At the end of last semester, I wrote an article discussing the choice of becoming a physician. I promised that I would spend some time talking with friends who are fresh out of medical school about their choices, asking if they would have any advice to pass along to others who were considering the same career.
First let me give a brief overview of the training required to become a physician. Medical school is a four-year process, typically the first two years are in the classroom and the last two years are spent working in the hospital in order to get exposure to the different fields of medicine such as pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, etc.
When one finishes medical school, he or she is technically a doctor, but not yet licensed to practice medicine. This requires at least one additional year of training. This training is usually received as part of a person's residency. A residency is the post-graduate program a student enters after medical school that provides the training allowing someone to be a physician in a certain field (like pediatrics) and it can last between three and seven years depending on the area of medicine. About one third of physicians follow residency with a fellowship which provides even more specialized training within a field (such as pediatric intensive care). These programs are typically three years long.
As far as pay goes, don't expect much money during the training. Residency salaries range from $37,000-$45,000 and fellowships aren't much more. Put that together with an average medical school debt of over $100,000 (www.amsa.com) and there isn't much left over to live the "glamorous doctor lifestyle" (hah!).
Also, a point of clarification: The first year of residency is often referred to as an "internship" and the person as an "intern." However, a person who practices in the field of internal medicine is called an "internist." They specialize in the treatment of adult patients and their diseases. Confused yet?
My friends are currently in their internship (the first year of residency). One is in a family practice program in Asheville, N.C. and the other is in Houston working on becoming a radiologist. The first, Andrew Morris, is your typical family physician in that he possesses impressive talents in several different areas, often appearing effortless in his ability to learn them. It's really annoying.
He sent along the following advice to those interested in medicine.
"I would advise for people who have never had the feeling of earning a living to go ahead and do so for at least a year before going to medical school, because it will be a long time before one is self-supporting. There is something weird about being someone's physician when you have never had a job outside of your training. I think it is more difficult to relate to people.
"Secondly, I would advise people to ask themselves why they are going into medicine and to think if their reasoning is consistent with the direction in which medicine is going. Don't go because your parents want you to go. Don't go because you will earn a comfortable living. Don't go because you have never thought about anything else. Don't go because it impresses people at parties. Go if it is what you want to do after considering the other options. Every person I know who dropped out of medical school went directly after college without seriously considering other options.
"Lastly, if you want to go to medical school to save the world, plan such that you are not in debt up to your eyeballs when you finish. Debt is the number one reason that medical students abandon their aspirations of serving the underserved and choose practice settings or specialties that are inconsistent with their medical school essays. It is unrealistic to think that one will be able to treat people who cannot pay full dollar when they graduate with undergraduate debt and medical school debt stacked on top of one another. Consider Health service corps, military scholarships or other state loan repayment programs or being adopted by a wealthy family. Live frugally during medical school and residency. Don't add insult to injury by adding unnecessary debt just because you already have a large debt anyway. You will eventually have to pay for it."
Paul Hobbs was a little less verbose, but he adds some important advice concerning the time commitment required by the choice to be a physician.
"Let them know that if they aspire to be in fields like primary care medicine, general surgery or orthopedic surgery, they need to take seriously the ramifications of working long hours every day, every week (including weekends), every month for x number of years. This affects their potential (or current) marriage, potential (and current) family and non-career aspirations. Medicine is loaded with personal reward, but it is equally loaded with personal sacrifice."
I am continuing to work on getting my female friends to contribute with the hope that they can speak to issues that are unique to women going into medicine (such as starting a family during your training, dealing with sexism in certain fields, etc). I hope that these words will be useful advice to those of you heading toward medical school. If you have any additional questions you would like addressed, please e-mail me.
(Patrick Jones can be reached at pjones@
cavalierdaily.com)
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