Soon, I’m going to be a college freshman and I’m thinking of taking premedical classes and work towards my goal. However, after researching thoroughly about medical school and residency, I can now see that the path will be difficult plus taking account my disease. I have to take care of my nutrition, get enough sleep, have time for exercise, and really take care of myself in order to not suffer complications as I already have minor onset problems. I know that during residency, doctors have little to no time for themselves. Literally residency, the word, comes from “being a resident at a hospital” since doctors are always on call and have to devote up to 80 hours per week in patient-care. I have no problem with that, but my disease really does come first. I’m really determined for the path, and I’m not in it for the money as cliche it sounds, but rather for the patients. I was actually thinking of going into pediatric endocrinology as I can understand the pain parents and young childeren have to go through with this disease. So, thinking practically, is this path right for me or will I end up ruining myself by not finishing and totaling up student loans (also putting my health in jeopardy)?
I’m assuming you are type 1? Talk to your doctor, not only have they been through the process themselves, but they know your case better than any of us here would. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are doctors with T1D. The medical school and residency hours are less now than before and the tools to manage your diabetes are better now than they were before.
You certainly can become a doctor but you might also consider other careers (PA, NP) who can work in this field and often have a less intense schedule and fewer years of education and training. Nurse practitioners are often the ones who do counseling with patients with IDDM rather than doctors who examine and prescribe meds.
This is a discussion you need to have with your healthcare provider. S/he can give you a more honest evaluation of whether your health can withstand the rigors of med school & residency than a bunch of strangers on the internet.
If regular sleep and meal times are critical to your health, though, I’d say med school is likely to be a poor choice.
BTW, D1 had a classmate who was a T1 diabetic, but his disease had been stable for years and was extremely well controlled. He used a implanted insulin pump.
I'd also suggest you google "technical standards medical school" and read thru the physical requirements that all medical students are required to be able to meet.
Thank you, everyone! Yes, I am a T1D. Sorry, forgot to mention that fact. I’ll ask my endo for more advice, so thanks for suggesting. My mom once told me that I had an endocrinologist was a T1D himself, so maybe I can and it might not be that impossible. Thanks again!
It’s totally doable. I know at least 2 that were either in my med school class or residency program. A pump makes it easier.
@WayOutWestMom Sorry, must say… There is no such thing as controlled T1D in the way you make it sound. Control comes in the form of dosing exactly the right amount of insulin for everything you put in your mouth, accounting for every bit of exercise you do in your dosages, stabilizing your numbers when you get a cold, etc… It’s an every day control, that is HIGHLY affected by stress and day to day environment changes.
@aashnalakhani if its not really about the money or prestige, as you know, the diabetes care PAs, nurses, and educators have a much bigger affect on their patients than the doc, who you see one a year for meds and a quick review of your numbers. I would think Med School would be dooable, but that much more difficult. The stress will reek havoc on your numbers.
Isn’t this pretty much why pumps were invented, because it makes doing all of this much less challenging?
The pump is great, but it’s just a delivery method of insulin (instead of a shot). It doesn’t know your blood sugar (until you tell it), nor how many carbs you are eating. Once you tell it (any time you put food in your mouth), it calcs and delivers what should be the right amount of insulin. If you work out, you have to remember to cut back insulin. New Sites must be inserted, every 2-3 days. Sites fail, at least once a month. Period? Oh, that affects it too. Most of all, stress. The pump doesn’t know any of that… It knows how to do math- based on the carbs and BG you give it, and it knows how to deliver insulin. That’s it.
It’s a constant thing, type 1… Even with the pump, continuous glucose monitor, etc… It always has to be addressed, dozens of times a day.
See how you handle being a top-notch STEM major. If it kicks your butt, med school is probably not for you. Choose an undergrad major that has other career options you would also enjoy.
i guess I was mistaken that it was all pumps but I know that several have built in continuous glucose monitors.
aashnalakhani - One of D’s med school roommates is a T1D. She did have an insulin pump. I do know that during their four years she spent a good amount of time at her parents home, as they live in the same city. She matched 1000+ miles from home and is a successful PGY-4, so it is possible. Wishing you the best as you make your decisions.
@Iwannabe_Brown Every challenge I mentioned is the challenge of T1Ds using pumps and CGMs. The pump and CGMs are great- they give you information on calculations and what your number is (although you are not supposed to dose based on the number the CGM calculates- you are supposed to test using a real test kit for dosing for food). However, they do not act for you -meaning they do not automatically dose any insulin. They also do not know what the external factors are that affect your sugar, like exercise, food, sickness, and stress. All of that has to be factored in, manually, many times per day.
My point is, anyone who thinks T1D is ‘controlled’ by simply wearing an insulin pump (similar to other diseases being ‘controlled’ by taking a med a certain number of times per day) is misinformed. The pump/CGM combo is a great tool to help, but until they have a “Bionic Pancreas” pump (which is a few years away) where the CGM is monitoring blood sugar every moment (instead of every 5 minutes) and the bionic pump includes BOTH glucose sugar and insulin and automatically doses the correct amount of each (every minute) then the freedom to NOT have to monitor food, activity, etc… so much will be there. More info on that can be found here:
http://diatribe.org/bionic-pancreas-dual-chamber-pump-unveiled-friends-life-2015
The OP @aashnalakhani already knows all this. I think it is possible, @aashnalakhani, but will be very difficult- much more difficult than for non-T1D med students. It all depends on your independence with T1D, your T1D health now, and how your numbers (and you) work under pressure. Good luck to you!