Med Student vs. Resident Forums...Implications?

[FutureDoc??]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm grappling with the idea of taking some undergrad classes or joining a postbacc to try to get into med school, and I've noticed something when I read this thread vs. the residents thread. I've asked for advice a couple places, as I am a 23 year old and I have recently been constantly thinking about a desire to be a doctor. But it is also much more important to me to have a family (I'd be 33 when I finished residency) and work reasonable 40ish hour weeks. I'd be shocked if I decided to go into anything other than FP, Peds, or Psychiatry.
Well when I ask for advice or read posts on the residents boards, I get a lot of "DON'T DO IT! It's not worth it! You better be absolutely ****ing sure that you couldn't be happy doing ANYTHING else! Doctor or Family, pick one! I hate my life and I hope I die in my sleep tonight!"
When I read this board, it seems like med school would be hard but not overwhelming, and I have always been good at putting time into school, and I want to go into one of the three least competitive specialties. It also seems like most people here believe that once you are finished with residency, you can work about as much or as little as you want in FP, Peds, or Psych.
So here's my question: who do I believe? Are the residents just going crazy and not thinking straight for a couple years because those years suck so very much, or have they learned something that the people on this forum didn't realize and everyone here will be saying it wasn't worth it two years from now? How hard is it to be a primary care doctor with a normal 8 or 9 to 5 life?

 

[SurfingDoctor]

Overall, the work is time consuming, but it is managable. If you put your priorities in order, you will definitely have some time to devote to them, but it may not always be the amount of time you want. That's just something you have to life with though, and it's not really that awful. It is perfectly manageable to have a family and be a doctor. Though time constraints may have some impact on the time you have with your family, if you pick a 9-5 field (they do exist), the limited time is only for a fixed number of years (say 2nd/3rd years of medical school and first two years of residency depending on the field). Think hard about the question "Where do you want to be in 10 years" (which is part of the med school application anyway.. at least is was for me years ago) and I think you'll find the answer you're looking for.

 

[JonnyG]

i agree with the idea that you should be absolutely sure you want to do this. There is no turning back with the level of time and debt that this requires. You also do delay things to go down this road. Also form people i have talked to in the field, to have a family you have to sacrifice time with them but also time from your job.

 

[Wahoos]

Hey Future Doc,

If you really want to go into the medical field then by all means go for it. You are only 23 yrs old and you have your whole life ahead of you. The worst thing in life is having regrats, like when you are 35, and doing some job that is boring the #$%# out of you..... then you might be regrating that you did not pursue the medical thing. BY that time, it would be harder to do medicine than now. I have 3 more months left of my General Surgery Internship so I can speak about life as a resident (I don't think any other medical/surgical residencies are more time consuming than being a Gen Surg Intern...... just my opinon).

First, I would not take to heart the things people post on a forum (including this one 😀 ), because you have to figure out for your self what you want in life and I think some of the most enjoyable things in life is when you have to work hard to accomplish. Don't let any disgrunted residents discourage you from your dreams. Yes, residency is tough, but it is definitely manageable. If you hate being a resident/physician every single day of your life, then you are in the WRONG profession. I think it is an honor to be able to take care of sick patients and for them to let you operate on them. People trusts you with their lives..... The things/stories/experiences that I have gone through this 1st year as a Intern will always stick with me for the rest of my life. I have learned a ton about patient care and patient management. I personally think that there is no other profession that even comes close to medicine in terms of personal/emotional satisfaction......

