Start & Run a Medical Practice. Michael Clifford Fabian

has expanded in size and you now have two small kids — both children are younger than the age of three. You and your wife have decided that she is going to stay home for now and be there for the upbringing of the children — childcare during the day was the alternative and you have collectively decided against this. Your wife was working as a dental hygienist for two years and was significantly contributing to the income of the family. You have a hefty student loan and are carrying a balance on two credit cards.

      A dream job has just become available for a junior medical officer in a government-based, public-health agency. While the salary is a lot more money than you have ever earned, it is a far cry from the big bucks your friend, who started working a couple years earlier as a family physician in private practice, is making. In fact, your high school friend who has a successful plumbing business is way ahead of both you and your family practice friend in terms of finances and comfort.

      You and your wife decide that you are going to pursue this job of your dreams and continue living within your means and not increasing your debt load any further. You stay in your rented apartment for now, do not get a second car, and start to slowly pay off the loans and clear the credit card balances while working in this modest-paid position.

      Realistically, it might be another few years before you can buy your own home and go on some exotic vacation. However, these material things are less important as all involved seem to be content with how things have transpired. You are happy going to work every day, and that joy is evident in your personal and professional life. This shows that money has been a secondary issue all along.

      However, if you have entered into this career path to make lots of money, a situation like this will be extremely frustrating for you. Even worse, if you have chosen another area in the medical field in which a higher income is possible, and chosen it just for the sake of making more money, then you are likely well on your way to a miserable and unfulfilled career.

      2.3 Status

      You have always wanted to be physician because doctors are apparently so well respected. You cannot wait until the day you can tell everyone you are a medical student and later a fully qualified medical doctor, maybe even a brain surgeon! These superficial concepts far outweigh your inherent desire to help people. Actually you have a long-standing passion for flying and wish to become a pilot one day, even if it means doing it in your spare time when you are not in the medical office.

      You eventually get to display that stethoscope in your pocket and around your neck every chance you get. Somehow you wonder how that novelty of the stethoscope being visible at all times could ever wear off. Well something happened, because after a few years in medical school, the joy of showing off the stethoscope has waned. This is because the motives and primary reasons for following a career in medicine were very wrong.

      Another factor could be somehow feeling special when you are paged, or called, to the emergency department at the hospital. This makes you feel especially important and special while amongst other people, or at some social event. The novelty of been called away from the office, home, a family function, or a social event wears off very quickly. People in this situation often wonder how on earth they ever got themselves into this in the first place.

      If the reasons for choosing medicine were honest and true to yourself, when things get tough, the stress will be that much easier to deal with as you will hopefully really enjoy what you are doing. No job is void of stress, and all careers have less desirable portions. What is important is that you enjoy more aspects of your job than you dislike.

      3. There Are Many Different Specialties from which to Choose

      Some people have decided early on in their lives that they want follow a certain specialty. Others make that decision during university, or even beyond. Irrespective of when you make that ultimate decision, you have a multitude of specialties from which to choose.

      Sometimes it is really difficult to find that niche that suits you, but it is important you make the right decision. It is crucial to experience, or be aware of the vast selection of specialty training before you decide.

      In the earlier years of medical school, you have exposure to the main fields in medicine — pediatrics and general surgery being two examples. The more specialized areas of medicine usually come later on in your training, for example, during elective time. Such areas include specialties to the likes of pediatric cardiovascular surgery and medical genetics.

      In some countries, certainly in the United States and Canada, there is more pressure these days to make an important decision about a specialty earlier on, before you have had an opportunity to finish medical school or before you have any experience in practicing general medicine. While most individuals make the decision to specialize during medical school, there are always ways you can further specialize later on in your career. Keep your eyes and ears open from an early stage, even before entering medical school, in order to be aware of as many of the different areas of medicine as possible. Exposure is key to ultimately being in a good position to make a decision.