Looking for some advice - choosing a specialty?

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blueadams

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Hello,

I have read all the statistics that I have been able to find on this matter, but I wanted to hear some actual opinions from some actual people! - So, here we go:

I am a soon-to-be non-traditional medical student. I majored in history as an undergraduate, because I wanted to be a high school football coach. I love coaching football more than I can put into words, but I am no longer satisfied with being a high school teacher. I have applied to and been accepted to a prominent post-bac program, so, if all goes well, I should be starting medical school soon.

#1) I am looking for a medical specialty that will enable me to resume coaching high school football (at least as an assistant) once I get into practice. So, in short, I am looking for something with shorter hours, more stable hours, and the ability to go into private practice.

#2) Money is not that important to me. I was doing alright on a teacher's salary (a laughing matter to most of you I'm sure), but I would like to be a little more well off before starting a family. I know that I will be making more than enough regardless of what field I go into after graduating medical school, so that is not much of a concern to me.

#3) I took intro biology and chemistry as a college freshman (a long, long time ago), I studied quite hard, and I got B's in both. I attended a prestigious school though, so the classes might have been harder than most. Regardless, I do not doubt that I will be able to complete medical school, but I would be surprised to graduate at the top of my class. So, with that being said, the most competitive fields will probably not be available to me.

So, to re-cap, I would like to be in a sort of 9-5 field that would enable me to leave at about 3:00pm during the Fall. I would like to have close interaction with my patients. I would like to make a meaningful difference in their lives.

...any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thank you very much for any help whatsoever - I know how busy you all are!

Blue

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So, to re-cap, I would like to be in a sort of 9-5 field that would enable me to leave at about 3:00pm during the Fall. I would like to have close interaction with my patients. I would like to make a meaningful difference in their lives.

Honestly, it would be tough to guarantee that those constraints are fulfilled for ANY professional job. There are a lot of "if" scenarios where it may be possible, but if you are looking for someone to say, "No problem, you can definitely pull it off," I'm not sure anyone can help you.
 
-Agree with the above posts that it will be hard to meet those requirements in any job. I also think you may be underestimating the road ahead of you. At the minimum you will have 7 years before you would be able to reach your goal of being able to coach again (4 years of med school + 3 of residency). Depending on field, that could easily skyrocket to 10 years or more before you would be done with training and in practice. Then again, unless you plan to just "hang a shingle" and go into practice independently, you are unlikely to find a practice group to join that will let you immediately have the time off you are seeking. There are some jobs that allow part time flexibility (mostly for moms, to be honest), but these are not the standard in any area of medicine. That said, there is no use worrying right now about which specialty to go into - it's way too early to make that decision.

-I also think you are underestimating the financial constraints you'll be under. First you have the costs of the post-bac; then you will be paying a teacher's salary (or more) each year to attend med school; then you will be paid a teacher's salary again during residency, but putting in more than double the weekly hours of a teacher. So if you are already a non-trad and one of your goals is to "be a little more well off" before starting a family, you are going to be waiting until you are 40+ to start a family.

-Honestly, from your post, nothing seems to indicate a drive for medicine. That doesn't mean you don't have one, but you haven't conveyed it here. If your passion is really coaching football, I can only see medicine as a hindrance to that passion, and would advise you to seriously think about this path.
 
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You could consider specializing in family medicine, then getting certification in sports medicine. I think that might only take one extra year, rather than 2-3 that a fellowship would take. There's a doc in my home community who did this and he's basically a referral physician. His minimum office call charge was $155 (two years ago) for a new patient.
 
I say this only somewhat tongue in cheek but it sounds like dentistry is the field for you.
 
nt
 
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...any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Don't go to medical school.

Unless you get into dermatology, start your own practice, and refuse to see patients after 3 PM in the fall, I can't see how what you want is feasible. Even then, how many people do you think are going to want to come see you as patients if you don't offer appointments after 3:00? Plus, in almost any field you're going to need to take call. You can join a large group practice so that call is spread out, but you're still going to have to do it. How do you think prospective employers would feel about taking on a new partner who wanted no responsibilities after 3 PM during the fall? Who made it clear that he considers coaching football a higher priority than practicing medicine?

Should have remained a history teacher.
 
As others have said, this is going to be troublesome.

But I don't think it's impossible. But to make this work, you're going to have to make some decisions specifically with your goal of coaching football in mind (if that's really as important as you make it seem). To me the situation that makes this most likely is going into Family Practice in a small town that already has 3 or 4 physicians. Being that sort of "pillar of the community" role might give you the freedom to say no patients after 3pm during the fall. Especially considering how attached most small towns are to their HS sports teams. You're still going to have to look really hard to find the right situation to make this work. And if you're really tied to staying in a larger community...well good luck.

I do hope that if you get into such a situation, your patients will be your priority and you'll skip practices and games if the situations call for it.
 
