Sunday, July 19, 2009

"Family doctors: An endangered breed" from CNNmoney.com

From CNNmoney.com:

"Primary care physicians are considered to not do as much as specialists," Manriquez said. "People have told me that generalists are less respected as doctors."

Glass, 29, agreed. "Primary care doctors don't have a lot of status in the medical field," she said. "But I've always focused on the big picture. I want to offer my patients a more holistic picture of health versus what a specialist does."

Glass said she wants to "form a long-standing relationship with her patients and empower them to be healthy."

In the minority: Despite their noble intentions, Manriquez and Glass know that they are exceptions in an otherwise depressing situation for the nation's health care system.

In the past 10 years, 90% of medical school graduates have opted to enter higher-paid sub-specialties like orthopedic surgery, radiology and dermatology. Only 10% have chosen primary care, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

Kind of standard stuff. So Primary Care doctors (Family Practice, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics) get paid less money, are considered less prestigious, and less and less medical students are pursuing it.

Is this new(s)?

The hours are lousy, the on-call is worse, the paper work is a mess, oh, and did I mention the money? From my perspective (still an outsider) the pay is proportional to the years and intensity of education, and not proportional to the actual day-to-day work you'll be slogging through compared to other specialties and sub-specialties.

That's the real problem. That's why there's such a shortage in Primary Care Physicians.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

What does the matching process entail?

DoktoraM writes:

Hi there,

I'm about to embark on the application process and SGU and Ross are on my list.

Question for you, what does the matching process entail? Who determines where you match? I want to be an OB/GYN for example, would I be applying to all the OB/GYN place to match or is it one application and they just place you somewhere?

Hi DoktoraM,

I really don't know too much about MATCH as I do for other different subjects. Residency is so far away, I really won't be dealing with it for another 3-4 years.

From what I understand so far, it works out like this: During the final months of medical school, you would have already turned in your applications to MATCH at the different teaching hospitals. On that application, you rank each of the programs, in the order you're interested in. You're number 1 choice, number 2 choice, ..., and all the way down the list. But the hospitals also do the same. By this time your record and stats are in a database that all the teaching hospitals have access to. They rank candidates in the order they think are qualified. If the two lists match up, you're probably going to land the spot.

So you get to choose the teaching hospital, but they also get to choose you.

And from what I understand, the main contributing factors leading to a successful match are:
  1. USMLE Step Scores
  2. Letters of Recommendation from MS3 and MS4 rotations.
  3. Med School Grades

In that order.

Ross University Bahamas Campus?

Amyr writes:

Nice....would this campus be used for basic science years 1 & 2? Or only clinical rotations?

Johnathan, will you be enrolling at the Bahamas campus or the Dominica campus?

Amyr

Hi (again) Amyr:

It sounds like, beginning in 2010 it's going to be for both the MS1 and MS2 years. But the video didn't say which semester of 2010. I've emailed Ross in the past with specific questions about their Bahamas campus. They never replied so I'm a little skeptical. If I had a choice I'd go to the Dominica campus for now. I'm just paranoid in general with this whole process.

I'm not looking for surprises. I just want to do my best.

Does community college credits for prerequisite classes matter?

(I haven't had online access for nearly a week now, so I apologize for not responding to a lot of recent comments.)

ABC writes:

Jonathan,

I just wanted to let you know that your blogs on here have really helped me begin my path to reaching a career decision. I was up all night reading the entirety of your posts actually, since when I googled "nursing vs medicine" and came up with a post of yours.

I am 23 and have completed all my nursing prerequisites as well as a bachelor's degree, but am now much more seriously considering surgery. Most websites I have found offer only generic information, but your posts deal with some of the personal considerations I am dealing with directly and offer additional resources.

I still have a lot of research to do (including many books to read), but I was completely at a loss as to where to begin until I stumbled upon your site. Thank you for taking the time to record your experiences. Oh also - my undergrad degree is in English Literature, and I have to mention that if your writing weren't quite good I would have never gotten past the first couple posts. Well done.

I do have a question: I have my bachelor's degree from a state university but most of my prerequisite credits will be from community colleges. Do you think that matters?

My email is *********** if you would rather communicate that way - if you even have time, I understand you are busy.

Thanks again and best regards,
ABC

Hi ABC,

There are a few differing opinions on the subject of community college units for premed prerequisite classes. But both sides agree that the differences have to do with acceptance into medical school and not "how good of a doctor you'll be." It all has to do with admissions and playing the game to get through the door.

"Yes, it does matter, but it's hard to argue with an A." This is my attitude.

Put it into another context: Are premed prerequisite grades from an Ivy League school better than grades from a state school? I'd say yes, but not by much. I think it matters most for people who are borderline candidates. If you have a 4.0 from a Ivy League school, state school, or community college, I think you don't have much to worry about. But if you're on the admissions committee and you have three applicants in front of you with identical grades and similar extracurricular activities, and only one seat left... the Ivy League grad is going to get it every time. And why not? They worked for it. They go into that position through hard work and it should count for something.

This is just my attitude towards the whole subject in general. It may be on a case-by-case basis on the school you're applying to. If you're still concerned about your chances, I'd go ahead and contact the admissions departments of the schools you're interested in and ask them directly. It's a fair question.

(Also, I prefer communicating on this blog. I check it more often than my email.)