Just Wait 4 Years to Sing a New Tune

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[adaptation1]

Thanks for the heads up! I look forward to happy!

 

[auburnO5]

Hey guys, not trying to be negative here..just being honest.

I matched into one of the more attractive fields and am living with my family and friends again.

1) Leaving my family and friends for medical school was a big mistake - I watched them all move on to live content and happy lives while I struggled through a brutal system of constant tests, unexplainable debt, and competition.

2) I am watching now as my salary is plummeting thanks to Medicare cuts. Not only will I not be able to afford a family, it will be a struggle to pay off this debt once more salary cuts set in.

3) Many residents are depressed regarding the system they are put in - they matched away from their families and are living in cheap apartments not able to save anything until they are older.

4) The concept of a doctor is being erased by pretend doctors called nurse practitioners who claim they are equivalent to us..

All in all, going down this career path will cause many of you to be depressed and cynical. I just wanted you to understand that.

You can call me abnormal or dumb, but I am not. I am dedicated and humble.

You sound like a miserable, pessimistic person. I know plenty of residents that are very happy with their career and with their lives.

I imagine that you would be depressed regardless of what your occupation was.


Every single one of your 8 posts have something to do with how little money doctors will be making in the future.

 

[jvesco22]

OP's reaction when he woke up and realized he hated life

But really OP, is there a reason why you couldn't add your post to this thread?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=734938&page=4

Instead you had to make your own because you're so "dedicated and humble"...

 

[NickNaylor]

OP's reaction when he woke up and realized he hated life

But really OP, is there a reason why you couldn't add your post to this thread?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=734938&page=4

Instead you had to make your own because you're so "dedicated and humble"...

I lol'd.

 

[SoulinNeed]

Hey guys, not trying to be negative here..just being honest.

I matched into one of the more attractive fields and am living with my family and friends again.

1) Leaving my family and friends for medical school was a big mistake - I watched them all move on to live content and happy lives while I struggled through a brutal system of constant tests, unexplainable debt, and competition.

2) I am watching now as my salary is plummeting thanks to Medicare cuts. Not only will I not be able to afford a family, it will be a struggle to pay off this debt once more salary cuts set in.

3) Many residents are depressed regarding the system they are put in - they matched away from their families and are living in cheap apartments not able to save anything until they are older.

4) The concept of a doctor is being erased by pretend doctors called nurse practitioners who claim they are equivalent to us..

All in all, going down this career path will cause many of you to be depressed and cynical. I just wanted you to understand that.

You can call me abnormal or dumb, but I am not. I am dedicated and humble.

Wait, you're a resident, and you're having your salary cut due to Medicare cuts? Or, are you done with residency? Cause no one would expect to pay off student loans on residency salary.

 

[st2205]

What kind of work did you do before medical school?

 

[Slack3r]

I'll be a doctor so when the world economy crashes or global thermonuclear warfare erupts, at least I'll have a valuable skillset.

 

[dr zaius]

Wait, you're a resident, and you're having your salary cut due to Medicare cuts? Or, are you done with residency? Cause no one would expect to pay off student loans on residency salary.

Aren't residency spots subsidized by medicare? I could be dreaming that up, so someone please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Rolling Stone]

Many would envy your current position which you have taken much effort to achieve. Cheer up, buddy!😍

 

[Jolt21]

if anything, i chose my medical school b/c of its proximity to my family and friends. just a short drive away...so i should be good. phew.

 

[loveoforganic]

What kind of work did you do before medical school?

cabana boy 😎

 

[psipsina]

Wait, you're a resident, and you're having your salary cut due to Medicare cuts? Or, are you done with residency? Cause no one would expect to pay off student loans on residency salary.

Actually Residents are no longer allowed to enter forbearance during residency. One can either defer (accruing massive interest) or pay the minimum payments which now are dictated by income. I believe no more than 15% of your salary. But resident salaries aren't so much that 15% doesn't hurt. And once you're done your attending salary will be impacted by medicare cuts etc. So the fact is that you will work another 7+ years for 80 hours a week accruing massive debt and living on a rather tight budget. It is very easy to let this get to you, particularly if you didn't enter the program expecting these cuts and new rules. I'm a downright cheerful person (an attending once told me I was a little too enthusiastic once) and even I have had moments where I'm struggling to meet some unexpected bill and wondering how I can work so hard for so many years and still be in such a ****e financial state. You have to REALLY love what you do every day to get thru this mess and even then you'll have days when its bogging you down. Some people get to the clinical part of medicine and realize that they don't love it that much but its too late.

 

[rxnfiend]

if anything, i chose my medical school b/c of its proximity to my family and friends. just a short drive away...so i should be good. phew.

