DO in 5 years

[n618ft]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I see an uptrend in enrollment, GPA, MCAT, specialty residencies... what do you guys see for the graduating class of 2014?

 

[bioman2006]

.

 

[Cp22kjer]

It will get more competitive for now, but who knows further down the line due to healthcare reform. If salaries drop and tuition continues to go up; I think we'll find MD/DO professions to be much less popular.

$300k in debt plus ~8 years of intense training to make less than 6 figures will certainly turn people away.

Take the debt away and I'm completely fine with a lower salary!

 

[JaggerPlate]

It will get more competitive for now, but who knows further down the line due to healthcare reform. If salaries drop and tuition continues to go up; I think we'll find MD/DO professions to be much less popular.

$300k in debt plus ~8 years of intense training to make less than 6 figures will certainly turn people away.

Take the debt away and I'm completely fine with a lower salary!

I don't even understand how admission can get more competitive. I've spoken with multiple physicians during the process and not only have all of them said 'are you kidding, there is no way I would get in or, when I was applying it was nothing like that,' but they have been flat out shocked with some numbers I've thrown out.

I'd also like to agree with you about medicine as a career declining, but I think the absurd number of really idealistic pre-meds, people going into it bc of parents, pressure, don't listen to outside influences, etc will keep numbers continually increasing. The decline has been happening for a while (at least the last 5 years or so very noticably) and applicant numbers still go up every year. There are also a lot of other incentives - stability, helping people, interest in research, etc - that will keep people applying.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I don't even understand how admission can get more competitive. I've spoken with multiple physicians during the process and not only have all of them said 'are you kidding, there is no way I would get in or, when I was applying it was nothing like that,' but they have been flat out shocked with some numbers I've thrown out.

I'd also like to agree with you about medicine as a career declining, but I think the absurd number of really idealistic pre-meds, people going into it bc of parents, pressure, don't listen to outside influences, etc will keep numbers continually increasing. The decline has been happening for a while (at least the last 5 years or so very noticably) and applicant numbers still go up every year. There are also a lot of other incentives - stability, helping people, interest in research, etc - that will keep people applying.

Expect it to get more competitive. Regardless of whatever happens with Obamacare, the absurdly huge number of retiring Baby Boomers whose health issues will have to be dealt with in the near future virtually guarantees high future demand for doctors.

Furthermore, no matter how much some practitioners tend to whine about it, being a doctor truly isn't the worst job in the world. Not even close. Yes, you will work hard as a doctor, but very few professions offer the potential for stability, decent compensation, etc. that medicine does. In our wonderful "New Economy", unique features like this are going to become very important when college students start deciding what exactly they're going to be doing with their lives.

 

[123165]

I don't even understand how admission can get more competitive. I've spoken with multiple physicians during the process and not only have all of them said 'are you kidding, there is no way I would get in or, when I was applying it was nothing like that,' but they have been flat out shocked with some numbers I've thrown out.

I'd also like to agree with you about medicine as a career declining, but I think the absurd number of really idealistic pre-meds, people going into it bc of parents, pressure, don't listen to outside influences, etc will keep numbers continually increasing. The decline has been happening for a while (at least the last 5 years or so very noticably) and applicant numbers still go up every year. There are also a lot of other incentives - stability, helping people, interest in research, etc - that will keep people applying.

I completely agree with this.

 

[n618ft]

It will get more competitive for now, but who knows further down the line due to healthcare reform. If salaries drop and tuition continues to go up; I think we'll find MD/DO professions to be much less popular.

$300k in debt plus ~8 years of intense training to make less than 6 figures will certainly turn people away.

Take the debt away and I'm completely fine with a lower salary!

I don't know how many people are 300k in debt coming out. If you're that worried, get the military to pay your debt and stop whining. Oh wait - I forgot most med-nerds (in general, not you!) need to grow a pair of balls and need to stop being such pacifists obsessed with their own personal gain.

 

[Cp22kjer]

I don't even understand how admission can get more competitive. I've spoken with multiple physicians during the process and not only have all of them said 'are you kidding, there is no way I would get in or, when I was applying it was nothing like that,' but they have been flat out shocked with some numbers I've thrown out.

I'd also like to agree with you about medicine as a career declining, but I think the absurd number of really idealistic pre-meds, people going into it bc of parents, pressure, don't listen to outside influences, etc will keep numbers continually increasing. The decline has been happening for a while (at least the last 5 years or so very noticably) and applicant numbers still go up every year. There are also a lot of other incentives - stability, helping people, interest in research, etc - that will keep people applying.

Yeah, I'm with you. Good points.