Assuming you won the lottery, would you stay in medicine?

[78222]

I am talking a big, all at once, multimillion dollar payout. I'd be out faster than you could say "ansa cervicalis".

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[lilnoelle]

I wouldn't say medicine is my life, but money is not the reason I'm going into medicine. I need a career, one that is fulfilling and that interests me. Even if I had enough money that I never needed to work again, I'd still work. What else am I gonna do?

 

[78222]

I'd work too, but probably not in Medicine. I could get plenty of fullfillment doing things that don't involve pissing away your personal life.

 

[DoctorFunk]

I would sit at home, drink like Hemingway, and write the great American novel. Then I would count on all of you other suckers to bail me out with a liver transplant when mine goes kaput.

 

[Pembleton]

I would stay in medicine, but I'd take my time. Do it in 6 years.

I'd do my residency where I pleased by slipping the residency director $5,000 to get me on their match list.

 

[Tristy]

I'd be sitting in a tropical island drinking daiquiries, ahhh, the good life

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I'd still do medicine, but practice part time and definitely take it with a grain of salt since I would have a nice pile of **** you money laying around.

 

[Ghirardelli]

I will do medicine no matter how much money I have. Winning a lottey means I can afford to do lot of charity work.

 

[tncekm]

Definitely go to Med School still. It'd be the best thing ever to win the lotto because I'm sure I could relieve some of the stress of life and med school with a the extra cash

 

[jbrice1639]

i'd definitely stay in med school, and then when people try to tell me i won't make any money in primary care, i can just laugh at them til i cry, and then wipe the tears away with hundred dollar bills...

 

[DoctorFunk]

i'd definitely stay in med school, and then when people try to tell me i won't make any money in primary care, i can just laugh at them til i cry, and then wipe the tears away with hundred dollar bills...

Money or no money, I'm not sure telling people you're going into primary care is getting the last laugh.

 

[Touchdown]

That lottery ticket would be my ticket to more charity work and lighter hours but there is no way I would give up medicine because I had enough money to live the rest of my life.

 

[Mayhem]

I'd stay in med school but I'd cut down on the studying (...even more) cause seriously what's the rush when you're rich? And so what if you got a 99 on the IM shelf, I'm set for life! Of course, they'd probably throw me out two weeks after because the money would eliminate my internal censor. The only reason I bother to hold my tongue now is because I have no marketable skills. But you give me that cheque and you'd be surprised how quickly my attending will find out exactly into which part of underneath himself he needs to shove those questions.

 

[Hurricane95]

I'd stay, but I wouldn't work nearly as hard as I am doing so now. And I'd buy a kick ass car to drive to school in. It would make the commute far more palatable.

 

[8744]

We would all like to think we would stay in medicine but one night you would be on call cranking out admissions like the scut-oxen you are and you'd say to yourself, "You know, I've got 28 million bucks sitting in the bank and I'm sitting here tired, pissed off, and totally bored with nothing to look forward to but repeating the same thing every four days for the next three years.

The next morning: "Hello...Program Director...how you doing...I'm fine...listen, sorry to call you so early....oh yeah...I figured you'd be up...uh uh...listen...I quit...no....I'm sure...thanks...look, I'll finish out the month but after that I'm gone....thanks...bye."

Don't deny it.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

When I saw this, I was like, "Duh, salaries will not be worth the training by the time I'm done, nobody starting now is doing it for the money."

Then I thought again, wait, if I have all of that lotto money, then they're REALLY gonna sue the pants off of me.

So I still say yeah, but my first purchase with the lotto money is going to be a plane ticket to Switzerland.

 

[Shredder]

Nah I just want enough to start investing and launch businesses. Med's only safety cushion, I'd be out in a heartbeat

 

[Jamers]

I would sit at home, drink like Hemingway, and write the great American novel. Then I would count on all of you other suckers to bail me out with a liver transplant when mine goes kaput.

You said it better than I could.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

If I were already an MD out of residency I'd continue to do it. But med school SUCKS. And there are, believe it or not, other ways of helping people out there.

 

[8744]

If I were already an MD out of residency I'd continue to do it. But med school SUCKS. And there are, believe it or not, other ways of helping people out there.

Are not.

 

[sirus_virus]

I am not sure I can take orders from anyone when I know I have a multimillion dollar account, hence I will probably quit before I strangle an attending with a stethoscope and loose all my money.

 

[ForbiddenComma]

I'd probably open my own clinic and hire some of my attendings to be my own personal biatches.

