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Is becoming a doctor worth it?

Medicine is the only subject I am interested in but I'm having doubts.

A lot of people say their social life is diminished during medical school, foundation years require long hours and on top of that there is residency training. I want to be getting married and starting a family soon so I feel like all of this would affect my relationships.
(edited 4 weeks ago)
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Is medicine worth it? What a big question!
1) Medical school - hard work for sure. Way harder than A levels. But, at the same time, more rewarding than A levels a lot of the time. If patients are what you want to be dealing with then, there are good bits of medical school. There are a lot of exams - loads. Lots of people fail exams or don't do as well as they were used to doing. You might need to resit during the summers. But I think most people have a great social life as well at med school. Medical students are renowned for working hard and playing hard and I think this is a fair reflection of most. I know loads of medical students at the moment and see plenty more at my work and, generally speaking, most of them are happy most of the time and some of them are having the time of their lives.
2) Foundation years - are tough. Really tough. You have almost no control over where you end up. If you are married/living with someone, you can't guarantee being anywhere near them. If your partner is also a medic, also doing foundation years, it's even harder. It's hard work, long(ish) hours, not much control over holidays/breaks. It used to be worse in terms of hours, but it used to be better in terms of teamwork and camaraderie whilst at work. BUT it's 2 years and then that's over. (If you have kids you can choose where you train but that's not a great reason to have kids at medical school! I know people who have done it but it's really hard).
3) Specialty training - also tough but can be less tough depending on the specialty you choose. If you choose an over-subscribed specialty then you have little choice about where you end up. If you choose an under-subscribed one you will be luckier. It's a lot of years of working nights/weekends and still having little control over holidays etc.
But
Then you get to be a GP or a consultant and have (probably) a bit more control over your life.
The pay is not good, compared with other sectors such as law or management consultancy or big pharma, but it's not bad either.
At the end of the day, it's about whether you can imagine yourself doing anything else. I do not always enjoy my job but I enjoy the bits that count (the bits where I genuinely make a difference to people) and I can put up with the other bits for that. I don't regret my decision but I do think it's harder now than 30 years ago when I was training.
Consultant and resident doctor salaries have declined in real terms since 2008. I think in the longer term doctors salaries will be eroded further and we will follow the same kind of healthcare model used in France where doctors salaries are not particularly world-beating.

So doing it purely for the money is a very bad idea. Even private medicine in the UK is not particularly well remunerated in some areas.
Reply 4
Medicine is reasonably paid compared to law. The vast majority of law jobs are not magic circle big city firms - comparing doctors salaries to those is a bit like only looking at doctors with large established lucrative private practices. If you look at your ‘average’ solicitor then pay is fairly comparable. The range of salaries is bigger in law and there is a theoretical ability to earn silly money but only a tiny number do. Solicitors doing legal aid criminal law work barely beat minimum wage. And in England, less than 22% of law graduates even become solicitors.
main pro - helping others, good job security, good wages after several years, opportunity to make a business
main cons - stressful, long shifts, always clocked on, very competitive
The reality of being a doctor is a long slog through hospital lyfe: potentially in shift patterns you have no control over and being moved around the country at the whims of NHSE because you're being used as service provision dressed up as 'training'.

Make no mistake though: by signing up to medical school you are committing to a process that will take many years, potentially several in speciality training. I work with registrars and fellows a lot and they tell me how they have had to move around. It's pretty nuts on the face of it but if you've got a neurosurgery or orthopaedic itch then there isn't going to be any other way to scratch it than submit to the process involved.

It can be acutely stressful and in my limited opinion it is very important that you:

A form a social network of people around you locally as a pastoral/academic and social support network
AND
B contribute fully to any team environment and so form a professional network, even as you become more senior- this means helping the people junior to you because there will be times where you are their support network just as you relied on seniors to be your support network earlier in your career

Again, in my limited opinion all medical students should be obliged to follow a doctor for the duration of a full on-call shift so that they get to experience what that involves and understand the nature of the beast first hand.

If you can cope with the stress and uncertainty then in my view there is no better job in the world. Or at least that is my perception. I certainly would not do it for the money now. Those days are gone. The UK doesn't have the economic position to do another Tony Blair style spending policy right now.
On the social perspective, every medic/doctor ive met has always seemed to find time to enjoy life at university or afterwards.

For all the chatter about money, no junior doctors are not paid giant checks day one but they also earn ballpark UK national average salary which considering a graduate is typically early-mid 20s and have no professional experience (outside their degree), not a bad platform and you have a pathway to a fairly balanced life and 6fig paycheque in your mid30s + NHS pension, and opportunities to work in private healthcare, medical research as well. I personally think it’s a pretty excellent financial deal.

