Practical Speciatlies

[kas23]

Times are tough for physicians these days, and threads such as these show that. Back in the day, all physicians made enormous denairo and retired between 50-55yo. They drove the nicest autos, lived in the biggest homes, and commanded much respect. Do you think they worried about lifestyle, versus job satisfaction, versus $$$$. No, they all had it all. Not so anymore, and that's ok to a point. We are all stressed because we are investing alot of time, money, heart, and soul into a career and we are really worried about what it is going to be like out there. We dont have faith in the profession giving back to the brightest minds of our generation what we think we deserve. We do see passion and compassion, but we also see giving so much of ourselves to this profession and being charged for it (loans, malpractice, lawsuits).
So here is some general advice. Put yourself in a position (outside of academic medicine if necessary) to spend time with someone who loves his job, his life, or both. A Hem/onc or OB/Gyn doc may be away from their family and working hard but you may see a passion for their jobs that inspires you. You may be alongside a EM doc who is simply happy with both his job and life. He may not call his work a vocation but it may be satisfying in a variety of ways that suits him. Look at the people who are unhappy and find out why. They may be the problem not there career choice. Maybe they went into medicine for the wrong reasons. Dont be afraid to ask. Search out who you identify with and the reasons for it and go from there.
When we start our training we think practicing medicine is the s**t, but then we see the down side of things and we start to run for cover. Try and remember the most important reason you went into medicine and let that guide you in your decision.
There is nothing worse than going to a job that doesn't inspire you for some reason on some level. Your unhappiness (eventhough you may be in a lucrative field with good lifesyle) will carry over into your personal life and slowly you will be lost and wondering how I got to this point. The reverse is true also. Dont pick a field that consumes you in such a way that you cant give to those who love you the most (wife, kids, next of kin). Do what gives you that "burn", that challenges you, inspires you.
Life is a balance, and right now our generation is realizing that the committment of medicine without all those wonderful perks is quite physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging.
So hopefully we will choose the vocation of medicine over the vacations, but if we are lucky we can have both. But never choose the vacations over the vocation because you can do that in any job and you shouldn't be taking a spot at med school or residency that another person with the right priorities and maturity could use.
I am doing EM because it has variety, procedures, good hours and good pay. Also, I have always liked the EM docs and nurses on a personal level too, which makes the overall work experience great. I also like being a patient advocate.
That is all...

I think this is the most intelligent post I have yet to read on this thread.

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[kas23]

The idea that physicians actually enjoy their work is pretty much a fantasy. I have met only two that truly do. I have met so many who would never choose medicine if they had to do it over.

Yes, this is really sad...

 

[DasN]

Why are you guys arguing like a bunch of idiots? The way you act seems like none of you are or will be happy with what you do. Just picture yourself in 20 years do you think that you are going to have the same intensity then as you do now. As far as cash goes, yeah you can probably make some more in certain specialties but if you spend it like an idiot you won’t really have any in the end. Life isn’t purely about medicine you can always do other things on the side to generate income. Also beware of getting burned out so damn fast you will with an attitude like this. And this Type B guy, if you have to proclaim yourself as “Type B” you obviously are not you obviously have no social skills whatsoever.

 

[USFOptho]

I'm not sure why everyone is glorifying optho (the specialty I will be in).


After spending alot of time in the area with private practice ophthalmologists, something has really come to light that hasn't in the academic setting: New opthos start off at 80-100k (if they are lucky), and stay that way for a LONG time. Why? The overhead is tremendous! It is insane! Combine that with the market for refractive surgeries already eaten up by the big boys, and you're looking at making beans for the first 15-20 years in practice! (Unless you do optho retina). So, if you're thinking optho is cush with lots of money, think again, because that kind of situation doesn't just fall from the sky anymore...

 

[typeB-md]

And this Type B guy, if you have to proclaim yourself as “Type B” you obviously are not you obviously have no social skills whatsoever.

obviously someone forgot to attend the "what is tongue-in-cheek" lecture during middle school english class. and thank you for the evidence-based derision of my social skills. you may want to look into getting your JD after medical school.

 

[Lonestar]

Medicine is medicine. every field has its own headaches. some more than others. Like ER which I am currently doing in my internship. Boy does it suck. Every ER attending i know is not happy. I asked some of them personally about private practice and they said it wasn't so bad. BUT all the docs (in their mid 40s-50s) said that they couldn't take it anymore. BURNOUT. And each of them were doing 15-18 shifts (8-10 hr shifts) per month. I can see why. Doing night shifts then day shifts, just screws up your day-night cycle. Oh and BTW, those dollars per hour quoted by Ninerniner might be true for ER, but they seem to be a little off for radiology and anesthesiology. IF you do an 8 hour shift in anesthesia nowdays, you can expect 1300-1500 range. That turns out to be about $165/hr - $190/hr. Overtime is one and half times this. so for a 12 hour day you would be doing pretty well.

USFoptho is right. But optho is one of those fields with wide variations in salaries. Those who do surgeries will make much more than those who do less surgeries.