money matters... help please!

[ponyo]

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I'm new here, so please forgive me if my question seems juvenile or whatever else.

I am very confused about the whole healthcare reform issue and how it will impact doctors, not immediately, but maybe ten, twenty years down the line. I've read a lot of the threads here on the issue, but I need slightly more personal advice regarding the financial security of a furture MD.

It is not that I don't love medicine--I really do. But in all honesty I don't think everybody can afford to do what they love, and if there is one thing I need in a career, it is financial security. It isn't just because I want to live a comfortable life--$80k per spouse is more than enough for that. But I also need to be able to take care of my parents when they are older because Social Security is just not going to cut it. When considering medical school loans, my own home mortgage, car mortgage for the first 5 years, and then sending money to my parents for their home mortgage as well as a few of my less-than-well-off relatives, I just get unbelievably scared by the possibility that I won't be able to help them AND I will be deeply in debt myself. I can't even think about potential children.

Okay at this point I realize that I am panicking wayy too much for an incoming sophomore in college about my middle-age years, but being pre-med is all about planning ahead anyway, right? 😕

Also I'm thinking about going into pediatrics because I can (and have) literally just take care of children for more than 14 hours at a time. When they drool and piss on me and shriek, I think it's cute (no idea why either). How would the seemingly-inevitable reform affect this specialty?

Thanks so much!

 

[Naijaba]

I'm new here, so please forgive me if my question seems juvenile or whatever else.

I am very confused about the whole healthcare reform issue and how it will impact doctors, not immediately, but maybe ten, twenty years down the line. I've read a lot of the threads here on the issue, but I need slightly more personal advice regarding the financial security of a furture MD.

It is not that I don't love medicine--I really do. But in all honesty I don't think everybody can afford to do what they love, and if there is one thing I need in a career, it is financial security. It isn't just because I want to live a comfortable life--$80k per spouse is more than enough for that. But I also need to be able to take care of my parents when they are older because Social Security is just not going to cut it. When considering medical school loans, my own home mortgage, car mortgage for the first 5 years, and then sending money to my parents for their home mortgage as well as a few of my less-than-well-off relatives, I just get unbelievably scared by the possibility that I won't be able to help them AND I will be deeply in debt myself. I can't even think about potential children.

Okay at this point I realize that I am panicking wayy too much for an incoming sophomore in college about my middle-age years, but being pre-med is all about planning ahead anyway, right? 😕

Also I'm thinking about going into pediatrics because I can (and have) literally just take care of children for more than 14 hours at a time. When they drool and piss on me and shriek, I think it's cute (no idea why either). How would the seemingly-inevitable reform affect this specialty?

Thanks so much!

I will cut to the chase right away. Even if all of the reform goes down, you will still make $80+ as a doctor. As mentioned in another post, it is the extreme salaries of specialties that will lowered to the median salary (think Neurosurgery going from $500,000 to $300,000). You should know that the mean salary in the US is ~$45,000 (http://www.bls.gov/cew/), so making $80 is essentially making twice as much as the average Joe; you'll be fine.

 

[bertbacharat]

1

 

[Alwaysbehopeful]

I'm not sure if this will help you but here is what I hear. I work with a lot of pediatricians and it is true that they actually make about the same as an RN. I think even if you do make a lot of money, medical school loans seems to be the biggest issue. A lot of doctors have told me that medical school is a big financial investment. I think overall, you shouldn't worry so much about the future. I mean we all really don't know what is going to happen...everyone can only guess. I think you should follow what your passion is in life and work everything around it.

The reason why some people pick these high paying specialties is because of not being able to pay off their loans. My friend's dad was a general surgeon for 20 years and had to switch to family medicine b/c he couldn't pay his loans. I think it is true that doctors to make a lot of money, however, medical school is pretty expensive.

 

[DrYoda]

It is not that I don't love medicine--I really do. But in all honesty I don't think everybody can afford to do what they love, and if there is one thing I need in a career, it is financial security. It isn't just because I want to live a comfortable life--$80k per spouse is more than enough for that. But I also need to be able to take care of my parents when they are older because Social Security is just not going to cut it. When considering medical school loans, my own home mortgage, car mortgage for the first 5 years, and then sending money to my parents for their home mortgage as well as a few of my less-than-well-off relatives, I just get unbelievably scared by the possibility that I won't be able to help them AND I will be deeply in debt myself. I can't even think about potential children.

