[ibarry92]

For those of you who are doing pre-med or are in med school, how do you like it so far?

Is it intense?

Is it interesting?

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

How are the classes/grades?

Do you enjoy it?

I'm asking these questions because i'm a 2nd yer pre-med major.

[Kiemyster]

Meh, a little heads up from an economics major --> health field isnt looking good. I advise most of my friends in the medical field to find an alternative skill unless they are going to be surgeons. Thanks to Obama's plans, you guys wont be getting paid decently in the future. enrollment rates to medical schools right now are decreasing/stagnant according all of my professors. Its not looking good in the future.... Im just sayin....

They could be wrong, Im just passing along the message

[ghosthi32]

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

Meh, a little heads up from an economics major --> health field isnt looking good. I advise most of my friends in the medical field to find an alternative skill unless they are going to be surgeons. Thanks to Obama's plans, you guys wont be getting paid decently in the future. enrollment rates to medical schools right now are decreasing/stagnant according all of my professors. Its not looking good in the future.... Im just sayin....

They could be wrong, Im just passing along the message

then what's a good field mr. know it all

[M3Bahn]

I would go for pharmacist these days, you can start at $100k out of school. Seems like it's boring job though but job growth with all the aging boomers seems strong.

A great thread.

IAMA pharmacist bored at work who will actually answer questions unlike the pharmacy student who just did an AMA, AMA

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comment...will_actually/

[Kiemyster]

Originally Posted by ghosthi32

then what's a good field mr. know it all

lol economics theres nothing more important than having a firm foundation in the art of making decisions. once someone can weigh decisions properly and analyze them, they can be much more efficient in anything they do.

But im biased... lol im an Eco major And I promote it!

[M3Bahn]

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

lol economics theres nothing more important than having a firm foundation in the art of making decisions. once someone can weigh decisions properly and analyze them, they can be much more efficient in anything they do.

But im biased... lol im an Eco major And I promote it!

Just what we need moar banksters.

[Kiemyster]

Originally Posted by M3Bahn

Just what we need moar banksters.

fuck bankers! I mean focus on economic theory, the strategy aspect of it. I feel bad for number crunchers/accountants.... they all eventually go insane.

Im no banker, and will never be. Im a real estate salesperson

[M3Bahn]

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

fuck bankers! I mean focus on economic theory, the strategy aspect of it. I feel bad for number crunchers/accountants.... they all eventually go insane.

Im no banker, and will never be. Im a real estate salesperson

Here ya go.

[yakev724]

Good thread.

I'm (still) considering med school as well. Entering my 3rd year of undergrad so I need to make up my mind SOON.

I'm a physics major first, but almost done and will likely double with biochem or bio.

Ideally I should commit to med school and go to work in radiology/nuclear med, but trying to get a feel for the field at the moment to see if its something I truly want to pursue. Also considering taking a year or two off after undergrad if I get a good opportunity for productive (career-wise), well paying work, though it's more of a hope than an expectation.

About med school, I've heard the first 2 years are hard, last 2 get easier. Doesn't matter where you go as much as the connections you make and consequently go for internship/residency.

[whyrms]

I was a mechanical engineering major for two years, dropped out, got back with a biochem major. Graduated in 2010, got into a postbac/master program at a medschool and now just had my acceptance to the medschool.

The road is long, but if you keep at it, you'll get there.

Just a heads up: go here for all your questions http://forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php It's a really helpful site that got me through a lot of my problems I encountered along the way.

As someone mention, medical profession is going into the shit-hole with Obama care, and it's true. If you do a lot of forum reading (I don't know how accurate this is) you'll see that family doctors and many of the specialties are being encroached upon from many sides.

Recently there has been a bill passed by 18 states (California included) that allowed DNP (doctor of nursing practitioner) to function like a family doctor, they have the right to open their own office and have full prescription and referral rights. This was a big push by the Obama administration to fill missing number of family doctors we currently have, and with the heath care bill coming into effect, it'll be worst, and instead of giving doctors more incentives to choose family medicine (many are choosing specialty because their medical education leaves them with so much debt that it's hard to justify making 130k a year after 10 years of post college education) the Obama administration are trying to fill it by allowing DNP to step up and fill the role. This in turn will turn even more doctors away from Family Care, because who would want to spend 8 years minimum after college, come out with 200k+ of debt and make as much as a DNP doing the same thing as a DNP? This will trigger a cascade effect, causing other specialty to be even more competitive because the residency spots are limited.

On the anesthesiology side, same story. Nurse anesthesist are taking over the roll of the anesthesiologist, and with Obama administration, they're gaining more ground and will soon be able to lobby for more rights on procedures that was previously only allowed to be done by an anesthesiologist.

