If you could do it over would you

[NRAI2001]

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Would I do it again?

No. Just read my other post--I'm about to start an intern year and when I finish it, I'm done.

DON'T go into medicine unless you have LOTS and LOTS of exposure to the clinical side! I didn't really know what med school would be like, since I don't have any friends or relatives in the field, so I got suckered in by the promise of money and prestige.

I got into a great med school, because I had great scores and I have lots of other interests. No one told me that in medicine, you REALLY REALLY have to love it...otherwise, you just can't justify the work. I know I can't.

For the majority of people, money will NOT buy happiness. I know that I can stay on this path of medicine and make tons of cash, but I'll never be happy. I'll always hate going to work.

Please don't go into medicine unless you'd do it regardless of the money or prestige.

Sorry about your experience Will. Hopefully thing will turn out better.

What school did you go to? What residency do you plan on doing?

 

[Leukocyte]

If you put a "born orthopedic surgeon" in a Family Medicine residency, and tell him/her that he/she will have to do primary care for the rest of his/her life,....he/she will curse the day that he/she considered medicine as a career.

In other words, if you wanted to be an ENT, applied for the ENT match, but did not match...and was forced to settle for Family Medicine...then, may God be with you.

Medicine is not a single career. It is made up of many different careers. General Surgery is not like ENT. Internal Medicine is not like Neurology.

People regret going into medicine when they are doing something they do not want to do. For example, a FMG ENT hopeful who was forced into primary care because he did not match into ENT.

 

[mysophobe]

My parents lied when they told me I could be anything I wanted to be. Good thing I didn't want to be a neurosurgeon; I never would have matched.

 

[8744]

If you put a "born orthopedic surgeon" in a Family Medicine residency, and tell him/her that he/she will have to do primary care for the rest of his/her life,....he/she will curse the day that he/she considered medicine as a career.

In other words, if you wanted to be an ENT, applied for the ENT match, but did not match...and was forced to settle for Family Medicine...then, may God be with you.

Medicine is not a single career. It is made up of many different careers. General Surgery is not like ENT. Internal Medicine is not like Neurology.

People regret going into medicine when they are doing something they do not want to do. For example, a FMG ENT hopeful who was forced into primary care because he did not match into ENT.

Just a style point and I since I am not perfect in spelling or grammer I usually don't comment but please dont use he/she and his/her. Pick one or the other (although by convention "he" and his" are used) and be done with it.

It is sick-making.

 

[Leukocyte]

Just a style point and I since I am not perfect in spelling or grammer I usually don't comment but please dont use he/she and his/her. Pick one or the other (although by convention "he" and his" are used) and be done with it.

It is sick-making.

Noted. I agree, it is "sickening" and I do not enjoy the extra typing. I was just trying to be fair to the ladies. My English 102 teacher in college was a feminist activist, and insisted that we write "he/she" in our essays! She got me paranoid ever since.

 

[bulletproof]

Noted. I agree, it is "sickening" and I do not enjoy the extra typing. I was just trying to be fair to the ladies. My English 102 teacher in college was a feminist activist, and insisted that we write "he/she" in our essays! She got me paranoid ever since.

I find it easier to just be neutral as in " If you ask an orthopaedic surgeoon about their careers, they will probably answer..."

 

[fuegofrio17]

The problem is that surgeon is singular and they is plural. You either have to choose between speaking in the plural or navigating the whole he or she option.

 

[inositide]

One thing everyone considering medicine should become keenly aware of before applying to medical school is that the profession of medicine is very different from almost all other professions.

To a certain extent, there is stuff that you can never know until you enter the profession, but you should know that it is not all about glamour and money as popular culture would lead you to believe.

The rewards can be tremendous in many ways, but the sacrifices are also there. Missing out on holidays, cutting away time from family time, and spending many of the youngest and healthiest years of your life studying and doing residency is absolutely a given.

Most people are probably happy with their choice.

Just keep in mind that if the only type of medicine that you want to practice is an extremely competitive field where residencies are hard to get, then there is no guarantee that you will get into that area of medicine. People often refer to ortho, derm, etc.

