I'm a 2nd year US MD student and just wanted to shoot the breeze about this possibility. Obviously the benefits to remaining in the US are high, like high specialty pay and all of the inherent barriers to changing medical systems. But Canada DOES accept US residency graduates with only a licensing exams to pass.
Some reasons why I'm thinking about this:
-Single payer insurance - I work at a free clinic for the uninsured, and it's heartbreaking to see people being disabled or dying from lack of medical care.
-Generally healthier and better educated population - less chronic disease, nicer people to deal with. My impression is there are fewer multi-generation noncompliant metabolic syndrome folks and other headaches.
-US national debt burden of the last generation will eventually fall on us, the high earners of the near-future. Lack of economic stability here.
-High GP pay. One of my interests is FM, although another is ENT.
-Better public education for my eventual kids. I attended one of the best public schools in my state and still feel there were significant shortcomings.
-Less income inequality (tying in with better educated/healthier population)
-Less income inequality between specialties. I think the huge gap between GP and specialist pay in the US poisons the professional atmosphere. GP's are really looked down upon here by many, both within the field and among the general population.
I think that overall, to live well and have kids who are globally competitive in the United States requires cushioning yourself with tons of money--the best private schools, expensive suburb with people of similar education and income, nice cars to deal with persistent traffic and crappy roads, etc. Even eating healthy is freaking difficult because produce is so expensive (conventionally grown apples cost $2-3/lb here, wtf?). This is obviously more or less true depending on location, but I think that in general it is the case.
One big issue is the cost of higher education. Even on $200k pretax, having two kids in college/med school in America will really nuke your income. My parents pay for most of my medical education and I strongly feel that I should do the same for my kids, should they choose this path. But what happens when an in-state medical education costs $70k/year in 20 years?? I was accepted to McGill for undergrad and I really agree with their way of running things--cheap tuition-->crappier facilities but still excellent education. I don't get why American schools need flat screen TV's in every classroom, iPads for every student, and multimillion dollar gyms. My own school is constantly buying fancy new equipment which is massively underutilized, then raises our tuition 4%/year.
Are my impressions correct? What else is there to consider? Is this just a case of the-grass-is-greener? Does anyone know Canadian physicians who can comment on the professional opportunities there? I've tried to dig up past info with the search function but haven't found much.
Some reasons why I'm thinking about this:
-Single payer insurance - I work at a free clinic for the uninsured, and it's heartbreaking to see people being disabled or dying from lack of medical care.
-Generally healthier and better educated population - less chronic disease, nicer people to deal with. My impression is there are fewer multi-generation noncompliant metabolic syndrome folks and other headaches.
-US national debt burden of the last generation will eventually fall on us, the high earners of the near-future. Lack of economic stability here.
-High GP pay. One of my interests is FM, although another is ENT.
-Better public education for my eventual kids. I attended one of the best public schools in my state and still feel there were significant shortcomings.
-Less income inequality (tying in with better educated/healthier population)
-Less income inequality between specialties. I think the huge gap between GP and specialist pay in the US poisons the professional atmosphere. GP's are really looked down upon here by many, both within the field and among the general population.
I think that overall, to live well and have kids who are globally competitive in the United States requires cushioning yourself with tons of money--the best private schools, expensive suburb with people of similar education and income, nice cars to deal with persistent traffic and crappy roads, etc. Even eating healthy is freaking difficult because produce is so expensive (conventionally grown apples cost $2-3/lb here, wtf?). This is obviously more or less true depending on location, but I think that in general it is the case.
One big issue is the cost of higher education. Even on $200k pretax, having two kids in college/med school in America will really nuke your income. My parents pay for most of my medical education and I strongly feel that I should do the same for my kids, should they choose this path. But what happens when an in-state medical education costs $70k/year in 20 years?? I was accepted to McGill for undergrad and I really agree with their way of running things--cheap tuition-->crappier facilities but still excellent education. I don't get why American schools need flat screen TV's in every classroom, iPads for every student, and multimillion dollar gyms. My own school is constantly buying fancy new equipment which is massively underutilized, then raises our tuition 4%/year.
Are my impressions correct? What else is there to consider? Is this just a case of the-grass-is-greener? Does anyone know Canadian physicians who can comment on the professional opportunities there? I've tried to dig up past info with the search function but haven't found much.
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