This will be the last post.
Late twenties took equity in a company that blew up, paid my own way through it. Old af now.
If you're thinking of taking it up here are the negatives:
Surgery - extended sessions that can go on till the next morning.
Increasing admin roles - everyone takes turns holding the bag of medical director. Dealing with bone headed non clinical management, you'll be clashing with them for the rest of your life.
Research - if you don't like academia have fun reading through all the new papers you need to keep up with, papers you're involved in and conferences you have to attend.
Seniority - if you think FY is bad, it gets worse as you go up. Senior reg years are probably the worst. No extra pay as you get consultancy as that's now part of your 70-100k salary. On call 24/7.
Office politics and bullying - if you're a women, BAME, working class you still get crap. Environment can be notoriously toxic if you don't know how to draw boundaries and not give a crap - just fight your own corner, don't let ANYONE make you feel inferior. The behaviours is what you put in - take on the same toxic behaviours you'll be the same, try find some positives and fun in it and you'll be one of the much needed role models to create more positive environments. Right now, ongoing Covid has made everyone miserable, up to you to make the situation what it is.
Got an iron stomach - you'll know when you drain that abscess or treat necrosis.
You'll get a load of crap - over demanding patients, blame for letting xyz die, bad day, bad colleagues, management pressures - Don't be a martyr.
Can't handle just going to and from home and work - well maybe you'll have more empathy for the Filipino, Indian, Spanish, Polish etc. workers who do much more for less. Make sure your place is as close to work as possible in the early years, you're there to work and learn not have fun. If you wanted to have fun to frolick in London or some other "exciting place" choosing med was stupid.
Pay - if you're complaining about pay I'll be laughing in your face, you can earn more than most people ever will 4 years out of sheltered school, especially with all the OT you'll be doing anyway. The money will pile up because if you're serious, in the early days you won't have much time to spend it except on study/exam materials. Maybe, I'll give the ever shrinking pension limits a pass, but you'll end up with a £1-3mil pension just by doing the normie stuff.
Finance - just because you're a doc, you ain't a wallstreet god. You're good at medicine and that's it. If you don't know how to read a financial statement understand SGA, EBITDA, GM, SBC, OC etc. Stick to the regular stuff. None of those arbitrage plays, margin or options playing. If you're thinking about that, you should have aggressively saved in the short term and max out your ISA accounts when you first started working. (Or should've done something else because you're trying to make money asap to get out of your crappy medicine job)
If you plan to have a family or get married. Make sure you have a ride or die partner and have a solid inner team, divorces and marriage troubles are everywhere. Engage with your partner and kids with quality time, because you've knowingly or unknowingly sacrificed them to the demands of medicine too - don't be like most who think buying the latest and greatest toys for them will replace time spent away from them.
To me, family life will always come first, because they've already gave so much to allow you to do this. Never let management guilt trip or bully you to take on ever increasing workloads, yes you are expected to go above and beyond every so often, but don't make that the norm. Patient care is a black hole that you'll never plug up. Accept it. If they keep pushing tell them they can duck right off.
If you've made good financial decisions and kept lifestyle inflation low you can easily be financially independent in your 30s-40s, especially when your mortgage is paid off - If you're still paying out of your arse to live in the hip places, that's on you.
I feel very comfortable living off £15-20k/yr (no mortgage, important), where it doesn't feel like I'm being deprived of anything. When you've lived like that all your life, everything else is a bonus. Nowadays I would say I'm extremely privileged.
All in all, you have to be a machine with a switch to modulate the empathy to show kindness to and care for people. But when the time comes to make the uncomfortable decisions you have to show no mercy and full conviction regardless of the consequences or reputation hit. If you didn't think medicine through, prepare to be bitterly disappointed.
Fun group, fun discussion. Don't get too hung up on what everyone else is doing, prioritise real life stuff, making good on your own life and creating a life that you envision.