Which specialties have the best lifestyle, while having high income potential?

[Consigliere]

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We all love that cutesy saying, but in reality you've got it backwards.

The people who graduate last in medical school are the ones who have very little control over selecting an "enjoyable" specialty/career compared with those who did much better. You can choose to define "enjoyable" however you want, but it's clear that your options shrink tremendously when you're in that position.

I'd much rather work my ass off during M1/M2 and maybe not enjoy it, if it means I don't have to be miserable for the rest off life in a crappy specialty just so I can tell people "yo, I totally went out a lot as a med student".

It's a long term investment. Put in the work up front for a short period of time to set yourself up for a lifetime of happiness.

As a physician practicing in today's environment, that is nearly impossible.

 

[VisionaryTics]

As a physician practicing in today's environment, that is nearly impossible.

As a human being, that is nearly impossible.

 

[Smokemont]

That's all fine and dandy and I'm all warm and fuzzy at your degree of dedication but guess what? What will they call you when you graduate from medical school? Doctor.

What will they call the guy/gal who graduated last in your class? Doctor.

AND they will have had a much better life than you.

Are you a physician?

 

[WaylonS]

Are you a physician?

Congratulations, you can read!

 

[fancymylotus]

My general dentist buddy told me the field is saturated with a new local dental school pumping a lot of new grads out. Not sure how it is in rural areas?

I work in a suburb of NYC. It's saturated but manageable. I wouldn't ever open an office in the city(I just live there) or any of the boroughs.

 

[Smokemont]

Congratulations, you can read!

What?

 

[Consigliere]

As a human being, that is nearly impossible.

Word

 

[Consigliere]

Are you a physician?

One of the best, kid.

 

[Sandman2]

Dude, do what you enjoy. Everything else will follow. Stop making things so complicated.

 

[notbobtrustme]

Consiglere is one of the biggest thread crappers here on Allo.

 

[Smokemont]

One of the best, kid.

Doubtful. You would probably make a good CRNA though.

 

[Consigliere]

Doubtful. You would probably make a good CRNA though.

Whatevs MED STUDENT

 

[circulus vitios]

lol do you want a pat on the back or something
no one cares

You and Consigliere need to get off my nuts.

 

[yehhhboiii]

You and Consigliere need to get off my nuts.

you're the only one on them
hopefully that changes for you

 

[Brain Bucket]

Nevermind. Let the show go on.

 

[Smokemont]

whatevs med student

whatevs

 

[gettheleadout]

When I was studying for Step 1 a few years ago, I studied 18 hours a day, every day, including weekends, for 6 straight weeks. I would wake up at 7AM, be in library by 8AM, take an hour break at 12PM to work out and eat lunch, study from 1PM - 2AM with 15 minute break for dinner, rinse and repeat. During that time my fiancee would bring her dinner to eat with me during the 15 minute break, because that was the only time she saw me. I was always coming home after she went to bed, and leaving in the morning before she woke up. The rest of my med school years really weren't much better (I was studying 14 hours a day on average); this is just the example of how it was like at my busiest.

I wasn't studying that hard because I wanted to eventually get into a competitive specialty that would pay me lots of money and allow me to relax. I studied that hard because I felt that it was our duty as med students to study as hard as we can and learn as much as we can. I always got infuriated when fellow students would say something like, "Oh I'm just studying 6 hours a day, I just want to go into family med so I don't need to do better than average" or "I'm not focusing on that topic, because I hear it's low-yield for this exam" or "Hey can you quickly go over the key points of the material for our final exam tomorrow? I didn't start studying until 2 days ago and I'm now really behind." I find that kind of attitude offensive because even if I had my mind set to go into a non-competitive specialty, I would have studied as hard as I could because I don't think behavior like what I described is right for our future patients. Frankly, I always felt that people who approached their studies like that shouldn't be allowed to become doctors. We should always strive to be the best - not for the sake of getting good grades, but because we should be the best students of medicine that we can be.

Now, did I feel really guilty about how I treated my fiancee during those 6 weeks (and really, during all of my med school years)? Absolutely. I know she was miserable because I never had time for her. I never had time to visit her family, I never went out with her and her friends, and I always made her go to her friends' weddings by herself. Hell, we never even had a real wedding of our own (just signed some papers and drank champagne in our apartment living room). She wanted to attend a very good graduate school in a different state but chose to go to a lesser school near me (although with the amount of quality time we actually got to spend together, it probably wouldn't have been that much different if she had gone out of state). I know her friends have asked her why she's even with me when I never have time to hang out with her. Do I hope that one day when I'm a full-fledged doctor, I get to be in a job that allows me to take good care of patients while at the same time spending quality time with my wife, and be able to pay her back for all she's sacrificed for me? Absolutely. Does that make me a bad unethical doctor, who cares only about money and doesn't give a crap about how patients feel? Absolutely NOT.

So what did you get on Step 1? 280?

 

[yehhhboiii]

So what did you get on Step 1? 280?

i've never heard of anyone getting higher than 275

 

[Brain Bucket]

There was a 279 at our school last year.

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[mdeast]

I'd definitely go Urology in your case. It sounds like your interested in surgery. While there is a fair amount of Gen Surg months during your first two years in Uro, the latter half of the residency is almost all urology (so not quite as hardcore). After that, most Urologists have a pretty cush lifestyle, with a mixed surgical and outpatient schedule. Most I've seen do surgery 1-2 days/week and outpatient clinic 3-4. It's a cool mix and you get a lot of interesting issues that come up.

They get excellent pay, the cases can be very interesting, lots of gadgets involved, and the lifestyle (out of residency) is pretty cush. Plus, all the uro docs are the nicest surgeons I've met. Probably the only type of surgery I'd consider going into.

 

[gettheleadout]

i've never heard of anyone getting higher than 275

There was a 279 at our school last year.

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Both of those are insane... Anyway I'm curious because his study schedule sounds like death.

 

[Brain Bucket]

Both of those are insane... Anyway I'm curious because his study schedule sounds like death.

He was pretty much a hermit the first two years.

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[evilbooyaa]

LOL @ this thread. Everyone justifying their own life decisions.

OP - Based on your Step 1 + MD/PhD in cancer biology, sounds like rad onc is the field for you, if you can stomach dealing with slow, unavoidable death on a regular basis. Unless you become a breast cancer expert, you will see quite a few palliative cases regularly.

Best of luck. Don't ignore your fiancee (or wife now I guess). All this work for 'your family' is all for moot if there is no family there. Do a real wedding or at least take her on a honeymoon/vacation at some point.