I just want to bring up something that someone said in another forum. Medicine is not just about helping others. It’s about helping sick people. There’s a big big difference.
Jfowler what are you doing these days? Have you thought about becoming a therapist?? Your insight into your own behavioral patterns is exceptional 
I have yet to write a real intro post but I will (I have a billion questions) and I’m very happy that I found a forum of such honest people. And I think it’s brave to say no in life.
I really think you could therapise the hell out of people though OP!
@daivimarga wrote:
I just want to bring up something that someone said in another forum. Medicine is not just about helping others. It’s about helping sick people. There’s a big big difference.
Jfowler what are you doing these days? Have you thought about becoming a therapist?? Your insight into your own behavioral patterns is exceptional
I have yet to write a real intro post but I will (I have a billion questions) and I’m very happy that I found a forum of such honest people. And I think it’s brave to say no in life.
I really think you could therapise the hell out of people though OP!
I’m an administrator for a large hospital network who stands in for senior administration, executive officers, and the chief of medical staff during off-tour hours. The pay is not bad per se but I work varying shifts which is starting to wear on my family so I’m actively looking for a move laterally or up…this city is small so there is a certain element of “take what you can get, when you can get it” approach to this search given my family is fairly well planted where we are now.
I have thought about looking into the therapy route before…in my opinion, and this is specific to my facility, mental health social workers have a good gig. They have their own clinics, their own patient panels, keep regular business hours, and are (name badges notwithstanding) indistinguishable from psych docs. In fact I only recently found out that a mental health provider with whom I have worked alongside in years previous is actually a SW and not a MD/PhD. Granted, they probably earn about $100,000 or so less than a mental health doctor, but they also have less school debt, they have spent much less time in school, and didn’t have to survive the pre-med grinder. They are beholden to behavioral health providers of course, but then every doctor is beholden to his or her service chief, chief of staff, chief administrator and hospital director…everyone has a boss. The thing that holds me back from pursuing that path is that I would have to go back to undergrad classes for pre-reqs, and frankly that sucks. As of now, I like my family time too much to start school again. I just bought a house and we’re settling in, getting to know neighbors, and having another baby as well (!!), and I’m now an avid cyclist, so I have no intention on furthering my academics for probably another year. Maybe two years. I dunno, we’ll see what happens. I play a role in access to care and work amongst doctors, so that part of my psyche is, for now, appeased. I’ve got another 40 or so working years left in my life, disease and accident notwithstanding, so I’m not in a hurry at this point.