Maybe consider pathology? My father is one and he has worked in both private practice and in the VA system. Right now at the VA, he practices medicine and does clinical research on the side and still leaves at about 4pm every day. I'm pretty sure he could get out earlier if he didn't chose to do his own research. He says that as soon as he checks out his cases (reads his slides), he can go home.

Also, in his previous private practice that had about 5 doctors, there was 1 female in the group that worked part time. He also knew somebody in his residency class who went on to do part time work. So you have that option with pathology. There's no call (well, my dad has "call" but I have yet to actually see him take one) and hours during residency and in practice are good.

I don't believe pathology is considered one of the competitive specialties right now and it's not exactly a sexy speciality so people don't think of it right away. Hell, my dad got his MD in China and still managed to get into pathology! (Ok granted like, 10-15 years ago, but still). I think that with some hard work, you could definitely do it!

PM me if you have any questions about my dad and his experiences as a pathologist. :)
 
I have applied to and been accepted to a prominent post-bac program, so, if all goes well, I should be starting medical school soon.

Ehh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. There are very few fields in medicine that are 9-5. (certainly none in the residency period)

And I don't think anyone would look at you proudly if you were to shirk your responsibilities at 3PM to coach high school football.....
 
I just reread OP's post... I know everyone was responding to the "9-5 job, 3PM in the fall", but if you ignore that, doesn't it seem totally possible for almost any type of MD to be able to be an assistant coach? I mean, of course you wouldn't be able to make EVERY practice, but I don't see why being in medicine automatically makes it impossible to have a life.
 
OP, you asked the same question in another forum, I will repost my answer here again to let this group have a look at it. Please see that last paragraph.

"I love these threads where everyone tells the pre-med OP to go into derm/plastics/radsonc etc. Last time I checked there was a reason that these were the most competitive spots to get. My school had one person get into a IM/derm spot this year, no plastics, 5 rads, and five ortho's. That’s it.... (out of 200!)
OP. Don't go to medical school if you can't be happy working in, FM, IM Peds, psych, or gen surg, as these will (maybe) be the only spots that even come close to being guaranteed (psych and gen surg certainly may not be..) If you find something else that interests you, and have the grades/skills, then go for it. but do not assume that these doors will just magically open up for you. I had a great conversation with a girl in my class last week about becoming a dermatologist. She told me that it was the only reason she came to medical school, the only reason she came to our school (we have a derm program) and that if she didn't get in, she would not practice medicine at all. She said that she would rather quit and work for her father's business than do anything but derm. I have heard similar stories about plastics and peds fellowships. These are the kind of people you will be competing with. They are nuts."


To which you replied...


"I'd really be willing to work in almost any area of medicine that allows me to get out of work a little early in the fall to coach high school football. I'm just trying to find out about fields that could fit the bill. Sorry if that offended you."

"It most certainly did not offend me. I was simply stating that the responses you will get on SDN will not be helpful if all they talk about is plastics and derm, as less than 1(approximately) percent of medical students get to go into those fields. It is my suggestion that you try to find a few physicians to shadow. Obviously the more fields of medicine you are exposed to, the easier it will be for you to decide what you really want. Again, just make sure you are comfortable with not being a neurosurgeon/dermatologist/any other top tier specialty, as most people who get into med school will be at the top of their classes in undergrad and will be gunning for them also."

"And now I will be a realist... If you have any thoughts of medicine, make sure you understand just what you are getting yourself into. If you majored in history, you may have a few science classes to take, and they will not be easy classes. To play devils advocate, it would be unlikely that anyone could finish all the required courses, take the MCAT, and apply to a school in less than three years. Two if they have nothing else on their plate and can stomach all the science classes at once. Then you are looking at four years of school, followed by three to seven+ years of residency and easily over a quarter of a million dollars in debt. That is ten to fifteen years before you practice medicine. And as most will attest to, organic chemistry, medical school, and a residency, while very interesting, will not leave you much time to coach football. So, even if someday, family medicine or dermatology could get you a cushy schedule and solid paycheck, are you really willing to wait fifteen years for it? Figure out what you want, and do it quickly. There are a lot of great careers out there that help people and do not require fifteen years of higher education and a half a million dollars in debt. Choose medicine because nothing else will make you happy."


Sorry to repost, but I was rather proud of it.:rolleyes:

 
edit- unnecessary roughness.

but, these are just jobs we are talking about.
 
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I definitely second the family medicine and potentially sports med fellowship as a good deal for you. I know many people who have done that, had a family (both large and small) & coached childrens' league teams or did the med work for city and national league teams (professional and semi-professional). Another thing you might want to look into is Emergency Medicine or rural emergency medicine (done by family med or internal med docs usually). There you have a set schedule and that's it. No call unless there was a local disaster ... which you would probably want to be helping with if you feel so intouch with your civic duties.

