What is a career in medicine like?

Pre-Med & Medical School Careers in Medicine
1

<p>Hi everyone,
What is a career in medicine like? I am interested and want to hear experiences about medical school and how going to work as a doctor is every day. What are some of the best type of doctors in terms of pay, workload, and lifestyle? I heard dermatology is a good specialty. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Not a physician (but I have 2 kids in med school). </p>

<p>Medicine can be a rewarding career, but the depending on the specialty and type of practice, the hours can be long and demanding. Doctors who work full time typically work anywhere from 50-90 hours/week. YMMV.</p>

<p>Medicine requires a long training period (minimum 4 year undergrad + 4 years med school + 3 year residency). Derm requires a mandatory 4 year residency period + 1-2 years of [optional] fellowship training.</p>

<p>The so-call “life-style” specialties (EROAD: emergency medicine; radiology; opthalmology; anesthesiology; dermatology) are popular with many med students, but the number of training spots in those specialties are limited. The number of residency slots in derm are particularly limited so only the very top med students nationally get considered. (There are only ~350 derm residency position available in total each year, while there are ~20,000 med school grad each year.)</p>

<p>Physician salaries vary all over the place depending on the specialty, type of practice and where you live. The big new trend in physician careers is work for a fixed salary for a large medical group. This trend is driving medical incomes down over the long term. Also consider that getting a medical education is expensive ($150-$350K) and that there are essentially no scholarships for med school only unsubsidized loans. Consider too that residents and fellows aren’t paid especially well (residents ~$45-50K/year; fellows ~$60-85).</p>

<p>If you are sincerely interested in becoming a physician, you should spend time job-shadowing as many physicians as you can to get a idea of what a working doctor’s life is like. Job shadowing of physicians is an EC that all med school applicants are required to have.</p>