Is this true about medicine?

[birdwatcher14]

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So I'm currently in a BSN program to hopefully one day go on to become a NP or PA. However, this hasn't come without some ridicule from my family. Being that I come from a family of asian descent (my parents were born in Asia), they always tell me "You should just become a doctor. You'll only find success as a doctor, nothing else." And they also tell me things like "You're going to be living on the streets if you don't become a doctor." Now, they aren't doctors themselves, they're engineers. I just don't understand why they keep knocking me for my decision. I highly doubt I will end up on the streets if I go down the PA or NP route, and I don't think a doctor is the only route to success, but its getting on my nerves and I just had to vent this out.

 

[CliveStaples]

The things that would put you on the streets as a BSN, NP, or PA are all the same things that will put you on the street as a physician (alcoholism, untreated mental illness, collapse of western civilization).

If what you're really asking is "can I become financially independent and even wealthy" then I would say that the same things that would keep you from being financially independent when you're a BSN, NP, or PA will keep you from being financially independent if you're a physician (living beyond your means, saving inadequately, making risky investment decisions that do not compensate you for the risk).

 

[Womb Raider]

Definitely won't be living on the streets...

I get the feeling you haven't spent much time shadowing anything (nurse, doctor, PA, NP, etc...). All of these roles have pretty drastic differences in what they do. Those of us who want to become a doctor do so for a variety of reasons. Some common themes I've seen among aspiring/practicing physicians are:

- Leadership. We like to be in charge. This usually means we don't like taking orders. This also means we enjoy operating "under pressure" and taking responsibility for things.
- We want to be the best at what we do. This doesn't mean we're "better" than other health care workers as people, but we are definitely more knowledgeable than other clinicians.
- We want the lifestyle. Physicians = big $$ = comfortable lifestyle. Can support a family without stressing over finances.
- We don't mind working long hours.
- We love learning. Medical education takes a LONG time. 4 years of undergrad + 4 years of medicine + residency + (fellowship) -- all before we start really start making the real money.
- We are interested in opening our own practice. (Becoming more of a rarity nowadays, however...).

The other jobs you mentioned obviously can't offer you all of the things I listed (but, on the other hand, they have other perks that physician's aren't privy to). It's really about what you want out of your work. This means we're usually mid 30s when we start making money.

 

[cantankerous]

Show them the salary range for NP or PA. It's likely more than what they make as engineers individually, unless they're high-up in a large company (which is quite a rarity apparently).
And even if they do, you could probably make up that difference through working long hours.

 

[Lost in Translation]

We want the lifestyle. Physicians = big $$ = comfortable lifestyle. Can support a family without stressing over finances.

This one is becoming less and less true.

 

[Doudline]

Considering the likelihood of global nuclear warfare during the course of this century, I wouldn't worry too much about your professional future.
Yoloswag, as they say.

 

[Lawpy]

Considering the likelihood of global nuclear warfare during the course of this century, I wouldn't worry too much about your professional future.
Yoloswag, as they say.

That's what they all said back in the 1960s-1980s.