<p>I want to have a family and have kids at some point, preferably before 40, the younger the better. I know the training process for medicine is terrible and it's a really bad time to have kids. But what about after?</p>
<p>What are some good medical fields/careers for mothers, with good hours?
Also is it easy to get a part-time job?</p>
<p>Some would say to get a stay-at-home husband or send them to daycare but I really would want to play a major role in raising the (potential) kids.
Is this impossible?
Is it always gonna be your patients coming before your kids?</p>
<p>Would settling for something less exciting, such as orthodontics, be a better solution?</p>
<p>In terms of being a physician it’s absolutely not impossible.</p>
<p>“Lifestyle” specialties include Radiology, Derm, Optho and Anesthesia, but family friendly programs abound in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Family Medicine.</p>
<p>It is important that you plan and are willing to make sacrifices. If you go in with realistic expectations that you’re not going to be perfect, you’ll do far better than those women who think they have to be perfect. 4th year of med school is a perfect time for a baby and if you end up at a family friendly residency (look to see how many residents are pregnant or have kids) any year other than the intern year is usually doable. </p>
<p>The biggest thing is that you have realize you can’t be the perfect mom or the perfect doctor, but it’s okay to be good at both. One of the best things about babies is they don’t remember much long term until age 5. There’s no reason to feel guilty about robbing them of time. My mom worked extremely long hours when I was an infant (was at work by 7am) and I’m graduating from med school in 2 days…she stayed home with my brother for almost 5 years and he wants to manage a restaurant or bar when he graduates college - certainly nothing wrong with that, but not quite the same level…</p>
<p>Thanks.
What about Scramble, though?
If I end up in a family-unfriendly specialty with bad hours, am I just screwed?</p>