I know that docs should do it for the love, etc… But honestly, I don’t care if I have a money hungry doctor replacing my heart, so long as he/she does it right. That being said, there is going to be a correlation between passsion and performance, but its not 1.0
I have friends and relatives who became MDs and all had that goal clearly in mind in high school and did everything required to get into medical school. (There are many different paths and exceptions, but that was the rule.) Most are very wealthy now. A lot of people have this dedication for other science degrees. This single minded focus completely separates these people.
well, the same can be said for the CFA. Secondly, the mean salaries on that web-site are about US150K which is really peanuts if you are 5 yrs or so out of a grad program [esp in Finance/Consulting]. TheEconomist Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have friends and relatives who became MDs and > all had that goal clearly in mind in high school > and did everything required to get into medical > school. (There are many different paths and > exceptions, but that was the rule.) Most are very > wealthy now. A lot of people have this dedication > for other science degrees. This single minded > focus completely separates these people.
WillyR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > " recently reviewed America’s most lucrative jobs > and probably 80% of them were health-care related > with Surgeons at #1 and Anesthesiologists at #2. I > wonder if this industry (medicine) is half as > competitive as the one we’re in. These jobs are > certainly well paying and probably don’t lead to > boredom (the reason I’m posting on this forum to > begin with). " > > I wonder if it’s good that we have people out > there thinking about a career in MEDICINE purely > for financial gain. > > Willy Maybe for this reason, I’m supposed to do finance.
Personally, I get queasy just at the sight of blood, so medicine was never really a feasible option for me. I think clinical psychology might have been an attractive alternative, and getting to be a registered therapist or social worker might still be a possibility later on, but, clearly, money would not be the major motivation.
also mention the fact that most of you would have trouble getting into medical school…
So much memorization makes it hard. At least with finance once you get the concept there isn’t too much to memorize.
So if I had become a surgeon, the arthritis that is crippling my hands that began at age 38 would really be a problem. Now I just can’t type fast anymore. Incidentall, my hands would never have been good surgeon hands as they were always broken growing up from skiing and biking mishaps. Now I pay for it.
That is sad Joe.
Yeah, well all the important functions of my hands really can be handled by my g/f anyway.
ymc Wrote: > Because it is not easy to be a surgeon? because there are barriers to entry: the number of folks going through training is tightly controlled. If they doubled or tripled the number they trained, salaries would plummet Reportedly, orthodontists are worst in this regard as the profession deliberately maintains a shortage to keep salaries inflated
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yeah, well all the important functions of my hands > really can be handled by my g/f anyway. Quote of the day
FrankArabia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > also mention the fact that most of you would have > trouble getting into medical school… I’ll say it…“I could never have gotten into medical school.”
FrankArabia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > also mention the fact that most of you would have > trouble getting into medical school… Not really. There are med schools in the carribbean that will take almost anyone. You’ll need to score well on your boards after you come out though.
kkent Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Vote for me and I will reign in malpractice suits > (no punitive damages and losing LAWYER pays). john edwards will fix ALL of this!
we didn’t all become surgeons because of the invisible hand.
they wouldnt let me handle sharp instruments
delete (maybe that was a little too graphic)
As I’m writing these words, I’m resisting hard from spilling my bitterness about whole field of medicine. But what the hell… As you might have guessed by my nick, I finished medschool. In fact, I’m almost done with my residency. And I do not recommend this path to anyone but the select few who for some inscrutable reasons are not satisfied with anything else in life. By rough estimates, 90% of people (myself included) enter medical school lured by nifty combination of money and prestige. After decade of training which took better chunk of youth, prestige no longer matters. What matters now most is the ratio of $$$ per hour that my job will provide. Almost every one of my classmates would agree. Check some residency match statistics and see which residencies are competitive. Rads, gas, derm, radonc. Why? Because they provide the highest $$$/time-in-work ratio. At the moment at least. Somewhat asserted that medicine is ‘interesting’ and doesn’t get bored. Beg to differ. Medicine is an amalgam of subjectivities, which are learnt by experience. Once you have learned them, the job is just another daily grind. Coming back to the only thing that truly matters, namely them benjamins. Most of the good jobs are in the middle of nowhere; there is stiff competition in most metropolitan areas, which drives salaries down. This principle varies among different specialties, but holds true nevertheless. There is also the threat of socialized Hillarycare on the horizon, which will effectively kill medicine in US as we know it. Anyway, I could ramble on, but what’s the point. I want out, and after I finish my residency I will try to get a job as equity research analyst. Time will only tell if I succeed in this endeavor. But the storms are gathering on the horizon, and I’m looking for a shelter. Every practicing doc in my specialty that I spoke with in past 2 years complained about decreased compensation. The hours keep climbing up. The whole malpractice is just a sick joke; I’ve seen Ob-Gyns on strike in front of the statehouse, as if it was some sort of Teamsters rally. Will never forget that. These days even republicans are talking about curtailing healthcare costs. In short, the prospets seem grim atm… and I’m willing to check what your field has to offer for a freshly trained doc. Peace
^^^ Great post. That pretty much sums up exactly whats going on and how doctors feel.