Hey guys, just wondering how many doctors view this forum. I’m currently a premed student and i just got a little curious. What kind of doctor are you? How do you juggle between job and lifestyle? Do you have a lot of time to workout? Just some questions…
Being a doctor is nothing different than other well paid jobs. You’ll see once you graduate and finish your residency/fellowship that being a doctor actually has few rewards and lots of frustrations.
Unless you’re a dentist like ProfX, they have lots of time on their hands, no call, 4 days a week and their patients just mumble, they don’t ask questions. And they don’t bring family members to ask other stupid questions:)
Good luck!
Depends on type of doc. Internists won’t generally have as much time as dermos, for instance. Just depends.
Do a search; this topic’s been covered a couple of times in the last couple of years.
Right now I’m in the 6th year of my MD/PhD program, finishing up grad school and getting ready to go back to clinics.
Time management skills are key when you are in med school because you dont really control your schedule. Grad school is totally different, I control my own schedule, which is great.
But you always can find some time to work out, sometimes the workouts have to be limited because of time.
Also, if I go crazy on the weights I might be too tired later on, so I have to think about what I will be doing for the next few days.
For those days that you need extra energy, Spike is great for both working out and late night studying.
[quote]DR. J wrote:
Right now I’m in the 6th year of my MD/PhD program, finishing up grad school and getting ready to go back to clinics.
Time management skills are key when you are in med school because you dont really control your schedule. Grad school is totally different, I control my own schedule, which is great.
But you always can find some time to work out, sometimes the workouts have to be limited because of time.
Also, if I go crazy on the weights I might be too tired later on, so I have to think about what I will be doing for the next few days.
For those days that you need extra energy, Spike is great for both working out and late night studying.
[/quote]
Damn dude, sounds like you are one smart guy. What area are you studying?
Not really smart, just afraid to go into the real world and get a real job, hahaha.
My area is neuroscience, electrophysiology is my game, love it its very hands on.
[quote]Doh wrote:
Hey guys, just wondering how many doctors view this forum. I’m currently a premed student and i just got a little curious. What kind of doctor are you? How do you juggle between job and lifestyle? Do you have a lot of time to workout? Just some questions…[/quote]
I’m a first year. We just started, and I already have no time. PM me if you need. I’m going to bed.
I’m an optometrist, and I love it. I have a regular schedule, I’m always on call for the local ER but rarely called, it’s good pay and I have a life. My patients are typically not bleeding, vomiting, or dying. I help people in a very practical way, and usually have the gratification of an “instant fix” to the patient’s problem. I also battle blindness and am part of the team that cares for chronic diseases like diabetes. There’s nothing like having a patient come in who cannot see, for whatever reason, and he can see normally when he leaves my office.
You may ask “Why not ophthalmology?” It’s true that optometrists are limited, we do not do surgery, but our jobs are essentially identical to ophthalmology other than surgery. Optometry school is a four year post-graduate doctorate degree. Ophthalmology requires four years of medical school, a year of internship, and three years of ophthalmology residency. By doing optometry, I saved four years of my life and can still do everything an ophthalmologist does except for surgery (which is fine with me).
If anyone is interested in more info, please feel free to PM me, I’d love to help. Cheers!
[quote]koots wrote:
I’m an optometrist, and I love it. I have a regular schedule, I’m always on call for the local ER but rarely called, it’s good pay and I have a life. My patients are typically not bleeding, vomiting, or dying. I help people in a very practical way, and usually have the gratification of an “instant fix” to the patient’s problem. I also battle blindness and am part of the team that cares for chronic diseases like diabetes. There’s nothing like having a patient come in who cannot see, for whatever reason, and he can see normally when he leaves my office.
You may ask “Why not ophthalmology?” It’s true that optometrists are limited, we do not do surgery, but our jobs are essentially identical to ophthalmology other than surgery. Optometry school is a four year post-graduate doctorate degree. Ophthalmology requires four years of medical school, a year of internship, and three years of ophthalmology residency. By doing optometry, I saved four years of my life and can still do everything an ophthalmologist does except for surgery (which is fine with me).
If anyone is interested in more info, please feel free to PM me, I’d love to help. Cheers![/quote]
Great answer. Dermatology has a similar appeal (albeit with more school) – no one ever wakes you in the middle of the night for raging acne.
