital, medical center, biotech, or university. If you enjoy doing research and want to make an impact on medicine then this is another possible career that had growth and stability.

I think more many people it doesn't pay enough and it's too limited a scope.
I know when I was apply I always had clinical psych in my head as a back up. But for me I decided that psychiatry would offer just far more.

Likewise it's far too competitive for academic research or even industry these days.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

I think more many people it doesn't pay enough and it's too limited a scope.
I know when I was apply I always had clinical psych in my head as a back up. But for me I decided that psychiatry would offer just far more.

Likewise it's far too competitive for academic research or even industry these days.

True. It was a another suggestion that I hadn't seen and if you do succeed then you have much more growth.

 

[bcurtis]

Another huge pro for PA school is the fact that you can change "specialties" during your medical career. I'm sure you know, but I'll point it out anyways. MD/DO have to go to residency for specialties, we all know this, however PA's do not so you could work family practice for a few years, then jump on over to emergency medicine, and then finish up your career in a dermatology setting. Although these jumps wouldn't attract me (and probably wouldn't attract employers either) it is still a viable option. I too had a rough time deciding PA or MD/DO, but I'm finally glad that I have made my mind up, DO all the way!

Edit: OP I also want to point out that the demands in residencies are not quite as bad as they used to be (from research). Post residential life is VERY manageable, especially for some specialties like emergency medicine, internal medicine, and psychiatry to name a few.

 

[yanks26dmb]

Podiatry, optometry, PA, Pathologist's Assistant (PathA), Lab manager, clinical lab scientist are a few.

Perhaps as an inkling of encouragement, a physician CAN have a normal life post-residency. They may choose to work 40 or 80 hours a week. It's all dependent on them.

Best of luck!

Can you expand on this? Apart from guys who are running their own practice, I thought most physician positions were salaried? Meaning...you were making what you were making even if you did more than what was required of you.

When we look at an MGMA report, can it be assumed that the 75-90th percentile groups are perhaps the ones working towards the higher end of the hours per week spectrum?

 

[AlteredScale]

Can you expand on this? Apart from guys who are running their own practice, I thought most physician positions were salaried? Meaning...you were making what you were making even if you did more than what was required of you.

When we look at an MGMA report, can it be assumed that the 75-90th percentile groups are perhaps the ones working towards the higher end of the hours per week spectrum?

This is just coming from my own experiences with physicians. You're right about the physician salary as not being wage based, I think right now it's still volume based in terms of earning more or what not.

Yeah id say that the ones working mic more are the ones working a bit more. But I don't think that's true of all since academics can work a tremendous amount if they are a PI and still get paid a set salary.

Perhaps doctor bob or dermviser can clarify.

 

[mek117]

Can you expand on this? Apart from guys who are running their own practice, I thought most physician positions were salaried? Meaning...you were making what you were making even if you did more than what was required of you.

When we look at an MGMA report, can it be assumed that the 75-90th percentile groups are perhaps the ones working towards the higher end of the hours per week spectrum?

Just a "for instance," but the pathologists I work with- our genetics director is an MD/phD and works "full time," and the other two are both MDs who work part time by splitting the week, which they've done for decades. None of the three are ever there past 7pm, they don't work weekends or holidays, and they're their own physician group and not actually employees of my health system, so they can basically do whatever they want. And trust me, the two "part time" pathologists are doing just fine for themselves- They've had us over for parties and tell us all about their travels lol. But seriously, it's what you make of it.

Back to your original question- another cool career is genetic counselor. Ours is kind of a liaison between pathologist and referring physician (bc most really don't understand what they're testing for, nor what the results actually mean), but many also work directly with patients and their families and provide non-directive counseling.

 

[F#&$#^&&@theMCAT]

Your right, to everyone else, your life will not be normal. Consider dentistry! Its an awesome and respectable profession. This may be the lifestyle your looking for. If you think about it, dentistry combines surgery, radiology and general practice, all in one. Shadow a general dentist as well as some specialist, you might fall in love with it. Also, although the DAT is hard in its respect, it is not as hard as the MCAT (have taken both). PM if you need any advice on anything.

