[mact3333]

I am going to do a favor to all the ones who arent MD's yet, but want to know the most important question to them(whether they admit or not), which fields can you make the most without killing yourself(side note, what everyone is saying is true dont go into this field for the money anymore cause it is declining cause private practice as we know it wont exist in 5-10 yrs).

The key to making great money is the own the technical aspect of medicine. You see , professional billing use to be 1:1 with technical fees a long time ago but now its close to 5-10:1 in favor of technicals. You ever wonder why medical oncologists(chemotherapy docs) are owning radiation therapy centers?...why surgeons are building ambulatory surgery centers?...why radiologists build their own CT/MRI centers and etc??..they are after the bigger pie.

Thats why you see some oncologists, nephrologists(who own dialysis centers) and some surgeons who own surgery centers driving Ferarris...cause they are making 5 times as much from the technical billings as their professional billings....this is the big secret they wont teach you in medical school.

But does this matter anymore?...soon to be a NO!...cause the goldrush for technicals is just about over as the government is cracking down and will soon be enforcing the Stark laws that says you cannot refer to yourself in entities you have ownership in...but for now, its still happening all the time.

Medicine is funny cause people that own their own centers making tons of money ceased being doctors a long time ago and are now more businessman more than anything...no different to the guys selling you a car for instance.

Well there you have it, you can thank me later...

If you dont understand professional vs technical billing do a google search.

If I have time, I will give you my vision of medicine in the future...and anyone who is actually in medicine now knows I speak truth...

[mact3333]

And unfortunately I have to agree with many on here that the new model really is Kaiser....you see the national debt is around 15T now but the govt obligations over the next 20-30 yrs in 100T!...most of that is in Medicare obligations...wonder why the news says mammograms or PSA's shouldnt be done anymore?..this is sponsored by govt wants and needs... they dont want you to live to be 90 anymore cause we cant afford it as a society.

So the govt is being smart and will say in the future, you have prostate cancer, we will give you 30K to treat...you greedy specialist mofo's go at it but you wont get a dime more...well this is smart on their part cause this will cause doctors to order less tests and not more..."do I really need to order that 4K PET scan"???...can we treat with hormones alone vs radiation or surgery...the govt puts the onus on us the save money by allowing greed to work in reverse.

The govt is pushing for a single payer model whether we admit or not...the days of private practice are already over to some degree cause as you dont get patients by being a good doctor anymore...you get them cause you are in a enclosed system where they have to refer to you cause your group is the preferred provider to that health plan or you are in a huge multi-discipline group that refers to themselves only to keep the machine going.

ACO's, CCO's and etc will grow...you can label it whatever acronym you want but the bottom line is it is a HMO type model...you will make more to do less when you get paid by the diagnosis and not fee for service which promotes more tests and scans and certainly more procedures...in the future, you will need to be part of a huge organization in order to compete....the govt is giving away millions of dollars to hospitals to implement electronic medical records not out of the goodness of their heart but to data mine you in the future...medicine will be like any other govt red tape entity where inefficiency will reign supreme as you will have to document and justify every single CPT code charge you submit.

[jesm]

Any OB/GYNs want to give their opinion on this thread??? very interesting....

Thanks,

[rjdoc74]

Could've said better myself... Sad but true.

Originally Posted by mact3333

And unfortunately I have to agree with many on here that the new model really is Kaiser....you see the national debt is around 15T now but the govt obligations over the next 20-30 yrs in 100T!...most of that is in Medicare obligations...wonder why the news says mammograms or PSA's shouldnt be done anymore?..this is sponsored by govt wants and needs... they dont want you to live to be 90 anymore cause we cant afford it as a society.

So the govt is being smart and will say in the future, you have prostate cancer, we will give you 30K to treat...you greedy specialist mofo's go at it but you wont get a dime more...well this is smart on their part cause this will cause doctors to order less tests and not more..."do I really need to order that 4K PET scan"???...can we treat with hormones alone vs radiation or surgery...the govt puts the onus on us the save money by allowing greed to work in reverse.

The govt is pushing for a single payer model whether we admit or not...the days of private practice are already over to some degree cause as you dont get patients by being a good doctor anymore...you get them cause you are in a enclosed system where they have to refer to you cause your group is the preferred provider to that health plan or you are in a huge multi-discipline group that refers to themselves only to keep the machine going.

ACO's, CCO's and etc will grow...you can label it whatever acronym you want but the bottom line is it is a HMO type model...you will make more to do less when you get paid by the diagnosis and not fee for service which promotes more tests and scans and certainly more procedures...in the future, you will need to be part of a huge organization in order to compete....the govt is giving away millions of dollars to hospitals to implement electronic medical records not out of the goodness of their heart but to data mine you in the future...medicine will be like any other govt red tape entity where inefficiency will reign supreme as you will have to document and justify every single CPT code charge you submit.

[username604]

On this topic (medical),
for undergraduate studies, would you med school grads recommend going to a top tier public school like UCLA or a mid-tier school like UC Irvine?

Would it be better to go to an "easier" school (where i would be in the 85th percentile vs 60th -- for example) and focus on my MCAT and ECs or to go to a more competitive school and fight everyday for my GPA?