Also I disagree with the not being able to coach for another 7 years. I know many medical students who coach and assistant coach city league and school league teams during medical school. Where others watch TV or play video games, run marathons, etc these students go and coach on certain days a week and build it into their study schedule.

It's doable if you schedule it into your day. If you want to coach when you are an adult and all in practice and all then you'll either have that scheduled into your week or have it written in your contract. And frankly a fair number of practices put that kind of thing into the "outreach" part of their budgets.

Some female physicians I know negotiate for "part-time" physician jobs for the purpose of being with their families and children more. There is no reason that a male couldn't do the same thing
 
I just reread OP's post... I know everyone was responding to the "9-5 job, 3PM in the fall", but if you ignore that, doesn't it seem totally possible for almost any type of MD to be able to be an assistant coach? I mean, of course you wouldn't be able to make EVERY practice, but I don't see why being in medicine automatically makes it impossible to have a life.

You're off to a bad start though if you're asking for 9-5 work hours AND time off after 3PM every fall.
 
Also I disagree with the not being able to coach for another 7 years. I know many medical students who coach and assistant coach city league and school league teams during medical school. Where others watch TV or play video games, run marathons, etc these students go and coach on certain days a week and build it into their study schedule.

Maybe, if you are a very well balanced first or second year student, you could pull this off. But as a third year, there was no way I could guarantee getting out by 3pm for the entire fall. Not even close. And fourth year I'll be doing sub-I's, possibly some away rotations in the fall so no free time then either. And then of course the intern year hammer will drop...there is NO way you could get out to coach football in residency.

So, yeah, in summary, if you are really on top of your studies you could find time for this 1-2 years out of your 7-10 years of training.

I am a die-hard college football fan, and third year I even had to resort to tivo-ing my team's games and issuing death threats if anyone spoiled the outcome before I got home and watched them late at night. You just don't get much free time, and certainly not any reliable (i.e. free after 3pm) free time in medical training.
 
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I definitely second the family medicine and potentially sports med fellowship as a good deal for you. I know many people who have done that, had a family (both large and small) & coached childrens' league teams or did the med work for city and national league teams (professional and semi-professional). Another thing you might want to look into is Emergency Medicine or rural emergency medicine (done by family med or internal med docs usually). There you have a set schedule and that's it. No call unless there was a local disaster ... which you would probably want to be helping with if you feel so intouch with your civic duties.
The problem is that while some doctors' practice arrangements typically allow them to be done with their day by 3PM (e.g., anesthesiologists,) it's almost impossible to GUARANTEE that. There is always the chance you'll have to stay late. And someone always has to be on call. Do you think your partners are going to agree to you taking no call at all from August through November?

Some female physicians I know negotiate for "part-time" physician jobs for the purpose of being with their families and children more. There is no reason that a male couldn't do the same thing
Not likely, though, if he plans on being the sole or primary breadwinner.

You're off to a bad start though if you're asking for 9-5 work hours AND time off after 3PM every fall.
Exactly. Medicine is a notoriously hard-driving profession, and there's a shortage of doctors--no one should be entering medical school with the intention of working part-time. It's the matter-of-fact nature of the OP that's so off-putting. It's one thing to post a thread asking "is it possible to be a doctor and still have a life?" It's another to basically say "I don't plan on ever being dedicated to medicine. Please tell me what kind of doctor to become so as to best avoid being a doctor." I can't believe how much I sound like my nemesis Law2Doc, but if other endeavors are more important to you than practicing medicine, medicine isn't the profession for you.
 
If you have a passion outside of medicine that can also pay you I would just go with that. All doctors have interests but very few are trying to run secondary career in an unrelated field.

You're likely going to be deep in the hole financially if you go to med school meaning that to meet certain goals (i.e. retirement, mortgage) you are going to have to work as a doctor.

You will likely struggle through med school/residency if your light at the end of the tunnel is a separate career.

Even more concerning for you: there are certain office based specialties which MAY allow you to pull this off but you may hate them. Then where are you? Deciding ahead of time that you will like family medicine (or derm, or allergy, or pain) because it will allow you to coach football is a road that is fraught with peril my friend.
 
Hmm... sports, medicine, easy hours, not terribly competitive..... Physical Medicine and Rehab comes to mind. Look into that.
 
A great choice would be Emergency Medicine. Different hospitals have different shift schedules and some even offer tailored type scheduling(i.e. 6 x 24hr shifts per month; 12 x 12hr shifts per month). If you work 12's you can work 7p-7a, then sleep from 8a-2p. That's still around 1800 hrs/yr which is almost full time and I'm sure it would put you over $100k. Even more so, if you were in a rural setting, you could become a medical director for a few local po-dunk EMS groups. This would probably put another $10k-$20k a year in your pocket and make you even more famous with the locals. So not only did you take the local football team to state, but you're also responsible for the paramedics who successfully cardioverted the sheriff, AND you delivered the city-councilwoman's child when you were shopping at wal-mart! The mayor is going to give you a key to the city!

