<p>Well, it’s not either or. The best doctors I know are smart and do listen. I think both are important. I’ll throw works hard in to the mix, too.</p>
<p>House listened, even if he growled while doing so.</p>
<p>Mini–doctors make a lot of money. They don’t need to do procedures to pay back those loans. They need to not expect a certain lifestyle.</p>
<p>House is a television show.
Many drs do not take the time to listen, how can they? Their appts are scheduled 5min apart!</p>
<p>I love listening to one of my neighbors, the father of four, tell about son two and how the father had to hold on to his chair arms to steady himself when he counseled this young man. Dad is an MD; son is an MD and flight surgeon. The son also used to have a bumper sticker that said,“Don’t tell my mom I am a pilot. She thinks I am a piano player in a bordello.” He was a pilot prior to going to med school. Funny guy. He was not a stellar student as a young man, but figured it out some where along the way.</p>
<p>EK. I know that. I actually do have a doc who listens. She does not schedule 5 minutes apart. Not all docs do.</p>
<p>If someone wants to do it right, they can. Frankly, doing it right takes a toll (which is why my H is a teacher now–still putting in ridiculous hours, but gets a break in the summer and nothing is ever life-threatening.)</p>
<p>“Who pays for med school or vet school? Everyone I knew who went to these paid for them with loans.”</p>
<p>Not sure about vet school these days, but most of the young folks I know who are in medical school or a recent graduate got the military to pay. And they pay the military back with years and years of service after they graduate.</p>
<p>There are many colleges that have a track record of turning B and C HS students into future Ph.D’s and MD’s. Several of them are part of the Colleges That Change Lives.</p>
<p>“Mini–doctors make a lot of money. They don’t need to do procedures to pay back those loans. They need to not expect a certain lifestyle.”</p>
<p>They may not “need” to - but they do. And as I’ve posted before, on a net-net basis, a two-year RN until the age of 45-47 can easily end up, financially, doing better than the average family physician.</p>
<p>And yes, I know too many physicians who do just as I have described. $370k (loans plus interest until the end of residency) is just a bit of dough, especially if you need more to set up a practice.</p>
<p>But it can be done. My stepnephew did - he married into the cost of medical school, and a penthouse in Miami while doing his residency. (not your average h.s. student. ;)</p>
<p>^I will agree with you on the first point. Per hour, my H made less money than some of the nurses he worked with. He definitely envied their ability to go home at the end of a shift. But still, we paid off those loans.</p>
<p>I’m not saying it’s easy, or that they’ll want to choose it. I’m just saying it’s doable.</p>
<p>Probably not worth it, though.</p>
<p>Well, in this country, average hs kids don’t go to med school, no. They go to college. And then you see what stuff they are made of. And after those 4 years, then they are either ready for med school or not.</p>
<p>And, no, they do not all make tons of money.</p>
<p>Concierge care is becoming much more popular in our area, but $$$$.</p>
<p>For example, I had total knee replacement surgery 8 weeks ago, but I haven’t seen my Dr since.
My 4 week checkup was with a PA who was ( Im guessing)late for his lunch and rushed me through.
This was at a top hospital.</p>
<p>[Wealthy</a> Families Skip Waiting Rooms With Concierge Medical Plans - Bloomberg](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>Sure they do. I live next door to people who managed to produce a physician…after a couple false college starts and a transfer in undergrad…just finished med school (in the US) last spring. Parents are thrilled. I live a couple doors down from a wonderful above average but not top high school student who just finished vet school. Determination and perseverance are wonderful attributes.</p>
<p>OP, thanks for your responses. I wasn’t sure if I was being cynical or not when I read about the future goals of some of these students. Some of the students highlighted are academically gifted and even though financially not gifted, I believe they could attain their goals with determination, debt and a whole lot of luck. But some of these students highlighted in the paper are average academically and I wasn’t sure how probable achieving their dreams of becoming a doctor etc. were.</p>
<p>And lots of kids, particularly boys, are late bloomers . What they did in high school is not always indicative of what they can accomplish if they are studying something they are truly interested in . Some of these “average” high school kids may be in fact brighter than you assume.</p>
<p>I was a diamond in the rough in high school many years ago and really no one noticed me. I was bright but did not get any recognition. Not most likely to succeed, nothing. 3 in my class went to med school. I was from a very blue collar town and low income family and no one in my family ever went to college. I went to a state school and continued to seriously study science. I went to med school because a friend did -I though it was a good idea. I graduated probably in the middle of my class and did well in residency. I worked through college and had some family help. I borrowed all my money in med school because I was not smart enough to work at the same time- i think we had 3 people that did and they were RN’s and pharmacists. I lived on very little money but it did not seem so bad at the time. Many people in my class joined the military to pay for school. I lived in a shoebox for years until I paid off my loans. I have always lived below my means but comfortably.
Currently I have med students on rotation. They are very anxious and concerned about how they will pay their very large debt. Most are gravitating toward high paying fields. I just picked one I liked without pay consideration. They are also looking at loan forgiveness in small towns and some companies.
So, I was an average student only because of my background. I was smart and I cannot imagine trying to get into or through med school without being smart. If you did get in, it would be torture trying to get through. The there are the shelf exams the students take, the board exams and the licensing exams in the states.
There is a selection process.
Have a backup. I was a Medical Technology major ready for training when I got in. RN, PA, etc are a couple of many other really good and perhaps more enjoyable fields.
Life work balance is thrown out the window in med school but I have to say it is better than it used to be. Many other fields are very rewarding also including Optometry, Chiropractic, ND to name a few.
My advise- try as hard as you can, apply and see how things go, and keep your options open.</p>
<p>^^^Thanks for sharing your inspiring story.</p>
<p>Wife had her knee replacement at Seattle Swedish Ortho Hospital and her doctor has seen her for every follow-up visit at least 6 in total at no added charge. Excellent service/care.</p>
<p>Regarding the original question, here are some approximate numbers in the US in recent years:</p>
<p>High school graduates: 3,300,000
Bachelor’s degrees: 1,600,000
Medical school matriculations: 20,000</p>
<p>So about 1.25% of bachelor’s degree graduates enter medical school, and only 0.61% of high school graduates eventually enter medical school.</p>
<p>Rockymtnhigh, good story, and not far removed from my own. I was that kid taking vocational and AP classes at a NYC school that didn’t track like that. You go, mom! </p>
<p>Wanted to make a plug for historically black medical schools, which are less black than you’d think. I met my husband at a historically Hebrew school. He is still paying, and I’m not. Strangely enough, I “almost” (hah!) married a Jewish guy at my HBCU, then married a Black guy at my Yiddish school!</p>
<p>My next door neighbor’s son was a hard working kid. Not brilliant, but dedicated. Had a 4.0 GPA in high school with only 1 or 2 AP classes but only a 26 ACT. Got into a top 25 undergrad program then Dental School. No undergrad loans thanks to generous parents, but HUGE Dental school loans. Owes over $250,000 now. Monthly payments are four times what his mortgage is. Makes about $100,000 in his third year of working. Would love to have his wife have a baby, but they can’t afford for her to quit working quite yet. Don’t really want to wait 10 years until the loans are paid off though. </p>
<p>So…do average kids get to go to Dental School? Yes. But he’s now thinking it wasn’t such a great idea.</p>