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- Dec 10, 2013
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Hey all,
I am a pre-med student getting ready to take the MCAT in August and I am starting to think a little bit more about what I want to do in the future. My wife and I are both from very rural areas and we want to end up and raise a family in a rural area as well. I have shadowed physicians in our small hometowns (population ~5,000) and I noticed they often split time between the outpatient clinic, the county Emergency Room, and performing OB duties. Some of them also mentioned they leave one weekend a month to work locum tenens at other hospital's Emergency Departments.
My questions are what options do you have as a rural physician? For example can you do a residency in say Emergency Medicine or OBGYN and then work in an area with a population of ~ 5,000?
To phrase my question in another way.... Is it possible to function as a family doctor in a rural area as well as a specialist (OB, EM, or even Surgery)? Perhaps I am naive, but it seems a small population of <5,000 is not large enough to support a full-time OB, EM, or surgical physician. I imagine they would need to supplement their practice in other ways...
My favorite specialties to shadow have been OB, EM, and surgery, but I also know my wife and I will be much happier in a rural location so I want to pick a residency that can help us land a job somewhere rural. Is family practice the only option?
Any input you have is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I am a pre-med student getting ready to take the MCAT in August and I am starting to think a little bit more about what I want to do in the future. My wife and I are both from very rural areas and we want to end up and raise a family in a rural area as well. I have shadowed physicians in our small hometowns (population ~5,000) and I noticed they often split time between the outpatient clinic, the county Emergency Room, and performing OB duties. Some of them also mentioned they leave one weekend a month to work locum tenens at other hospital's Emergency Departments.
My questions are what options do you have as a rural physician? For example can you do a residency in say Emergency Medicine or OBGYN and then work in an area with a population of ~ 5,000?
To phrase my question in another way.... Is it possible to function as a family doctor in a rural area as well as a specialist (OB, EM, or even Surgery)? Perhaps I am naive, but it seems a small population of <5,000 is not large enough to support a full-time OB, EM, or surgical physician. I imagine they would need to supplement their practice in other ways...
My favorite specialties to shadow have been OB, EM, and surgery, but I also know my wife and I will be much happier in a rural location so I want to pick a residency that can help us land a job somewhere rural. Is family practice the only option?
Any input you have is greatly appreciated. Thanks!