Being a family practice or peds resident has a better schedule than a gen surg resident, but you are still expected to be in the hospital 50-80+ hours per week depending on the service. I averaged about 80-100+ per hour/wk for the last 9 months. You are also expected to take call every 4 or 5 nights depending on the program, and I can tell you that the admitted medical resident can be a lot busier than me during the night. But I wouldn't choose your medical speciality based on a 9-5 mentality. Who knows, if you did end up in medical school and gone through all the electives during the 3rd year, you might decide on surgery or the best surgical sub speciality = Orthopedics 😀 . The way I think about it, is that I would rather do something that I love to go to work for, than a 9-5 job that I can't get out of bed in the morning for. And I would rather flip burgers than to do a 9-5 job as a primary care doc 🙂 (I am sure that the family doc would rather sale used cars than to fix bones). The last thing is that when you come out of residency, you can pick your life style, even as a surgeon, depending on the group that you chooses. I personally know an Orthopod, he went into a group that is family friendly, he is on call 4 times and 1 weekend during the month, 2 clinic days and 2OR days, with Fridays off, he gets in during the clinic day at 8am to 5pm and on the OR day, he is in by 7am and gets out by 2-3pm. He is willing to take more time for family, but he had to take a pay cut for it. I think he is making $350,000 not including production bonus at the end of the year. (this is considered low as a Orthopod in private practice) I guess if you can live with making 350,000 per year, then working 40 hours per week would be ok 😀 .

I say go for it. Also be realistic, how are your grades, MCAT, EC, Letters, etc, etc. Med school is very very competitive, my med school gets about 4500 apps per yr, for 138 spots. The bottle neck is at the admissions. And once you are in, you need to work hard to do well/pass the Step I, II, CS, and all your classes. And if you did decide on something competitive like Ortho, ENT, Derm, then you are look at about 100+ medical school apps per spot at all the residency programs. The road ahead of you is long and tough, but hey, that is what makes life interesting. I would rather stab my own brainstem if I had a 9-5 job working on finanical projects for the rest of my life. 😀 Hope this helps.

 

[MeowMix]

One issue to consider is finances. The less you work, and the lower-paying your specialty, the harder it will be to pay back your student loans. There are plenty of stories out there about people who said they wanted to do FP/peds/whatever and then realized they'd be in debt forever. Read some more about this and understand what you're getting into.

 

[Law2Doc]

Well when I ask for advice or read posts on the residents boards, I get a lot of "DON'T DO IT! It's not worth it! You better be absolutely ****ing sure that you couldn't be happy doing ANYTHING else! Doctor or Family, pick one! I hate my life and I hope I die in my sleep tonight!"
....
So here's my question: who do I believe? Are the residents just going crazy and not thinking straight for a couple years because those years suck so very much, or have they learned something that the people on this forum didn't realize and everyone here will be saying it wasn't worth it two years from now?

Anyone on this board who has done their research has spoken to more than a few folks with the above attitude. It would be silly to think that medicine was an easy road, or that it was for everyone. As a prior poster mentioned, the cost and time involved in the journey to physician make it prohibitive to change your mind after a certain point, thus you really really need to know what you are getting into, and that it is what you want to do, before you set sail. Some of those residents you describe are people who didn't know what they were getting into, or had some notion of what medicine would be like different from the reality. Perhaps a few started into med school with lofty aspirations which in residency they realize aren't likely to happen. They are overworked and underpaid, as we all will be during training (and in some cases after). Bottom line -- I don't think most of them learned anything a lot of us haven't realized, just that they are in the thick of it. But if you haven't thought this through, or have some notion of a wealthy 9 to 5 doctor who makes no sacrifices in terms of non-professional life, then perhaps you need to talk to more people, and make sure you know what's what. (And talk to people of the more recent generation, ie just coming out of residency, as those who became physicians 20+ years ago got into the profession during very different circumstances, and will have a very different take.

 

[Mr. Peanut]

Just one fellas opinion... I was 31 when I started med school with a wife and 6 month old son. I've managed OK (middle of 2nd year), but it is definitely time consuming and tiresome. IMO, it is not significantly more difficult/time consuming than climbing the ladder in the kinds of careers most of us would be choosing had we not gone to med school though. There are lots of jobs you'd be putting 60 hrs a week towards through your 20s... and that will probably be plenty in med school. Apparently it leaves plenty of time for starting families too, based on the number of my classmates getting married and having kids...