Can you handle going into general surgery if you don't match to ortho or neurosurg? Can you handle going into medicine if you dont match to derm? Can you handle doing medicine residency at a less reknown community program because your medical school performance was not good enough to get you into the top notch medicine residency program even though you had a ivy league pedigree heading into med school? Can you handle doing anesthesia because you didn't match to radiology?

 

[Solideliquid]

You know, I think most people outside of medicine feel pretty much the same way most of these posters do. Regret, sadness, and anger. That is a lot of what I am seeing represented here.

I don't think it's just doctors, I think overall the majority of humanity feels this way. When was the last time you met someone who absolutely did not regret a choice they have made?

When I come across such a rare person, I consider myself very fortunate.

Oh yeah, the OP...was it worth it? Yes. If I had to go back in time would I do it over, probably not.

 

[KidDr]

People regret going into medicine when they are doing something they do not want to do. For example, a FMG ENT hopeful who was forced into primary care because he did not match into ENT.

This is definitely true but it's not the whole story. There are, without a doubt, people in specialties that they want to be in who are also unhappy. Even loving the specialty you're in doesn't make it easy to repeatedly miss holidays, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and just plain old TIME with your family and friends. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, by going down this path you'll miss many moments that you can't get back--I know of moms (& dads) who missed their kids first birthdays, first words, first steps, etc...because they were working. It gets really old really fast.

 

[Vox Animo]

This is to sacrament, panda bear, old bear professor or other practicing clinicians or residents:

I never stumbled upon this thread before, but im wishing i did. I going to be a MS1 next year. And am questioning my career. I have always struggled between teaching and medical school.

What can I do this summer to give me an accurate perception of what my life will be like? IF the struggle is worth it for me? Should i do more shadowing?


Sorry if this has been answered, but 26 pages of **** is a alot to sort through.

 

[tRmedic21]

Perhaps you should see if you can spend a month with a large practice, maybe doing 4 hour shifts twice daily with different physicians. Sort of like I'm doing in FP now. I am getting TONS of exposure to different docs and their philosophies on both medicine and life. It is a very educational experience, not just in medical knowledge, but also in HOW you will manage your time, patient caseload, administrative duties, etc.

I think this is a very good thing, personally. I can pick and choose the things that I like from each doctor's style and incorporate them all into one that works for me. But I also get to see how happy/unhappy/bored each of them may or may not be.

Just my $0.02

 

[Taurus]

I'm finishing up my first year. In retrospect, I wish I had taken a harder look at dentistry. I'm doing well in med school, but I don't look forward to the debt, hours, and bs that is coming my way. I wish this thread existed when I was thinking about applying!

 

[mysophobe]

Perhaps you should see if you can spend a month with a large practice, maybe doing 4 hour shifts twice daily with different physicians. Sort of like I'm doing in FP now. I am getting TONS of exposure to different docs and their philosophies on both medicine and life. It is a very educational experience, not just in medical knowledge, but also in HOW you will manage your time, patient caseload, administrative duties, etc.

I think this is a very good thing, personally. I can pick and choose the things that I like from each doctor's style and incorporate them all into one that works for me. But I also get to see how happy/unhappy/bored each of them may or may not be.

Just my $0.02

Vox isn't even an MSI yet. What is he going to do at a physician's office for 8 hours a day that will give him any idea of what it's really like to be an MD? It's been said before, and I'll say it again: you can't really know what it's like until you go through it. Sad, but true.

 

[Debridement]

Vox isn't even an MSI yet. What is he going to do at a physician's office for 8 hours a day that will give him any idea of what it's really like to be an MD? It's been said before, and I'll say it again: you can't really know what it's like until you go through it. Sad, but true.

If I spent 8 hours a day in clinic before I went to med school, I would have decided to be a chef instead.

Clinic blows. Go to the OR or the trauma bay. At least that is exciting...

 

[Lady In Rad]

As an intern about 6 weeks from becoming a PGY 2, I can't help but feel regret. I have never seen so many of my compassionate, intelligent intern colleagues, some whom I have known years from medical school, have so much regret, sadness in their eyes during intern year. I do not know if you could ever know what the "Medical Experience" is like until you go through it. It takes the most caring, enthusiastic, bright, go-getter type person and breaks you down to lower than the dirt on the floor in the corner of the cafeteria. Imagine that you have been beaten on the floor and while you are down and out the attacks keep coming, over and over again. This is the intern year. I think I have seen more tears shed this year from myself and intern friends at work than I would have ever imagined. Honestly, I contemplate quitting and I have only six weeks until I start a specialty PGY2 year. I hope that I like the specialty world better.

