Working P/T and studying medicine?

[Monica53]

Hi
Our Dd in first year of medicine - bumpy first year ! with various things and being 6hr drive away from home - however summer holidays are looming and myself and her dad are dropping hints that she needs to get some sort of paid work as for 3/4 months we can’t support her and also for when she’s back at Uni trying a few hrs paid work for experience also to help her finances as her words I can’t afford to be a student 😳🥴. I’ve known and heard of med students working and studying so it is doable?

Think it was the other doctors also telling you that it's not nice to be unkind to current junior doctors just because you had it so tough. But if you feel better having a go at me please feel free.

OP I'm off. Good luck to DD for the next few years and hope she finds a job for the summer.

I’m going to disagree with mumsneedwine, even though we are not a medical family so I don’t know much about the realities.

What really stands out is the diversity of careers. Want regular hours? I have known doctors choose pathology or even working in a STI clinic. P/T? Perhaps a GP? If DD has a yen, she could get a job in the Highlands and Islands, or Western Cornwall.

As far as I can see, though this might be a London perspective, almost all young graduates who are trying to achieve a foothold in new careers, work very hard indeed, whether law, banking or accountancy or at jobs within the public sector. DS aspires to be an academic, and the competition is brutal. And my neighbour’s son has only just landed a “proper” job in media after almost a decade of low paid and insecure work.

There is no doubt medicine can be physically and emotionally demanding. Even in her first clinical year there have been a couple of incidents that have got to DD. However. Just from observation, I have seen successful bankers in their 40s start to worry about job security, whereas the careers of a couple of good medic friends have really flourished in their 50’s as they achieve seniority, complete research, and acquire additional medicine related positions.

I think the working world generally is tough for young people. Medicine offers a valuable job security, and a wealth of interesting options.

DD decided at about 12 that she did not want to work ‘in an office’. She is really enjoying her course and it is a decision she does not regret, even though her interests seem to lie in a field that will require long hours and long training, and indeed was largely closed to women a generation back.

The way that junior doctors are treated varies considerably between consultants - and the hours they now work vary a lot between specialties. They can work 3 days of nights then be back on day shifts with barely a break then on nights again. When they are on the wards there are probably staff shortages and many more patients coming through the doors than there were even 10 years ago. They are also more likely to be on the receiving end of complaints and verbal and physical abuse.

Anyone need reminding about the manslaughter charge for a very overworked junior just back off maternity leave?

Junior doctors are sometimes allowed to do more during their elective than they are when they return. Some choose an elective with that in mind. What the NHS allows them to do may sometimes be below their capability.

You wont see many bankers putting their lives at risk treating covid-19, running towards a terroist attack - or even just working Christmas Day. Sure there are some advantages to a medical career - but the banker will have less student debt and if they are successful could probably afford to retire earlier.

My DD had a talk today on how to tell someone they were dying. I'm not sure many other careers require this skill. Nor the one on what to do if you have a sharps accident with a needle infected with HIV. Really wish she'd chosen plumbing !!

@mumsneedwine if your daughter did have an accident with a needle used for/by someone HIV+ and not on treatment It’s highly likely she’d be given PEP which would protect her from contracting the virus.

There’s actually never been a documented case of anyone contracting HIV from a discarded needle.

Still have to learn about the dangers, and it's not just HIV as I'm sure you know. There seem to be a whole host of yucky things that can be caught from bodily fluids.

Not sure many accountants or bankers have to tell a parent there child has a terminal disease or know that one mistake could result in someone's death.

Still have to learn about the dangers, and it's not just HIV as I'm sure you know. There seem to be a whole host of yucky things that can be caught from bodily fluids.
Not sure many accountants or bankers have to tell a parent there child has a terminal disease or know that one mistake could result in someone's death.

Well yes there are things far more easily contracted than HIV from a discarded needle. (HIV is no longer regarded as a terminal illness btw so not quite sure why you chose to mention this in particular 🤷‍♀️) I’m sure your DD will receive proper training in order to avoid this happening. If you have concerns, perhaps talk over with her what she’s learnt and what procedures are in place?

Since I dont wish to post identifying details for my child I'll just say that to my knowledge they have been in situations that potentially exposed them to a number of very serious illnesses. They are given lessons in how to wash hands properly at an early stage and when they have needed it other advice on how to stay safe/ how they would be treated if necessary. They do, of course get every vaccine going.

Sooner or later they will all make a mistake, possibly a serious mistake. One of the questions they may be asked when applying for a consultant post is how they responded to their first serious mistake. You need to be physically and mentally resilient to work as a doctor.

I wish mine had chosen a different career too, since several of their non-medical friends are already paid ridiculous sums of money. They are in demanding jobs - but not more demanding than medicine.

It's very arguable that many other jobs are equally and not less demanding than Medicine alreadytaken. For example, a great many lawyers working in the clinical negligence or human rights fields have incredibly difficult messages to convey to their clients. Doctors do not have a monopoly of delivering difficult, life affecting news.

Strongly agree with Needmoresleep:

I think the working world generally is tough for young people. Medicine offers a valuable job security, and a wealth of interesting options.

Said as a parent of DC with varied careers, same as Needmoresleep. It gives perspective.