However, people nowadays are going to work likely until they are 70. Should I do something? Well id very much ask myself would I enjoy and be passionate spending my life doing this (both the content and activities). Your career is your opportunity to impact the world, so do something you will enjoy. There are lucrative opportunities in all industries (most come after you have experience and are not visible or obvious as a early career perspective). If your career is your life work you won’t regret anything, if your career is something that lets you live 2 days a week then it’s a fairly numb life experience.
(edited 3 weeks ago)
Original post by preparatory-pear
Medicine is the only subject I am interested in but I'm having doubts.
A lot of people say their social life is diminished during medical school, foundation years require long hours and on top of that there is residency training. I want to be getting married and starting a family soon so I feel like all of this would affect my relationships.

What stage are you currently at? Sixth form? What do you mean by getting married and having a family "soon"?

I'm a doctor and I enjoy my work so yes it's worth it to me. My work-life balance is something I've worked on and optimised over the years as I've become more experienced in the job. It's normal for your priorities and interests to change throughout your 20s and 30s as you continue to develop as an adult (whether you're a doctor or not), and certainly the way I think about my career now is very different to how I considered it at the start of medical school.

Being an introverted person I have no desire to be socialising every night but I still do the usual things non-doctors do - go on holiday, gigs, spend time with family, have relationships, etc.

In a couple of years I'll probably reduce my hours a bit to improve my work-life balance a bit more. I'm sure no one ever died wishing they spent more time at work 🤪

My Foundation Years weren't the favourite part of my career to date but I didn't ever expect them to be. Oddly enough, the period I've enjoyed most was the year I spent as an A&E doctor which probably had the most unsociable hours of any job I've ever done, but I guess I was young(er) and able to tolerate it in a way that I wouldn't particularly enjoy now.

I'm not thrilled by the broader conditions or climate we work in. There is a great deal to be annoyed about when it comes to working in the NHS.

Would I do it again? Yes. Does that mean you should? I couldn't possibly say, that's up to you!
(edited 3 weeks ago)
Original post by Democracy
What stage are you currently at? Sixth form? What do you mean by getting married and having a family "soon"?
I'm a doctor and I enjoy my work so yes it's worth it to me. My work-life balance is something I've worked on and optimised over the years as I've become more experienced in the job. It's normal for your priorities and interests to change throughout your 20s and 30s as you continue to develop as an adult (whether you're a doctor or not), and certainly the way I think about my career now is very different to how I considered it at the start of medical school.
Being an introverted person I have no desire to be socialising every night but I still do the usual things non-doctors do - go on holiday, gigs, spend time with family, have relationships, etc.
In a couple of years I'll probably reduce my hours a bit to improve my work-life balance a bit more. I'm sure no one ever died wishing they spent more time at work 🤪
My Foundation Years weren't the favourite part of my career to date but I didn't ever expect them to be. Oddly enough, the period I've enjoyed most was the year I spent as an A&E doctor which probably had the most unsociable hours of any job I've ever done, but I guess I was young(er) and able to tolerate it in a way that I wouldn't particularly enjoy now.
I'm not thrilled by the broader conditions or climate we work in. There is a great deal to be annoyed about when it comes to working in the NHS.
Would I do it again? Yes. Does that mean you should? I couldn't possibly say, that's up to you!

👏🏼
some excellent replies above
would like to hear ideas on how terms and conditions of foundation years could be improved in practical terms from any of the respondents
Original post by Thompsontwins
Is medicine worth it? What a big question!
1) Medical school - hard work for sure. Way harder than A levels. But, at the same time, more rewarding than A levels a lot of the time. If patients are what you want to be dealing with then, there are good bits of medical school. There are a lot of exams - loads. Lots of people fail exams or don't do as well as they were used to doing. You might need to resit during the summers. But I think most people have a great social life as well at med school. Medical students are renowned for working hard and playing hard and I think this is a fair reflection of most. I know loads of medical students at the moment and see plenty more at my work and, generally speaking, most of them are happy most of the time and some of them are having the time of their lives.
2) Foundation years - are tough. Really tough. You have almost no control over where you end up. If you are married/living with someone, you can't guarantee being anywhere near them. If your partner is also a medic, also doing foundation years, it's even harder. It's hard work, long(ish) hours, not much control over holidays/breaks. It used to be worse in terms of hours, but it used to be better in terms of teamwork and camaraderie whilst at work. BUT it's 2 years and then that's over. (If you have kids you can choose where you train but that's not a great reason to have kids at medical school! I know people who have done it but it's really hard).
3) Specialty training - also tough but can be less tough depending on the specialty you choose. If you choose an over-subscribed specialty then you have little choice about where you end up. If you choose an under-subscribed one you will be luckier. It's a lot of years of working nights/weekends and still having little control over holidays etc.
But
Then you get to be a GP or a consultant and have (probably) a bit more control over your life.
The pay is not good, compared with other sectors such as law or management consultancy or big pharma, but it's not bad either.
At the end of the day, it's about whether you can imagine yourself doing anything else. I do not always enjoy my job but I enjoy the bits that count (the bits where I genuinely make a difference to people) and I can put up with the other bits for that. I don't regret my decision but I do think it's harder now than 30 years ago when I was training.
Thanks, this really helped!
(edited 3 weeks ago)

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