Impossible?

[southpawcannon]

Maybe I'm not asking this question in the appropriate forum, but being I'm a nontrad, I'll start here. Is it possible to practice medicine and teach science to the high school kids? I've grown to love being around the high school kids through my employment as an Athletic Trainer with the sports medicine dept of our local hospital. I've been on my pre-med path for some time, inching closer to finishing those pre-reqs-currently taking Ochem, Physics and Pathophys, with the MCAT next summer. I really hate this either-or dilemma, that I must chose just one path, when I'd love to find a way to do both.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Is it possible to practice medicine and teach science to the high school kids?

Theoretically, I guess. Hospitalist or EM, swing your shifts so that you don't work days on TTh or something like that. Practically? Nope. You'd be hard-pressed to be full time at either job. So day-to-day stuff like health insurance would be harder to come by. Also, you'll be struggling under a pretty healthy debt load, and a part-time high school biology gig isn't going to help get that paid off. Maybe once you've paid your dues, both monetarily and in your practice, you could scale back and get more involved with teaching. A better idea perhaps would be to take a shot at academic medicine at a hospital with an associated MD program and teach medical students who don't know anything about biology instead of high-schoolers who don't know anything about biology.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

are you wanting to teach after you are a full fledged physician? or while you are becoming one? i feel like you would eventually think it isn't worth it. school days are usually 8-3 (or so) so if you are there for half of that you are going to need to be a second shift or third shift physician, and that is all. this basically leaves you to choose ER only because they usually have available shift work, however they usually aren't a couple hours. but anything is possible. it will most definitely come with sacrifices somewhere, but if you are willing to accept those, i don't see why not.

 

[badb100d]

While juggling a full time HS teaching job may not work out once you're a doctor, this doesn't mean you have to give up doing something you love. Teaching is a big part of medicine, but if you miss the HS-aged crowd perhaps you can find similar satisfaction mentoring high school students. I'm sure there are many high schools with mentoring programs for those students interested in careers in medicine. And if you end up on a research path you could get involved as a research mentor and help students entering research competitions like Intel. Although these activities probably wouldn't be paid, it would be less of a time commitment. Plus, it doesn't strike me that you want to teach HS students for the money anyway.

 

[EdLongshanks]

Maybe I'm not asking this question in the appropriate forum, but being I'm a nontrad, I'll start here. Is it possible to practice medicine and teach science to the high school kids? I've grown to love being around the high school kids through my employment as an Athletic Trainer with the sports medicine dept of our local hospital. I've been on my pre-med path for some time, inching closer to finishing those pre-reqs-currently taking Ochem, Physics and Pathophys, with the MCAT next summer. I really hate this either-or dilemma, that I must chose just one path, when I'd love to find a way to do both.

It would be a rare high school principle who would turn down a medical doctor who was willing to give enrichment courses in the school on a part-time basese

 

[MCAT guy]

Maybe I'm not asking this question in the appropriate forum, but being I'm a nontrad, I'll start here. Is it possible to practice medicine and teach science to the high school kids? I've grown to love being around the high school kids through my employment as an Athletic Trainer with the sports medicine dept of our local hospital. I've been on my pre-med path for some time, inching closer to finishing those pre-reqs-currently taking Ochem, Physics and Pathophys, with the MCAT next summer. I really hate this either-or dilemma, that I must chose just one path, when I'd love to find a way to do both.

I would say they are not compatible.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.