Seriously though, look into EM. Best of luck. :thumbup:
 
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Agree w/ rec's to consider FM w/ sports med, or EM, as well as recommendations to reconsider MD in the first place. This is particularly true if you are flexible geographically -there is enough demand for either of these specialties that you could find a group willing to accomodate you. I strongly encourage you to spend some time with a EM PA and physical therapists to rule them out first.

Also agree that 3rd year and intern year would be totally impossible. You're lucky to have time to sleep and shower....though I guess you could try to do really easy rotations/delay a rotation till 4th year if you were desperate, I don't think that asking for time so you could coach football would seem professional -no offense, it's just the reality.

It's difficult to express the level of "suck it up" in medical education and the culture of medicine -and it's not just the system, it is also your peers. People will think it's great that you have a life outside of medicine, but only as long as it doesn't interfere with medicine. We're all working our tails off, and we're not likely to work harder so that you can go play.
 
Don't go to medical school.

Unless you get into dermatology, start your own practice, and refuse to see patients after 3 PM in the fall, I can't see how what you want is feasible. Even then, how many people do you think are going to want to come see you as patients if you don't offer appointments after 3:00? Plus, in almost any field you're going to need to take call. You can join a large group practice so that call is spread out, but you're still going to have to do it. How do you think prospective employers would feel about taking on a new partner who wanted no responsibilities after 3 PM during the fall? Who made it clear that he considers coaching football a higher priority than practicing medicine?

Should have remained a history teacher.

Ouch.
 
#1) I am looking for a medical specialty that will enable me to resume coaching high school football (at least as an assistant) once I get into practice. So, in short, I am looking for something with shorter hours, more stable hours, and the ability to go into private practice.

#2) Money is not that important to me.

#3)Regardless, I do not doubt that I will be able to complete medical school, but I would be surprised to graduate at the top of my class. So, with that being said, the most competitive fields will probably not be available to me.

So, to re-cap, I would like to be in a sort of 9-5 field that would enable me to leave at about 3:00pm during the Fall. I would like to have close interaction with my patients. I would like to make a meaningful difference in their lives.

I'm surprised no one has really mentioned psychiatry, especially outpatient psychiatry. Psychiatry is probably one of the most flexible fields when it comes to defining your practice and the hours you work. Besides, psychiatry is an interesting field and a lot of psychiatrists are happy with their jobs. Better yet, psychiatry is one of the least competetive fields (though I think that is changing as stigma towards mental illness is decreasing, and US grads are realizing that psychiatry really can be a lifestyle specialty).

A runner up would be physical medicine and rehabilitation.
 
Hello,

I have read all the statistics that I have been able to find on this matter, but I wanted to hear some actual opinions from some actual people! - So, here we go:

I am a soon-to-be non-traditional medical student. I majored in history as an undergraduate, because I wanted to be a high school football coach. I love coaching football more than I can put into words, but I am no longer satisfied with being a high school teacher. I have applied to and been accepted to a prominent post-bac program, so, if all goes well, I should be starting medical school soon.

#1) I am looking for a medical specialty that will enable me to resume coaching high school football (at least as an assistant) once I get into practice. So, in short, I am looking for something with shorter hours, more stable hours, and the ability to go into private practice.

#2) Money is not that important to me. I was doing alright on a teacher's salary (a laughing matter to most of you I'm sure), but I would like to be a little more well off before starting a family. I know that I will be making more than enough regardless of what field I go into after graduating medical school, so that is not much of a concern to me.

#3) I took intro biology and chemistry as a college freshman (a long, long time ago), I studied quite hard, and I got B's in both. I attended a prestigious school though, so the classes might have been harder than most. Regardless, I do not doubt that I will be able to complete medical school, but I would be surprised to graduate at the top of my class. So, with that being said, the most competitive fields will probably not be available to me.

So, to re-cap, I would like to be in a sort of 9-5 field that would enable me to leave at about 3:00pm during the Fall. I would like to have close interaction with my patients. I would like to make a meaningful difference in their lives.

...any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thank you very much for any help whatsoever - I know how busy you all are!

Blue

stop trying to get approval from others for a lifestyle you wish to pursue. If you REALLY want to live that way, you WILL find a way. :)
 
I'm studying for step 1 now but really cant wait to start my clinical rotations. I'm hoping that I jsut fall in love with one of the specialities and decide to go with it.

To the original poster, have you considered Allergy? I know you can do it after internal medicine. From what I've heard the hours are sweet and you can pretty much book the way you want to pratice since there are no real major emergencies and perhaps, no overnight call? It also doesnt seem as popular as some of the major ROAD fields
 
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