J
JabberwockyAlice
trying to delete
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2018
- Messages
- 1,365
- Reaction score
- 2,322
Lots of part times positions are available in most medical specialties assuming you will take a cut in pay. You still have to very sharp cognitively to be a radiologist. Telemedicine is a growing field, and will probably be larger as time goes on. We just lost our pediatrician as she is going into the field.
Frankly, unless you get a lot better, I wouldn't advise medical school. It is rough and is mentally and physically challenging. Residency is worse.
Frankly, unless you get a lot better, I wouldn't advise medical school. It is rough and is mentally and physically challenging. Residency is worse.
If your conditions are as crippling as you describe then you likely wouldn't be able to function through medical school, intern year, and residency. Medical school and intern year both require you to be in the hospital in direct patient contact, theres no other way around it. If you turn out to be as severely immunocompromised as you say, that might be a limiting factor. Residency + Fellowship are a long time of training and taking extended amounts of time off for medical issues is going to make it even harder, if not impossible. If you were able to actually make it through training to an attending level, then yes, you could theoretically work as a tele radiologist and selectively read scans as you wanted to. You would only get paid for what you are able to do, but it is a field that is flexible like that.
I would focus on getting your physical and mental health under sustained, long term control before embarking on this ordeal.
I would focus on getting your physical and mental health under sustained, long term control before embarking on this ordeal.
D
deleted480308
I would recommend you work on your health and pursue a different career unless this is resolved, sorry
As others have said, I would think carefully before pursuing medicine. If you think you can handle the stress and make it through medical school AT LEAST, there are some options available to you where you could theoretically get bye without killing yourself (e.g. surgery residency);
-Physical Medicine and Rehab
-Occupational Medicine
-Medical Genetics
-Pathology
-Psychiatry
Radiology probably fits this bill but as far as I know, it is a mentally taxing field. You can get to a point where things get easier with experience but the learning curve to get to that fine point is extremely huge. Still consider radiology, but spend some time investigating these other 5 fields. The workload and path needed to get to them are on the more reasonable end of the spectrum. And if you're prudent in choosing programs that have resident wellness as a priority, doing well in residency with these fields is also possible. I wish you all the best and do hope you get better. Must be a lot dealing with this.
-Physical Medicine and Rehab
-Occupational Medicine
-Medical Genetics
-Pathology
-Psychiatry
Radiology probably fits this bill but as far as I know, it is a mentally taxing field. You can get to a point where things get easier with experience but the learning curve to get to that fine point is extremely huge. Still consider radiology, but spend some time investigating these other 5 fields. The workload and path needed to get to them are on the more reasonable end of the spectrum. And if you're prudent in choosing programs that have resident wellness as a priority, doing well in residency with these fields is also possible. I wish you all the best and do hope you get better. Must be a lot dealing with this.
It is difficult to give advice because these choices are very personal. On one hand I would be wary of making career decisions just based on perceived disability. I have known medical students and physicians with significant (although generally well controlled) medical conditions. I have personal experience going through medical school with chronic (but well controlled and non-disabling) condition. I don't think this makes me unable to practice medicine and I have not met with hostility from residency or medical school officials
If you can reasonably perform the job, you can apply for it and by the way the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects you from discrimination if you have medical conditions that can reasonably be accommodated. You deserve a fulfilling professional life; I think this is especially true for driven people who would later regret limiting themselves (e.g. would you later regret not going for your dream job just because you are afraid you can't make it?)
At the same time, it is important to have a sober assessment of your own limitations; for example blindness will prevent you from being a radiologist. In medicine you should have a particularly sober assessment of your mental capacity because of the the high level of responsibility. I would say there is much higher tolerance in medicine for physical rather than cognitive impairment. Practicing medicine is especially fraught with difficulty for those with poor cognitive function, substance abuse, those who have to take medications that impair cognition, or those with severe and poorly controlled mental illness.
If you can reasonably perform the job, you can apply for it and by the way the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects you from discrimination if you have medical conditions that can reasonably be accommodated. You deserve a fulfilling professional life; I think this is especially true for driven people who would later regret limiting themselves (e.g. would you later regret not going for your dream job just because you are afraid you can't make it?)
At the same time, it is important to have a sober assessment of your own limitations; for example blindness will prevent you from being a radiologist. In medicine you should have a particularly sober assessment of your mental capacity because of the the high level of responsibility. I would say there is much higher tolerance in medicine for physical rather than cognitive impairment. Practicing medicine is especially fraught with difficulty for those with poor cognitive function, substance abuse, those who have to take medications that impair cognition, or those with severe and poorly controlled mental illness.
