Having kids while in Podiatry school

[EK18]

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This is mostly a question out of curiosity but how many of you had kids during your time at Podiatry school? Did you plan to have them? And how did this effect your experience at school? Would you say it's better to wait until residency or even afterwards to have kids?

Thanks for the input.

 

[PatchAdamsFan]

I have no experience with this myself, but I recently went to a couple interviews, and about 7 students that I talked to had children by their 3rd or 4th years. They said it was difficult, of course, but when they do find time with their families, it really helps to clear their heads. Not too much information after that, I'm sure it would be inconvenient. As OP stated, let the first-hand experienced students explain! 🙂

 

[dyk343]

There is no good time during school/residency/first few years out to have kids. Some people do not want to wait until mid 30s to start a family. So they find ways to make it work.


It is obviously easier if you are the dad than the mom.

 

[Podophile]

Quite a few of the people in my class had children before or during school. Many of them did find a good balance between studying and family. Others used their kids as an excuse to occasionally blow off class or studying as much as they should have and they often struggled.

It seems significant that only one of those that made Pi Delta from our class had a child. One. I think you're either all in to study, or you're not. That doesn't mean you can't match at a great residency if you have children, because several did just that. But academically it might hurt you unless you are either incredibly gifted, or you more often than not ignore your social ties (family included) in order to learn as much as possible and give yourself the best chance to master all of the information you are assigned.

 

[ManUnderFire]

There is no good time during school/residency/first few years out to have kids. Some people do not want to wait until mid 30s to start a family. So they find ways to make it work.


It is obviously easier if you are the dad than the mom.

There will NEVER be a good time to have children, I've heard this many times before, but I'm convinced there are bad times...or badder times to have them. I think that having children at a critical period where you really have to prove your capacity (such as during school) to land an ideal residency would be the least desirable time, career-wise.

As such, I plan to have children during residency...hopefully beginning year 2 when I'm settled in. Yes, residency is a time to learn but it seems to be treated more like on-the-job training than schooling, perse; you won't lose marks or negatively affect your GPA if you miss some time at work to take care of the family. A little older, a little wiser, a little wealthier, more established...residency seems like the least worst time to have the little bundles of joy.

 

[dyk343]

There will NEVER be a good time to have children, I've heard this many times before, but I'm convinced there are bad times...or badder times to have them. I think that having children at a critical period where you really have to prove your capacity (such as during school) to land an ideal residency would be the least desirable time, career-wise.

As such, I plan to have children during residency...hopefully beginning year 2 when I'm settled in. Yes, residency is a time to learn but it seems to be treated more like on-the-job training than schooling, perse; you won't lose marks or negatively affect your GPA if you miss some time at work to take care of the family. A little older, a little wiser, a little wealthier, more established...residency seems like the least worst time to have the little bundles of joy.

Except you will never see your little bundles of joy. At least when in class you can see them.

...The grass is always greener on the other side. Like we both agree. There is no "good" time. But people make it work.

 

[ldsrmdude]

Agreed. There is no good time to have kids. To each their own, but waiting until residency because you think you will have more time or less responsibilities doesn't make much sense to me. Like dyk343 said, it can be easier to see kids during school when your time is a little more flexible. People depend on you a whole lot more during residency. I had one kid in undergrad, one during podiatry school, and will have one sometime during residency and I know none of them are perfect times to have kids.

 

[ManUnderFire]

Agreed. There is no good time to have kids. To each their own, but waiting until residency because you think you will have more time or less responsibilities doesn't make much sense to me. Like dyk343 said, it can be easier to see kids during school when your time is a little more flexible. People depend on you a whole lot more during residency. I had one kid in undergrad, one during podiatry school, and will have one sometime during residency and I know none of them are perfect times to have kids.

The only thing I can do is draw comparisons to the things I've already experienced and combine that with the information provided by those ahead of me in the process to licensure.

As an undergrad and working, it was painful finding 'free' time, since that time could've been spent studying, writing an essay, completing an assignment, etc. The guilt of knowing there was a deadline looming weighed heavy on my conscience...especially since as students, our fate is directly determined by our GPA. The same still holds true as pod students looking to land a residency. Every person in podiatry (student, prof, or podiatrist) I have met told me to do whatever it takes to get the highest GPA possible... no work and your love life will take a beating. Children was never mentioned either because of my age or it was an assumed no-no. Who knows?