Or maybe I could donate enough money to open up my own personal wing of the hospital. They'd pretty much have to honor me in every course then!

Or... I could just pay to turn myself into Floating Head Doctor.

 

[dynx]

I'd probably open my own clinic and hire some of my attendings to be my own personal biatches.

Or maybe I could donate enough money to open up my own personal wing of the hospital. They'd pretty much have to honor me in every course then!

Or... I could just pay to turn myself into Floating Head Doctor.

Now you're thinking. I like medicine, I would stay...with millions of dollars you could eliminate all that **** that makes it bad and keep all the good.
-Attending wants you to look something up? My personal assistant will handle that...hand me a report tomorrow when the attending asks.
-Discharge summary? I think my assistant can do that too
-Pre-rounding? Getting vitals and labs? All things the assistant can do while im having my morning cup of coffee
-Kissing up to the attending? No time, I'll be shooting the **** with the hospital president/CEO...remember Im not only an intern Im the guy that donated 100,000, you might want to take my attending evaluations a little more seriously president asshat.
-Sh*tty resident parking lot? not for me...My helicopter will only be on the pad for a second dude, here's a 50 to keep it on the DL.
-Dingy call room? Nope, I'll buy a patient room and renovate it...now how am I gonna get that jacuzzi through this tiny f*cking door. Got a problem with that Mr. administrator? Did I mention I'll be leaving in five years and I was thinking of passing this room off to you for your office?
-Sue me? Oh no sir, you've never seen a consent form like my personal lawyer can prepare each and every time I see a patient. Just sign the goddamn thing and lets get on with this, my assistant has **** to do and he needs to give you a rectal.
Oh the list goes on....

 

[kapil_MD]

I'd definetly still go to med school and stay in medicine. I'd just put the money in the bank, buy a new car and some electronics and move on with life like nothing happened.

You see, money is great but it'd never fulfill me like getting an education and being a doctor.

Best scenario: Win the lottery AND be a doctor. People won't think you're just some rich lottery winning idiot and won't respect you, but if you're an MD you'll still have that respect and prestige - and have nice bank balance.

 

[beetlerum]

We would all like to think we would stay in medicine but one night you would be on call cranking out admissions like the scut-oxen you are and you'd say to yourself, "You know, I've got 28 million bucks sitting in the bank and I'm sitting here tired, pissed off, and totally bored with nothing to look forward to but repeating the same thing every four days for the next three years.

The next morning: "Hello...Program Director...how you doing...I'm fine...listen, sorry to call you so early....oh yeah...I figured you'd be up...uh uh...listen...I quit...no....I'm sure...thanks...look, I'll finish out the month but after that I'm gone....thanks...bye."

Don't deny it.

How about instead of just saying how obvioius it is that everyone would quit, you tell us what you would do instead. Just hang around a beach?

 

[sirus_virus]

I'd definetly still go to med school and stay in medicine. I'd just put the money in the bank, buy a new car and some electronics and move on with life like nothing happened.

You see, money is great but it'd never fulfill me like getting an education and being a doctor.

Best scenario: Win the lottery AND be a doctor. People won't think you're just some rich lottery winning idiot and won't respect you, but if you're an MD you'll still have that respect and prestige - and have nice bank balance.

If you have money in this society you will get respect either way, so no need to go numb your brain in medschool.That is 4 years that could have been spent on the beach

 

[joe6102]

How about instead of just saying how obvioius it is that everyone would quit, you tell us what you would do instead. Just hang around a beach?

I'd definitely stay in medicine. I would buy my way into ortho, then work 30 hours a week. Or maybe go into IM and see maybe 8 patients a day. I could actually help people without busting my ass for 80 hours a week or worrying about insurance billing.

 

[akpete]

I work because I have to work. No way around it.

If I won millions I would quit and persue other interests, like artsy stuff, that normally if I did that instead of medicine, I'd be on welfare.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Now you're thinking. I like medicine, I would stay...with millions of dollars you could eliminate all that **** that makes it bad and keep all the good.
-Attending wants you to look something up? My personal assistant will handle that...hand me a report tomorrow when the attending asks.
-Discharge summary? I think my assistant can do that too
-Pre-rounding? Getting vitals and labs? All things the assistant can do while im having my morning cup of coffee
-Kissing up to the attending? No time, I'll be shooting the **** with the hospital president/CEO...remember Im not only an intern Im the guy that donated 100,000, you might want to take my attending evaluations a little more seriously president asshat.
-Sh*tty resident parking lot? not for me...My helicopter will only be on the pad for a second dude, here's a 50 to keep it on the DL.
-Dingy call room? Nope, I'll buy a patient room and renovate it...now how am I gonna get that jacuzzi through this tiny f*cking door. Got a problem with that Mr. administrator? Did I mention I'll be leaving in five years and I was thinking of passing this room off to you for your office?
-Sue me? Oh no sir, you've never seen a consent form like my personal lawyer can prepare each and every time I see a patient. Just sign the goddamn thing and lets get on with this, my assistant has **** to do and he needs to give you a rectal.
Oh the list goes on....

