CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

guess what
im sorta intersted in becoming a physian and i found out it
takes not 1, not 2, not 3, but 11 years to become a physian!

Well, now I definately know I'm not going to become a physian.

I assume you mean an MD.

For me, it was four years of undergraduate and four years of medical school, and it will be a total of three years of residency (and possibly a year of fellowship) to get my family medicine board certification (and if I do the fellowship, I'll have extra certification in sports medicine).

I'll let you know if it's worth it or not.

Yeah, that's tough... but, you know what they say, the sun passes slowly but it moves across the town. Uh, that didn't really help, did it?....

No not really..
Actully i didn't understand a word you said...

EDIT: My brother had logged on as me during this post.

definitely sounds like a long time, but with that kind of profession, less time just doesn't work. If you're really interested and got the mark for the course, by all means, go for it.

i don't know how flexible the system is at your place, but in Australia, we can just apply for a course transfer if we don't like the one we're studying. I've got a cousin doing med, heaps of work, but he enjoys it.

Actually, just in case you had any hope at all, eleven years is the *minimum*. If you go for something like, say, orthopaedic surgery, it's a five year residency, not counting any fellowships you do. If you go for something like internal medicine with a subspecialty fellowship and further specialize within that ... yeeeeeeek.

Hmm... My friend is like 22 and she's already a doctor in Australia... So, why the difference?

are you sure? coz my cousin is 22 and he's still studying medicine (Sydney). It takes > 4 years to finish the course. That i'm very certain of.

In the British system (also true of Australia), you get an MBBS instead of an MD (in other words, you don't do four years of undergraduate before you go do the medicine portion of the degree). The residency portion is somewhat different as well.

The hospital CEO where I went to medical school was, as it turns out, an MBBS who got her degree in Sydney. (Obviously, she's licensed to practise in the USA, of course.)

11 years ain't so bad. I've already been at this university for seven , and will probably hang around for a few more. It won't seem so bad once you're actually in it, especially if it's what you like doing.

Where are you planning on going to university?

i think if you really don't mind doing medicine and have an interest in it, the years is not a problem. After all.... they hand you the job!

I don't think I could do that 11 years of training, but if I got an unlimited scholarship (that covered room and board as well as medical insurance) I may stay in college that long, but it just doesn't take that long to become a computer animator or get into a game development company. Of course, It would do me good to get a computer science bachelors, and to do that will be at least 5 more years (because of financial situations) so I'll be 26 by that time! Ok, so 26 isn't that old...

No wonder doctors are always so old...

Now wait a minute. I'll "only" be thirty by the time I'm an attending.

30's not too bad

I to am thinking about being an M.D.
I think this is one of my brothers passing fancies, but I'm seriously considereing it.

Hey 11 years is way too much! Join the gang of street mimes in Hanover! You'd be very welcome!

I seriously am considering a job as a physician. It is pretty much my 2nd best goal in life overall, besides God of course (who is my utmost priority). I'm hoping to use my practices for some sort of Christian oraganization after I have time to get the groove of everything.

I personally think that a job as a physician would be great. I'm more of the, lets debate about LFAS, not, lets go play around with the ball.

Doctors are known for making alot of money, right? But, a MD who would be working for a charity based org. would not be payed as much. I'd rather please God than please myself and people's expectations.

no wonder doctors are always looked on as a bunch of wise people, MK...

um, but then they get sued a lot.

> Doctors are known for making alot of money, right?

You must be kidding. While there might be a high gross on paper, your average physician is just trying to pay off their student loans. Myself, I'm in debt to the tune of around US$180,000, and that's all accruing interest (can't do much about it as a resident).

There are some Christian organizations that will help you with this debt, but for many who intend to do medical missions, it's a very big sacrifice. (I haven't decided on this yet. There are just as many opportunities to do volunteer indigent care in this country too, after all.)

As for lawsuits, yes, doctors (especially in the States, and especially litigious populations like Californians) do get sued a lot -- but it's often not for true malpractise. Rather, doctors seem to get sued a lot for bad outcomes. Granted, if this is not explained well to patients, this usually results in a suit for no other reason than to find out what really happened, and doctors who actually sit down and spend time with patients and try to open up lines of communication have the lowest lawsuit rate of all.

The most frequently sued specialties include neurosurgery and OB/GYN, and these are the specialties with higher potentials for bad outcomes, too. Unfortunately, the bad outcomes are often unavoidable no matter what the physician does. Fortunately, when us MD's are all sued into oblivion, there will be plenty of lawyers to operate on you. Good luck.

Okay, soapbox off.

LOL. true, that would be one big reason for not becoming a doctor, assuming i had the ability to do it. Medical indemnity has been such a hassle for them!