No offense, but I am fairly sure you didn't chose Harvard for the proximity to your friends and family...

 

[Sammich117]

Yet another example of why money should not be your primary motivator when going to medical school.

 

[ButImLETired]

Oh good, another one of these. Must be a tuesday.

Honestly, can we just have a little notice up on top like on cigarettes that says "medicine is bad" so that we have that covered? Like, "disclaimer: you will be poor and miserable and hate everything and everyone and die alone" on the front page so we can avoid these threads. Seriously.

 

[amine2086]

Hey guys, not trying to be negative here..just being honest.

I matched into one of the more attractive fields and am living with my family and friends again.

1) Leaving my family and friends for medical school was a big mistake - I watched them all move on to live content and happy lives while I struggled through a brutal system of constant tests, unexplainable debt, and competition.

2) I am watching now as my salary is plummeting thanks to Medicare cuts. Not only will I not be able to afford a family, it will be a struggle to pay off this debt once more salary cuts set in.

3) Many residents are depressed regarding the system they are put in - they matched away from their families and are living in cheap apartments not able to save anything until they are older.

4) The concept of a doctor is being erased by pretend doctors called nurse practitioners who claim they are equivalent to us..

All in all, going down this career path will cause many of you to be depressed and cynical. I just wanted you to understand that.

You can call me abnormal or dumb, but I am not. I am dedicated and humble.

At least your username contains the word happy.

 

[krs881]

No offense, but I am fairly sure you didn't chose Harvard for the proximity to your friends and family...

Why not? Amongst other factors, I chose Yale because of proximity to friends and family. If you have a choice amongst some good schools, why wouldn't you choose the one that is in the location you want to be in, or in some other way would make you happier, whether that happiness is academic or personal? I imagine that 95% of SDNers will think I'm crazy, but I passed up interviews at some more highly ranked schools than Yale and others where I held acceptances (US News rankings, not MY personal rankings) because I knew what was important to me.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

Well if you think about it... Who will be the individuals who come back to an internet forum and "warn us"? The graduate who is happily working and living his/her life who could probably care less about this forum... or the graduate who is bitter and unhappy? Just like in every facet of society, you will have happy individuals and unhappy individuals.

NEXT

 

[da8s0859q]

Two things.

All in all, going down this career path will cause many of you to be depressed and cynical. I just wanted you to understand that.

You can call me abnormal or dumb, but I am not. I am dedicated and humble.

Well, no, you wanted to vent too. But I still totally agree with what you're saying -- so yeah, premed people, this is why so many people suggest looking into all the careers in which you're interested BEFORE going to medical school. No point in subjecting yourself to all that if you'd find happiness elsewhere.

The graduate who is happily working and living his/her life who could probably care less about this forum.

+1. The most displeased people tend to be the most vocal...

 

[SoulinNeed]

Actually Residents are no longer allowed to enter forbearance during residency. One can either defer (accruing massive interest) or pay the minimum payments which now are dictated by income. I believe no more than 15% of your salary. But resident salaries aren't so much that 15% doesn't hurt. And once you're done your attending salary will be impacted by medicare cuts etc. So the fact is that you will work another 7+ years for 80 hours a week accruing massive debt and living on a rather tight budget. It is very easy to let this get to you, particularly if you didn't enter the program expecting these cuts and new rules. I'm a downright cheerful person (an attending once told me I was a little too enthusiastic once) and even I have had moments where I'm struggling to meet some unexpected bill and wondering how I can work so hard for so many years and still be in such a ****e financial state. You have to REALLY love what you do every day to get thru this mess and even then you'll have days when its bogging you down. Some people get to the clinical part of medicine and realize that they don't love it that much but its too late.

Yeah, I know that residency leads to accrued interest, it has to unfortunately be taken into account, but IBR helps (if you took stafford loans). BTW, what residency is 7+ years?

 

[Perrotfish]

All in all, going down this career path will cause many of you to be depressed and cynical. I just wanted you to understand that.
.

One of the reasons I went into medicine is that I'm already depressed and cynical, and I wanted to have colleagues I could relate to. This process has gotten more and more fun as the rest of y'all have caught up.

BTW, what residency is 7+ years?

Neurosurgery, plastics, and a few residency and fellowhsip combinations.

 

[da8s0859q]

One of the reasons I went into medicine is that I'm already depressed and cynical, and I wanted to have colleagues I could relate to. This process has gotten more and more fun as the rest of y'all have caught up.

I will be using this in the future. 👍

 

[SoulinNeed]

One of the reasons I went into medicine is that I'm already depressed and cynical, and I wanted to have colleagues I could relate to. This process has gotten more and more fun as the rest of y'all have caught up.



Neurosurgery, plastics, and a few residency and fellowhsip combinations.

