Would you do it over again?

[UnicornDemon]

Knowing what you know now, if given the option to all the way back to undergrad, would you choose again to pursue medical school. And would you re-select radiology as your specialty?

If no, what would you have done differently?

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[KLPM]

I thought you wanted to be a CRNA.

 

[cowme]

In a heartbeat.

Despite all the complaining, the radiology pathway is easier than most in medicine, law, and business.

 

[Baller MD]

In a heartbeat.

Despite all the complaining, the radiology pathway is easier than most in medicine, law, and business.

Where is your avatar from?

 

[Resident1154]

Fur-sure

 

[preDoGuy24]

Where is your avatar from?

Workaholics bro!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[ar2388]

i realzied i could never be anything less than an MD.. so totally!

 

[KLPM]

Fur-sure

Is this a reference to the avatar, the OP's question ...... or both!

 

[cbtk18]

B!tch better have my honey!

 

[shark2000]

In a heartbeat.

Despite all the complaining, the radiology pathway is easier than most in medicine, law, and business.

Hope your opinion doesn't change once you start your pp job as attending.

Radiology residency is much easier than pp radiology. Surgery residency is much more difficult than pp surgery.

If I wanted to do it again, I would not do medicine again. That was my biggest mistake. It is not worth it by any means. But in medicine, radiology yes.

 

[cowme]

meh. 7-5 with occassional call in residency is still 7-5 with occassional call in practice. I'll take the added stress for 6X the salary. Besides, I won't be going home to study for 2 hours in PP like I do now

 

[punkedoutriffs]

Radiology residency is much easier than pp radiology. Surgery residency is much more difficult than pp surgery.

Yea, but how does PP surgery compare to PP rads? Wouldn't that be more relevant? Unless there's some sort of phenomenon where going from more to less difficult automatically confers more happiness than going from less to more, despite absolute comparisons between the two fields once residency is over.

 

[fun8stuff]

Hope your opinion doesn't change once you start your pp job as attending.

Radiology residency is much easier than pp radiology. Surgery residency is much more difficult than pp surgery.

If I wanted to do it again, I would not do medicine again. That was my biggest mistake. It is not worth it by any means. But in medicine, radiology yes.

I only now started to really understand this after starting to moonlight. I don't know yet how PP rads compares to PP surgery, but having done intern year/med school there are certain aspects that are more stressful/more grueling than clinical medicine.

Looking back to MS1 year, I had did not understand (even after being told) the lifelong commitment medicine requires. I was probably a little naive. It becomes your work and #1 hobby for 10+ years during training... and probably for the rest of your life.

 

[greg1184]

Ill let you know when I get out of this surgery prelim.

 

[tco]

I only now started to really understand this after starting to moonlight. I don't know yet how PP rads compares to PP surgery, but having done intern year/med school there are certain aspects that are more stressful/more grueling than clinical medicine.

Looking back to MS1 year, I had did not understand (even after being told) the lifelong commitment medicine requires. I was probably a little naive. It becomes your work and #1 hobby for 10+ years during training... and probably for the rest of your life.

That's good, because after 10 years of training, I don't have much of a life outside of medicine

Obviously kidding, but it's a little scary how medicine beats the human out of you.

 

[MDPhDeac]

That's good, because after 10 years of training, I don't have much of a life outside of medicine

Obviously kidding, but it's a little scary how medicine beats the human out of you.

http://mrigankwarrier.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/to-being-doctors-to-be/

Truth.

 

[D P356]

http://mrigankwarrier.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/to-being-doctors-to-be/

Truth.

I have read that little blurb before. You can make any job sound like the most difficult job in the world. Whoever wrote it likely has never had a job outside of college and the immediate jump to med school. In general, work sucks. A medical career draws a volunteer army. No one is forcing us to be here. Period. Truth. This wasn't directed at you, just my general opinion.

 

[tco]

I have read that little blurb before. You can make any job sound like the most difficult job in the world. Whoever wrote it likely has never had a job outside of college and the immediate jump to med school. In general, work sucks. A medical career draws a volunteer army. No one is forcing us to be here. Period. Truth. This wasn't directed at you, just my general opinion.

I always find it annoying when people say, "Whoever said that has never had a job outside of medicine blah blah blah."

I worked in construction before I came to medical school. Medical school still sucks just as bad as it would have had I not worked construction before coming to medical school. Plenty of people that I'm friends with had 10 year careers before coming to medical school. They still talk about how bad it sucks. Just because someone has a different perspective on the massive amount of suck that is our current job doesn't mean that it sucks any less. I wholeheartedly believe that, while we gain more responsibility and longer/more stressful hours the further along we go, it will continue to get steadily better.

 

[PistolPete]

I always find it annoying when people say, "Whoever said that has never had a job outside of medicine blah blah blah."

I worked in construction before I came to medical school. Medical school still sucks just as bad as it would have had I not worked construction before coming to medical school. Plenty of people that I'm friends with had 10 year careers before coming to medical school. They still talk about how bad it sucks. Just because someone has a different perspective on the massive amount of suck that is our current job doesn't mean that it sucks any less. I wholeheartedly believe that, while we gain more responsibility and longer/more stressful hours the further along we go, it will continue to get steadily better.

Amen!

 

[D P356]

I always find it annoying when people say, "Whoever said that has never had a job outside of medicine blah blah blah."

I worked in construction before I came to medical school. Medical school still sucks just as bad as it would have had I not worked construction before coming to medical school. Plenty of people that I'm friends with had 10 year careers before coming to medical school. They still talk about how bad it sucks. Just because someone has a different perspective on the massive amount of suck that is our current job doesn't mean that it sucks any less. I wholeheartedly believe that, while we gain more responsibility and longer/more stressful hours the further along we go, it will continue to get steadily better.