Reading this message board reminds me of my premed days when I thought that I could be a "doctor" and that I had what it took to be a"doctor". Looking back I was naive and uneducated regarding the demands of the job. I felt I was caring, efficient, and smart enough and that I could do it. I thought when I saw the grumpy doctors that they were not caring enough and that I could do better. Boy was I wrong! Yes, there are grumpy people that go into medicine and then end up still grumpy. But have any of these premeds stopped and thought that maybe some of the grumpy, stressed docs were happy, fun, caring people before they went into medicine and now they are in a grumpy existence. I had a close intern friend on peds heme/once service who said once that you know that you have stopped caring when you "stop caring or showing compassion for kids with cancer". This is how bad intern year beats you up. Maybe I have just become a "hardened" physician.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

tough question. if you want to be the oldest of your friends, most of which you carried through high school or college, and still be the brokest, while even a shoe salesman make 30K while you build up 40K in debt. Medicine is definitely not what it used to be. Patients and communities don't respect docs and do not realize that we will work at least 20 hours a week on average more than most, and keep getting paid less, no matter if we are the best in our specialty. Try asking an accountant or architect to all get paid the same regardless of service and quality rendered?? Medical school is a humbling experience. People will drive mercedes and shop around for the cheapest gas and oil change, yet expect bypass surgery or a life-saving trip to the ER to be free. it still is a field that can be very satisfactory and most of us i believe just like to be around people, involved in their lives, and care for the masses. if it is for money, prestige, etc. look again at the top 1

architects get paid $30-40,000 their entire careers. and it's not odd for them to work 60-70 hour weeks when deadlines are approaching. So... stop whining. Maybe patients don't respect you because you're arrogant and whiny.

 

[Sammich81]

Once I start my anesthesiology rotations, I think these feelings of disappointment and anger will dissipate, especially since there isn't as much doctor-patient interaction in anesthesia. ..

I'm looking at anesthesia right now as a soon to be MS4...and how weird is it that we're going to be happier about our jobs when the doctor-patient interaction is decreased? Not that I disagree at all--but I think doctor-patient interactions are why a lot of people went into this field in the first place. Sometimes when I look back at my sixteen year old self all gung ho about medicine and talking to people all day long for a job, I wonder what I thought medicine would be like. Definitely not like what it's been. Still glad I went this route--I love the OR and gas and all the cool things we get to do, so I've found things that make me really happy, but they're not what I came here for.

 

[8744]

architects get paid $30-40,000 their entire careers. and it's not odd for them to work 60-70 hour weeks when deadlines are approaching. So... stop whining. Maybe patients don't respect you because you're arrogant and whiny.

Whoa. I knew a lot of architects. I was a structural engineer so I kind of worked closely with 'em. Most of them who were self-employed billed the same amount I did which was in the range of 60 to 100 dollars an hour. When business was good and we worked seventy hours a week we cleaned up and made money hand over fist.

The trouble with intern year is that you work 70 to 80 hours a week for the whole year as a routine matter and don't get a lick more pay then if you worked forty. Even when I worked for somebody else as an engineer I got paid extra for overtime. Not time and a half or anything like that but the usual arrangement was to divide your annual salary by 2000 (hours) and give you this for any hour over 45. When you work for a private firm and they are billing for your hours twice what they pay you then it is in your employers best interests to keep you interested in productivity.

Also, in the engineering business if you don't like your company you can easily quit and find work somewhere else. I did this several times, mostly because I was offered more money and better benefits. I finally said "screw it" and went into business for myself.

Switching residencies, on the other hand, is a year-long extremely expensive and risky proposition as I know from personal experience. From a strictly employment point of view, that is not considering the intangibles and the very real future payoff, residency training is a supremely crappy job with pay that would be considered insulting in any other professional field. Hey, I have a bachelor's degree, two years of graduate school, a medical degree, and one year of residency and I make about ten dollars an hour. They are offering that at McDonalds in some parts of the country. I made more as Sergeant in the Marine Corps 15 years ago from a take-home pay point of view.

