Med school vs genetic counseling

[Cotterpin]

@Petrichor1 I am done with your excuses and this conversation. You're not actually apologizing if you turn immediately and say "but you should have blah, blah, blah..." I don't need to be nice when I respond to sexist remarks.

Okay I just have to clear this up. Gender matters in at least one regard -physically if a woman is 8 months pregnant would she be able to work during her residency with absolutely no extra hardships than a man whose wife/gf was pregnant? Saying both their emotional feelings are the same, a woman will have to factor this in some regard. If she can do the residency then honestly more power to her. But it is something everyone needs to consider and I think that's what petrichor1 meant. A female doctor isn't any different from a male doctor in terms of practice , its just that the struggles each face can be different.

Okay. But I could come up with any kind of situation where a man or woman would have a hard time in their residency for any kind of reason. Like if a male resident broke his leg. Would he still be able to work with no extra hardships? A woman during her residency should probably be taking measures to avoid getting pregnant. But that doesn't mean a young woman should prematurely rule out career paths (while still in high school) because she thinks she might want to have a baby later.

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[Petrichor1]

@Petrichor1 I am done with your excuses and this conversation. You're not actually apologizing if you turn immediately and say "but you should have blah, blah, blah..." I don't need to be nice when I respond to sexist remarks.



Okay. But I could come up with any kind of situation where a man or woman would have a hard time in their residency for any kind of reason. Like if a male resident broke his leg. Would he still be able to work with no extra hardships? A woman during her residency should probably be taking measures to avoid getting pregnant. But that doesn't mean a young woman should prematurely rule out career paths (while still in high school) because she thinks she might want to have a baby later.

I don't know who you are arguing with now. The OP agrees with me and she doesn't have a problem with it because clearly her situation was understood fully. I think my job of helping the OP is done and you can continue making an argument out of thin air

 

[Bellaburgundy]

@Petrichor1 I am done with your excuses and this conversation. You're not actually apologizing if you turn immediately and say "but you should have blah, blah, blah..." I don't need to be nice when I respond to sexist remarks.



Okay. But I could come up with any kind of situation where a man or woman would have a hard time in their residency for any kind of reason. Like if a male resident broke his leg. Would he still be able to work with no extra hardships? A woman during her residency should probably be taking measures to avoid getting pregnant. But that doesn't mean a young woman should prematurely rule out career paths (while still in high school) because she thinks she might want to have a baby later.

I see what you are saying, but no one PLANS on breaking his/her leg. Having a family is generally planned. This is the reason feminism gets a "bad rep"- having equality doesn't mean a women turns into what is " stereotypically" a man's role. It should be about being given equal rights and opputunities so you can choose what you want and embrace being a woman. I think it is a good thing that society recognizes that a pregnancy is not easy- for some it may be and that's great, but for other women it can be a great struggle. In the end everyone has their own opinion and in this case I don't think anyone was purposefully trying to be sexist. It is well known that women often have children in their late twenties -early thirties and that this is a huge part of anyone's life and it should be taken into consideration. What a woman chooses to do is her choice but it is not right to argue that she shouldnt think about a family because "men don't". Some men want a " good career" because they would personally want a woman who would prefer to be the primary caregiver and there's nothing wrong with that.
I just want to add that I truly respect your opinion and I admire your courage because it is difficult to pursue "non traditional roles"and this is something difficult for me to think about as well because there are many sacrifices but many moments that would make this journey truly worth it. This is actually the main reason I asked this question/poll to view peoples viewpoints and I truly appreciate yours.

 

[bearintraining]

OK just to say -- when it comes to Genetic Counselling, there are a 3 or so programs in Canada.. All of the people I know were female (I assume this is mainly because women tend to do better than men in counselling careers). Medical Genetics is also a great specialty (incl. Canada).. where people often have dedicated research time, no call, etc. Has the OP done extensive counselling? it's tough, and this is a requirement to get in to genetic counselling (at least in canada).

 

[Cotterpin]

I see what you are saying, but no one PLANS on breaking his/her leg. Having a family is generally planned. This is the reason feminism gets a "bad rep"- having equality doesn't mean a women turns into what is " stereotypically" a man's role. It should be about being given equal rights and opputunities so you can choose what you want and embrace being a woman. I think it is a good thing that society recognizes that a pregnancy is not easy- for some it may be and that's great, but for other women it can be a great struggle. In the end everyone has their own opinion and in this case I don't think anyone was purposefully trying to be sexist. It is well known that women often have children in their late twenties -early thirties and that this is a huge part of anyone's life and it should be taken into consideration. What a woman chooses to do is her choice but it is not right to argue that she shouldnt think about a family because "men don't". Some men want a " good career" because they would personally want a woman who would prefer to be the primary caregiver and there's nothing wrong with that.