How did you get ahold of my secret plans!

 

[Law2Doc]

Life without challenge is no life. Very few of the kind of people with the drive to undertake difficult careers know what to do with themselves during retirement. So a lot of us would continue to push insanely forward even though we could afford not to. It is our lot.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

I'd still do some medical stuff. 20 hours per week.

the rest of the money would go to my own porn production studio, and i'd be the main male pornstar.

and of course, I'd live mainly off interest





the other option would be just to live like a useless hollywood actor. i.e go to the gym and workout all day.

 

[dutchman]

Life without challenge is no life. Very few of the kind of people with the drive to undertake difficult careers know what to do with themselves during retirement. So a lot of us would continue to push insanely forward even though we could afford not to. It is our lot.

Life without challenge is sweet life. It's kinda like being a child again-- Lord I miss those days

 

[45408]

I'd get bored during the day if I just quit. I'd finish the MD, but I'd definitely have a more luxurious lifestyle. I'd buy a parking space right in front of the building to park my Veyron or Rolls, buy a huge house, donate several million to my undergrad to have a building named after me (they need the money a LOT more than my med school), and I'd install a Barcalounger in the lecture hall. But there's no way I'd do research or anything next summer. I'd spend the warm months in my Ferrari chasing the Porsches on the autobahn.

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

I love medicine, but - OUT.

 

[Perrin]

I'd finish out school and residency, but only work part time. Then, I'd open up a bar on the beach and hire my best friend to run it. Build myself an awesome wood/metal working shop and pass the time building furniture and hanging out at my bar. I'd build a house on the beach with a long @ss pier so I can sit out there and drink and fish in the evenings. I'd also buy myself one of these:

 

[StevenRF]

I would finish med school for sure and probably a 3 year residency. The great thing though is if the admin tried to make you violate 80 hour rule, you could blackmail them and threaten to get them shut down. After all, what's there to lose?

The day I was finished though.... endless summer.

 

[Law2Doc]

I would finish med school for sure and probably a 3 year residency. The great thing though is if the admin tried to make you violate 80 hour rule, you could blackmail them and threaten to get them shut down. After all, what's there to lose?

Folks of high net worth don't muddy their hands with blackmail. You have your lawyer send a nasty letter. Much more effective.

 

[RaaMD]

yes.

 

[beary]

There is absolutely no way I would stay in medicine if I were a multi-millionaire.

 

[Elysium]

you guys have got to be kidding me. only a bunch of pre-med and first and second year dorks would be eager about the exciting challenges of doing internship and residency. OOO, the glamour! It's so hot to work 6 days a week and be on call q4 and be pissed and sht on and spend your Christmas in the goddamned ICU (note: this isn't happening to me, it's happening to my SO, but, I'm in the business too, so I also know it sucks). Christmas eve? ICU. Christmas Day? ICU. New Years Eve? ICU. Call? q3! Whooppeee! It's so awesome to work 100 hours works for ungreatful, noncompliant patients!

Come on guys. Yes, medicine is interesting. I mean, I'm in it too. But mostly we're in it because it's a good, steady job that has decent compensation with mildly interesting work that doesn't require sitting in a goddamned cubicle. There aren't a lot of jobs that have that stipulation. If you can handle poop and people and bullsht and blood and the fact that little to nothing ever really gets cured then medicine is satisfying.

But, if, say you were a trust fund kid, or you won the lottery, would you slave away, honestly, and piss away years and years of your life, getting literally and figuratively sht on so you could "help people". Give me a goddamned break. Maybe you want to gratify your ego, or maybe you want to prove something to yourself. But there are a million ways to help people. You could study medicine and learn a ton. You could even finish med school and not go to residency. You could just read stuff on your own. Who knows?

Me? I would read, write, travel, open a mixed martial arts gym. So, yeah, I would still "work", it would just be work I would pay someone to do, not the other way around. I think sac would so the same.

