Children Poll

I recently posted a poll asking "How many children could you raise in medical school?" I won't even provide all the stats because there was an overwhelming majority saying they could raise a grand total of ............0.

I asked this question because there is a number of students in my class that are currently raising children. While I am in the majority that doubts I could ever raise children in medical school, the group in our class that have kids are doing amazing. Two classmates have 3 kids under the age of 10!!!! Wow! And all of them are wonderful kids.

So for those thinking about raising a family in medical school - it is definitely possible. Just make sure you have a VERY supportive spouse.

Family Medicine

Its been awhile since I posted, but I am now also done with family medicine. It was a lot more fun than I expected. I love trying (and hopefully succeeding most of the time) to diagnose anything and everything. Still, I am not a big fan of DRE's, and I am sure it will only get worse once Internal comes around.

Overall my school gives students a lot of autonomy in family, and it really facilitated learning. I think family provided me with a solid background for whatever I decide to specialize in. I know that many students bash family for the lack of pay, prestige, etc., but I think everyone should give it a chance. You will learn a lot and have a lot of fun doing it.

Pediatrics Rotations

I am finished with my pediatrics rotation, and it was much more fun than I ever expected. I've always liked kids, but I honestly thought peds was going to be constant crying/screaming. It wasn't. For the most part, all of the kids were pleasant, and I can't believe that I ever was willing to do so much for a sticker.

Coming into medical school, I thought that peds would be one of my least favorite rotations, but it has actually been my favorite. I came into med school thinking Emergency Medicine was my future, and I thoroughly believed that I would be that 1 person to not change my mind. While I may still do EM (nothing is set in stone yet), I definitely see myself specializing in something with kids. My flavors of the week: Child Psych, Pedi Endocrinology, Pedi EM - in that order.

I still have 3.5 rotations left so things may change considerably. Let's just hope I am 100% sure of something by the time I have to submit applications!

Obama and Healthcare

Obama claims that "trickle-down economics" does not work, but he is wrong. It can work, and benefit physicians. It just currently is not. Hear me out.

Providing tax-breaks to big businesses does not currently benefit the lay-person. However eliminating these tax breaks all together will force businesses to lay-off employees and/or raise prices. How does this help anyone?

Obama should maintain tax-breaks to companies as an incentive. My idea: Companies can keep their tax breaks as long as they provide full health insurance coverage to employees.

This is a win-win situation. Companies keep their tax breaks, jobs are kept, and more Americans have insurance plans. Is this not genius?

Mr. Obama - I am waiting for your call to be your economic/healthcare stimulus plan advisor.

Medical Student Burnout

I recently read this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/health/chen10-30.html?_r=1&oref=slogin), and I can definitely understand where the author is coming from. Medical school is not easy and often not fun. Sometimes I wonder why certain faculty are allowed to teach or why students interested in family medicine (or many other things) spend hours on their surgery rotation retracting when they could be learning.

A lot of medical school is simply putting-up with tedious hospital/clinic duties that have no educational relevance. My recommendation: bring a good book with you wherever you go.

Are there good/happy aspects to medical school - of course. When I get to see patients on my own, I learn whether or not I get the diagnosis correct. I wish all faculty would let students first see every patient on their own. It facilitates learning. I also love getting to see patients respond to treatment, and nothing is better than "high fives" from 5 year olds in pediatrics.

There is also ample time for fun if you aren't too Type A to relax every once in awhile. I recently went to Las Vegas over the weekend to watch TCU demolish UNLV. Go Frogs! I also lost about $100 in the process. Gambling is not for me apparently. I plan on watching the Frogs destroy Utah tomorrow on CBSSports. Can TCU go BCS this year? I hope so!

Still considering Ivy league over state school?

For those still considering the idea of attending an Ivy league/expensive private school over a cheap state school, read http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/16/pf/young_doctors.moneymag/index.htm .

The numbers are shocking! I am so glad I went to state school right now. I'll be able to pay off all of my debt by the end of residency (hopefully!).

For those that want the Ivy league name, attend a state school for medical school and do your residency wherever you want. It is very possible.

Medical Specialty Poll Results

My poll recently ended, and the question was ---- "What is the most important factor in choosing a medical specialty?" Personal interest was the leading factor pulling two-thirds of the votes. The remaining one-third of the votes chose lifestyle as the leading factor. There was 1 outlier that chose money - thank you for your honesty.

I found these results interesting because I have only heard 2 things from current practicing physicians - choose what you enjoy or choose the most lucrative field you can. I haven't ever been told to choose the field with the best lifestyle.

While many fields can be tailored to meet any lifestyle, I can definitely understand why this is such an important factor. I think medicine is the only field where someone can work 60 hours in residency and say that it wasn't a bad week. I often talk to my high school friends, and they all seem to be "living" more than I am. For the record, I still wouldn't choose any other profession.

I will probably try to find some sort of happy medium between personal interest and lifestyle. I think it will be easier for me because I seem to enjoy more fields than I dislike.

For those that aren't in their clinical years of medical school yet, keep your mind open to everything. When you actually get to experience the every-day feel of a specialty, it is often times much different than you thought.