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Sometimes it feels like all the doctors I talk to are telling me to run. What is the scene like from the inside? Thank you.
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Go in with no illusions. Listen to those doctors' stories, why they feel the way they do, and seek out other negative takes on medicine and its future. Learn about the bleak aspects of medicine and ask yourself, "can I handle this?"
Then do the same, but for people who love their career and ask why. Seek out optimistic takes on the future of medicine. Then ask yourself, "would it be worth going through all the negative aspects in order to attain this dream?"
Only you can answer that for yourself. But think critically, seek out a variety of perspectives. Also, understand that if you're asking a burned out intern or surgical PGY2 working 80hrs/week for $60k/year you're going to get a different answer than from someone who is a Derm attending working 30hrs/week making $500k.
Then do the same, but for people who love their career and ask why. Seek out optimistic takes on the future of medicine. Then ask yourself, "would it be worth going through all the negative aspects in order to attain this dream?"
Only you can answer that for yourself. But think critically, seek out a variety of perspectives. Also, understand that if you're asking a burned out intern or surgical PGY2 working 80hrs/week for $60k/year you're going to get a different answer than from someone who is a Derm attending working 30hrs/week making $500k.
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One important thing to consider about talking to anyone in pretty much any profession is... many of them don't know what the alternatives are. Or rather, they "know", but haven't lived those alternatives the same way they're living their current job.
We all know what sucks about our jobs. The pressure points. The frustrations.
We mostly know what's good about other jobs we see / that our friends and family have.
This is even true of people who have switched careers: jobs can change dramatically over a decade or two, so someone who was in finance 20 years ago and is a physician now doesn't have a direct comparison between the two. More than most, but still going to emphasize the current one in a different way than the past one.
We all know what sucks about our jobs. The pressure points. The frustrations.
We mostly know what's good about other jobs we see / that our friends and family have.
This is even true of people who have switched careers: jobs can change dramatically over a decade or two, so someone who was in finance 20 years ago and is a physician now doesn't have a direct comparison between the two. More than most, but still going to emphasize the current one in a different way than the past one.
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The thing people have to keep in mind is that no job is perfect. While of course the ideal is that you find medicine to be a "calling" and it leads to a wonderfully fulfilling career, even if it isn't it may be a well paying job with excellent job security which is an enviable baseline. People who are unhappy in medicine would not necessarily be any happier in another profession.
None of this answers whether medicine is right for YOU, but as others have basically said, consider your sources when weighing how heavily to consider their perspectives.
None of this answers whether medicine is right for YOU, but as others have basically said, consider your sources when weighing how heavily to consider their perspectives.
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No professional career is truly "safe." Every career has to make adjustments, and the question is whether you are willing to adjust to the career you choose. Even the Supreme Court needs a Code of Ethics...
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I am not a physician but if I had been a traditional med school graduate, I would have graduated 40 years ago. As it is, I've been working adjacent to physicians for even longer than that and can speak a bit to how medicine has changed over 4 decades.
There were no RVUs (relative value units) as a measure of productivity, no administrators waving the latest Press-Ganey patient satisfaction surveys that seem to turn measures of quality of medical care into yelp reviews on the quality of the sandwiches served, and for better for worse, most physicians were in private practice and essentially small business owners unlike today when many medical practices have been purchased by private equity firms.
Doctors can feel pressure that they didn't feel in times past. Some have seen their incomes stagnate, some feel judged for things in their clinical setting over which they have no control. It would be easy for someone toward the end of a career say, "this isn't what I signed up for".
We can't predict what the future will hold; a physician who graduated in 1957 told me that his father-in-law, a physician a generation ahead of him, was horrified at the passage of Medicare and sure that medicine was going down the drain. Instead, the 1960s-70s were the golden age for a specialist who did a lot of procedures as that doc did.
If you are doing this because you like using scientific principles to help people who are experiencing physical, mental and emotional difficulties and helping others to prevent health problems or to prevent them from getting worse, then it is likely that you'll be able to continue to do that for the duration of your work life. If you are doing this for respect, or the monetary rewards, the respect and reimbursement society affords doctors these days may never be enough.
There were no RVUs (relative value units) as a measure of productivity, no administrators waving the latest Press-Ganey patient satisfaction surveys that seem to turn measures of quality of medical care into yelp reviews on the quality of the sandwiches served, and for better for worse, most physicians were in private practice and essentially small business owners unlike today when many medical practices have been purchased by private equity firms.
Doctors can feel pressure that they didn't feel in times past. Some have seen their incomes stagnate, some feel judged for things in their clinical setting over which they have no control. It would be easy for someone toward the end of a career say, "this isn't what I signed up for".