On the side of Orthopedic. There's a big debate going on whether or not Podiatrist in California will be accredited by the same accreditation body as the MD's and what will that entails. If this passes, Podiatrists in California might even get an MD title.

And if you don't know already, there's a rapid expansion on medical schools, but very few expansion on residency spots (none on MD side, but few on DO side. Because MD is paid for by the government, there is a cap on how many spots are open, and this cap has not been raised by the Obama administration, bloody stupid if you ask me).

So now is a critical time, and a very hard time for medical doctors. If you're planning to go into medicine, be prepared. Only the dedicated, and the passionate people will make it through these hard time.

Good luck and have fun.

and if you're wondering, i got a 34 on the mcat and a 2.8gpa (that's why i had to apply to the postbac program to raise my GPA)

[M3Bahn]

Originally Posted by whyrms

I was a mechanical engineering major for two years, dropped out, got back with a biochem major. Graduated in 2010, got into a postbac/master program at a medschool and now just had my acceptance to the medschool.

The road is long, but if you keep at it, you'll get there.

Just a heads up: go here for all your questions http://forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php It's a really helpful site that got me through a lot of my problems I encountered along the way.

As someone mention, medical profession is going into the shit-hole with Obama care, and it's true. If you do a lot of forum reading (I don't know how accurate this is) you'll see that family doctors and many of the specialties are being encroached upon from many sides.

Recently there has been a bill passed by 18 states (California included) that allowed DNP (doctor of nursing practitioner) to function like a family doctor, they have the right to open their own office and have full prescription and referral rights. This was a big push by the Obama administration to fill missing number of family doctors we currently have, and with the heath care bill coming into effect, it'll be worst, and instead of giving doctors more incentives to choose family medicine (many are choosing specialty because their medical education leaves them with so much debt that it's hard to justify making 130k a year after 10 years of post college education) the Obama administration are trying to fill it by allowing DNP to step up and fill the role. This in turn will turn even more doctors away from Family Care, because who would want to spend 8 years minimum after college, come out with 200k+ of debt and make as much as a DNP doing the same thing as a DNP? This will trigger a cascade effect, causing other specialty to be even more competitive because the residency spots are limited.

On the anesthesiology side, same story. Nurse anesthesist are taking over the roll of the anesthesiologist, and with Obama administration, they're gaining more ground and will soon be able to lobby for more rights on procedures that was previously only allowed to be done by an anesthesiologist.

On the side of Orthopedic. There's a big debate going on whether or not Podiatrist in California will be accredited by the same accreditation body as the MD's and what will that entails. If this passes, Podiatrists in California might even get an MD title.

And if you don't know already, there's a rapid expansion on medical schools, but very few expansion on residency spots (none on MD side, but few on DO side. Because MD is paid for by the government, there is a cap on how many spots are open, and this cap has not been raised by the Obama administration, bloody stupid if you ask me).

So now is a critical time, and a very hard time for medical doctors. If you're planning to go into medicine, be prepared. Only the dedicated, and the passionate people will make it through these hard time.

Good luck and have fun.

and if you're wondering, i got a 34 on the mcat and a 2.8gpa (that's why i had to apply to the postbac program to raise my GPA)

That is why I mentioned pharmacist, it makes more sense in these times.

[whyrms]

Originally Posted by M3Bahn

That is why I mentioned pharmacist, it makes more sense in these times.

Oh, and Pharmacist are lobbying to get full prescription right in hospitals, which is very likely to happen soon. So they too are our enemies *shake fist at M3Bahn*.

[M3Bahn]

Originally Posted by whyrms

Oh, and Pharmacist are lobbying to get full prescription right in hospitals, which is very likely to happen soon. So they too are our enemies *shake fist at M3Bahn*.

LOL


Go with the winning team son.

[dtwyim]

I would not go into medicine for money. Big $$ is in business(running your own), real estate, finance IMO. Don't get me wrong, you make decent cash and stable income as MD. But do not forget the opportunity cost to get there.

I would consider dentistry if you have the hands. Up here, it is not unheard of to pull in 7 figure net if you run a successful practice or as a specialist.

Pharmacist does make OK income right out of school. The problem is there is not much more you can do as an employee since wage is hourly. Of course you make more if you run your own pharmacy but it is a whole lot more work for sometimes not much more gain.

[AngelinIsRich08]

My dads a doctor, well pretty much half of my family, and we too are highly opposed to Obamacare. It'll ultimately lead to a single-payer health system that hurts both doctors and patients. But I'm still hoping for a complete repeal! And @ kie, the smoker would go into philosophy, but of course in finance to be able to afford his ///M's.

