Many people who strive for a career that will pay the bills with ease often resort to the medical field. In the article, “Medicine”, by Matt Richtel, manifests the different level of duties each field contains and how that influences medical students to determine which specialty they will pursue. Dr. Jennifer C. Boldrick graduated from Stanford University Medical School in preparation to become a professional dermatologist. Here, she shares how dermatology is flexible and more suitable to her lifestyle. Dermatologists commonly work weekdays allowing them to have an abundance of control over time managment in their workplace and at home.
Oftentimes, they are also paid out of pocket and would not have to act upon the drawbacks of insurance and such. Dr. Boldrick declined the plastic surgery field and stated, “The surgery lifestyle is so much worse” (Richtel 271). By this, she means that the workload would complicate and conflict with her hopes of having a family, considering a plastic surgeon puts in about 80 to 90 hours of work per week. As the medical industry grows, alternative specialties such as radiology, anesthesiology, and emergency- room medicine seem to become more prominent.
In defiance of their differences, these careers award specialists to relax from work after their shift is done resembling such as a 9-to-5 job. To analyze further, Dr. Gregory W. Rutecki, who is chairman of medical education at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare said, “When they finished their shift, they don’t carry a beeper; they’re done” (Richtel 272). In 2002, a paper written by Dr. Rutecki and two other co-authors in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that 55 percent of a doctor’s selection of their specialty was swayed by the factors of the flexibility to their lifestyle each field holds.
In 2002, since dermatology has a “controllable lifestyle,” (Richtel 273) ratings of interest in dermatology from seniors in medical school surfaced at 338 students from 244 in 1997. Consequently, several of medical educators documented that the number of students engaged in general surgery dropped a heaping 314 students from 1,437 in 2002. Many doctors are intrigued by fields such as dermatology and radiology where they have the luxury of receiving a substantial paycheck along with control over their time management. Dermatology is in fact a higher- income paying job than say internal medicine or pediatrics.
Dermatologist typically earn around $221,000 per year on a 45. 5 hour work week as oppose to pediatrics where doctors receive about $135,000 and spend 50 hours working per week as well. In addition, surgeons earn around $238,000 on a 60-hour work week and orthopedist acquires about $323,000 for 58 hours a week. All in all, the amount of dermatology residences is gradually growing, which The American Academy of Dermatology states, “there are 343 dermatology residents in their third year, 377 in their second year, and 392 in their first” (Richtel 272).
Fortunately, being in the Dermatology field permits doctors to practically make their own schedule and hours. Some advantages are that a dermatologist may see as little as 10 to 15 patients per day. Emergencies are not common in this field, for these doctors perform easy procedures such as quick Botox treatments that may cost a patient $400, with the delight of keeping half of the profit for themselves. Marek M. Lorenc, 48, is a dermatologist and works in Santa Rosa, California. He tells how being in the dermatology field treats his family well.
He explains that he arrives at work at 8 a. m. , and leaves the offices at 6 p. m. Marek enjoys the gratification of the massive amount of time he has to spend with his wife and children. There are no late night calls to go to the hospital, so he can relax as soon as he leaves his workplace. In this article, he states, “I’m a husband and a father. I go to soccer games. I coach soccer games” (Richtel 273). On the other hand, Marek’s twin brother, Z. Paul Lorenc, is a plastic surgeon in Manhattan.
He arrives at work an hour earlier than his brother at 7 a. m.and usually comes home around 9 p. m. His availability is generally always open, so he can perform plastic surgery around-the-clock. Lorenc admits that “he doesn’t see his children nearly as much as he would like, but he said that is what the pursuit of excellence in his specialty requires” (Richtel 273). In contrast to Z. Paul Lorenc’s experience, Dr. Clara Choi who is a resident in radiation oncology at Stanford believes that her career is compelling. She finds her job rather intriguing, but it also has the inconvenience of emergency calls late at night.
Dr. Choi is married and plans to have a family of her own, but she realizes that she would not have time to watch over her children. She says, “I’d have to get someone to take care of the baby if I spent every third or fourth night in the hospital” (Richtel 274). In the end, most doctors are considering a career that is most convenient to their lifestyle. Many will in fact choose a lower paying job, so they can work their desired hours and have time to spend with their families in most cases. Works Cited Richtel, Matt. “Medicine. ” Writing and Reading across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. Boston: Longman, 2011. 271-74. Print.