We can't predict what the future will hold; a physician who graduated in 1957 told me that his father-in-law, a physician a generation ahead of him, was horrified at the passage of Medicare and sure that medicine was going down the drain. Instead, the 1960s-70s were the golden age for a specialist who did a lot of procedures as that doc did.
If you are doing this because you like using scientific principles to help people who are experiencing physical, mental and emotional difficulties and helping others to prevent health problems or to prevent them from getting worse, then it is likely that you'll be able to continue to do that for the duration of your work life. If you are doing this for respect, or the monetary rewards, the respect and reimbursement society affords doctors these days may never be enough.
I'm a physician and heeded the warning signs nearly 2 decades ago. I left full time practice and started to work in the biopharmaceutical industry. I've never been more happy. Many horror stories from my classmates about insurance hassles and pressures to increase productivity. I miss the patient interaction, but I absolutely love the science and research.
There will always be a need for physicians. And there are many different paths after med school: academia, private practice, research, industry, consulting, finance, etc. I agree with the advice above to talk to many different types of physicians.
There will always be a need for physicians. And there are many different paths after med school: academia, private practice, research, industry, consulting, finance, etc. I agree with the advice above to talk to many different types of physicians.
Hollow Knight
Praise the sun
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Yes, it's a secure way to make good money if you just walk the path. It's a VERY hard path, but if you walk it, you're basically guaranteed a good job with an absurdly good salary.
I assume the physicians you talked to were complaining of things like prior authorizations, the decline in physician-owned practices and autonomy, the RVU rat race, feeling like they had to see too many patients a day to feel comfortable, a heavy inbox load, etc. All of those things do suck, and you need a plan on how you will deal with them. My current plan is to see fewer patients and make less money for my sanity.
But even with those challenges, medical school is still an incredibly straightforward way to an amazing job.
I assume the physicians you talked to were complaining of things like prior authorizations, the decline in physician-owned practices and autonomy, the RVU rat race, feeling like they had to see too many patients a day to feel comfortable, a heavy inbox load, etc. All of those things do suck, and you need a plan on how you will deal with them. My current plan is to see fewer patients and make less money for my sanity.
But even with those challenges, medical school is still an incredibly straightforward way to an amazing job.
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I think it's "secure" in the sense that I do not expect in any of our lifetimes that the "product" being sold will change so significantly that we become obsolete. I think a career as a physician will remain well-compensated across the board, reasonably well respected, and will maintain high job security (I.e. people aren't going to stop being sick, they aren't going to stop seeing doctors, recessions don't lose doctors their jobs, etc.)
People in medicine are doom-and-gloom over many aspects of it, and for some good reasons. I think the current generation that are approaching the twilight of their careers see stagnant compensation, increased administrative oversight, increased demands on the doctor to perform non-patient care related tasks, and think that the future will surely be worse than the past.
I like my career. I don't wish I had done something different. I may not want to do exactly what I am doing until I am 65, but I think I've been equipped with the skills and resources that I can pivot as my desires change and I have the resources to be able to do so.
People in medicine are doom-and-gloom over many aspects of it, and for some good reasons. I think the current generation that are approaching the twilight of their careers see stagnant compensation, increased administrative oversight, increased demands on the doctor to perform non-patient care related tasks, and think that the future will surely be worse than the past.
I like my career. I don't wish I had done something different. I may not want to do exactly what I am doing until I am 65, but I think I've been equipped with the skills and resources that I can pivot as my desires change and I have the resources to be able to do so.
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Medicine is great if you like the job.
I’ll make exceptional money doing what I love, can’t beat that. Psych is awesome and places are so desperate to hire you. Residency has been excellent and it’s fun to keep getting better at something you love.
My only regret is this leviathan of debt I’m carrying around. Had I known what that felt like I would have gone the mil-med route and just skipped that.
I’ll make exceptional money doing what I love, can’t beat that. Psych is awesome and places are so desperate to hire you. Residency has been excellent and it’s fun to keep getting better at something you love.
My only regret is this leviathan of debt I’m carrying around. Had I known what that felt like I would have gone the mil-med route and just skipped that.
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LizzyM with the above post has an excellent summary of the situation.
If you want to make a lot of money and have an easy lifestyle working 4 hours a day, three days a week, there are better paths to follow. I would have been bored with making money as my life goal.
If you love the science and need to help sick patients, then medicine is where you should land. I have been in practice for over 40 years with no plans to retire. I would continue to practice without a paycheck, as I could easily retire with my present net worth. I love my patients and practice.
If you want to make a lot of money and have an easy lifestyle working 4 hours a day, three days a week, there are better paths to follow. I would have been bored with making money as my life goal.
If you love the science and need to help sick patients, then medicine is where you should land. I have been in practice for over 40 years with no plans to retire. I would continue to practice without a paycheck, as I could easily retire with my present net worth. I love my patients and practice.