I'm a fourth year pre-med preparing to graduate in May. I plan to take my MCAT in January and apply to medical school after I graduate. Lately, I have been questioning whether a career in medicine is really for me. I know that medical school is really challenging and I don't mind doing the work, but the residency/internship years are giving me red flags. I don't feel that I would have the capacity to work 30 hours shifts and sometimes average over 100 hours a week while trying to maintain sanity. As much as I would like a career in medicine, I think some of these working constraints placed on residents are unrealistic for anyone trying to conduct a normal life. I'm wondering if there are other fulfilling health care careers that I can pursue that are compatible with the prerequisite classes pre-med students complete and don't consist of life altering work hours.

 

[Goro]

PA
Nursing
Lab tech
Research tech
optometry
podiatry
PT
OT
Ultrasound tech
Phlebotomy
EMT

I'm a fourth year pre-med preparing to graduate in May. I plan to take my MCAT in January and apply to medical school after I graduate. Lately, I have been questioning whether a career in medicine is really for me. I know that medical school is really challenging and I don't mind doing the work, but the residency/internship years are giving me red flags. I don't feel that I would have the capacity to work 30 hours shifts and sometimes average over 100 hours a week while trying to maintain sanity. As much as I would like a career in medicine, I think some of these working constraints placed on residents are unrealistic for anyone trying to conduct a normal life. I'm wondering if there are other fulfilling health care careers that I can pursue that are compatible with the prerequisite classes pre-med students complete and don't consist of life altering work hours.

 

[bcurtis]

I love your name by the way!

Your right, to everyone else, your life will not be normal. Consider dentistry! Its an awesome and respectable profession. This may be the lifestyle your looking for. If you think about it, dentistry combines surgery, radiology and general practice, all in one. Shadow a general dentist as well as some specialist, you might fall in love with it. Also, although the DAT is hard in its respect, it is not as hard as the MCAT (have taken both). PM if you need any advice on anything.

 

[bcurtis]

Just to name a few.

PA
Nursing
Lab tech
Research tech
optometry
podiatry
PT
OT
Ultrasound tech
Phlebotomy
EMT

 

[MightBeACylon439]

DO NOT SETTLE!!!

Yes work will be hard, and it will take a long time, but if you want to be an MD or DO you will ultimately find that following another career path in place of being in medicine will ultimately prove unsatisfying. Put in the work now and 10 years down the line you will be glad you did.

Source: I did what you did for the reasons you are thinking of doing it, and now I am a nontrad pursuing medicine when I could have done it 8 years ago.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Podiatry has an easier residency, but the schooling and work is obviously still tough, just not as bad

 

[IslandStyle808]

Podiatry has an easier residency, but the schooling and work is obviously still tough, just not as bad

Are you sure about this? I remember reading in the pod forums that the hour restrictions don't directly apply to them. It is more a hospital dependent thing. Meaning if the hospital policy for hour restriction does not include podiatrists, then they can work as much as a 100 hours a week at times. Well, maybe a pod resident can comment on this.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Are you sure about this? I remember reading in the pod forums that the hour restrictions don't directly apply to them. It is more a hospital dependent thing. Meaning if the hospital policy for hour restriction does not include podiatrists, then they can work as much as a 100 hours a week at times. Well, maybe a pod resident can comment on this.

When I was invested in pod school, I was told by attending and residents that it's a better situation. I'm not saying it isn't hard, but not as grueling as a typical surgical residency seeing how call is rare and a good amount of work is done within the [9-5] clinic.

 

[KyleV]

If you have any questions about medical lab science (MLS, aka "med tech") feel free to PM me. I also couldn't decide between medicine and PA coming out of undergrad, so I did a master's in lab science and got to do research and work in the clinical lab for a few years. It really is a great career, and part of me is really going to miss it! At the very least, it's a great segue it to more clinical careers, but so few people know about it.