Thanks soo much for the input.

about me: 4.49 GPA and 95th percentile on SAT, applying to UCs as freshman

[Das_Stig]

Originally Posted by faith&firepower

Join the military, get them to pay for your schooling....buy ///M now....win win! Hey thats how I did it.....also winning $250k in the mega millions last march helped to pay off my student loans and my finace's. But I bought the M3 back in 2011.

you lucky * * * lol

seems like a lot of us medical love us some bimmer

[DevJ]

Originally Posted by Verbatim

On this topic (medical),
for undergraduate studies, would you med school grads recommend going to a top tier public school like UCLA or a mid-tier school like UC Irvine?

Would it be better to go to an "easier" school (where i would be in the 85th percentile vs 60th -- for example) and focus on my MCAT and ECs or to go to a more competitive school and fight everyday for my GPA?

Thanks soo much for the input.

about me: 4.49 GPA and 95th percentile on SAT, applying to UCs as freshman

i dont know where you're planning on applying but the medical schools i applied to don't give a shit about where you go as long as it isn't a community college. they really focus on your gpa and even more so on your MCAT.

Murder both + good ec's and you'll be golden

I've been accepted to multiple medical schools this season and will be a MSI this fall.

[dvpouldar26]

Originally Posted by Verbatim

On this topic (medical),
for undergraduate studies, would you med school grads recommend going to a top tier public school like UCLA or a mid-tier school like UC Irvine?

Would it be better to go to an "easier" school (where i would be in the 85th percentile vs 60th -- for example) and focus on my MCAT and ECs or to go to a more competitive school and fight everyday for my GPA?

Thanks soo much for the input.

about me: 4.49 GPA and 95th percentile on SAT, applying to UCs as freshman

Originally Posted by DevJ

i dont know where you're planning on applying but the medical schools i applied to don't give a shit about where you go as long as it isn't a community college. they really focus on your gpa and even more so on your MCAT.

Murder both + good ec's and you'll be golden

I've been accepted to multiple medical schools this season and will be a MSI this fall.

+1 agreed. I've been telling my cousin, an applying senior in high school, the same thing (he has a 4.7 gpa, 2340 cumulative SAT score and is stuck between going to UCLA and the ivy leagues)........It really isn't dependent on what school you went to. Do well on the MCAT and get a good gpa. It's really about the full package.....you need the numbers to get you through the door, but also excellent EC's, volunteering, research, personal statements and secondarys, you must do well on interviews, solid letters of recommendation (very important, in my opinion, people underestimate their importance) and show schools your interest. I went to UCLA myself and in my honest opinion, it does not matter what university you went to; it is not much of a factor in schools' decision making process, rather what you do at that school and how well you perform is what is important. I am also an applicant during this current application cycle.

[username604]

Originally Posted by dvpouldar26

I am also an applicant during this current application cycle.

I wish you the best of luck!
I realized that UC Irvine seemed attractive because I thought it would be easier.
What I really need to do is challenge myself, and compete with the big dogs instead of trying to find a shortcut at a lower-ranked university.

Any tips on how I can make myself stand out, so that I can get those research positions and letters of recommendation?

[dvpouldar26]

Originally Posted by Verbatim

I wish you the best of luck!
I realized that UC Irvine seemed attractive because I thought it would be easier.
What I really need to do is challenge myself, and compete with the big dogs instead of trying to find a shortcut at a lower-ranked university.

Any tips on how I can make myself stand out, so that I can get those research positions and letters of recommendation?

Thank you! I have many friends who are at UCI pre-meds and I would definitely not say that it is easier.......that is highly dependent on your major. People at UCI are getting into just as good of schools as people at UCLA and I definitely think medical schools wont accept a UCLA student over a UCI student solely based on the ranking of the undergrad school, again, it's what you do at that school that matters.

As for getting the research positions, find a few subjects of study you're interested in and start talking to professors; email them, go to their labs, etc. Read up on their research and show that you're really interested and motivated in their projects. Start early because finding a lab does take a while, and schools really want to see a long-term commitment from students. As for letters of recommendation, here's my best advice: (coming from a huge school like UCLA where there's 300 students in a class and the professor doesn't know who most of the students are; UCI will be the same) For your LOR's, start forging your relationships with your professors early. If there is a professor you know you'd eventually want to get a LOR from, visit their office hours, ask them questions after lectures, and do your best for them to get to know you. In large schools like UCLA and UCI, it's hard to stand out among so many students, so you must go out of your way for your professor to know you well. Once you have that relationship with your professor, research PI, volunteer supervisor, continue with it and make sure to keep that connection there, even after you've finished that class, and make sure to ask for a letter immediately (professors take forever to write your letters). This is my best advice to get a quality letter from a professor. You really have to build a relationship and get to know them well to have a good letter, especially at larger schools like UCLA or UCI.

As for making yourself stand out, most med students and I agree that you need to find a "theme" within your application. If you like research, excel at that. If you're into volunteering and helping the underserved, really commit to that. Don't try to spread yourself out too thin and be the best at everything. Find that "theme"..... again, if you're into research, start your own project, become a primary author, and really excel in your field of study. If you love volunteering and have an idea to help people, especially the underserved, then start a student group or organization to bring that idea to fruition. Having an idea, doing something different, and showing initiative to help people can go along way........ when it comes time to applying, you'll see, many people have solid numbers (gpa and mcat), but the ones who stand out are the ones who did something really different and excelled at it. Hope this helps.