As for the "you better f'in love it" stuff... Overstatement. Drama that I think starts with the "I just want to help the world" mentality most of us take on to impress our interviewers and continues with the "woe is us" med student belly aching. Its not that bad so far. I figure it is as stressful or as unstressful as you make it.

I'm sure this career will be like a lot of others... I'm sure I'll like it, but I'm also sure its going to be a JOB a lot of the time. Hey, at least its air conditioned and there isn't much heavy lifting! Anyway, I'd recommend not going into this stuff pie-eyed thinking you're living some soul-mated dream (thats a recipe for disappointment) and I'd recommend not avoiding med school because you think you have to "f'in Love it". Go for it if it sounds good and realize it'll seem crappy some of the time... just like it does for all the other 20 somethings out there going into something else.

 

[Brainsucker]

Just one fellas opinion... I was 31 when I started med school with a wife and 6 month old son. I've managed OK (middle of 2nd year), but it is definitely time consuming and tiresome. IMO, it is not significantly more difficult/time consuming than climbing the ladder in the kinds of careers most of us would be choosing had we not gone to med school though. There are lots of jobs you'd be putting 60 hrs a week towards through your 20s... and that will probably be plenty in med school. Apparently it leaves plenty of time for starting families too, based on the number of my classmates getting married and having kids...

As for the "you better f'in love it" stuff... Overstatement. Drama that I think starts with the "I just want to help the world" mentality most of us take on to impress our interviewers and continues with the "woe is us" med student belly aching. Its not that bad so far. I figure it is as stressful or as unstressful as you make it.

I'm sure this career will be like a lot of others... I'm sure I'll like it, but I'm also sure its going to be a JOB a lot of the time. Hey, at least its air conditioned and there isn't much heavy lifting! Anyway, I'd recommend not going into this stuff pie-eyed thinking you're living some soul-mated dream (thats a recipe for disappointment) and I'd recommend not avoiding med school because you think you have to "f'in Love it". Go for it if it sounds good and realize it'll seem crappy some of the time... just like it does for all the other 20 somethings out there going into something else.

I'd just add that it depends a great deal on your spouse. I haven't met the perfect woman yet, but I figure she's either gotta be understanding and okay with the fact that my career is going to be a major priority and time sink, or she's gotta be just as nuts as me. Some of my classmates are already having kids. Seems like med school's the time. It's not getting any easier.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'd just add that it depends a great deal on your spouse. I haven't met the perfect woman yet, but I figure she's either gotta be understanding and okay with the fact that my career is going to be a major priority and time sink

No one is that understanding. You will likely have to make compromises until you find a balance that works, and the only thing I can guarantee to you is that the balance that actually results might not be the one you are thinking of right now. 🙂

 

[Brainsucker]

No one is that understanding. You will likely have to make compromises until you find a balance that works, and the only thing I can guarantee to you is that the balance that actually results might not be the one you are thinking of right now. 🙂

Empirically false. I know a busy plastic surgeon and his wife and they're both really happy. Still, I feel like I'm more likely to fall in with a crazy one.

 

[Law2Doc]

Empirically false. I know a busy plastic surgeon and his wife and they're both really happy. Still, I feel like I'm more likely to fall in with a crazy one.

Whether it's false depends on what compromises were made -- I suspect "none" isn't accurate. (And folks who appear really happy are sometimes putting on a public front -- who knows what fighting about time constraints, etc. really goes on behind closed doors.) But if that's the case, then she's one in a million and already taken, so you'd still better find that crazy one. Perhaps hang with the psych guys and they can make an introduction. 😀

 

[azzarah]

If those residents had time to come online and post on some message board, they certainly have time to reproduce and start a family! 😀

 

[Jedix123]

If those residents had time to come online and post on some message board, they certainly have time to reproduce and start a family! 😀

Speaking of which... how come you have so much time in your third year? I see your posts all over the place! 😛

 

[azzarah]

Speaking of which... how come you have so much time in your third year? I see your posts all over the place! 😛