2 answers
Victoria
Student
Fort Collins, Colorado
1
Question
Asked
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Was it difficult to begin your life in the medical world after medical school? Or was medical school the toughest part of your journey? What should I expect when entering medicine?
Was it difficult to begin your life in the medical world after medical school? Or was medical school the toughest part of your journey? What should I expect when entering medicine?
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2 answers
Rita Chuang
Physician
223
Answers
Henderson, Nevada
Updated
Rita’s Answer
I think the entire road of medicine is challenging and each stage presents a different challenge.
Medical school was challenging for me because of the amount of information that I needed to absorb. That's why I recommend anyone interested in medicine work as a medical scribe. They pay you. You get to learn the "language" of medicine. You interact with physicians and see what they do on a daily basis. This experience makes medical school training easier because you have been introduced to medicine. If you decide that medicine is not for you after this experience, you just saved yourself a lot of time and money. The first 2 years of medical school involve learning in a classroom environment. The second 2 years involves going on rotations. During these rotations, the attendings will "pimp" you. They ask you questions you need to answer in front of everyone. People who are introverts (like me) may struggle. You will be reprimanded in front of your colleagues which can be embarrassing. You will be working long hours and weekends.
During residency which is after you finish medical school, it's more like the second two years of medical school. You are in training. They ask you questions in front of others. You work all night at times and sometimes get yelled at in the morning.
After training, you can now get a job. This is a different type of stress because you are dealing with people and that is sometimes not easy. People can be difficult and demanding and that's hard. You are not only seeing patients on your schedule but you need to go through telephone calls from patients, refilling medications, answering questions from patients on the portal, reviewing notes from other doctors, reviewing radiology reports and labs etc. I would start seeing patients at 8 AM but at 6:30 AM, I would review all the labs, review reports, refill medications etc. Between seeing patients, I would try to answer patient questions, review more reports etc. On the weekends, I would do the same thing so that my Monday was not a disaster. On vacation (when I worked for myself), I would bring my laptop and go into the computer to continue working. Once on vacation, I was on a cruise with no internet connection and it took me over a day to clean everything up. My friend works 2-2.5 days a week and when she works on a full day, she works 8 AM to 8 PM to finish all the documentation etc.
This is not an easy job...especially in primary care. Medicare has been cutting the doctor's payment rates I think the last 5 years. In the meantime, everything has increased. I think you can make more money as a plumber. Don't get me wrong. You don't go into medicine for the money but you should be compensated for the number of years you went into training and your time. Most physicians are giving "free" advice when patients call for problems.
When you work for another company, if patients complain about you, you will need to explain yourself. When I sold my practice, I worked for a company and they were responsible for sending referrals that I created. Unfortunately, it was not a good company. I had three patients complain to me to the board. I explained that I created the referral but the company did not send the referral. The board did not care. I retired from clinical medicine early (54 years old). I am doing clinical research and although it has it's challenges, it's easier.
Once again, I highly suggest you work as a medical scribe and I challenge everyone to work the hours your physician is working even when you don't get paid extra. When the doctor goes into the office early to refill medications, you can go there. You may complain but I'm not getting paid extra...neither is that doctor. See what it really is like to be a physician and if you can't stand it, this job is not for you or you need to be "creative" and finding another job you can do with a medical degree.
Not all of medicine is bad. I had some great patients who miss me...I see them in the grocery stories and they make me happy that I made a difference. I think my personality as a people pleaser and wanting everyone happy is what has made me struggle. I wanted 100% of the patients to be happy and that's not possible. And if I make them happy, I will suffer and I won't be happy which is what happened to me. I would see over 40 patients a day and burn out because patients "had an emergency" and after several years, I couldn't and didn't want to do this anymore.
Medical school was challenging for me because of the amount of information that I needed to absorb. That's why I recommend anyone interested in medicine work as a medical scribe. They pay you. You get to learn the "language" of medicine. You interact with physicians and see what they do on a daily basis. This experience makes medical school training easier because you have been introduced to medicine. If you decide that medicine is not for you after this experience, you just saved yourself a lot of time and money. The first 2 years of medical school involve learning in a classroom environment. The second 2 years involves going on rotations. During these rotations, the attendings will "pimp" you. They ask you questions you need to answer in front of everyone. People who are introverts (like me) may struggle. You will be reprimanded in front of your colleagues which can be embarrassing. You will be working long hours and weekends.
During residency which is after you finish medical school, it's more like the second two years of medical school. You are in training. They ask you questions in front of others. You work all night at times and sometimes get yelled at in the morning.
After training, you can now get a job. This is a different type of stress because you are dealing with people and that is sometimes not easy. People can be difficult and demanding and that's hard. You are not only seeing patients on your schedule but you need to go through telephone calls from patients, refilling medications, answering questions from patients on the portal, reviewing notes from other doctors, reviewing radiology reports and labs etc. I would start seeing patients at 8 AM but at 6:30 AM, I would review all the labs, review reports, refill medications etc. Between seeing patients, I would try to answer patient questions, review more reports etc. On the weekends, I would do the same thing so that my Monday was not a disaster. On vacation (when I worked for myself), I would bring my laptop and go into the computer to continue working. Once on vacation, I was on a cruise with no internet connection and it took me over a day to clean everything up. My friend works 2-2.5 days a week and when she works on a full day, she works 8 AM to 8 PM to finish all the documentation etc.
This is not an easy job...especially in primary care. Medicare has been cutting the doctor's payment rates I think the last 5 years. In the meantime, everything has increased. I think you can make more money as a plumber. Don't get me wrong. You don't go into medicine for the money but you should be compensated for the number of years you went into training and your time. Most physicians are giving "free" advice when patients call for problems.
When you work for another company, if patients complain about you, you will need to explain yourself. When I sold my practice, I worked for a company and they were responsible for sending referrals that I created. Unfortunately, it was not a good company. I had three patients complain to me to the board. I explained that I created the referral but the company did not send the referral. The board did not care. I retired from clinical medicine early (54 years old). I am doing clinical research and although it has it's challenges, it's easier.
Once again, I highly suggest you work as a medical scribe and I challenge everyone to work the hours your physician is working even when you don't get paid extra. When the doctor goes into the office early to refill medications, you can go there. You may complain but I'm not getting paid extra...neither is that doctor. See what it really is like to be a physician and if you can't stand it, this job is not for you or you need to be "creative" and finding another job you can do with a medical degree.
Not all of medicine is bad. I had some great patients who miss me...I see them in the grocery stories and they make me happy that I made a difference. I think my personality as a people pleaser and wanting everyone happy is what has made me struggle. I wanted 100% of the patients to be happy and that's not possible. And if I make them happy, I will suffer and I won't be happy which is what happened to me. I would see over 40 patients a day and burn out because patients "had an emergency" and after several years, I couldn't and didn't want to do this anymore.
Albert Giannone, M.D
Retired physician/former pharmacist
28
Answers
Center Moriches, New York
Updated
Albert’s Answer
I'm not sure what you are asking. Have you finished medical school and are now on the verge of entering a residency program? If so, medical school has prepared you academically and your residency will prepare you for life as a physician.
If you're just asking a general question, medical school requires a lot of self-discipline and studying. Residency requires using what you've learned in medical school, what you learn during residency, and making important decisions. Some of those might not be the best and you'll learn from those more than the good decisions.
If you're just asking a general question, medical school requires a lot of self-discipline and studying. Residency requires using what you've learned in medical school, what you learn during residency, and making important decisions. Some of those might not be the best and you'll learn from those more than the good decisions.