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There are some good points in this article that most anyone thinking about entering a medical profession should consider. But there's quite a bit of anecdote a

There are some good points in this article that most anyone thinking about entering a medical profession should consider. But there's quite a bit of anecdote and cherry picking of facts as well. Here are a few counterpoints worth considering. * The example used by the article for salaries is for primary care doctors, one of the lowest paid (and by any account underpaid) specialties. According to the Medscape physician compensation report [1], the highest paid specialties brought in between $350K and $400K 2012. I don't think there's many PAs or nurses making that. * Yes, medical school and residency are hard. My wife regularly put in 90+ hours during a couple years of her education as a physician. But I'm certain there are plenty of developers on HN that put in 90+ hours during certain phases of their careers. Working very hard for a couple years won't ruin your life. By the time they're practicing - 52% of physicians see patients for 40 or less hours per week. * The article says that, "nurses start making money when they’re 22, not 29", glossing over the fact that physician residents and interns do in fact get paid. Not a ton of money, but usually around $50K/yr. So really, doctors start making about the same amount as nurses by the time they're 25, and substantially more just a few years later. And yes, medical school loans are expensive, but nursing school is far from free. * The success rate for physicians who start their own practice is very high. I've been shocked at the amount of unsecured credit that banks are willing to extend to my wife to start a practice. It's like we've stepped into a time-warp back to 2006. * If you're interested in living someplace rural, you can, without any negative financial repercussions. In fact, you'll probably make quite a bit more money practicing medicine in a rural area than an urban one. There aren't many careers where that's true. * If they had to do it all over again, 51% of physicians would start again in medicine (again, the Medscape compensation survey). I don't how how that compares to other careers, but it sounds fairly reasonable to me Being a doctor certainly isn't easy, but there are some definite benefits. One of the biggest is that it's one of the few careers left where you're pretty much guaranteed to be well-compensated so long as you do well in school. There are certainly pitfalls, and I wouldn't advocate it to anyone who's doing it solely for financial reasons. But, if you have a passion for medicine, there are still plenty of rewards to be had by being a physician. [1] http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2013/public http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2013...

Gatsky 13y ago
Just about the workload, I think that working hard in medicine is quite different to working hard in most other situations. Certainly doing long shifts in a major hospital often invovles: 1. An entirely unpredictable work load, with no mechanism to compensate for excessive demand. 2. Dealing with problems for which you have not been properly trained. 3. Dealing with other doctors that are also extremely busy and stressed, and therefore limited in how much they can help you. 4. Having to work while physically and emotionally exhausted or actually genuinely sick, with no recourse to get help. 5. Having to do all this while studying or taking exams. 6. Not being paid fully for the hours you work. 7. Sometimes being sworn at, racially vilified, spat at, threatened or attacked. Depending on which job you do, this could come from your colleagues, nursing staff, admin or the patients. I think that certain other professions such as the police or military personnel encounter similar situations, but I would hazard that they are better trained, better supported and rostered better than doctors ever are. So although many other people might work 90+ weeks, I doubt it is under these conditions. Because that would be a dumb thing to do right? And only doctors with their misguided sense of duty and high pain tolerance are willing to front up again and again. Nurses can suffer the same problems, but in general they are much better at protecting themselves.
lostlogin 13y ago
Just to add to what you're saying, I know of specialist who make vastly more than 400k per year. 6 total hip joint replacements in a normal day netting 6k each approximately as an operating fee makes a fair salary. And this is unusual.
cafard 13y ago
You say "By the time they're practicing - 52% of physicians see patients for 40 or less hours per week." How much of their time is given to office or practice administration, and what percentage of physicians are wholly out of practice, and running hospitals, doing research, etc?

Gatsky 13y ago

Just about the workload, I think that working hard in medicine is quite different to working hard in most other situations. Certainly doing long shifts in a major hospital often invovles: 1. An entirely unpredictable work load, with no mechanism to compensate for excessive demand. 2. Dealing with problems for which you have not been properly trained. 3. Dealing with other doctors that are also extremely busy and stressed, and therefore limited in how much they can help you. 4. Having to work while physically and emotionally exhausted or actually genuinely sick, with no recourse to get help. 5. Having to do all this while studying or taking exams. 6. Not being paid fully for the hours you work. 7. Sometimes being sworn at, racially vilified, spat at, threatened or attacked. Depending on which job you do, this could come from your colleagues, nursing staff, admin or the patients. I think that certain other professions such as the police or military personnel encounter similar situations, but I would hazard that they are better trained, better supported and rostered better than doctors ever are. So although many other people might work 90+ weeks, I doubt it is under these conditions. Because that would be a dumb thing to do right? And only doctors with their misguided sense of duty and high pain tolerance are willing to front up again and again. Nurses can suffer the same problems, but in general they are much better at protecting themselves.

lostlogin 13y ago

Just to add to what you're saying, I know of specialist who make vastly more than 400k per year. 6 total hip joint replacements in a normal day netting 6k each approximately as an operating fee makes a fair salary. And this is unusual.

cafard 13y ago

You say "By the time they're practicing - 52% of physicians see patients for 40 or less hours per week." How much of their time is given to office or practice administration, and what percentage of physicians are wholly out of practice, and running hospitals, doing research, etc?