 

[billydoc]

Whoa. I knew a lot of architects. I was a structural engineer so I kind of worked closely with 'em. Most of them who were self-employed billed the same amount I did which was in the range of 60 to 100 dollars an hour. When business was good and we worked seventy hours a week we cleaned up and made money hand over fist.

The trouble with intern year is that you work 70 to 80 hours a week for the whole year as a routine matter and don't get a lick more pay then if you worked forty. Even when I worked for somebody else as an engineer I got paid extra for overtime. Not time and a half or anything like that but the usual arrangement was to divide your annual salary by 2000 (hours) and give you this for any hour over 45. When you work for a private firm and they are billing for your hours twice what they pay you then it is in your employers best interests to keep you interested in productivity.

Also, in the engineering business if you don't like your company you can easily quit and find work somewhere else. I did this several times, mostly because I was offered more money and better benefits. I finally said "screw it" and went into business for myself.

Switching residencies, on the other hand, is a year-long extremely expensive and risky proposition as I know from personal experience. From a strictly employment point of view, that is not considering the intangibles and the very real future payoff, residency training is a supremely crappy job with pay that would be considered insulting in any other professional field. Hey, I have a bachelor's degree, two years of graduate school, a medical degree, and one year of residency and I make about ten dollars an hour. They are offering that at McDonalds in some parts of the country. I made more as Sergeant in the Marine Corps 15 years ago from a take-home pay point of view.

Hey Panda Bear!
Thanks again. You keeping it here for us very real. It's too early to tell, because you didn't start practicing yet, and of course, intern year is not an indication of "was it worth it or not". But knowing about the whole shmere now, whould you do again or just stick with what you had, or even picksomething entirely different?
Thanks

 

[Sammich81]

I want ya'll to know that there is a thread in the pre-allopathic forum on this thread, and that they have successfully been depressed and terrified. So much the better if it makes them examine their motivation more deeply!

 

[willbailey]

This is to sacrament, panda bear, old bear professor or other practicing clinicians or residents:

I never stumbled upon this thread before, but im wishing i did. I going to be a MS1 next year. And am questioning my career. I have always struggled between teaching and medical school.

What can I do this summer to give me an accurate perception of what my life will be like? IF the struggle is worth it for me? Should i do more shadowing?


Sorry if this has been answered, but 26 pages of **** is a alot to sort through.

Why did you choose medicine?

Here's my ultimate conclusion: if you have a passion for ANYTHING else besides medicine, then DO NOT GO INTO MEDICINE! However, a friend of mine is also in medicine, and his passion is money--hence, he's an anesthesia resident. He'll do great, he won't kill anyone, and he doesn't regret medicine. For him, it's the easiest way to an M3.

For me, though, money does not outweigh the fact that I'm now in a field which I can't stand--which is why I won't stay in medicine.

That's the problem with admissions...they rely too much on scores and the MCAT. I was a hard-science major and also got a degree in literature...hence, I destroyed the MCAT. It had nothing to do with medicine or my like of medicine--rather, it was the promise of money, prestige, and yes, even glory.

But let me repeat, if you have a passion other than medicine, THEN DON'T GO INTO MEDICINE. However, if you're pretty much cool with anything, then go for it. Obviously, if your passion is medicine, you know the answer.

 

[8744]

Hey Panda Bear!
Thanks again. You keeping it here for us very real. It's too early to tell, because you didn't start practicing yet, and of course, intern year is not an indication of "was it worth it or not". But knowing about the whole shmere now, whould you do again or just stick with what you had, or even picksomething entirely different?
Thanks

Probably not. I'd probably have just stuck with engineeirng. This is not to say that I regret going into medicine, just that the experience of the last year, that is, scrambling into a specialty that I have grown to dislike at a medical center I like even less and spending most of this year with the fear that I would be stuck in this situation would have made me say no thanks six years ago.

But I've matched into the speciaty I wanted this year and although I'm going to whine and complain like a little girl as I repeat intern year I now thnk it was most definitely worth it.

 

[mysophobe]

If I spent 8 hours a day in clinic before I went to med school, I would have decided to be a chef instead.

Clinic blows. Go to the OR or the trauma bay. At least that is exciting...

