Anyone studied medical lab science?
Thinking about doing that and then doctor of medicine if I still want to study.
Is that a good course of action to take? I'm a late starter at 27 btw. I figure studying medicine means I will always have a job, no matter where I go, and should be able to diagnose my own/my family's health problems a bit better than a time-jewing GP.
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Not in the field myself, but the job market for lab techs and such positions is generally good. If you have the aptitude for it, I'd say go ahead.
why not just train to be a doctor if you want to be a doctor you spaz
tbf though whenever I ring the lab, even if it's 3am, they always have tunes on and the girls sound happy and fit so maybe go for it
Not OP, but medical school costs big. There's a larger risk in attempting it, because if you screw up or realize it's not the career for you then you now owe some school a ton of money without a doctor's salary to pay for it.
Also, doctors have a significant time commitment: medical school, then residency, and then maybe something of their own, depending on what field they work in.
OP, what kind of doctor were you looking to be? General practitioner, or some specific subfield? (It's a lot harder to kill somebody in dermatology, but it's not as easy to get a job there.)
The universities I checked require a bachelor's degree of any kind first, and bachelor's degrees are a bit easier anyway. Still not sure if I can make it in the doctor course.
I'm thinking GP atm, but that may change as I'm exposed to more doctors.
Have you considered becoming a perfusionist? The pay is good and the workload is a lot less than being a typical doctor, but you'd have to work under some fairly stressful circumstances (keeping the heart beating during major surgery).
That seems like something that I'd rather not specialise in.
MD is a postgraduate degree. There are a few places that offer a type of hybrid undergraduate post graduate degree but they are very poorly thought of within the industry.
MD is a good choice. If you are late entering the job market having a post graduate degree is a good way to make up for the lost experience in terms of career and earning progression.
MD here. I don't know that it's worth the years you're going to sacrifice, let alone how much you'll owe in loans. If you started next year, you'll be 32 when you graduate med school and probably in excess of $300k in debt. Then you have another 3y residency ( 35y old, and good luck paying your loans off with the salaries of those specialties) or 5-7y residency (37-40y old). Oh, and it looks like most of that debt will be sitting at ~10% interest.
I'm 7 years out of fellowship and sick of it. Yes, you'll have a job, but the amount of bullshit oversight mandated by Obamacare and various gov't agencies, let alone the bullshit imposed by the idiots in middle management hospital administrative positions, have me wishing I'd done something else. There are many days where I feel like I do about 50% real work and 50% bullshit.
If you're smart enough to hack it in med school, go be the top 1% of whatever other field you might semi-enjoy.
the program is difficult to get in if you're a brainlet, but it has a 100% job placement rate. you can start out at 40k a year in a small market. if you can get into a program then its worth it.
Where are you from OP?
I'll post a follow-up to my own post after reading something else you said. If you want to be a GP, do some research on becoming a NP or a PA. Your job is 90% of MD but less responsibility and investment and you'll probably earn nearly the same salary.
Getting into a top-tier residency (the ones where you'll make more $$$ when you're done) is not easy, either. You need to maintain higher class rank and score very well on your USMLE board exams.
I'm a medical scientist in a major Qld hospital, and an Ausfag. AMA.
If you're 27 and don't even have a Bachelor's, there is no way you'll make it through med school.
What do you do in your day?
Core lab, so haematology, biochem, blood bank and some micro if blood cultures go positive and there's no micro people on
I know of one person who started in early 30s. He had to drop everthing and move to go to a school. Makes killer money. But your right for the most part. Maybe look at doing hair?
Would computer programming skills be useful at all in your field or no?
bump
Anyone? Would computer programming skills be useful in med science?
Not a medical professional, but it couldn't hurt.
Most medical programs require background in biology or other science like that in order to begin. Computer science doesn't really count for that prereq, but it might be useful in demonstrating analytical skills or in making an argument for extra responsibility or salary. Most CS types in a hospital setting would be found in the IT department, though.
I was thinking I could be the guy who stands between the researchers and the IT guys maybe. Better to have a guy who can program to tell the IT guys what the researchers need, no?
i work in an ultrasound lab
as an ultrasound tech my next step up would be: clinical applications specialist, biochem, or prototype mr and ct coil designing, i could probably go into coil repair but it doesnt pay as much
Very helpful, thanks.