on support from physicians...

[Doctor Bagel]

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Yes but most med school classes are pretty homogenous and those of us who have done both can come to our own conclusion of whether med school is harder than everything else, as we have done at least one of the other classically though to be hard paths already (as might a former I banker in med school, etc). Those of us who have done previous hard paths do have this actual knowledge your classmates lack and yet still often come to the same conclusion, validating their poorly researched opinions.

Umm, okay -- missing my point again. I won't bother to repeat it for I think the third time. Big hint -- it's not about whether or not medical school is harder than law school. 🙄

 

[Law2Doc]

Umm, okay -- missing my point again. I won't bother to repeat it for I think the third time. Big hint -- it's not about whether or not medical school is harder than law school. 🙄

I get your point, but disagree with it. You are dismissing classmate's notions as wrong because they have no frame/basis of reference. But a poorly derived conclusion does not always equal a wrong one.🙄

 

[Bertelman]

"Saab convertible with low down payment will be about 600./ per month."

600 a month is insane bro...why don't u wait on the new hot car until after residency? seems extravagant...

Alright. That's enough. I can hold my tongue while you judge us for our spending habits, but I'm not going to let this happen!

Don't go hatin' on a man because he wants some STYLE in his life. I like my car (Jeep Wrangler, black, top down and doors off with aluminum wheels and fat-a$$ tires that wouldn't fit in the trunk of your Honda). It makes me happy. It's not practical, it will never win any saftey awards or customer satisfaction surveys. But when I step into it, I smile. Every time. And other people check me out when I'm driving. That means that, for at least 20 minutes twice a day, I feel pretty good about life. I feel like I have accomplished something, and I have something to show for it. Is a Saab convertible unrealistic with a small income? Certainly. But I'm jealous!

And $550 for a HONDA? You aren't exactly slumming it!

 

[mjl1717]

Alright. That's enough. I can hold my tongue while you judge us for our spending habits, but I'm not going to let this happen!

Don't go hatin' on a man because he wants some STYLE in his life. I like my car (Jeep Wrangler, black, top down and doors off with aluminum wheels and fat-a$$ tires that wouldn't fit in the trunk of your Honda). It makes me happy. It's not practical, it will never win any saftey awards or customer satisfaction surveys. But when I step into it, I smile. Every time. And other people check me out when I'm driving. That means that, for at least 20 minutes twice a day, I feel pretty good about life. I feel like I have accomplished something, and I have something to show for it. Is a Saab convertible unrealistic with a small income? Certainly. But I'm jealous!

And $550 for a HONDA? You aren't exactly slumming it!

I agree: I figure:

1) I only live once.
2) some dreaded dis-ease is always possible
3)Also I just about plan on having this heavy school loan almost till infinity.
4)Also I dont think my friend has the big picture cause $550./month for a honda IS considered a steep car note in this society. Last car I bought I was trying to keep my monthly note under $200. but eventually ended up paying $259 per month and I have 26 payments left for a dependable 2002 Chevy Malibu. I can be a little exotic because I also work as a P.A. on the side. But my priority is to knock out the steps!! Only completed step 1 USMLE so far. Lastly as suggested above when Im in that Saab convertible Im happy( Ive had 2 in the past) and feel free, kids and people make comments like OWW, mommy get me a car like that, and Im in a totally different galaxy. In short I feel better while going thru lots of aggravation being a warrior in a medical arena. Ill admitt when I buy it, it may not be the most logical but I buy it with full emotion!.👍

 

[colbgw02]

1) i wish i knew more about psychology, then i could remember the psychological phenomenon by which older people always think that things were better in their day. the only other physician in my family - my uncle - told me that everyone told him not to go into medicine when he was starting out. and that was 30 years ago before the boom of the 1980s and the subsequent development of HMOs.

2) considering the importance of the subject matter and the training required, $40K/year is chump change, especially when you factor in the work hours. if my math is correct, i made more per hour as a lifeguard in highschool than most residents do now. the match is great insofar as it gets the highest percentage of applicants possible into their specialty of choice at the location they want, but it also serves as a pseudo-monopoly that allows programs to keep down salaries. i wish i knew more about economics to explain that in more detail.

3) as a whole, physicians make a good living in this nation; i also think they deserve it considering the length of training, debt, and general amount of bullsh*t we have to put up with. there is also a psychological phenomenon by which people very quickly become accustomed to a higher standard of living, but the converse is not true. so it's not surprising that the anesthesiologist wasn't happy about his income dropping below the half-million spot. not that he's correct to be unhappy; it's just not surprising. i think we also sometimes lose sight of how amazing some of the things doctors do and how little we're actually paid for it. take CABG, for example - here's an operation that stops a beating heart, yet medicare reimbursement is only around $1800. cataract surgery - a procedure that comes within millimeters of causing blindness - has a medicare reimbursement of only a couple of hundred dollars. we see/do/think about these things everyday, so they become commonplace, but they're truly amazing things and worthy of decent compensation.

 

[AmericanIMG]

And $550 for a HONDA? You aren't exactly slumming it!

lol that included insurance for my pilot 😉

my point was that we make our lives harder by choice. he didnt need a brand new car at the period when he made the least money in his life...simply doesn't make any sense. its like a doctor that once told me proudly, hey i made it through residency and had a baby halfway through...its like ok great, but you could have waited a year and made your life easier.

40k is what we make of it. its almost like a rite of passage. we all know that interns/residents work a lot harder then a salary of 40k deserves, but its just how the system is run. i would LOVE to get paid 60k or 80k for my years in residency, but of course that is not how life works.

 

[gujuDoc]

i don't mean giving the premeds the idea that medicine is perfect etc. i am talking about the people that project upon students their jaded feelings and telling them half truths.

honesty is what the students need, not discouragement. whenever i speak with a premed or a MS-1 i always tell them that it is a very difficult journey but in the end its a great lifestyle, great job security and worth the sacrifices.

Well that really depends on how you define great lifestyle or if it is the way most people define it then it depends on whether you get a good lifestyle specialty like derm, path, or rads or even rad onco.

People may give negative impressions but that's not everyone. Also, if those people are giving negative impressions it is really what they feel. I've met physicians at USF med who have said they wouldn't do it over and then I've met physicians who absolutely love it despite its problems.

You just have to talk with more then one physician and try to look at things from all perspectives then take time to think whether you can really swallow putting yourself through the same.