Haha, this is true. But, having only one side doesn't paint a complete picture. I just think shadowing is a poor tool for deciding whether or not to go to med school.

 

[tikiman]

You'd best watch your step there son, you're on shaky ground. Keep your self-righteous thoughts to yourself.

... NOT A DUDE!! ME = FEMALE!... how did u get into med school again? 👎

 

[tikiman]

You'd best watch your step there son, you're on shaky ground. Keep your self-righteous thoughts to yourself.

... "NOT A DUDE!! ME = FEMALE!"... how did u get into med school again? 👎

 

[tikiman]

I have read upto like page nine of this thread so far so forgive me if i missed something... but the ONE thing that troubles me and keeps me from being sure if i want to be a doctor or not is the thought of spending my prime year (20's) in a library, buried in books. I can take the hard academic lifestyle and the ten hours/day studying, i can take the $200,000 loan and never regret it and anyother downfield that comes from the going into medicine but if there one thing that scares me, its watching what should be the best decade of my life slip through my hands... 🙄

For all of you guys who already went through this, how did u cope with knowing that you had to sacrifice the best years of your life for this field?

tikiman

 

[inositide]

Tikiman: the way to handle it is to not think about it in terms of years. You take medical school week by week. If you show up one the first day of medical school and keep thinking about how you have two years of hardcore basic science stuff to get through, it will be discouraging.

The other thing is that the pace of learning and the extent of workload occupies your time so time seems to go by a little faster.


However, it would be hard to find a medical school student who does not wonder more than a few times during the pre-clinical years about when it finally be over.

 

[tikiman]

if success were easy everybody would do it... truth is... most everyone bit$#es about everything... Ibankers bit#$ that they don't get respect... lawyers bit#$ cuz everyone hates their guts... doctors bit@# b/c they think they work so much harder than everyone else... bit@# bit!@ bit*&

welcome to America... everyone bit@#ing even tho they live in the wealthiest nation in the world... have clean water, ample supply of activities, relative safety, and an incredibly stable political system etc. etc.

bit@!, bit#$, bit@#

unless you can't feed your kids, you're about to die from cholera, and your wife was just raped and murdered by some fascist political movement... please don't bit@! relative to all of that... IM is a great field... and so is working at wal-mart... you can pick the one that suits you or anything inbetween...

ABSOLUTELY TERRAFIC POST 👍 !

 

[tikiman]

No, I personally would not do it again. My priorities now as a single 28 year old MS4 are VERY different from what they were 4 years ago when I was a 24 year old Pre-med/MS1. Now I am more concerned with:

1) Finding a wife and starting a family2) Financial security
3) Life Style and engoying whatever is left in my youth (Only 22 years until I reach 50 😱 , and 15 years after I am done with residency! assuming I do not do a fellowship. )

My classmates from undergrad are already Labratory managers and supervisors, married, and living a stable happy life with MONEY IN THE BANK. Some even passed the 1 million mark!.....and here I am, a poor single medical student with a NEGATIVE net worth of 150,000.

Although I am still interested in medicine, it is no longer at the top of my priority list.....But there is no turning back now.

... Gujudoc is available... 😀

 

[8744]

I have read upto like page nine of this thread so far so forgive me if i missed something... but the ONE thing that troubles me and keeps me from being sure if i want to be a doctor or not is the thought of spending my prime year (20's) in a library, buried in books. I can take the hard academic lifestyle and the ten hours/day studying, i can take the $200,000 loan and never regret it and anyother downfield that comes from the going into medicine but if there one thing that scares me, its watching what should be the best decade of my life slip through my hands... 🙄

For all of you guys who already went through this, how did u cope with knowing that you had to sacrifice the best years of your life for this field?

tikiman

Enlist. Be a Soldier or a Marine. Maybe try for Ranger school if you decide on the Army. Definitely go infantry. (I mean if you want to do the exact opposite of being buried in a library while life passes you by.)

 

[8744]

Besides, there are no "best years of your life." They are all good.

 

[willbailey]

Med school was NOT so tough that it consumed my life.

Rather, the first 2 years were like college, in terms of amounts of studying and classes (except for a few high-stress periods, like anatomy).