[quote]sdspeedracer wrote:
Great answer. Dermatology has a similar appeal (albeit with more school) – no one ever wakes you in the middle of the night for raging acne.[/quote]
No offense man but if you’re honestly thinking like this already, you might want to consider some alternatives to medicine. Plenty of other careers out there that pay well and also allow for a nice lifestyle. At the very least, you’ll need to describe other motivations in your applications/interviews.
And you prob already know that derm is the most competitive specialty to get into, here in the US anyway.
Well said, MODOK, I would say you can make a case like this for many of the “allied health” careers: ie. pharmacy, optometry, physical therapy, dentistry, podiatry, chiropractic, psychology. Also included, but maybe more of a “niche” and maybe less income (not sure), would be occupational therapy, audiology, social work. The craziest schedules I would say are surgeons, many types of nurses, & Ob-gyn.
You’ve just got to find the right fit for you. If you are pre-med, try to shadow as many different specialties / disciplines as you can. You’ll get a sense if it is something you want to do or not.
not to hijack the thread but i’m wondering what creative ways people have come up with to eat as frequently as they need to accomplish their fitness goals.
is it all about keeping a shake/protein bar handy at all times?
[quote]chillain wrote:
sdspeedracer wrote:
Great answer. Dermatology has a similar appeal (albeit with more school) – no one ever wakes you in the middle of the night for raging acne.
No offense man but if you’re honestly thinking like this already, you might want to consider some alternatives to medicine. Plenty of other careers out there that pay well and also allow for a nice lifestyle. At the very least, you’ll need to describe other motivations in your applications/interviews.
And you prob already know that derm is the most competitive specialty to get into, here in the US anyway.
[/quote]
None taken, and I made these decisions 25 years ago. This thread wasn’t for me.
Quality of life is something everyone has to consider when planning a vocation, whether in corporate business or medicine or teaching or being a fishing guide. Having grown up in a multi-generational medical family, I can speak with first-person authority about what each branch of medicine offers and costs the pursuer. I’ve seen them all quite literally.
And yes, I understand that dermo is one of the most competitive rotations to get. And one big reason why is that they can make money while not in the office, unlike oncologists or radiologists or internists or…and there are phenomenally few medical emergencies in dermo. Quality of life becomes considerably more important when you leave your twenties.
[quote]MODOK wrote:
I now make great pay ( I actually make 20 k more than my friend, who is in family prac), regular hours, and can pursue things like weight lifting, etc.
[/quote]
Your friend is either lying to you or a really bad doctor. Or your deal is a good one, but this is far from being the norm, at least where I’m at.
[quote]catone wrote:
MODOK wrote:
I now make great pay ( I actually make 20 k more than my friend, who is in family prac), regular hours, and can pursue things like weight lifting, etc.
Your friend is either lying to you or a really bad doctor. Or your deal is a good one, but this is far from being the norm, at least where I’m at.[/quote]
Not really, Family practice and PharmD’s (starting salaries at CVS or similar are around 70K) probably make the same everywhere and if MODOK works for a pharmaceutical company, he’s most definitely making more than a fam practitioner.
[quote]troumagnet wrote:
not to hijack the thread but i’m wondering what creative ways people have come up with to eat as frequently as they need to accomplish their fitness goals.
is it all about keeping a shake/protein bar handy at all times?[/quote]
you got it, those ready to drink shakes that dont need refrigeration are the best option. Metabolic Drive bars are not bad to scarf down rocky road is the best IMO, try it with a power bar (do they still sell those BTW?)
[quote]sdspeedracer wrote:
Great answer. Dermatology has a similar appeal (albeit with more school) – no one ever wakes you in the middle of the night for raging acne.[/quote]
What about Leprosy? MRSA? Insect bites?
Excuse me, I am not in the medical field. Don’t dermatologists work at burn clinics?
[quote]Chewie wrote:
sdspeedracer wrote:
Great answer. Dermatology has a similar appeal (albeit with more school) – no one ever wakes you in the middle of the night for raging acne.
What about Leprosy? MRSA? Insect bites?
Excuse me, I am not in the medical field. Don’t dermatologists work at burn clinics?[/quote]
the point is that they aren’t on call. if something happens the ER doc takes care of it until monday when the dermatologist strolls in.
Chewie:
Burn clinics?
Not even close…
Dermatologist deal mostly with Teenage Girls with acne, adults with Rosacea and the removal of moles.
And they make big money doing it!
If you find one in a burn clinic, its because they burned themselves while vacationing in Cozumel.
Mufasa
Dermatologist:
“Pimple-Popper M.D.” -Jerry Seinfeld.
“Oh, right, skin cancer…” -Jerry Seinfeld
: )