Great fields to get into, but I don't think I could do 7 years of residency. I'll stick with 3 years of IM, thank you very much!

 

[rxnfiend]

One of the reasons I went into medicine is that I'm already depressed and cynical, and I wanted to have colleagues I could relate to. This process has gotten more and more fun as the rest of y'all have caught up.

Haha okay House!

 

[psipsina]

Yeah, I know that residency leads to accrued interest, it has to unfortunately be taken into account, but IBR helps (if you took stafford loans). BTW, what residency is 7+ years?

The 7 years I was referencing was 4 years of medical school and 3 years of a residency which is minimal. But many paths will take you well beyond that. I'm hoping to end up in pediatric surgery which is 5 years of general surgery residency, 2 years of research and 2 years of fellowship before I get a doctor sized paycheck. Any subspecialization will take you to >3 years of residency as will any surgical specialty.

 

[Slack3r]

Neurosurgery, plastics, and a few residency and fellowhsip combinations.

Integrated plastics is 6 years. Gsurg + plastics fellowship is 8 years (5+3). I thought urology was 7? And ENT too?

 

[brooklynblunder]

i dont think most integrated plastics programs are 6, they are usually 7

 

[morning]

I'll be a doctor so when the world economy crashes or global thermonuclear warfare erupts, at least I'll have a valuable skillset.

I've actually thought about that before, but honestly odds are good you'll just end up a slave to Lord Humungus and his gang.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I've actually thought about that before, but honestly odds are good you'll just end up a slave to Lord Humungus and his gang.

[YOUTUBE]_TL4XZdyo3g[/YOUTUBE]

 

[SoulinNeed]

The 7 years I was referencing was 4 years of medical school and 3 years of a residency which is minimal. But many paths will take you well beyond that. I'm hoping to end up in pediatric surgery which is 5 years of general surgery residency, 2 years of research and 2 years of fellowship before I get a doctor sized paycheck. Any subspecialization will take you to >3 years of residency as will any surgical specialty.

Holy ****, 9 years of residency???? You'll be 35, at the earliest, when you get done. I'll be 31 when I'm done (due to entering med school when I'm 24 [hopefully] instead of 22), but man, 9 years of accrued interest??? Wow, but hey, you have a passion, and I'm sure the field pays very well, so best of luck to you.

 

[Slack3r]

i dont think most integrated plastics programs are 6, they are usually 7

I don't think you are correct.

 

[psipsina]

Holy ****, 9 years of residency???? You'll be 35, at the earliest, when you get done. I'll be 31 when I'm done (due to entering med school when I'm 24 [hopefully] instead of 22), but man, 9 years of accrued interest??? Wow, but hey, you have a passion, and I'm sure the field pays very well, so best of luck to you.

Yeah virtually everything I like takes forever so I've just made peace with that. The shortest path I could possible see myself taking was being a pediatric intensivist which is 5 years, but I can't resign myself to never operate again. But honestly as long as I'm doing what I love and I can meet my basic needs I can live with that. This year was only truly trying when I wasn't on a rotation I enjoyed and then the stark reality of all my debt just seemed oppressive lol. I can see how people can end up miserable and too deep in to get out when they realize it though. It really comes down to luck (that you truly will find a niche in medicine you are passionate about) and a certain type of personality that can maintain joy in life despite external factors to some extent.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

one of the docs i know said "no matter what happens with the cuts you'll always be able to have a good life as a doc. if it comes down to it you can offer your services for chickens." haha

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Holy ****, 9 years of residency???? You'll be 35, at the earliest, when you get done. I'll be 31 when I'm done (due to entering med school when I'm 24 [hopefully] instead of 22), but man, 9 years of accrued interest??? Wow, but hey, you have a passion, and I'm sure the field pays very well, so best of luck to you.

Keep in mind that the interest isn't actually added to the principal until after the in-school deferment expires. This helps you A Lot.

 

[SoulinNeed]

Keep in mind that the interest isn't actually added to the principal until after the in-school deferment expires. This helps you A Lot.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. That's 9 years of residency, meaning, after he gets out of medical school. Doesn't interest accrue after you get out of medical school?

 

[Evergrey]

Keep in mind that the interest isn't actually added to the principal until after the in-school deferment expires. This helps you A Lot.

What s/he is saying, I think, is that the interest doesn't compound with itself (you accrue interest only on the original principal, not the principal plus whatever subsequent interest accrues)

 

[whimsical]

one of the docs i know said "no matter what happens with the cuts you'll always be able to have a good life as a doc. if it comes down to it you can offer your services for chickens." haha

Lol, in farming communities such as mine, it's not unreasonable to get a chicken as a gift. My dad was definitely given a chicken as a present (though not compensation).