Shaw, I am not sure what I will do, I am not looking in Boston, and West is too far.
My H cooked. I was too tired.
We have been planning D2 wedding for next OCT D1 graduates from law school this may. She is looking for a job.
RM hope all works out for your D
Congrats CQ son
Congrats Shaw son.
Hi Peonies.
So peoniesādid your D or S pursue medicine? My D also did a postbox for medical school as she was late to the table.
Now age 34 in her 2nd of a 4 year residency. DIL started right at the beginning and is interviewing for residencies now at age 25. D has a 9 week old and DIL has a 6 year old. Different roads traveled.
DT, H is learning to cook. Isnāt is great!
Hi oregon, D2 did a five year combined BA/MPH, finishing the MPH in 2017. She didnāt take the pre-med science courses as an undergrad. As an interim experience, she worked for a year on the business side of health care - eye-opening experience but (not surprisingly) not especially gratifying. Sheās looking to start a post bac program in 2019, and started working as an EMT last week - very excited to be doing hands on work. It looks like she doesnāt really qualify as a ācareer changerā for the one-year programs looking for that. She has a long road ahead to get herself to med school - but fingers crossed seems to have the determination and wherewithall. D1 is another story - having taken most of the pre med reqs as an undergrad and overall doing very well - but sheās a professional trail runner ā¦ following her passion, but perhaps not a path to long-term professional satisfaction and financial security.
Where did your D go for post bac? Did she like the program?
And congratulations on the grand babies! So exciting!!
I hope all is well with you, peonies. There are exciting jobs in health care tech, I believe. Lots of innovative startups in the Bay Area, for example. I have the feeling that lots of doctors jobs will be changing for the worse over the next decade as a) more time is spent reading DNA tests; b) less time is spent with patients (NPs will do a lot of that); c) Medicare for all if it comes in will push down pay for health care providers generally (doctors have been compressed in that regard anyway). There are many people who know more about that than I, but I donāt think the trends are great, while I think the trends for efficiency-creating and disease preventing tech could be exciting. I think we know some people who did post-bac at Tufts and one at UMass Boston. Both seem to have worked out well.
Two days ago, I woke up at 5:20 AM to catch an 8:30 flight, but learned that it was 3 hours late (and I would miss my connecting flight in Chicago) and spent half an hour scrambling to get on another flight. It was delayed 20 mins but made my connection in Toronto and all was well. Today, I woke up at 5:20 to catch an 8 AM flight. Got to the airport at 6:25, got to the gate at 7:30 when boarding was supposed to start and they had cancelled right then. Now, booked at a noon flight. In both cases, I would have loved to have slept a few extra hours. Will miss a couple of meetings that were not the main reason for my visit.
Will have dinner with ShawSon tonight.
Hi shaw, thank you for sharing your (as always!) helpful thinking. Yes medicine is changing - has been changing - and being a doctor is very different today from 10-20-30 years ago. H is a physician - the electronic record and administrative hierarchies have changed his practice for sure, but fortunately he is still able to spend an appropriate amount of time caring for patients. I remember from some years ago that your D was training to be a NP. Did she go that route, and is she practicing now? How does she find the practice? D2 hasnāt ruled out the NP route - and there could be many advantages to it for her. Even with all the changes in medicine, however, at the end of the day most MDs, NPs, PAs, RNs, and others clinical practitioners are meeting crucial needs every day when they care for people. As D2 saw in her business health care job, one can be several steps away from helping people in a meaningful and cost efficient way - and very focused on making money for the business. We have MD friends who have practiced in small practices and for conglomerates (of which health care may be only a part) administered and run by MBAs - the priorities in the latter can be quite disturbing. Yes good financial management is crucial in health care as in any business - but not when it means cutting the quality of patient care at the same time as overpaying the administrative hierarchy.
Safe travels today! Itās unbelievably annoying when flights are canceled last minute.
@peonies , I completely agree. The trend in MDs jobs has been downward in terms of autonomy, pay, prestige, etc., started quite a while ago though it is still pretty good. But, I suspect bigger changes will occur in the next pass and I think the most interesting jobs may be in the tech area. But, some people will want to touch people directly.