I'm in med tech school right now myself. Where did you get a master's in lab science? Generally speaking I thought for the clinical lab a master's option was rare.

 

[mek117]

I'm in med tech school right now myself. Where did you get a master's in lab science? Generally speaking I thought for the clinical lab a master's option was rare.

Rush University in Chicago. Trust me, if I had known what med tech was in undergrad, I would have Much rather done it then. 100% Not worth the extra $$$ for the master's.

 

[ehwhatsupdoc]

Rush University in Chicago. Trust me, if I had known what med tech was in undergrad, I would have Much rather done it then. 100% Not worth the extra $$$ for the master's.

Totally agree. I have a masters with a concentration in medical lab science as well and have been working as a Medical Technologist ever since. If I had known in undergrad, I would've transferred out to another state school that had the program. I would've graduated with no debt, and a great paying job with ample overtime opportunities. I think my u.gpa would be much higher as well, since the classes although difficult had more real world application to medical science. It's dissapointing that my grad gpa won't matter as much to the adcom eventhough the material was exactly the same as the bachelors but even more difficult (grad students had to maintain higher than a B- and more research papers/presentations). I'm curious if you are in DO or MD school? I know for AMCAS they don't count the grad gpa in overall, but I'm not sure about AACOMAS. I've been getting mixed messages (do they count masters in the overall gpa combined with undergrad) and do DO schools look at that overall more so than than the seperate gpas (u.g.,post-bacc,grad). Thanks for your help! I think medical lab science is a great field, but I want to have more say in investigating illnesses, diagnosing, and treatment planning. There have been several instances at work where I knew what further tests to order based on the patient's results, but since it's out of my scope I can't suggest it to the provider.

 

[optimistic3]

OP, I'm feeling similarly. I think I'm starting to value enjoying my life outside of school more than the desire to be a physician. I think I can still grow and help people in other ways without making myself miserable with that rigor of schooling. I do realize how naive that sounds, though.

I'm going to look into PA, biotechnology, clinical lab science, and forensic science as a start. Maybe I'll also add in pharmacy school. I never did research in undergrad so I don't think a PhD would be for me.

 

[mek117]

Totally agree. I have a masters with a concentration in medical lab science as well and have been working as a Medical Technologist ever since. If I had known in undergrad, I would've transferred out to another state school that had the program. I would've graduated with no debt, and a great paying job with ample overtime opportunities. I think my u.gpa would be much higher as well, since the classes although difficult had more real world application to medical science. It's dissapointing that my grad gpa won't matter as much to the adcom eventhough the material was exactly the same as the bachelors but even more difficult (grad students had to maintain higher than a B- and more research papers/presentations). I'm curious if you are in DO or MD school? I know for AMCAS they don't count the grad gpa in overall, but I'm not sure about AACOMAS. I've been getting mixed messages (do they count masters in the overall gpa combined with undergrad) and do DO schools look at that overall more so than than the seperate gpas (u.g.,post-bacc,grad). Thanks for your help! I think medical lab science is a great field, but I want to have more say in investigating illnesses, diagnosing, and treatment planning. There have been several instances at work where I knew what further tests to order based on the patient's results, but since it's out of my scope I can't suggest it to the provider.

I'm not completely positive how the grad school GPAs get factored. I'm starting DO school in fall 2015 and from my understanding the grad GPA is completely separate from undergrad. The reasoning I've heard for this is that there's no uniformity across grad programs, whereas undergrad at least requires the same pre-reqs and gen eds regardless of where you go. I only applied DO, no MD so I have no idea what they do.

And I totally agree w the frustrating scope of practice. They teach you so thoroughly in school, but then you go to work and don't end up doing half of what you were taught lol Once in a while you'll get a cool physician who knows enough to ask about further testing, but there are just as many that don't even know where the lab is, let alone how tests are performed! I think everybody in healthcare ends up feeling unappreciated at some point though. But the truth is everything in healthcare has become so specialized that patients literally couldn't be treated without every single one of the careers people have mentioned on this board..