By 80k/spouse are you counting on having a two income home. Because many pediatrics don't make 160k now.

I'll give you some advice, you can't help everyone. Take care of yourself, then if you have the resources and desire to help relatives do it. Do not let other's financial issues hold you back.

 

[medictim84]

You may want to pick a specialty that isn't the worst paid specialty in medicine if you're concerned about student loans. I think almost every other specialty, except maybe internal medicine, has pediatric patients to some extent so it's not like you'll completely miss out on treating kids if you're not a pediatrician.

Also, playing with them and taking care of them in a house or whatever is a lot different than dealing with premies, watching sick kids die, trying to keep them from dying and in some cases, failing.

 

[avatarftw]

a

 

[kami333]

Why would your parents have a mortgage they can't pay themselves?

 

[Eyti]

I'm new here, so please forgive me if my question seems juvenile or whatever else.

I am very confused about the whole healthcare reform issue and how it will impact doctors, not immediately, but maybe ten, twenty years down the line. I've read a lot of the threads here on the issue, but I need slightly more personal advice regarding the financial security of a furture MD.

It is not that I don't love medicine--I really do. But in all honesty I don't think everybody can afford to do what they love, and if there is one thing I need in a career, it is financial security. It isn't just because I want to live a comfortable life--$80k per spouse is more than enough for that. But I also need to be able to take care of my parents when they are older because Social Security is just not going to cut it. When considering medical school loans, my own home mortgage, car mortgage for the first 5 years, and then sending money to my parents for their home mortgage as well as a few of my less-than-well-off relatives, I just get unbelievably scared by the possibility that I won't be able to help them AND I will be deeply in debt myself. I can't even think about potential children.

Okay at this point I realize that I am panicking wayy too much for an incoming sophomore in college about my middle-age years, but being pre-med is all about planning ahead anyway, right? 😕

Also I'm thinking about going into pediatrics because I can (and have) literally just take care of children for more than 14 hours at a time. When they drool and piss on me and shriek, I think it's cute (no idea why either). How would the seemingly-inevitable reform affect this specialty?

Thanks so much!

Most of us have probably gone through that phase of going down the ever-expanding list of what-if questions that we feel the need to answer. I have my own list as does everyone else. Some people will start obsessively thinking about the "financial compensation" of future MDs. You say that you are comfortable with an $80 000 salary. I think that you are in a glorious minority there when it comes to thinking about money among pre-meds. I doubt that all that many of us would still fight to be great doctors if the pay was below what we needed to realistically take care of our families. So many doctors would be outraged were salaries to fall below that level. And those who express outrage at the idea of sub-$150 000 salaries would stop going into medicine and due to the nature of human greed, there would be a huge shortage of doctors.

The point I want to communicate to you is that you should not worry about what other people think about money. If money is not something you seriously view as a tool for happiness, then you are probably going into medicine for some very good reason. So, please stop thinking about other people's anxieties over material wealth. It simply does not apply to a person like you and you should not think further of it.

Being pre-med is about planning ahead, but its also about knowing who you are and what you want to achieve at the end of this process. What do you want to bring into the practice of medicine?

I think its awesome that you look forward to working with children that way. How is pediatrics going to change??? Well hopefully its going to start having all children in this country going to doctors on a regular basis. If Canada is any example this might end up resulting in decreased payment to the physician per patient, but increased number of patients, and (possibly) increased work load. The fact that you are already excited about work in this setting and clearly enjoy being a part of a pediatrics environment, I think, is an indicator that you will be able to figure out how to manage your practice just fine. So again, it comes down to just loving what you do and not allowing other people to force their own anxieties onto you.

 

[Eyti]

I forgot to say that the reason people like you never need worry about this is because money is going to matter less and less to the self-actualization of individuals. That is the natural progression of our future profession and of society at large.

 

[J ROD]

First, you need to realize that you cant save everyone and have to look out for yourself. Bad as that may sound...

Being a doc will make you comfortable but not rich like it used to.

Hopefully, things will change back some....after a shortage hits or docs ban together and demand things to change.