I worked in construction as well, and I recall the brutal 100 degree days. I thought about those days while sitting in a cool, comfortable library during 2nd year. I agree that medical school is hard, but I don't go around saying it like the blogger looking to be enamored or draw sympathy. I can understand their frustration, but I don't advertise it.
Rounding sucks, totally. I tell my wife how much it sucks. Everyone has to vent, I understand, but that whiny little blog entry was for the birds.
Honestly, if one wants the reward at the end of medical training, they have to earn it. No one will feel bad for you when you're earning six figures after your training.
IMO, I don't like internal medicine, but it is a hoop to jump through, and I'm jumping. In the words of one of my professors, "you signed up for this." Just my thoughts. Props to you for working in construction btw, having done it myself, it is exhausting, but nice seeing a finished product and being proud of it. Dinner tastes better after a hard day of work.

 

[shark2000]

The problem with medicine is long long years of training which involves some of the best years of your life. Many doctors have not learned how to live. Many hobbies and joys in life are shaped during your teenager years and 20s. Most doctors are studying in these years. As a result, when you are 40 and you make a good money, you don't know how to live and how to enjoy the money.

The other problem with medicine is the end result of what you do. If you see it as an outsider, the end result is not really rewarding.It is not like building a new house and enjoying your production. In most cases, you just prolong the disease or marginally improve the outcome. Still the end point is not promising.

Medicine, due to its long years of training, is like joining Mafia group. Once you join it, there is no way out. After finishing a residency, there is not a lot of ways to get out. Even you are not able to switch fields easily within medicine. This is not the case in most other fields.

I agree that the grass is always greener on the other side. But Medicine is a life long commitment. It has a huge influence on the rest of your life. Let's be honest. Outside medicine, our skills are very limited. Even within medicine, your skills are limited to a very narrow field. A CT surgeon can not work as a family doctor.

Though money is not everything, but it is an important factor. The previous generation of doctors had much less years of training. Medicine was less sub-specialized. The hours were much better in 80s and 90s. And the pay was (much) better at least per case across all fields. Society was more respectful towards doctors. Nevertheless, retired physicians from the previous generation are not sure whether they made a right choice at that time. Now these days with more work, more hours, less pay and more training, I really doubt that for a 20 year old medicine is a good choice.

 

[punkedoutriffs]

Now these days with more work, more hours, less pay and more training, I really doubt that for a 20 year old medicine is a good choice.

Couldn't you say that about most if not all fields that are worth a damn nowadays?

 

[fun8stuff]

The problem with medicine is long long years of training which involves some of the best years of your life. Many doctors have not learned how to live. Many hobbies and joys in life are shaped during your teenager years and 20s. Most doctors are studying in these years. As a result, when you are 40 and you make a good money, you don't know how to live and how to enjoy the money.

The other problem with medicine is the end result of what you do. If you see it as an outsider, the end result is not really rewarding.It is not like building a new house and enjoying your production. In most cases, you just prolong the disease or marginally improve the outcome. Still the end point is not promising.

Medicine, due to its long years of training, is like joining Mafia group. Once you join it, there is no way out. After finishing a residency, there is not a lot of ways to get out. Even you are not able to switch fields easily within medicine. This is not the case in most other fields.

I agree that the grass is always greener on the other side. But Medicine is a life long commitment. It has a huge influence on the rest of your life. Let's be honest. Outside medicine, our skills are very limited. Even within medicine, your skills are limited to a very narrow field. A CT surgeon can not work as a family doctor.

Though money is not everything, but it is an important factor. The previous generation of doctors had much less years of training. Medicine was less sub-specialized. The hours were much better in 80s and 90s. And the pay was (much) better at least per case across all fields. Society was more respectful towards doctors. Nevertheless, retired physicians from the previous generation are not sure whether they made a right choice at that time. Now these days with more work, more hours, less pay and more training, I really doubt that for a 20 year old medicine is a good choice.

Exactly what I wish my 20 yo self better understood. Not sure I would have done anything else, however.

 

[tco]

Exactly what I wish my 20 yo self better understood. Not sure I would have done anything else, however.

I know I wouldn't do anything else.

 

[fzwarrior]

meh. 7-5 with occassional call in residency is still 7-5 with occassional call in practice. I'll take the added stress for 6X the salary. Besides, I won't be going home to study for 2 hours in PP like I do now

I heard radiology requires more at-home reading as an attending than other specialties in order to keep up to date. This true?

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

No to medicine, yes to Radiology.

 

[badasshairday]

Maybe for medicine...

Yes for radiology. I love radiology.

 

[killinsound]

Agree with above... I would probably strongly consider another field besides medicine, but if I had to do medicine, I would definitely do radiology.

 

[UnicornDemon]

To those of you stating you would not have done medicine, what would you have done instead? Engineering, law, finance, accounting?

 

[killinsound]

I would have considered organic chemistry, electrical engineering, biomechanical engineering... something along those lines.

Shark2000 summed it up nicely, and I agree with him. It's not that I don't love medicine, but I regret certain sacrifices I've had to make - mainly giving up the best years of my life studying, losing touch with friends, and missing out on life experiences.

 

[deleted116380]

I would have gone into engineering like my parents did instead of this. My brother didn't stray too far with computer programming and I think he did the right thing. Radiology is the closest thing I can get to in medicine with all the new tech and I plan on going into research if I can after fellowship. Just wish I at least studied engineering in undergrad so it would be an easier transition.