Throughout med school, I've had plenty of spare time, pursued my hobbies, traveled a lot, and had romantic relationships. Med school does NOT consume all of those things.

Residency, however, is a different story, as I'm about to find out.

 

[OUsooner]

... NOT A DUDE!! ME = FEMALE!... how did u get into med school again? 👎

Not trying to pick on you in particular, but I get a kick out of the posters who say "how did u get into med school?" After 4 years of med school and seeing many of the jokers in the profession, I look at random bums on the street and wonder, "how come he didn't become a neurosurgeon?"

As a business major in undergrad I think I expected a lot more of the old school doctor stereotypes to play out in med school. Instead I found a class full of people who often lack social cues and any semblance of street smarts. Not that this is a bad thing - with all these clowns around, my deficiences blended in pretty well.

 

[Blade28]

I have read upto like page nine of this thread so far so forgive me if i missed something... but the ONE thing that troubles me and keeps me from being sure if i want to be a doctor or not is the thought of spending my prime year (20's) in a library, buried in books.

First, you don't have to study 10 hr/day - lots, sure, especially before tests, but nothing like that.

Third year is the tough year.

Why did I spend part of my 20s (22-26) slaving away in med school? Because I'm doing something I love.

And as I'm finishing up my surgical internship, though it's been brutal at times, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.

 

[remedios]

I have read upto like page nine of this thread so far so forgive me if i missed something... but the ONE thing that troubles me and keeps me from being sure if i want to be a doctor or not is the thought of spending my prime year (20's) in a library, buried in books. I can take the hard academic lifestyle and the ten hours/day studying, i can take the $200,000 loan and never regret it and anyother downfield that comes from the going into medicine but if there one thing that scares me, its watching what should be the best decade of my life slip through my hands... 🙄

For all of you guys who already went through this, how did u cope with knowing that you had to sacrifice the best years of your life for this field?

tikiman

I honestly think med school was the best years of my life (so far). Not because every thing was super smooth-- I had death in the family, major relationship drama, etc, but I love what I do, and I think I'm lucky to be good at what I love to do. Compared to my college years where it was more relaxed schedule wise, I wasn't as happy as I am now because I felt more lost in a lot of ways.

It's different though for everybody.

 

[gujuDoc]

Tikiman,

Don't know if your post was directed to him or me, but that was a long time ago and a post that is better left at the beginning of this thread. The last few pages are the only ones worth reading because that's where the thread gets back on track. Oh and I said some things I'd probably not have posted on here if I was posting those things today.

So don't dredge up my old posts.

P.S. Read the blogs of people like PandaBear for accurate accounts of residency, or the residency diaries at top.

 

[fakin' the funk]

A lot of the docs who regret having become one just never took an anesthesiology rotation 😀

HI

I frequently hear practicing physicians, even the ones who somewhat enjoy what they do, say that they would not do it again if given the chance. Im currentlyin the process of deciding wether or not to go to med school. I was just wondering how you residents feel about this, would you do it over again
thanks

 

[gujuDoc]

A lot of the docs who regret having become one just never took an anesthesiology rotation 😀

A friend's ex regrets becoming an anaesthesiologist (sp??)

So its all relative.

 

[NRAI2001]

A lot of the docs who regret having become one just never took an anesthesiology rotation 😀

The more I read and learn about anesth. the more awesome I learn it is. Why doesnt everyother person want to go into anesth.? Seriously why isnt it more competitive than it is (from what i hear its mildly competitive)?

 

[humuhumu]

The more I read and learn about anesth. the more awesome I learn it is. Why doesnt everyother person want to go into anesth.? Seriously why isnt it more competitive than it is (from what i hear its mildly competitive)?

The downsides I've heard are that every day starts VERY early, the relationship with surgeons is often adversarial, and if things are going well (i.e., most of the time) it can be very boring. There are also some concerns about turf battles with CRNAs.

That said, I think it's an interesting field and I haven't ruled it out. There's more to anesthesia than the OR.

 

[NRAI2001]

The downsides I've heard are that every day starts VERY early, the relationship with surgeons is often adversarial, and if things are going well (i.e., most of the time) it can be very boring. There are also some concerns about turf battles with CRNAs.

That said, I think it's an interesting field and I haven't ruled it out. There's more to anesthesia than the OR.

