While you are getting ever closer to realizing your dream of pursuing a career in medicine, it’s high time that you decide which type of doctor you will be. Even though there are so many options to weight from, you would be wise to set a high precedence to primary care, especially if you wish to venture a foot forward into a highly lucrative and employable career path.
In fact, we believe that medical students should seriously look into this career choice since it opens up unparalleled doors of opportunities to work across the globe and never worry about finding a job in their lives. In truth, the Association of American Medical Colleges predicts that by the year 2030, we are expected to witness a shortage of up to 43,100 primary care physicians. Not to mention, the satisfaction and contentment attained from providing a critical service to their communities and patients, make this career choice all the more worthwhile. Primary care doctors are not only highly sought after, most patients visit them even if they wish to be referred elsewhere, all the more adding to their importance.
Benefits OF Pursuing a Career in primary care
Whether you are a current medical student or an aspiring physician, there are a wide array of factors which you need to consider before deciding on a specialty. Will your choice of specialty open doors of advancement opportunities for you? Will it entail uprooting your family? Would you be able to carry on with your desired lifestyle with it?
One of the greatest advantages that working in primary care affords is the potential for garnering a harmonious work-life balance, which many doctors covet. For doctors in other programs, maintaining an ideal work-life balance is a real challenge. Primary care is an enticing field in the world of medicine since it allows utmost flexibility to practitioners, such as part-time opportunities and job versatility. Also, since a lot of primary care physicians are switching to out-patient-only medicine these days, they are able to avoid late-night duties and admissions. Such doctors can either opt for working under a hospital system or going into private practice as well.
Would a Career in primary care suit you?
Primary care is not a medical niche; it’s a vast realm encompassing an entire spectrum of conditions. Being the jack of all trades, be prepared to encounter anything from patients suffering from abdominal pains, headaches, high cholesterol, hyper-tension, and diabetes to taking care of gynecological issues, performing toenail removals and skin biopsies, and dealing with neurological problems. As such, being on the frontline of public health in your community means that you would possess a vast span of medical knowledge and be highly valued. If you want no two days in a row to be the same, this is the career path you should walk!
