Financial Advice for the Future Physician

Dr. Jim Dahle runs the popular healthcare-professional blog White Coat Investor. One of his posts detailed 8 Financial Tips for students looking into a medical career:

Choose the cheapest school you can get into

The decision of which school to attend will have a greater impact on your finances for the next 5-20 years than any other decision other than who/if you marry and what specialty you choose to practice. Choose wisely. I’ll give you a hint–Most medical schools in this country provide a pretty comparable education. Most of what you learn in medical school will come from what you teach yourself and the pearls dispensed to you freely by interns, residents, and other doctors you come into contact with. Little of that learning is dependent on the school you choose. Thus, choose the cheap state school if you can get into it. Don’t forget that costs aren’t limited just to tuition and fees, but also to the local cost-of-living. That school in Boston, New York, or San Francisco is going to cost you a lot more than the one in Omaha or Albuquerque.

Consider the merits of “scholarship” programs carefully

There are several organizations that would like to pay for your medical school in exchange for a commitment. The military Health Professions Scholarship Program is the best known, but the US Public Health Service, Indian Health Services, and other private deals also exist. None of these programs is a “scholarship” in the traditional sense of the word, and many a “scholarship winner” has later realized he would have been much better off, personally and financially, if he hadn’t been awarded the “scholarship.” As a general rule, use these programs only if your career goal is to be a military doctor or a rural primary care doctor. Choosing them for the money is almost surely a mistake you will regret.

Personally, I can attest strongly to his first piece of advice. Choosing a cost-effective medical school has meant the difference between graduating essentially debt-free versus graduating with loan repayments stretching out as far as the eye can see. As life progresses, your costs will increase, so that "manageable" monthly repayment will become increasingly burdensome, especially if you are interested in purchasing a house or having a children as you near the end of the long road of medical training (or already have those obligations!)

For the rest of his tips, check out Dr. Dahle's post 8 Financial Tips for Pre-meds and Medical Students.

Why Not Watching Enough College Basketball Is My Greatest Regret: Guest Post

Leah Kroll is a medical student at NYU. She writes about her life as an MS4 in this post from MotivateMD:

I made it through the rigors of pre-med. I made it through (almost all of) med school, with a few scars to show for it. And now that I’m a big, bad MS4, I finally have the time and the distance to reflect on all the literal blood, sweat, and tears it took to get here... I am a loud and proud Duke Blue Devil. It was my dream school despite my born-and-raised New Yorker parents saying, “South of the Mason-Dixon line? Absolutely no way!” My 4 years there surpassed my wildest expectations. But I failed to live all of my Duke dreams out. 

I’m proud of the person that I have become as a result of persevering through the MCAT, Steps 1 and 2, clerkships… you get the picture. But throughout all of this, since the moment I decided to go into medicine, the pressure to succeed has been a heavy weight dragging me down. I had to have a 4.0 every semester in college or I wouldn’t get into medical school. I had to run myself to the bone trying to excel as a medical student or I wouldn’t be a good residency applicant. I had to get at least XXX on Step 1 or I would be worthless. 

At Duke, basketball is king and I went to as many games as I could in the beginning. But as my medical school aspirations grew stronger, the number of games I attended dwindled to a pathetic 1 during my senior year season. Looking back on the night we won the NCAA tournament during my freshman year, I remember 2 things: 1. The electric rush of taking part in the ultimate Duke experience 2. Taking myself out of the party when the clock struck midnight so that I could retreat to my all too familiar spot in the library. My organic chemistry midterm was in 2 days and I had to get an A.
Every year at Duke, a good chunk of the undergraduate student body (The Cameron Crazies) sets up a tent village outside Cameron Stadium. For months, students live in these tents hoping to score tickets to the main event of the year: Duke Vs. UNC. My non pre-med friends tented every year. We pre-meds never did. After all, would we get enough sleep in the tents to study as much as we needed to? We had to keep our grades up. 

I got that A in organic chemistry. But, at what cost? 

We take the best care of our patients when we take the best care of ourselves. My relationships and interests outside of medicine keep me happy, healthy, and well-rounded. They help me be a better doctor. Regularly watching Duke basketball with my college friends, for example, has kept me sane as I grapple with the rigors of medical school. 

If my memory serves me correctly, organic chemistry came up in medical school just once: a 3-day metabolism and biochemistry unit in my first year. Other than that, my knowledge of electron pushing has not made any contribution to my medical training. Duke Basketball, however, has come up many times with my patients. It’s something that really excites me, and the people I meet in the hospital can relate to that. It makes me stand out from the assembly line of faces and scrubs poking and prodding hospital patients all day. 

Rooting for a basketball team brings all sorts of people together, and it’s that one common goal that serves as the glue. Cheering for a team is not unlike rallying around our patients to help them beat their illnesses. That’s how Duke basketball makes me a better doctor- it reminds me how to connect with almost anyone. 

I only wish I had participated more in my college years. I would have been happier then and it would make me a better doctor now. As hard as it may be to remember when pursuing a profession that requires us to compete and claw our way to the next step, there is such a thing as holding on to academic excellence too tightly. Albus Dumbledore said it best: “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.” Wise guy, that Dumbledore.

Looking for more inspiration as you journey through your health professions career? Check out MotivateMD.