Going to med school at 30 - thoughts?

drsauce said:   Fair enough. I HAVE met many doctors that are brilliant and most that I know put the health of the patient first. You may have just fallen in with a bad lot. You can expect any significant medical advancements to come from technology in the future. A history and physical can only get you so far from a diagnosis standpoint and treatment using manual manipulations are not likely to improve, so I can't imagine a scenario where we can move either forward without new technology.
lol...you don't see the problem with this? Well at least you admit you guys are only human.

drsauce said:   jkimcpa said:   drsauce said:   Fair enough. I HAVE met many doctors that are brilliant and most that I know put the health of the patient first. You may have just fallen in with a bad lot. You can expect any significant medical advancements to come from technology in the future. A history and physical can only get you so far from a diagnosis standpoint and treatment using manual manipulations are not likely to improve, so I can't imagine a scenario where we can move either forward without new technology.
lol...you don't see the problem with this? Well at least you admit you guys are only human.

No, I guess not. The rest of us live in the real world, jkim. No system is perfect - and if med schools are accomplishing their goals of producing competent, compassionate physicians far more often than not (and I believe they are), they're doing a great job. A few bad eggs simply can't be helped.

I am not sure I agree with that statement. Medical schools are practically for-profits dressed as non-profits. So are many of the hospitals that medical schools are affiliated with.

I believe that the best medical education system is a merit-based, completely free system.

Look at India and the IIT entrance system. Only the 100 or so best students get admitted to computer science undergrad programs at IITs. I have met a few of those guys, and they are absolutely brilliant, and a lot brighter than the next 1000.

The medical system needs something like that.

tolamapS said:   You also partially pay for the possibility that you might end up in a very high niche (hit jack-pot) like neurosurgery, urology, dermatology, or whatever it may be.That's generally not how it works, as your future compensation is just one of several variables that motivates people to go into various specialties. People who love surgery generally won't be attracted to psychiatry and people who are attracted to psychiatry just won't be attracted to surgery. The same is true for other specialties.

The reason for it is not just the nature of the work but also the fact that you are talking about toally different lifestyles, totally different hours, totally different call requirements, etc...

On a related topic, in financial terms dermatology is not even close to a financial jackpot, which actually illustrates my point here about extremely important factors other than compensation that drive people into certain areas. Dermatologists make good but not great money and many other medical specialties will result in far greater financial rewards. The reason that dermatology is so competitive has everything to do with the lifestyle: there is generally no call, very little drama and you generally enjoy steady and consistent hours, which is quite different from many other specialties and is the reason that dermatology tends to be appealing to people.

TheDragonn said:   Hey guys, OP here. I've done a lot of soul-searching and consideration after some of the (excellent) points in this thread, and wanted to follow-up. Med school looks like it would be a ginormous kick in the balls, and as it turns out I do not fancy another 8 years of school at this point in my life

I will, however, be taking science prerequisites starting in the spring of 2013 to prepare for a likely eventual application for a DPT - Doctor of Physical Therapy. Thankfully, part of the application process is spending some 100-200 hours volunteering in PT clinics, hospitals, etc., so I can make sure that it's a right fit... but in the grand tradition of FWF saving me some coin, here's where I need some more advice on planning.

What are the best options for saving some $ knowing that I will likely be in school in 2014? Should I start up and shunt $ to one of those 503 accounts? Should I just plan on taking $ out of the 401k and putting it into a Roth during those years? Should I just eat ramen/beans/rice and knuckle through it? Thanks again, guys, for all of the great ideas.

Not sure about the last part, but best of luck going forward. DPT is a sweet gig.