[AngelinIsRich08]

@ whyrms. Nurse practitioners doing the jobs of a doctor is terrible... Talk about a loss in care quality.

[TiAg335i]

i'll just say one thing - you'll only succeed at pre-med and med school if you are willing to make sacrifices and work hard, very hard. you have to be in it 100% or not in it at all. only the strong make it through.

[1speedbike]

My one question to you...

Did you take orgo yet?

If you did, did you struggle and did you get a good grade?

Orgo is the biggest bitch ever and is meant to make you want to reconsider medical school. Once you're in med school, it's not so bad. But pre-med, MCATs, etc... You'll want to kill yourself.

Ninja Edit: Also, I'm going for neurology. No way a "nurse practitioner" can do well in a highly specialized field like that. More job security, better pay for being more specialized, less dealing with annoying sick people (sounds horrible to say, but some sick people are freakin' annoying) and it's just more fun. Don't do internal medicine, or something like that. Family doctors (internal medicine, general things like that) are the ones losing their jobs to the nurses.

And, if you go to case western for med school, those guys smoke weed like every day. surprised the shit out of me on a visit. hint hint kiemyster

[TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by 1speedbike

My one question to you...

Did you take orgo yet?

If you did, did you struggle and did you get a good grade?

Orgo is the biggest bitch ever and is meant to make you want to reconsider medical school. Once you're in med school, it's not so bad. But pre-med, MCATs, etc... You'll want to kill yourself.

orgo is pretty much the weeder class. most people not fit for pre-med will not make it through orgo. the MCAT is kinda like the final arbiter.

[Echo M3]

Originally Posted by ibarry92

For those of you who are doing pre-med or are in med school, how do you like it so far?

Is it intense?

Is it interesting?

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

How are the classes/grades?

Do you enjoy it?

I'm asking these questions because i'm a 2nd yer pre-med major.

3rd year MD student here. Feel free to ask away.



The first two years of school were not terrible. My school operates on a Pass/Fail system, and although making the passing cut is often challenging, you usually have enough of a margin to make it through. The workload is intense, however, and ramps up significantly with each passing year. My normal schedule involves classes and labs from 8-5, followed by studying from 5-10 or 5-11. During exam periods, I'll usually study until 3-4 am every day. This is pretty typical for my class. Things get more challenging once you start 3rd year and take the USMLE Step 1. The Step 1 is by far the hardest exam you will take in your life, and makes the MCAT look like a pre-school exam: it's 8 hours long, and 350 multiple choice questions. It was by far the most brutal process I have ever undergone in my life, including working a 60-hour-a-week job in business before med school. Also, 3rd year is when my school reverts back to a letter-grade system. That's when everyone essentially stops being friends, and turns into sharks; you have to be sharp and alert, as your classmates will often do anything to get ahead of you.

My best advice for you is to ONLY stay the course if you love medicine. The process is a major, major pain, and it doesn't end when you get your Doctor of Medicine degree. I just started my rotations, and I "lucked" out by getting OB-GYN first - if I didn't have the desire or resolve to become a physician, I would have dropped out of school on the first day. It's that disgusting/brutal/painful/ridiculous a process.

If you love medicine and can't imagine doing anything else with your life, then there is no better feeling than practicing medicine. For the most part, I absolutely love it, and enjoy learning and applying my new skills and knowledge day in and day out.

Feel free to shoot me any more questions, via PM or on this thread. Good luck, and stay strong - it's a tough process.

I'll just add that I'm aiming towards Cardiology - ideally electrophysiology. I just think arrhythmias are incredibly cool

[AngelinIsRich08]

I've always thought doctors made some of the largest median salaries... In finance where would you go for the big bucks? Investment banking sure but that's competitive as hell.

[Echo M3]

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

Meh, a little heads up from an economics major --> health field isnt looking good. I advise most of my friends in the medical field to find an alternative skill unless they are going to be surgeons. Thanks to Obama's plans, you guys wont be getting paid decently in the future. enrollment rates to medical schools right now are decreasing/stagnant according all of my professors. Its not looking good in the future.... Im just sayin....

They could be wrong, Im just passing along the message

You're jumping the gun. No one really knows how compensation will change under Obama's new healthcare plan. Current estimates are ~ a 20% decrease in salaries for physicians, which is still, in my opinion, decent.

That being said, NO ONE should enter medicine for money alone. The field is far too brutal and agonizing for one to just look at that large $ sign at the end of the road, and will ultimately not satisfy you. If you enter medicine, you need to be prepared to serve and help others first and foremost.