ShawD finished her BSN/MSN in five years school two years ago, spent three months traveling in SE Asia (she was totally exhausted after 5 straight years of fall/winter/summer semesters plus one or two jobs each semester so I gave her a ticket to SE Asia for three months), volunteered for the Red Cross after a Hurricane in NC while she was waiting for her certification to come through, and then worked for a year in Northampton MA doing primary care for a practice that I think was once owned by Kaiser Permanente and is extremely well-run and then switched to a private practice in a Boston suburb to be near her BF ā both are outpatient, which she prefers. She loves the work. The work in Northampton was a bit more hands-on. She built up a panel of patients very quickly but many were younger and would rather have her do something than be referred to a hospital and have another copay. In Boson, she picked up the patients of a doctor who left the practice. They are older, have more complications, but would always prefer to be referred to Mass General or Beth Israel or ā¦ . So ShawDās work is more about diagnosing and then managing the specialists. She says sheās learning a lot but prefers the more hands-on style. She will move to CA with BF at some point as he is a techie and wants to try being out there.
She is going to try to get a job working 4 days a week for an underserved population. ShawSon is going to introduce her to people doing interesting healthcare startups so she can see about other ways to impact people. Her observation is that no one does primary care full-time when they are 40 ā it is just too demanding. So, she wants to see what alternate possibilities might be. She was thinking about creating clinics that merge Eastern and Western medicine but doing so in a way that works with Obamacare and state insurance and not just concierge folks. But ShawSon suggested she look at how she could help innovative health care companies. So, weāll see.
On the financial front, we covered the cost of the five year program, so she has no debt. I told her that compared with a doctor starting medical school with loans to pay for school, she will make more than the doctor for 8-10 years and if she saves 10% of her income every year, she will have as much saved as a doctor who makes more money but later and has to repay debt.
Hello all. For all of you who have followed my motherās twists and turns, including marriage 13 months agoā¦she passed away on Sunday morning. I still donāt know whether her death certificate will say heart attack or strokeā¦she had three hospital admissions in the last 6 days of her life. She ended up in a fine teaching hospital, so I know they did everything they could. She had a lot of paranoid delirium ā¦ folks out to kill her or steal from herā¦not a way to live. We actually had the paperwork all done and the check written to ease her into AL with her H. By Saturday it was evident that if she stabilized she would have to go into a nursing home. That wasnāt ever spoken to her, but by Sunday morning she was gone.
I went up for three days this week to make arrangements and came home last night. The service will be in about 10 days. Iām fine as long as I have a job to do (including work) but Iām so grateful that it is Friday. My mind is numb right now and I havenāt been sleeping well. My goal - if possible - is to look at enough old pictures before her service so I can remember her as she was for most of her life; right now, all I can picture is the frail little thing with her walker.
So sorry, @missypie. My condolences.
Oh, @missypie - sending you love and peace and rest and whatever else you need right now.
Very sorry to hear about your mother @missypie
Took six eager beaver young Stanford interns out to dinner plus our first employee, a graduating CS who heard my talk last month. Very impressive kids.
Iām so sorry, MP. Sending hugs and thoughts for peace.
OH Wow, mp. This was a shock to even read. It must feel surreal. I know you will handle all the details perfectly.
Then time to crash. Sending hugs and best wishes.
peonies, D went to Portland State U for her post bach. She, also, did not take her sciences as an undergrad. Did Teach for America then worked in NYC in publishing. Her original intention was to become a veterinarian. Then another twist. Now in her second year of a dermatology residency. She was meant to be an English professor at a small liberal arts college or so we thought until she surprised us. But she found her path and is happy with her decision.
So very sorry to read your news, @missypie. Losing a parent is hard, no matter what the circumstances. Wishing you and your family peace and strength. Find those memories and hold them close.
Missypie, Iām so sorry. It may take a little time, but you will remember the good times and the mom you knew and loved for so many years.
MP I am sorry. she deteriorated quickly. That can be a blessing. Losing a mom is so hard. Hugs!
MP - so sorry to hear this. Best wishes to your family. It is very difficult to lose a mom.
Wish me luck on Monday. Going for an interview. Old boss from where I currently work at a place I used to work. He has gone there since I came here. They didnāt balk at my salary and info I saw said I would qualify for a bonus as well. Soā¦ we will see. Job is a bit out of my comfort zone as itās at least at first more hardware then software but at my level itās just management of the pieces so as long as the managers below me are good shouldnāt really be an issue. Sounds like it might be a good job for me. Hereās to finding out more on Monday.
Wonderful! I will definitely be sending good energy and magic dust your way on Monday.
The initial stress of learning new things will be offset by the lack of the frustration you feel now.
Is this any closer to home? Better hours?
You can do this and they will be lucky to have you!
A bit further away from where I currently work. Currently my commute is about 15 minutes (10 miles). This job is about 30 minutes away maybe 17 miles or so but really not that far and as you put it the lack of frustration may help. 
That being said I need to ace the interview. First things first.