Not psych question, but you all give good medical career advice

[surftheiop]

My girlfriend is considering going to medical school instead of PA school, (she had been planning to do PA school, but she definately has the grades/extra-curriculars/drive for medical school).

She knows I read alot of forums so she wanted me to see if any of you (especially those who are in residency and beyond) had any thoughts about what it is like for women who have a family and are MD's.

I know most the parents on here are dads, but im sure you all have colleagues who are mom's. Do MD's who are moms (or dads for that matter) often wish they had entered a different field that allowed them to spend more time with their kids?

Also are there many(any?) oppurtonities out there that would let you work like 20-30 hours a week and make like 60 or 70k while your kids are too young for school?

Basically she loves the idea of becoming a doctor, but wouldnt want to sacrifice her future children's wellbeing (especially if she was married to another doctor).

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[peppy]

She may want to go post at the forum on http://www.mommd.com to get advice straight from the horse's mouth.
I know of people who have had babies during med school or residency who seem to manage all right. Personally, though, it's my impression that being a PA would lead to a family friendly situation sooner and more reliably than being a physician would.

I have no kids of my own, but I did have a different kind of unexpected family situation arise during med school (a loved one was diagnosed with a terminal illness) and there have been times when I've been in a tough spot because of my obligations to both medicine and my family.
Another problem is that residency is a bit of a wild card. What if you two end up in residencies that are far away from each other? That might put off your family plans longer than you want.
I wound up unexpectedly having to take a "transitional year" kind of position instead of matching into the psych residency I had planned on. Having that extra year of ambiguity would make things awfully complicated if I had been planning to have a baby during the residency years (fortunately, it wasn't something that I had been counting on, and I'm young enough that there is no rush - but if your girlfriend is a non-traditional student who'd be older than the average med student, a delay like that could be a big deal).
Basically, my view is that being a PA is probably going to allow you to do a lot of what you want for patients without the same kind of unique demands and sacrifices that physicians face. There is a lot of pressure on doctors to live and breathe medicine to be at their very best for their patients. People don't really expect PAs to make their whole life about being a PA.

 

[TX515]

She can forget the 30 hrs/week during med school and residency, although programs do allow for maternity leave. It's about 8 years of time consuming training. It's doable but it will come with sacrifices. She may be able to find a 30 hr/wk gig post-residency. PA sounds really good to me as a third year med student.

 

[surftheiop]

She can forget the 30 hrs/week during med school and residency, although programs do allow for maternity leave. It's about 8 years of time consuming training. It's doable but it will come with sacrifices. She may be able to find a 30 hr/wk gig post-residency. PA sounds really good to me as a third year med student.

Sorry if i worded that wrong, I definately meant doing 30hr/week for a couple years after completing school and residency.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

She may want to go post at the forum on http://www.mommd.com to get advice straight from the horse's mouth.
I know of people who have had babies during med school or residency who seem to manage all right. Personally, though, it's my impression that being a PA would lead to a family friendly situation sooner and more reliably than being a physician would.

I have no kids of my own, but I did have a different kind of unexpected family situation arise during med school (a loved one was diagnosed with a terminal illness) and there have been times when I've been in a tough spot because of my obligations to both medicine and my family.
Another problem is that residency is a bit of a wild card. What if you two end up in residencies that are far away from each other? That might put off your family plans longer than you want.
I wound up unexpectedly having to take a "transitional year" kind of position instead of matching into the psych residency I had planned on. Having that extra year of ambiguity would make things awfully complicated if I had been planning to have a baby during the residency years (fortunately, it wasn't something that I had been counting on, and I'm young enough that there is no rush - but if your girlfriend is a non-traditional student who'd be older than the average med student, a delay like that could be a big deal).
Basically, my view is that being a PA is probably going to allow you to do a lot of what you want for patients without the same kind of unique demands and sacrifices that physicians face. There is a lot of pressure on doctors to live and breathe medicine to be at their very best for their patients. People don't really expect PAs to make their whole life about being a PA.

As the son of a mommy MD, I can say that this post is right on with what I'd say.

 

[chameleonknight]

Based on what I've seen, she should definitely do the PA route. Being an MD is a serious commitment, and if it's not her number one priority, she will eventually hate it.

Medical school can be BRUTALLY EXPENSIVE, so she needs to consider that too. Seriously, do the math on paying back 150k in loans on a 70k salary. It will take her probably the rest of her career.

 

[surftheiop]

Being an MD is a serious commitment, and if it's not her number one priority, she will eventually hate it.