 

[Blake]

I'd probably stay in med. I'd buy a Ps3 with all that money, that's for sure

 

[dutchman]

getting literally and figuratively sht on so you could "help people".

 

[Law2Doc]

Come on guys. Yes, medicine is interesting. I mean, I'm in it too. But mostly we're in it because it's a good, steady job that has decent compensation with mildly interesting work that doesn't require sitting in a goddamned cubicle. There aren't a lot of jobs that have that stipulation.

Having come from a job like that, I can assure you that they aren't that rare, and it certainly isn't the end all be all. You need things like a challenge too. And to get some joy out of it.

 

[mjl1717]

After going this far no way in hell Id throw it in the garbage. My priorities would change to: [some kind of medical buisness, big time pampering, more altruism, real big time respect -like some kind of ecleciastical (spelling?)guru who is humble, light hours, 5th generation Saab convertible with internal air reflector!]

 

[45408]

But, if, say you were a trust fund kid, or you won the lottery, would you slave away, honestly, and piss away years and years of your life, getting literally and figuratively sht on so you could "help people". Give me a goddamned break. Maybe you want to gratify your ego, or maybe you want to prove something to yourself.

Did anyone even say anything about "helping people"? I think most of the people who said they would stay in it would be just to do it, since they started it, which would be your latter claim.

Me? I would read, write, travel, open a mixed martial arts gym. So, yeah, I would still "work", it would just be work I would pay someone to do, not the other way around. I think sac would so the same.

and do what with the MMA gym? train? practice? WORK??? KNOW WEIGH!

 

[beetlerum]

you guys have got to be kidding me. only a bunch of pre-med and first and second year dorks would be eager about the exciting challenges of doing internship and residency. OOO, the glamour! It's so hot to work 6 days a week and be on call q4 and be pissed and sht on and spend your Christmas in the goddamned ICU (note: this isn't happening to me, it's happening to my SO, but, I'm in the business too, so I also know it sucks). Christmas eve? ICU. Christmas Day? ICU. New Years Eve? ICU. Call? q3! Whooppeee! It's so awesome to work 100 hours works for ungreatful, noncompliant patients!

Come on guys. Yes, medicine is interesting. I mean, I'm in it too. But mostly we're in it because it's a good, steady job that has decent compensation with mildly interesting work that doesn't require sitting in a goddamned cubicle. There aren't a lot of jobs that have that stipulation. If you can handle poop and people and bullsht and blood and the fact that little to nothing ever really gets cured then medicine is satisfying.

But, if, say you were a trust fund kid, or you won the lottery, would you slave away, honestly, and piss away years and years of your life, getting literally and figuratively sht on so you could "help people". Give me a goddamned break. Maybe you want to gratify your ego, or maybe you want to prove something to yourself. But there are a million ways to help people. You could study medicine and learn a ton. You could even finish med school and not go to residency. You could just read stuff on your own. Who knows?

Me? I would read, write, travel, open a mixed martial arts gym. So, yeah, I would still "work", it would just be work I would pay someone to do, not the other way around. I think sac would so the same.

I don't agree with you. Personally I'd rather do q4 call than open a mixed gym, which sounds like something I'd hate. And I read anyway. Writing? Yeah, that's great if you turn out to be a great writer. But if you suck, I doubt it'll still be fulfilling.

I think most people said they would do something more lifestyle. Obvously (almost) no one would stay for experience of going through residency. The point is you'd suffer through residency to do something you preferred to sitting on a beach and reading.

A lot of people make career choices that involve more or equal work with much less money. I don't see how the choice to stay in medicine in this hypothetical is much different.

 

[akpete]

My life would be like Office Space. If I won a million dollars, I would do nothing.

BTW, not two chicks at the same time, but that's cuz I am a chick.

 

[45408]

My life would be like Office Space. If I won a million dollars, I would do nothing.

BTW, not two chicks at the same time, but that's cuz I am a chick.

Aw, come on, you could still do two chicks at the same time, and you'd make ANOTHER million dollars just for doing it!


PS - you sound like you're leaving the possibility open that you'd be doing two guys at the same time, amirite?

 

[akpete]

Aw, come on, you could still do two chicks at the same time, and you'd make ANOTHER million dollars just for doing it!


PS - you sound like you're leaving the possibility open that you'd be doing two guys at the same time, amirite?

That's for me to know.

 

[indo]

Setting: anywhere, even church
"Hi, I'm a doctor and I won the lottery."
"Take me now!"


that is pretty much how that would go.