@lkk---will you be using your MBA to go into healthcare/hospital administration, or a totally different field completely? Sorry to hijack the thread temporarily

Hi 555,

I am leaning towards a medical director position in medical communications or with a medical device firm. I debated for a year before applying for the Physician Executive MBA program at the University of Tennessee, but am so glad I did. It is a wonderful program for physicians only and I really am enjoying learning about the business world. In my opinion, more business education really is needed in medicine.

lkk

lkk - thank you for sharing your story. If you look at my posts - I was big time OB/GYN before I really had a "come to Jesus" moment after the birth of my son. Everything you are saying is what other physicians have warned me of or have had happen to them in this field. I'm so sorry that you ended up down a road you didn't expect, but I am thankful that you took the time to share your story here, as well as your great path with this MBA.

mamadoc11-
Listen to your gut. If you are already having doubts before submitting ERAS, don't ignore that. You at least owe it to yourself to REALLY investigate if the attending lifestyle will work for you. You are lucky that you are already a mom, so you have a better idea if the sacrifices will be too great for you or not.

A little about me. I loved Ob/gyn and wavered between it and lots of other things. For me, it was pretty much always Ob/gyn vs. "X". I was terrified of the lifestyle but ended up going with Ob/Gyn anyway. After working with a lot of private attendings, I realize that my doubts around it are spot on. As a mom, I can honestly say the lifestyle is just not what I want at all. With the new work hour restrictions on interns I have it WAY easier than the attendings. I actually had an attending say to me, "enjoy your residency... it only gets harder."

It saddens me because we NEED good ob/gyns, of course we need people dedicated to the field. Women's attitudes on mothering obviously differ, but I'm obsessed with my kid and after I finish my residency I want to be able to back off. Even to part time, ideally. Not an option with ob/gyn.

Some things to ask yourself:
- do you have a very high energy level? can you work 12 hours of high stress plus call then come home and give your family time and energy?
- do you handle night call well? Can you function the next day on minimal sleep? You will be sleep-deprived a lot. People handle it differently.
- can you handle the antagonistic environment with malpractice being such a reality?
- do you like the OR? You can learn how to do surgery, but you have to LIKE it. It is a major part of the specialty.

Good luck. Please think carefully before making your decision. If you can imagine yourself doing anything else, I'd go with the other field, honestly.

Clover - are you switching or sticking it out in hopes of joining a large practice? My best wishes are with you that you get to enjoy this specialty if that is still your wish.

I have to say, the more involved this pregnancy gets, the more interested in OB/Gyn I get. Especially because of the surg part.

The only thing that truly turns me off is the litigious potential. I wish I saw a silver lining there - maybe joining a larger practice to mitigate expenses, but then again, my heart has always been set on small-town living, so, IDK.

I wonder what the malpractice rate is for smaller-town OB/Gyns vs. Gen Surg.

And then there's anesthesia and EM poking through my brain trying to take hold. I hope this year evens this out a little more.

Hey guys,i just wanted to check back in...what a whirlwind it has been for the past couple of months.well I matched into Internal medicine at my top choice...I am happy and i feel a sense of relief...sometimes i wonder what it would have been like..but overall i am very satisfied and feel like i did the right thing.....I am also exited about the opportunities to do diffrent things(subspecialties)..schedules(hospitalist vs strictlyoutpatient vs both etc)...overall I am just exited.
Thank you guys for our responses and support.

Congratulations!!

Congratulations, and thanks for the update!