- Joined
- May 19, 2014
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- 53
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Hey all. First off, I want to thank all of the contributors to this forum.. I mostly lurk but it has been truly informative and I love hearing all of the diverse experiences that everyone has.
In light of the recent posts about full-scope medicine training and procedures, I was curious how realistic it is to find jobs where you have the autonomy to practice medicine your way. I'm not opposed to living in a medium-smallish city (within reason) if I can find an "ideal" job and it's a decent place to live. But are there still jobs where you can apply all of the skills you learned in residency without having to live in the middle of nowhere (no offense, CB).
I'm asking this because I'm highly considering family medicine because I like the idea of being on the front lines and I find continuity of care very rewarding. I want to feel comfortable treating psych issues, doing procedures, seeing kids, prenatal care, DM/HTN/HLD, etc.. I love the variety of FM. But I'm worried that the private practice or smaller group jobs that are being absorbed by large groups/systems are going to want most of those things to go straight to specialty care. Which for me is philosophically NOT how I would want to practice. I've been spoiled because the family docs at my medical school are able to have really great practices that are "catered" to their interests (clinical weight loss, integrative medicine, sports, OB/maternal health etc.), but I think part of that has to do with being in academics (which I'm not sure I'm interested in).
I've read a lot about DPC and I'm very intrigued by that idea, but also hesitant as I'm not quite a business-minded person and I have a six-figure debt. Maybe by the time I graduate there'll be more DPC groups like Qliance, Iora, etc.
I would love to hear your thoughts on what the practice environments are like out there and if autonomy is actually decreasing for family docs in medium-sized towns.
In light of the recent posts about full-scope medicine training and procedures, I was curious how realistic it is to find jobs where you have the autonomy to practice medicine your way. I'm not opposed to living in a medium-smallish city (within reason) if I can find an "ideal" job and it's a decent place to live. But are there still jobs where you can apply all of the skills you learned in residency without having to live in the middle of nowhere (no offense, CB).
I'm asking this because I'm highly considering family medicine because I like the idea of being on the front lines and I find continuity of care very rewarding. I want to feel comfortable treating psych issues, doing procedures, seeing kids, prenatal care, DM/HTN/HLD, etc.. I love the variety of FM. But I'm worried that the private practice or smaller group jobs that are being absorbed by large groups/systems are going to want most of those things to go straight to specialty care. Which for me is philosophically NOT how I would want to practice. I've been spoiled because the family docs at my medical school are able to have really great practices that are "catered" to their interests (clinical weight loss, integrative medicine, sports, OB/maternal health etc.), but I think part of that has to do with being in academics (which I'm not sure I'm interested in).
I've read a lot about DPC and I'm very intrigued by that idea, but also hesitant as I'm not quite a business-minded person and I have a six-figure debt. Maybe by the time I graduate there'll be more DPC groups like Qliance, Iora, etc.
I would love to hear your thoughts on what the practice environments are like out there and if autonomy is actually decreasing for family docs in medium-sized towns.