equus Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I've always wanted to be a doctor, and for the past few years I've aspired to become a family physician, because I love helping people, there is a huge demand for family doctors in my area, and it's a career that I could control the number of hours I worked. However, I recently returned from volunteering at a hospital in Romania for 3 weeks with special-needs children, and I found that I absolutely loved it. I am now seriously considering becoming a pediatrician. However, I'm concerned that the demand for pediatricians is not as high as for family physicians, and that it might be more difficult to work part-time if I wanted to. Could anyone help me with this decision? Money is not important to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbiodude Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Are you already in medical school? If not, I would recommend just not making any decisions just as yet. You may be surprised how much your specialty choice may change once you do rotations and get a better understanding of what a career in each specialty entails. I would recommend just focusing on getting into medical school first (if you have not already been admitted). One step at a time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tachirid Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 Great work .. really informative .. and thanks a lot for sharing .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juicyprunes Posted October 8, 2009 Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 There's a lot of demand for pediatricians - particularly general pediatricians. There's definitely room for part-time practices - many do it (lots of women in pediatrics and lots different practices are possible in many different settings). Keep in mind, you can also tailor family practice towards younger patients (e.g. do obstetrics and hence also take care of the babies and treat them as they grow up). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted October 8, 2009 Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 Another option would be to do family med and then do a pgy-3 in Child Health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physiology Posted October 10, 2009 Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 I hope you've applied to both. A lot can happen between now and submitting your final CaRMs rank list. Trust your gut. If you're not happy, you can always switch (or at least try). You can also try to spin things so that they work for you (ie. family doctor with special interest in pediatrics). Keep in mind that job prospects are much better for family doctors than they are for sub-specialty pediatricians. Outpatient general pediatrics is high-demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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