Quote: (03-10-2013 11:07 AM)bacon Wrote:
i have to cosign for what capitan ahab wrote above. why wait 8 years plus to start making a good paycheck and even then you still owe hundred of thousands when a much quicker and easier path would be to nurse practitioner. only 2 years of school, much much less debt and a solid income with great job security all while avoiding the paper work and liabilities which ruin many doctors lives today.
ultimately i would make my decision to become a doctor on future lifestyle economics. so if you anticipate big expenses in your future like a trophy wife, giant house in the suburbs and several kids in private school then becoming a doctor is the path you should go. if you dont require that and would prefer to live as a single guy or if you have wife and kids down the line and reprive them of private schools, big house and your wife being unemployed and pampered then a nurse salary should be fine.
PAs and Nurse Practitioners have less of a burden yes but they are also restricted on what they can do. Since they go to school for 2 years they get a very very basic education. For example, they know what antibiotic treats pneumonia but don't get the detailed biochemistry and physiology of why it works. Not to blame them- 2 years isn't long enough to teach everything.
You'll have almost no social life in med school. The prestige is still there but like others have mentioned the money has gone down from before. If money and prestige is all your looking for then its probably not worth the sacrifice.