The reality is pretty straightforward. In order to become a pediatric endocrinologist I would spend the next 9-11 years in medical school, residency, and fellowship.Then once out of medical school, I would be working lots of hours and would be on-call at all hours of the day. It would be a great accomplishment, but I am not sure I am dedicated enough to choose this route. On the other hand, I was looking in physician’s assistants (PA) school. For those of you not familiar, PA’s are allowed to do basically the same thing as MDs, but the difference is they work under another medical doctor’s license. This alleviates the need for malpractice insurance and is overall a lot less responsibility. The major advantage to this system is that I would complete course work and receive my license in 2-3 years! I would still be able to work with patients with diabetes, but I would get to do it sooner and with a more condensed schooling. It will still be tough and competitive, but the job market for PA’s is secure and in need of qualified individuals. I am also looking at maybe attending graduate school in public health or nutrition. Basically, for the past few years I have limited myself to becoming a doctor, and now I am becoming more aware of the varied options available to me.

One of the reasons I am looking at a shorter education time is because of my diabetes. I do not feel that I would be able to devote the needed time to my health in a position with a high level of stress. I am not willing to sacrifice my health in order to achieve a degree. Also, I would like to raise a family, and I am sure that I do not want to wait until mid-30s to have children. Diabetes and pregnancy can be complicated and I want to have adequate time to prepare and take care of myself. I am afraid that I would not have this needed time during medical school or working as a new doctor. I would not want to complicate this process by having a pregnancy later in life. Also, I would like to remain flexible in my availability for my family. I would like to be there for my children. I am not opposed to the concept of a working mother, but I would appreciate flexibility in my work schedule. This flexibility is something lacking from most MD job positions. The PA position would alleviate the majority of these concerns, but being a doctor is the path I have prepared for. I just need to make sure I want to be a doctor for the right reasons.

So I guess we will see where this year takes me. For once I am keeping my options open! I welcome suggestions, words of wisdom, or just random thoughts as I progress through this year. I will keep you updated!!