Your financial point is definately valid, but from all the MD's i've talked to they say that the MD's who start hating medicine are the ones who allow it to be their number one priority.

These are happy and succesful MD's I have talked to, all of them have said something to this extent abou a recipe for being happy/succesful.

Tied for #1 Priority- Religous/Moral views and Family
#2 Priority- Practicing medicine.

They said people who let #2 beat out #1 end up burning out, being miserable and ultimately giving lower quality care because they are miserable.

 

[notdeadyet]

Your financial point is definately valid, but from all the MD's i've talked to they say that the MD's who start hating medicine are the ones who allow it to be their number one priority.

If medicine isn't your number one priority as you gear up for med school, you probably should pursue a shorter route. PA, NP, etc.

These are happy and succesful MD's I have talked to, all of them have said something to this extent abou a recipe for being happy/succesful.

Tied for #1 Priority- Religous/Moral views and Family
#2 Priority- Practicing medicine.

That's a great strategy when you're out practicing and can choose your style of work, your job, and your field.

When you are coming in to med school, you lose the freedom to dictate your schedule and how much time you have for your family. If you want to put family time above med school, medical school is probably not a wise path.

Lots of family folks can do med school, but it requires sacrifice on the part of everyone involved. If your family isn't content with being a back seat for big parts of your med school life, you shouldn't put them or yourself through it.

And the moral/religious views is a non-sequitar. Nothing about med school makes you put moral/religious views on hold, unless your Amish and can't use PowerPoint or somesuch...

 

[surftheiop]

If medicine isn't your number one priority as you gear up for med school, you probably should pursue a shorter route. PA, NP, etc.

That's a great strategy when you're out practicing and can choose your style of work, your job, and your field.

When you are coming in to med school, you lose the freedom to dictate your schedule and how much time you have for your family. If you want to put family time above med school, medical school is probably not a wise path.

Lots of family folks can do med school, but it requires sacrifice on the part of everyone involved. If your family isn't content with being a back seat for big parts of your med school life, you shouldn't put them or yourself through it.

And the moral/religious views is a non-sequitar. Nothing about med school makes you put moral/religious views on hold, unless your Amish and can't use PowerPoint or somesuch...

I think people misunderstood the OP, my friend isn't married, doesn't have a family, etc. She was wondering about once she is done with residency.

I wasnt saying that med school and moral/religous views arent compatible, just the doctors I've talked to mentioned it as an important way to combat arrogance and stay humble. (Not saying you necessarily need religon to do this, thats why i listed moral views which could be a-religous)

 

[marie337]

She can definitely have a family and work part time after she finishes training. But, she has to keep in mind that it's going to be at least 7 years of training before she has that kind of control over her life. And, she'll have to choose her specialty wisely. Whereas if she goes to PA school, she'll be done sooner and have much more control over her lifestyle no matter what specialty she goes into. This was a big decision for me too. I thought about PA school for a while, but ultimately I knew I wouldn't be satisfied if I didn't go all the way and I knew that I would end up in primary care or psychiatry, which are pretty family friendly.

 

[MasterThespian]

If I had it to do over, I'd have gone the PA route for sure. But, I am older and couldn't wait for training to be over to be a Mom (just had the most beautfiul baby ever!). But, even if I could have waited, I'd still have been a PA for these reasons- MUCH shorter training, make good money with controllable hours after only 3 years doing most of what a doctor can do (depending on the field), and key- FLEXIBILITY- you can be a general medicine PA for a few years, then decide to do dermatology for a few years, then work in an ER, be an oncology PA, a rheumatology PA, a surgical PA, an ICU PA etc, etc all with ON-THE-JOB well-paid training instead of having to do a whole new residency if you want to switch fields. Also, no liability- the supervising physician is ultimately responsible. It's a good deal. And the demand is there- if you get stuck with a crappy supervising physician who gives you **** work, you can always find a better position, I would think. My two cents.

 

[whopper]

I'm sure that mommd website will offer more info.

Getting an MD is a strong commitment that will take years, a lot of money, strong support from the family, and may require that the person entering medical school make geographic moves that are beyond her choice.

I have sometimes reccomended people not go into medical school. This wasn't based on an notion that the person couldn't handle it, but that they might be happier not going in. They wanted to work in the medical field but I thought for them being a PA was a better move. Becoming a doctor is a lot of hard work with a lot of sacrifice. So is being a PA, but there's more oppurtunity for a life that is within your control, and less responsibilities.