Medicine or Business

I was in pretty much the same vein a few years back-- I had narrowed my college options down to either the fast track medical programs or studying finance during undergrad. Ultimately I chose the medical program and currently I am in medical school, just starting my long road of training.

I wouldn't change my decision at all if I had to do it again- medicine is what I love studying and I don't mind sacrificing time now for future rewards. (lighter note: I've read somewhere that physicians, by age 35, will have made about as much as the average truck driver in the states).That said, my college roommates (4 of them) went into business, all in NY, all in investment banks. They are making excellent money while I sink into debt for several years, and they will make even more money as I eek by on resident's salaries. After talking with most, they have not found the happiness in their chosen field - and one of the big reasons they chose it was for the financial reward. Couple of them are planning to drop their current job and move in.

That ISNT to say that you cant enjoy your work in business, but just make sure it's for the right reasons (im sure this also applies to anything). Medicine is an amazing field, and privy to a very select few-- it is a huge accomplishment to become a physician. I would say tho, that the road is much more difficult to take if you don't have a very genuine interest in the field.

Re: the business after medicine. I tried my best to integrate the two during medical -- I took several MBA classes on top of medical school classwork just to keep options open and a wide perspective. I would definitely recommend doing that if you have the interest. I thought about applying into the joint MD/MBA program at my school, but deferred only cuz I couldn't identify specific things I would use an MBA for in my future besides the cool paper on the wall.

 

Speaking from bitter personal experience (since you asked for our opinions), stay away from Medicine if you're even in two minds about it. It's not lucrative, it's not hip, it's not satisfying for the most part. You will work like a dog for an upper-middle class/lower-upper class income.

The only type of person who will be happy to go into Medicine is one who loves the subject in its own right and is happy to sacrifice self, health and sleep in service of the calling. Noone in that resolved state of mind will even be asking the question.

Lest you think me presumptuous for being so forthright in my advice - I am a doctor, I was in two minds (Medicine vs Elect Engineering - I had admission to Caltech for the latter and gave it up to do the former locally), and there is not a single day that I haven't regretted it.

 

Faisal, Let me say whatever you choose, look down the road at retirement... yes, you need to be looking 50 years down the road.

I had the opportunity (when I was in my 20's) to work for companies that, had I done so, I'd be looking at retiring in the next 6-7 years (I'm 48).
But instead, I left solid companies for better paying jobs - jobs that paid like 4-5K more a year. BIG mistake - those companies all went under (after I left them).
I have a bit in IRA's and 401K's, but I know too many people my age that are looking at decent retirements in 6-7 years with GREAT pensions of between 40K and 80K a year. And that's not counting IRA's or anything else. I don't have anything resembling a pension from anywhere, and I will burn my IRA in 2 years or less.

I know I'm talking waaay in advance, but in today's environment, you need to, I wish I did when I was 26-28.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have stayed in Teacher's College and taught High School, OR I would have stayed at the Railroad...

PS Hi to you in Upland, I used to live in Ontario, 36 years ago.

 

I'd like to ask your opinion. Given the choice, would you go into private practice say, with another physician; or, would you join one of the large corporate groups? Thanks.

 

Currently, I am not in clinical medicine - I work in a lab by choice, and see patients only occasionally. I got tired of 110 hour weeks. That's the sort of career skew that can happen if one not really cut out for Medicine enters the career.

But, sorry, that doesn't answer your question. In the Singapore context, it seems far more lucrative to join a large corporate group practice, whether one were to do Family Medicine (General Practice) or a specialty field. The support is valuable, and the remuneration is excellent with good job security (as long as you personally pull your weight in drawing patients in). If I were a practising clinician, that's the route I would take after having cut my teeth in the hospital system.

 

Interesting. Thank you.

 

This certainly opens a can of worms . I am in CV surgery and love my job and would do it all over again without hesitation. BUT....

If I were to start over again I would get my undergrad degree in buisness prior to medical school. Everyone thinks you need a science based major for med school, but not true. There are a few core classes you need to get into med school and the rest is up to you. This would serve 2 purposes. First, many people change directions while in undergrad and if so then you have a marketable degree when done as opposed to many science degrees. Second, whether we like it or not, medicine is a buisness whether you are in private practice or an employed physician. For example, in my practice we have three docs, 5 nurse practioners and 21 employees. Although my primary focus is taking care of my patients I still spend a bit of time running the buisness.

Private vs employed physicain model. Pros and cons for each and it really depends on what you want. One can still earn a better living in private practice especially if one is a specialist. Overhead, especially administrative overhead, is much higher in the employed model. However, with the changes in reimbursement etc it is becoming harder and less rewarding to stay independant. As I imagine is happening elsewhere, we have most of the docs in our area employed by one of the 2 hospitals. A few are happy, but most are quite unhappy with their situation.

Just a few thoughts FWIW.

Steve

 

Here in PA, corporate medicine is the norm. Do you think the number of administrative employees which support the "business" might be contributing to rising costs? We could, nonetheless, see lawsuits and regulatory requirements making the number of administrative employees a necessity. Could that be possible from your point of view?

 

Probably not contributing that much to the overall cost of medicine. As much as folks would like to belive, Physician reinbursement is less than 10% of the health care expenditures. The added layers of administration really hurts the physician. As the administrative overhead increases, the physicians income decreases. Everyone gets paid from the same pool of $$$$ so it is not hard to see who loses out. Some practitioners accept this in return for practice stability, not having to deal with practice management and so on.

Absolutely. We can keep things fairly simple in my office. However, in a medical group you have to have a CEO, COO, CFO, Corporate Compliance Officer, etc,etc, etc........