That's not actually what I said.

But besides that, tons and tons of people get pregnant without planning it. Happens constantly.

 

[Cotterpin]

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[Bellaburgundy]

That's not actually what I said.

But besides that, tons and tons of people get pregnant without planning it. Happens constantly.

I added more to the post before I saw this, I hope you can check it out 🙂

 

[Bellaburgundy]

OK just to say -- when it comes to Genetic Counselling, there are a 3 or so programs in Canada.. All of the people I know were female (I assume this is mainly because women tend to do better than men in counselling careers). Medical Genetics is also a great specialty (incl. Canada).. where people often have dedicated research time, no call, etc. Has the OP done extensive counselling? it's tough, and this is a requirement to get in to genetic counselling (at least in canada).

I haven't done any counseling as of now, but I will definitely do some before committing to genetic counseling. So the genetic counseling schools in Canada are Uoft, McGill, and UBC right? I've been looking at the requirements and it seems as though a premed curriculum with some counselling volunteering would be a good way to go?

 

[Bellaburgundy]

I haven't done any counseling as of now, but I will definitely do some before committing to genetic counseling. So the genetic counseling schools in Canada are Uoft, McGill, and UBC right? I've been looking at the requirements and it seems as though a premed curriculum with some counselling volunteering would be a good way to go?

Its seems there are also quite a few schools in the US that offer genetic counseling and the requirements seem to be the same

 

[Hopeful___MD]

Genetic Counselors can work from home and provide care and information to families and physicians. This is how a lot of people get drawn into the field, but it isn't the best option as far as pay. With some states, it's easier to find work at home like this, but if you're in a state that doesn't even have a school for it, then you'll most likely work in several hospitals around the state, having a "base" hospital (sic) to work in, while providing care to families across the state via telecoms. MS is a prime example of this, where there are only 6-8 Genetic Counselors working in the state. You will find work once you graduate, no doubt about that (esp. in the south) but is less lucrative than some physicians working in the field.

If you're less on money and more on lifestyle, with a passion for genetics of course, then I think GC is more your fit. One thing to also note is that, as genetics is spanning at a fantastic rate, more and more "subspecialties" are opening up, such as cancer, prenatal, neonatal, life-long, etc. are becoming more of the norm among this profession.

Also, they are in high demand (as with any health-care professional). The few schools that give this degree will be able to find you a job within or around that state that you trained in.

 

[Bellaburgundy]

Genetic Counselors can work from home and provide care and information to families and physicians. This is how a lot of people get drawn into the field, but it isn't the best option as far as pay. With some states, it's easier to find work at home like this, but if you're in a state that doesn't even have a school for it, then you'll most likely work in several hospitals around the state, having a "base" hospital (sic) to work in, while providing care to families across the state via telecoms. MS is a prime example of this, where there are only 6-8 Genetic Counselors working in the state. You will find work once you graduate, no doubt about that (esp. in the south) but is less lucrative than some physicians working in the field.

If you're less on money and more on lifestyle, with a passion for genetics of course, then I think GC is more your fit. One thing to also note is that, as genetics is spanning at a fantastic rate, more and more "subspecialties" are opening up, such as cancer, prenatal, neonatal, life-long, etc. are becoming more of the norm among this profession.

Also, they are in high demand (as with any health-care professional). The few schools that give this degree will be able to find you a job within or around that state that you trained in.

Thank you! Merci beaucoup! C'etait exactement que je dois lire!

 

[Hopeful___MD]

Thank you! Merci beaucoup! C'etait exactement que je dois lire!

Je suis content que je te peuve aider choisir

 

[bearintraining]

I haven't done any counseling as of now, but I will definitely do some before committing to genetic counseling. So the genetic counseling schools in Canada are Uoft, McGill, and UBC right? I've been looking at the requirements and it seems as though a premed curriculum with some counselling volunteering would be a good way to go?

Yes that's correct. At least at UBC the GCs take some classes with the grad students in medical genetics