Q for all of the EM experts out there

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Bum Knees

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I will FINALLY start med school in Aug. I have a problem that will affect my career and personal life that I hope someone can assist me in finding a solution. The med school I will attend offers a service based loan which is quite attractive. The school pays for your tuition and pays the student $1500/month for each academic month. For each year the school subsidizes the student has to serve in a small to midsize town and also you have to go into Peds, IM, or EM. I plan to go into EM. I applied for it but I haven't heard anything as of late. I also applied for residency so hopefully I will receive it. My plan was to take the loan for two years and since I applied for residency I will be charged resident fees in my last two years of med school. The budget for a non-resident is about 50K/year. I come from humbled beginnings and I cannot fathom the thought of paying 200K in educational debt. I am also considering doing the loan for the full term of med school. I am not that attached to my family and I am pretty much a free spirit so I am thinking why not. There are two things that are holding me back from doing it: One, my girlfriend of seven years who will more than likely become my wife one day is back home. She is really close to her family and is not that keen on moving a thousand miles away from home. Two, the possible affects it will have on my career. I would like to become an EM physician and work in a hospital in a suburb of a large city. If I work in one of these towns for four years and then when my commitment is done and I chose to move to a larger city or a suburb of that city, do you think I would have a hard time finding employment? Would prospective employers look down on that? My plan is to work in the town and on my off days maintain and/or improve my skills by working in a nearby (mid size large city) I am sure you know that a medical education in quite expensive and this could alleviate a lot of debt for me, but this a major decision and I want to make sure I make the best decision I can possibly make. What would you do? How would me working in a small town affect my future employment? Would I be relegated to working in low volume ED's?

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I know its long but can I get some love? :confused:
 
Are you planning on being away from your gf/wife for 7 years??? I had to be away from my wife for ~6mo during my clinical years and that was tough. I don't think it would hurt you (as far as job opportunities) to work in a rural ED, so long as you were EM trained/boarded. Where I am, some of the ER guys work in both rural and urban EDs. Med school debt sucks, but you should be able to pay it off once you start working as an attending...

-endo
 
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I would first read the contract with a fine tooth comb. It sounds to me like it could be an excellent opportunity. Actually there are some underserved ED's that could be quite fun and a great lifestyle if you are into outdoor activities. Anyway, if you decide later on in med school that EM,IM, or peds isn't for you I am sure there is a way out and youll just be stuck with the debt like everyone else. ANyway, sounds like a great way to possibly subsidize your med school and still have many options left open. Whats the worst that can happen.....you decide you want to do <insert highly paid subspecialty here> and have to actually pay for your school.
 
I concur with everyone else

Make sure to go through the Contract c a fine tooth comb and better yet with a lawyer if you know one. When it comes to the rest it pretty much depends on what you and your GF decide is best. There are plenty of programs that will train you well for both urban and rural/underserved EM.

Good luck
 
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