I treated grad school like a 9 to 5 job; a fixed schedule, unlike in undergrad, where I had to alter my schedule constantly to submit/study for things (and worst-work on silly group projects) that were due bi-weekly, it seemed. If I couldn't find the time for a certain procedure in a given day, I would schedule it for the next day (or next available time slot) and complete other things like writing, analysis, or prep-but I always left by 5pm. Of course, there were many days that I spent labouring away until late, but these occasions were rare and I did that when I saw fit/a real need to/my schedule allowed it. True, there were deadlines to submit abstracts and grant proposals, but anyone on top of their stuff could easily modify a general template to fit the needs of a given reviewer. Basically, the deadlines in grad school were few and far between.

And this is where those in the know step in...is residency more like undergrad, grad school, or a mix?

 

[sunnypod]

A girl in my class had a baby during our third year, and she planned on it. She got pregnant during 2nd year, and had the baby in the middle of our 3rd year... before externships started and so on. She did all her externships where she had family, and obviously her husband helped out a lot.
She planned to have a baby, and she planned it well.
Like the others said, it is easier when you're the dad...but she did it, and she's doing great.

 

[g squared 23]

And this is where those in the know step in...is residency more like undergrad, grad school, or a mix?

My first reaction was to laugh and say "Silly student! Residency is like NEITHER of those!! It is much, much harder!!!" That is only because my particular program has at most times very grueling hours. There were however other places that I visited during externships that were very laid back and the hours were rarely more than 8-5. There are certainly programs out there that have these fairly predictable hours. Most places will require you take some sort of call, which is always unpredictable, but by visiting you can very quickly get an idea of how many hours are normal: it will usually just be a difference of whether you get there at 6 or 7, and whether you leave at 6 or 9. Vastly different number of hours and amount of work, but often predictable nevertheless. With proper planning, it's definitely possible at many programs to have a child during residency, but some programs by their nature make it harder or easier to make this happen.

It comes down to what sort of program that you want. Country club laid back and do a few bunions here and there, or something so intense you never have time to get a full night's rest or a real meal? I would think the former would make having kids quite a bit easier, while the latter would make for quite a challenge.

 

[air bud]

I think only 1 of our 9 pi delta had kids. And he didnt have his first until 3rd year

 

[flodhi1]

I have absolutely nothing to do with Podiatry school, can make no productive contribution to this forum since I know nothing about it. Can I stay around?

 

[Ferocity]

I have absolutely nothing to do with Podiatry school, can make no productive contribution to this forum since I know nothing about it. Can I stay around?

Nah, why don't you stick to the allo forums where you can continue talking about how much more difficult and elite medical school is.

 

[flodhi1]

Nah, why don't you stick to the allo forums where you can continue talking about how much more difficult and elite medical school is.

Never said medical school is elite but yeah I agree, I should definitely stick with the Allo forum since I'm a med student. The same way Podiatry students should stick with the Pod forum since you know they are podiatry students.

 

[PatchAdamsFan]

That was very rude and immature flodhi1. You're obviously referring to me 'having no business posting in the allo section'. I urge you to read my message I sent you again, and relax.

On a site note, I see that you have made some very helpful posts regarding admissions in the past, as well as a former military career. Please don't condescend, it doesn't show good character, something which I imagine you possess.

 

[flodhi1]

That was very rude and immature flodhi1. You're obviously referring to me 'having no business posting in the allo section'. I urge you to read my message I sent you again, and relax.

On a site note, I see that you have made some very helpful posts regarding admissions in the past, as well as a former military career. Please don't condescend, it doesn't show good character, something which I imagine you possess.

Okay I'm going to stop. I agree it's immature for me to drag the same thing along and I apologize.

 

[Ferocity]

Never said medical school is elite but yeah I agree, I should definitely stick with the Allo forum since I'm a med student. The same way Podiatry students should stick with the Pod forum since you know they are podiatry students.

Cool story bro.

 

[pacpod]

I think only 1 of our 9 pi delta had kids. And he didnt have his first until 3rd year

A few people came into our class with kids and a few have had children since school started. As far as I know they are all doing fine. It is definitely harder though.

 

[ldsrmdude]

There are only so many hours in a day, and those who need more time to study, have to take time from somewhere. That's family time usually, but other things suffer too such as exercise, hobbies, etc. My point is that students with kids either sacrifice study time which leads to lower grades than they would otherwise have, or they sacrifice family time which makes it hard on the family. Balance is a hard thing to find, but it is possible.