Yea i always thought it was just putting people to sleep, but there is so much more as I am learning. There is post operative care, ICU care, pain management.......etc

 

[neutropenic]

Why doesnt everyother person want to go into anesth.?

Boring mostly then terror sometimes.
No patients of your own (unless you do pain then it's patients you can't get rid of).
Little patient contact.
Have to wear scrubs instead of nice clothes.

 

[mysophobe]

Have to watch other people do surgery.
Bad reputation (just put people to sleep, not really "doctors").
OB patients. 👎

 

[gujuDoc]

The downsides I've heard are that every day starts VERY early, the relationship with surgeons is often adversarial, and if things are going well (i.e., most of the time) it can be very boring. There are also some concerns about turf battles with CRNAs.

That said, I think it's an interesting field and I haven't ruled it out. There's more to anesthesia than the OR.

Not to mention that there are now anesthesia assistants which is like a specialized PA program in anesthesia. So this is above CRNA status but below Dr. status. But at any rate, Anest. assistants make like 6 digit figures with less then half the training of the a doctor.

 

[gujuDoc]

Boring mostly then terror sometimes.
No patients of your own (unless you do pain then it's patients you can't get rid of).
Little patient contact.
Have to wear scrubs instead of nice clothes.

I thought wearing scrubs would be a good thing. Most doctors I know like to wear scrubs when they get a chance because they are comfortable. In fact, the epilepsy specialist I shadowed would actually never be seen in nice clothes unless he was at a conference or getting his name badge made. Everytime I see him around, he's in scrubs and he never even works in the OR.

 

[billydoc]

Not to mention that there are now anesthesia assistants which is like a specialized PA program in anesthesia. So this is above CRNA status but below Dr. status. But at any rate, Anest. assistants make like 6 digit figures with less then half the training of the a doctor.

Hi gujuDoc! I don't want to go off topic here. But your info is incorect. CRNAs are the independent anesthesia providers. There is no such thing as "above" or "below" Dr for them. Their practice (in most States) is regulated by the boards of nursing, not medicine. Therefore, again in most instances, there is no direct supervision by a physician is required. However AA, just like a PA, cannot practice independently (at least not legally).

Hope it helps 😀

 

[Dr. V]

Absolutely, 100% without a doubt YES. I would go through it all again and I just graduated a few days ago so it is fresh on my mind.

I had the time of my life in Med school. I'm not saying it was easy, but it is not nearly as hard as it is rumored to be and it was FUN. Stressful, but fun.

Keep in mind this is coming from someone that was an average working joe in the factories. I worked 40-60 hours per week for about 20 grand a year for 12 years at one factory. If you want something that really sucks that's the ticket. I just can't understand how anyone that has ever done much physical labor/ factory work would ever regret medical school. Even at its worst it was nowhere near as bad as a factory. I felt like I had it made.

Residency may change my mind, but right now I feel like the luckiest person alive. 😀

 

[gujuDoc]

Hi gujuDoc! I don't want to go off topic here. But your info is incorect. CRNAs are the independent anesthesia providers. There is no such thing as "above" or "below" Dr for them. Their practice (in most States) is regulated by the boards of nursing, not medicine. Therefore, again in most instances, there is no direct supervision by a physician is required. However AA, just like a PA, cannot practice independently (at least not legally).

Hope it helps 😀

I stand corrected. I was under the impression that they were some sort of specialized NP program, and hence thought they had to work under a doc. I apologize.

 

[NRAI2001]

Absolutely, 100% without a doubt YES. I would go through it all again and I just graduated a few days ago so it is fresh on my mind.

I had the time of my life in Med school. I'm not saying it was easy, but it is not nearly as hard as it is rumored to be and it was FUN. Stressful, but fun.

Keep in mind this is coming from someone that was an average working joe in the factories. I worked 40-60 hours per week for about 20 grand a year for 12 years at one factory. If you want something that really sucks that's the ticket. I just can't understand how anyone that has ever done much physical labor/ factory work would ever regret medical school. Even at its worst it was nowhere near as bad as a factory. I felt like I had it made.

Residency may change my mind, but right now I feel like the luckiest person alive. 😀

Wow congrats man 👍

Whats in your future now?