generalist career options in the future?

[medchick]

unfortunately my family medicine rotation mentor is actually pulling me away from internal medicine or family saying in the future PAs will be running the market and its better to go into something like surgery.

i like surgery as well but like the bread and butter medicine and the intellectual aspects of internal medicine--i actually think i would love being a hospitalist because i like working on a team with residents and medical students and also being able to teach and learn from them as well...but he's saying in the next 20-30 years a generalist IM doctor may be hard pressed to find a decent paying job or any job for that matter since HMOS will be hiring PAs up the wall.

What do you guys think? i am at the end of my third year of medical school and keep having this battle in my head between medicine and surgery. i am waiting for an epiphany but haven't gotten one yet..


tell me why you love internal medicine?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ekydrd]

I too had to decide between surgery and medicine. The major deciding factor for me was not whether there will be a job for me in the future... that is pretty much assured despite what the naysayers are saying... but what kind of life I wanted.

I wanted to have time to be with my loved ones more often than once a week or less. My experiences in surgery and with surgeons is that they are very busy and have almost no life outside of the hospital. Don't get me wrong, I love surgery and would go into it in a heartbeat, but I also love medicine and pediatrics (thus the combined residency) and feel that there are more than enough challenges for me, and leaves me with some quality time for family.

 

[skypilot]

unfortunately my family medicine rotation mentor is actually pulling me away from internal medicine or family saying in the future PAs will be running the market and its better to go into something like surgery.

i like surgery as well but like the bread and butter medicine and the intellectual aspects of internal medicine--i actually think i would love being a hospitalist because i like working on a team with residents and medical students and also being able to teach and learn from them as well...but he's saying in the next 20-30 years a generalist IM doctor may be hard pressed to find a decent paying job or any job for that matter since HMOS will be hiring PAs up the wall.

What do you guys think? i am at the end of my third year of medical school and keep having this battle in my head between medicine and surgery. i am waiting for an epiphany but haven't gotten one yet..

The next 20 years will be the age of the hospitalist! PA's will never replace Internal medicine docs for the very sick patients who are being admitted to the hospital. There is a huge demand for hospitalists to allow the FP and IM docs to avoid call and see more patients in the office. Plus a residency in internal medicine opens up fellowship opportunities in Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Immunology etc.