Uni Stuff > Health sciences
Medicine FAQ / So You Want To Be A Doctor
whys:
Hello! I'm an aspiring medical student and I am a little confused about what happens after doing bachelor of medical science, doctor of medicine, then internship. Do you have to study a course for a further 3 years to become a GP??
DBA-144:
--- Quote from: Russ on February 25, 2019, 09:47:27 pm ---I came back to tidy up my inbox and stumbled in here for the nostalgia. I guess my optimistic prediction of the media improving their coverage of healthcare didn't eventuate, but there certainly has been interesting reporting recently on the twin issues of doctor burnout and workplace culture.
If anybody has any particular questions about the industry after graduation and training, I'm happy to answer them before I go away again!
--- End quote ---
After going through the process of becoming certified, progressing in the field, etc. would you say it is something you would do again/suggest to others?
In your opinion, what is the best and worst part of it? Do you enjoy the constant opportunity to learn and teach in a constantly changing work environment?
How important is it to have contacts in the industry?
Overall, would you say that the stress/workload can become overwhelming at times?
Thanks (sorry if this is in the wrong place)
Russ:
--- Quote from: whys on February 25, 2019, 10:14:21 pm ---Hello! I'm an aspiring medical student and I am a little confused about what happens after doing bachelor of medical science, doctor of medicine, then internship. Do you have to study a course for a further 3 years to become a GP??
--- End quote ---
All the university pathways are different but converge on internship, which is a common year. After that point, all the pathways diverge again and there is no single route. Most people spend some years working in the hospital system in some capacity - locum, unaccredited training, exploring interests etc. If (when) you wish to practice independently, then you need to train as a specialist and the minimum time to do this is 3 years (for general practice).
--- Quote from: DBA-144 on February 25, 2019, 10:18:02 pm ---After going through the process of becoming certified, progressing in the field, etc. would you say it is something you would do again/suggest to others?
In your opinion, what is the best and worst part of it? Do you enjoy the constant opportunity to learn and teach in a constantly changing work environment?
How important is it to have contacts in the industry?
Overall, would you say that the stress/workload can become overwhelming at times?
--- End quote ---
I certainly have no burning regrets. I'm fairly happy with my life and choices, all things considered. I'm sure there was scope to do something different, which would have made me happier, but the risk would have been much higher and medicine certainly afforded me the opportunity to be socially stable whilst still doing something I enjoy. I don't think many high school students know much about medicine and I would strongly recommend investigating more thoroughly than just attending a university open day, but it's hard to convince 17 year olds to pass on the opportunity if it turns up.
I'm not sure what I will be doing in 10 years, but I'm certain that if it's not medicine then it's definitely not something I would have been able to predict 10 years ago. I like the novelty of what I do, where I get to work with different people regularly and rarely approach issues in the same way twice. I am certainly extremely invested in education and it's a major part of my job, both with patients and junior colleagues.
The importance of contacts depends on what you plan to do and can range from essential to irrelevant. Stress and workload are usually informed by the department and hospital you work at (eg did they hire 1 or 2 people for the 1.5 person job etc.). There are huge cultural issues around not complaining about challenges and working unpaid overtime, but it's hard for me to compare these to other white collar industries. I do think that the nature of healthcare provision and the industry model does make it much harder to actually address these issues, but that's certainly not to say that it's impossible to resolve them.
Lear:
Do you believe that the coverage of Dr Kadota’s experience will have an impact on how doctors are treated or will this just be another spark that will fizzle out in a few weeks?
Do you think there are specific specialities that are relatively immune to such experiences?
What do you personally think can be done to improve hospitals and their treatment of doctors and how would such a change come about?
Russ:
--- Quote from: Lear on February 25, 2019, 11:12:09 pm ---Do you believe that the coverage of Dr Kadota’s experience will have an impact on how doctors are treated or will this just be another spark that will fizzle out in a few weeks?
--- End quote ---
I'll be shocked if anything substantial changes across the industry solely as a result of her articles. At some point the critical mass required to drive major change will be reached and she will have been part of that, but there are so many factors affecting this over such a long time horizon that I couldn't say it would have changed because of her. That's not to say the coverage will fizzle out and have been wasted, it will still have contributed to minor changes or improved participation in smaller initatives etc.
--- Quote ---Do you think there are specific specialities that are relatively immune to such experiences?
--- End quote ---
None are immune. Some are better/worse than others but this isn't going to consistently be the case, either within a service or across services.
--- Quote ---What do you personally think can be done to improve hospitals and their treatment of doctors and how would such a change come about?
--- End quote ---
Fundamental restructuring of the training model
The political will to actually take action (from external forces)
Changing of the mindset within the industry
I openly admit that I am cynical about this issue, and there have been improvements to working conditions but in regards to addressing the root causes I think the above is necessary. All three are necessary as well - the new Victorian EBA for doctors is a good example, as it codified various requirements (eg 10 hours off) that doctors are ignoring for fear of harming their career prospects.
I don't mean to be too bleak, as there are plenty of enjoyable experiences inside hospitals and I do look forward to going to work every day (maybe that's the Stockholm Syndrome though).
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