Hello everybody! Happy Sunday.
This is a topic I’ve always been interested in, and one I’m excited to share with all of you. Today, we’re going to talk about two myths related to healthcare.
Often times, people have this idea in their head about what the ‘life of a doctor’ is. Most people get ideas like this from shows like Greys Anatomy, which projects a false image of what working in the medical field is like. A common joke I made when I first began undergrad was that most of the pre-med students were avid Greys Anatomy watchers thinking their life would be filled with Meredith Grey’s and McDreamy’s (sounds awesome, right?). Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your tv-show preferences), medicine looks nothing like Grey’s Anatomy.
Other myths about the medical field have been created because of the sheer illusiveness of the job. Some of the physicians I’ve talked to about this have agreed that people don’t talk enough about the process of becoming a doctor, and about the ills that come with the job after completing all of the schooling.
So, let’s debunk two of the primary myths I’ve heard.
“After residency, life is pretty easy.”
I’ve heard quite a few people say this one, actually. I think there’s a lot of mystery that comes with the profession (i.e. what it takes to get there, and even more, how hard it is to pull through), so people assume once medical school and residency are done with, doctors just make a ton of money and prescribe medication.
Alas, this is wrong, and I hope through this blog I’ve been able to debunk that idea for some pre-med students.
The reality of it is that being a physician never really becomes ‘easy’. Even when you begin making a real, six-figure salary, you’re still sitting on that even more real pile of six-figure debt. Even once you complete your residency, you’re still putting in hours of work and time, all of which you spend away from your family, friends, and hobbies. When you decide to become a doctor, you marry the profession and all of its ills--something a previous interviewee I spoke with, Dr. Caron Warnsby, touched on.
Unfortunately, these are things that aren’t talked about to pre-med students, which adds a lot of mystery to the job--especially if you weren’t raised around or within medicine.
The topic that I wish they talked about the most, though, is the burnout rate.
The burnout rate is something people don’t talk about enough, and I really wish they did. This isn’t because I want people to feel discouraged, but rather because if we spoke honestly about the number of physicians that burned out to the future physicians of our world, that might actually lower the rate because people would add more factors into their decision-making process to become a doctor.
The reality of the burnout rate is that after 10, 20, 30 years of being a physician, you’ll likely become exhausted. Your body begins to slow down with age, and instead of spending your Saturdays on a beach in Florida, you spend them in the hospital with patients. Some physicians remain untouched by the burnout rate. At sixty, they still want to spend their days with their patients and coworkers. Others, though, wish they could be on the beach relaxing, or home with their family. Personally, these are things people have to weigh into their decision making.
So, does life become easier after residency? Yes and no. As Dr. Pham (who I will be introducing in the next few weeks) explained to me: What you do in undergrad, medical school, and residency (i.e. reading, learning, and studying) is what you do for the rest of your medical career.
“Doctors make a lot of money.”
You’re probably wondering why I listed this as a myth.
It’s because to some degree, this is not true. While doctors make a fantastic salary, the ‘real money’ isn’t in medicine. When you factor in your student debt, malpractice insurance, and other costs, medicine is a very expensive career choice, and all of those costs deduct from your salary until you fully pay off that student debt (when I calculated my potential student debt one time, the number grazed just below $300,000 before factoring in any scholarships). So if you’re going into medicine for the money, don’t. It’s not worth your time, energy, or money, and you’ll be stuck in a job you hate with a pile of debt. It is a beautiful job, and the salary is enticing. But once you start calculating in other factors, you realize you don’t really make that salary until 10-20 years after you finish residency.
These are two common myths I hear about medicine, and two that I’ve been trying to shut down. It isn’t to say that there aren’t truisms to both of these ‘myths’, just that things aren’t exactly as they seem. That being said, medicine is (personally) one of the most extraordinary professions, and if you know it is your calling in life, pursue it without end. All of the ills that come with it will be worth it.
If you are a student looking for social media influencers who paint a very real representation of the medical field, I recommend you follow @martinphammd and @shirlywhirlmd on Instagram. Both of their pages take a creative approach to document the trials and tribulations of becoming a physician and working in medicine.
See you next Sunday!
E.F.