Medical School broken down
As my number two son started medical school a few weeks in INDY, I thought I’d write this to remind him and all his classmates who chose the medical field what the first several years are like.
Once you begin your Junior year and continuing through your residency which can last from 3 to 7 years, your average work week will be 80 hours.
This is twice what a regular “full time” job requires and this is considered by some to still be “too lenient”. Breaking it down further:
• There are 168 hours in a week.
• 80 hours is 47.6% of 168. You’re working for nearly half of the week.
• If you are on a rare rotation where you actually get one day off in seven, you need to get your 80 hours in six days.
• This means you’ll average 13.3 hours per day for 6 days a week.
• A first-year resident makes about $30,000 - $35,000. Let’s use $35,000.
• With days off, a resident will work in the ballpark of 4150 hours per year.
• With a salary of $35,000 per year, this is equivalent to $8.43 per hour - before taxes and will last for the 3-7 years of residency training without much change
• The federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour.
• The average citizen in the US sleeps 6.9 hours per night.
• After sleep and a regular work day, you’ll have exactly 3.8 hours per day to spend with your family, eat, shower, drive to and from work, buy groceries, pay bills, wash clothes, go to the bathroom, have sex, watch the news, read, study, cook, and live.
Even knowing this, most physicians love what they do and I personally would do it again without question.
The relationships with patients and families are extremely rewarding and worth every hour spent during training.
Good luck to the Medical School class of 2011!
Once you begin your Junior year and continuing through your residency which can last from 3 to 7 years, your average work week will be 80 hours.
This is twice what a regular “full time” job requires and this is considered by some to still be “too lenient”. Breaking it down further:
• There are 168 hours in a week.
• 80 hours is 47.6% of 168. You’re working for nearly half of the week.
• If you are on a rare rotation where you actually get one day off in seven, you need to get your 80 hours in six days.
• This means you’ll average 13.3 hours per day for 6 days a week.
• A first-year resident makes about $30,000 - $35,000. Let’s use $35,000.
• With days off, a resident will work in the ballpark of 4150 hours per year.
• With a salary of $35,000 per year, this is equivalent to $8.43 per hour - before taxes and will last for the 3-7 years of residency training without much change
• The federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour.
• The average citizen in the US sleeps 6.9 hours per night.
• After sleep and a regular work day, you’ll have exactly 3.8 hours per day to spend with your family, eat, shower, drive to and from work, buy groceries, pay bills, wash clothes, go to the bathroom, have sex, watch the news, read, study, cook, and live.
Even knowing this, most physicians love what they do and I personally would do it again without question.
The relationships with patients and families are extremely rewarding and worth every hour spent during training.
Good luck to the Medical School class of 2011!
Labels: Medical school
posted by Anonymous at 6:00 AM
3 Comments:
Does he have an idea of the type of medicine he wants to practice?
Not yet, but his new wife thinks dermatology would be a fine choice.
Dermatology, huh? He married a smart one. Good money and little, if any, on call.
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