 

[IslandStyle808]

I'm not completely positive how the grad school GPAs get factored. I'm starting DO school in fall 2015 and from my understanding the grad GPA is completely separate from undergrad. The reasoning I've heard for this is that there's no uniformity across grad programs, whereas undergrad at least requires the same pre-reqs and gen eds regardless of where you go. I only applied DO, no MD so I have no idea what they do.

And I totally agree w the frustrating scope of practice. They teach you so thoroughly in school, but then you go to work and don't end up doing half of what you were taught lol Once in a while you'll get a cool physician who knows enough to ask about further testing, but there are just as many that don't even know where the lab is, let alone how tests are performed! I think everybody in healthcare ends up feeling unappreciated at some point though. But the truth is everything in healthcare has become so specialized that patients literally couldn't be treated without every single one of the careers people have mentioned on this board..

Usually with MD schools, this holds true for the majority of them. There are exceptions to the rule though (my state school for one, and Wayne state also). As for DO schools, I have no idea if this is true. I actually made it past an auto screen for KCUMB and I know for sure I would not have passed it if my grad courses were not factored in. I am starting to think DO schools might look at the grad GPA more so than MD schools. However, I have no basis on this assumption.

 

[DadofSnorf]

There are a lot of great careers. I enjoyed being an OR tech and my wife loves being an RN. She also is an integrative wellness coach and loves that. I have many CRNA and PA friends who love their jobs and have plenty of time outside of work (especially my CRNA friends!).

There is also Fire-Rescue and the military (some really cool healthcare jobs there).

I think if you've got the doctor bug, you'll always have it. But if your heart isn't really in it, look at some of these other careers. Plenty of ways to help people, make a good living, and have a life. 🙂

 

[GypsyHummus]

Having a plan B is always a great thing. A few come to mind:

Podiatry: Great under the radar profession. If you can deal with feet all day, I would deff recommend this. They have great lifestyles, can do a ton with the lower extremity, and its only a three year residency to do surgery if you are into that sort of thing. And there are only like 8 schools in the country, so no saturation problem.

Dentist: A way finer life, or it used to be. Now, there seems to be more schools opening up, and it is sometimes harder to get into than medicine. Still make a great living, and depending on how business savvy you are, can make a ton of money.

Pharmacy: Used to be a good lifestyle, but I would stay away from this profession until they sort themselves out. Used to be a guaranteed 100K income, but now its tough to find a job because of saturation, they opened up wayy to many schools (hopefully DO schools don't follow suite).

Optometrists: Used to be good, but are having the same problem as pharmacists right now=too many schools=no jobs for new graduates.

 

[j4pac]

There aren't many physicians who LOVE the hours that we work. They are often a necessary evil that we put up with because it is what is required by us. If medicine is NOT a calling...then absolutely don't do it. It's not worth the stress and sacrifices.

There are lots of other ways to help people in the medical field.

If you have any question whatsoever that medicine may not be for you...don't do it. It's not worth the risk. You don't want to burn out in med school and being left hundreds of thousands in debt. You also don't want to be unhappy with your profession. There are some jobs that you can get by while being unhappy...medicine is not one of them. Your future patients and colleagues deserve better.

Good luck

 

[GypsyHummus]

There aren't many physicians who LOVE the hours that we work. They are often a necessary evil that we put up with because it is what is required by us. If medicine is NOT a calling...then absolutely don't do it. It's not worth the stress and sacrifices.

There are lots of other ways to help people in the medical field.

If you have any question whatsoever that medicine may not be for you...don't do it. It's not worth the risk. You don't want to burn out in med school and being left hundreds of thousands in debt. You also don't want to be unhappy with your profession. There are some jobs that you can get by while being unhappy...medicine is not one of them. Your future patients and colleagues deserve better.

Good luck

I bet there are some dermatologists who like the hours they work

 

[j4pac]

I bet there are some dermatologists who like the hours they work

🙂 That is assuming that you consider Dermatology work "work". But hey...in order to become a Dermatologist...you bust your butt to get in. And their boards are definitely tough.