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Anyone a Doctor or Studying to be one?

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Old Dec 3, 2008 | 08:00 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by CKit,Dec 3 2008, 12:14 PM
And if you close your eyes tightly and plug your ears with your fingers and say, "yah yah yah yah," you won't even notice life cruising by.

Obviously this isn't a discussion on "whether or not it's worth it."
We were just talking about money.

Let's talk about it again in 10 years. When your college classmates are settled in nicely and you're still working 80 hours a week for effectively minimum wage... can't afford a new car or a house, never see your children because you're working all the time... let me know how the money factors in....

I personally think it was all worth it. Because knowing myself, I wouldn't be happy doing anything else. So I'd do the job, even if the pay remained minimum wage.

My point was: you'd better really love the training and the job, because otherwise you'll burn out quickly. There are real sacrifices. And it's MORE than the money.

If you look at the surveys of doctors in primary care (including pediatrics), there is a high rate of "I wouldn't do this again if given the chance."
good points... i guess i see it differently since i don't have loans to worry about. what did you specialize in?
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Old Dec 3, 2008 | 05:33 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by phatjo911,Dec 1 2008, 04:39 PM
I'm considering taking pre-med courses in College ( I'm in High School right now ) to study and eventually become a pediatrician.

Is anyone here a doctor or studying to be one?

If you are... what were you grades like in school? And what schools did you go to?

Thanks. Just general questions since I don't personally know anyone close that is a doctor ( except for my doctor lol )
I'm currently a first semester student in medical school. Like mentioned earlier, "pre-med" is just two years of course work required by medical schools for admission. Your final undergraduate GPA should be at least 3.5 with a 30+ on the MCAT exam for a realistic shoot at getting into a US M.D. school. I would say to do nursing/accounting/engineering as your bachelor's with a "pre-med" track. That way, you can get a job if you need to take some time off during the process of applying to medical school.

After starting medical school, all I can say is don't do it unless you really want to be a doctor- there is so much to study and you need to stay focused if you want to be successful. Also, you'll be paying off school loans for 10+ years after graduation/residency. Is it still worth it to you to be a doctor? For me, the answer is yes : P

I do believe FP and Peds are very underpaying specialties but for some people, it really isn't about the money but more so about the job.

Hope this helps. Message me if you have any other questions.
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Old Dec 3, 2008 | 06:17 PM
  #33  
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no but i did stay at a holiday in express last night
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Old Dec 3, 2008 | 10:32 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by TheLoons12,Dec 3 2008, 07:17 PM
no but i did stay at a holiday in express last night
Everyone is a comedian these days.
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Old Dec 6, 2008 | 08:12 PM
  #35  
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Hmm Nurse Anesthetist huh

For those of you going/went to medical school, did you enjoy english and history class in high school/ college?
I really enjoy math and the sciences class I am taking/have taken, but I don't enjoy history class at all and wish I could sleep in english class. ( A little exaggerated, but you get the point )

It seems like you have to take a lot of english too for an M.D.
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Old Dec 7, 2008 | 08:36 AM
  #36  
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English will probably be more useful of a class then Math. Especially if you are thinking direct patient care.

Constructing a logical argument and organizing your communication are very important higher-level language skills (doesn't have to be "English" per se).

For the pre-clinical medical students, you've only scratched the surface. Your experience is still basically pre-med (classes and textbooks). Things go on to a whole 'nother level during years 3-4 and PGY 1-2-3-4-5-6...
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Old Dec 7, 2008 | 11:14 AM
  #37  
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Have you thought about being a physician assistant? You can go into peds if you like or any other competitive specialty. The pay can be close to that of FP and is less years.
Undergrad 4 + PA 2-3 = 6-7 yrs.
Debt is going to be way less than that of an MD/DO.
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Old Dec 7, 2008 | 12:22 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by CKit,Dec 2 2008, 07:38 PM
Nurse anesthetist...

That's a good gig. BSN (just 4 years of college) ~2 years of floor / unit nursing (getting paid very well), a few more years of school and then a whole lot of cash.

Simpler, cheaper, shorter, and with better hours AND pay than a pediatrician or family practice doc.

No wonder nobody wants to do primary care medicine.
then you're at risk for becoming steril and not having kids due to the various effects of the chemicals you work with. i looked into this since i'm in the last year of my 4-year BSN course. after finding that out, i decided my next step would just be to become either a CNS or an NP in Adult health. pediatrics is a horrible field to go into at least in my opinion. unless you really love kids its easy to get worn down from all their non-compliance and the many roundabout ways you need to go through to get them to take their damn medicine or perform their much needed exercise. on top of that you have to bear with the family's worrysome parents etc etc etc. it sucks to be in pediatrics, i hate that specialty.
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Old Dec 7, 2008 | 12:29 PM
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on a side note:
i really dont like how people go about saying that someone should be a nurse instead of a doctor if they can't handle it. and people also get thhe impression that nursing school is easy... its not... it really isnt.

i really don't mean to offend anyone but seriously some doctors are too arrogant... they musta done it for the money and the status
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Old Dec 7, 2008 | 01:52 PM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by shotiable,Dec 7 2008, 01:29 PM
on a side note:
i really dont like how people go about saying that someone should be a nurse instead of a doctor if they can't handle it. and people also get thhe impression that nursing school is easy... its not... it really isnt.

i really don't mean to offend anyone but seriously some doctors are too arrogant... they musta done it for the money and the status
Focker? is that you?
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