Introduce Yourself!!

[idk88]

Hello Everyone!!

I am seriously considering switching my plan of study from pre-vet to pre-med. Im only a sophomore (undergrad @ Purdue) so the switch will be painless. However, I am fearful of switching and regretting it later. I have always wanted to be a doctor of some sort, to treat and heal, and as I grew older I longed to operate. But theres one problem, I want to have a family, a large one at that. My biggest fear when it comes to be becoming an MD is that I won't have time for the family that I have always pictured. Im sure there has been a plethera of discussions concerning the family life of a doctor, but I was hoping to get some specific feedback and advice. My ultimate dream is to be a surgeon, but Im told it takes the standard 4 years of med. school and then 4 years or so of insane residency and then even more time for specializing. Im not sure if all types of Doctors live the same life, but I just cant picture that being my life. Can anyone give me any advice? I would love to work with newborns and premies, or then something unrelated infectious diseases. I don't think I would fancy being a family physician or anything like that. Can someone help??

Anyway, other than that ball of confusion.. My name is Jess and I go to Purdue.

Thanks!!

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[Loon]

Hi Jess.

Welcome. I'm the official guy who is up way too late for his own good and fancies himself able to say things that may well be related to what you're asking about. Keep in mind with everything I say that I am applying now and so know somewhere between absolutely nothing and diddly squat about doctors' lives.

I don't know the difference between vet school requirements and med school requirements (hell, I didn't even know all the requirements for med schools I applied to), but I can only imagine that they would be very similar. A biology major should get you to both places. Of course, the MCAT is not required for vet school, so you may need to make a decision before the actual applications go out. But that's not for another coupla years.

I have no idea what the the time commitment for vet school is, so I can't offer any actual comparisons (see above, specifically about "diddly squat"). Surgical residencies are, I think, 5 years. It might be a good idea to try and shadow a surgeon if you can and maybe get an idea of what they do and what their life is like. I believe surgical residencies are 5 years and then fellowship. Surgical residencies have a reputation for being exceedingly demanding.

However, lots of MDs have families. Something to consider with this is who you marry. If you marry another MD, odds of having time for a big family are very small. If you marry someone with a little more time on their hands, it might work, though there's a chance you will not be the stay-at-home mom type (I'm assuming you're a woman, as I've met men and women who go by Jess, but mostly women).

Regarding specialties, not all doctors get to save lives, I think, but many do. Also, not all doctors have the same lifestyles. Trauma surgeons tend to spend all sorts of hours elbow deep in abdomens. There are specialties that are (unoffically) referred to as lifestyle specialties and which don't have quite the impact on your time that trauma surgery or obstetrics (I think) do. These include but are not limited to dermatology, radiology and sometimes emergency medicine. You could certainly be an obstetrician and work with babies or a pediatrician and work with kids of any age range. You could also specialize in infectious diseases.

Seeing as the road to vet school and med school (probably) starts out the same, keep taking your classes and research medicine. There's no rush to decide now.

Also, beware of taking advice from sleep-addled strangers on the internet who are looking for any excuse to avoid work.

 

[Premed Worrier]

Hello Everyone!!

I am seriously considering switching my plan of study from pre-vet to pre-med. Im only a sophomore (undergrad @ Purdue) so the switch will be painless. However, I am fearful of switching and regretting it later. I have always wanted to be a doctor of some sort, to treat and heal, and as I grew older I longed to operate. But theres one problem, I want to have a family, a large one at that. My biggest fear when it comes to be becoming an MD is that I won't have time for the family that I have always pictured. Im sure there has been a plethera of discussions concerning the family life of a doctor, but I was hoping to get some specific feedback and advice. My ultimate dream is to be a surgeon, but Im told it takes the standard 4 years of med. school and then 4 years or so of insane residency and then even more time for specializing. Im not sure if all types of Doctors live the same life, but I just cant picture that being my life. Can anyone give me any advice? I would love to work with newborns and premies, or then something unrelated infectious diseases. I don't think I would fancy being a family physician or anything like that. Can someone help??

Anyway, other than that ball of confusion.. My name is Jess and I go to Purdue.

Thanks!!

I am not a doctor yet, but from what I understand surgery is one of the most demanding professions that doctors can specialize in. I am sure this will now be debated, but just what I have heard.

 

[stooges287]

I am not a doctor yet, but from what I understand surgery is one of the most demanding professions that doctors can specialize in. I am sure this will now be debated, but just what I have heard.

Nope, this is pretty widely agreed upon. And Jess, if you are a female (I apologize if you are not), know that generally females who want to have families and go into surgery will face greater challenges than in a less demanding specialty (this is a reason why you don't see tons of female surgeons running around). That being said, if you are truly interested in exploring the possibility of medicine, I would find a surgeon to shadow (especially a female) to get a better idea of what their lifestyle is besides just listening to us

 

[Dulcina]

Nope, this is pretty widely agreed upon. And Jess, if you are a female (I apologize if you are not), know that generally females who want to have families and go into surgery will face greater challenges than in a less demanding specialty (this is a reason why you don't see tons of female surgeons running around). That being said, if you are truly interested in exploring the possibility of medicine, I would find a surgeon to shadow (especially a female) to get a better idea of what their lifestyle is besides just listening to us

surgery is one of the few specialties where it is still very difficult to work part-time. It is a HUGE time commitment, one that I cant really understand. Maybe try shadowing a surgeon like stooges said, but even that wont give you a great idea of what its like, since it wont be for their full shift. I'd say if you like medicine and decide to go that route, you can choose another specialty after doing the surgery rotation (which will truly give you a sense of the lifestyle). Good luck!

 

[HeatherMD]

I'm not going to worry about the kid thing until I'm past 30.

Like you, I want a big family. Like you, I also what the ever-demanding career of a physician (I definitely don't want to be a surgeon but still).

I'm going to occupy my time right now with getting into & graduating from med school. After that, I'll see where I stand on the family thing.

No reason to worry about those things now!