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Old 26-10-2021, 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Edit: Replied to wrong post.

Too busy rounding to post a lengthy reply but suffice to say you need to take what you read online with a pinch of salt, with the hard push for FM these days from the top so many MOH recruiters have been instructed to tell gullible med students stories of entry level polyclinic doctors with the easy life making 200k a year, only because they need cannon fodder to staff the covid frontlines. Unrealistically high pay + non-specialised work = easy replacement by FTs whereas specialists are not.
I'm not a polyclinic doctor but my classmates who make way less than me are and they can attest to a different reality than what's posted by these MOH recruiters.
Current fm resident and fully agree with what you said. People need to understand that FM will never make as much as medical specialists who will never make as much as surgeons. The entry barrier to FM is also lower, especially given that most patients don't differentiate between gp/FM (This is true around the world but especially so in Singapore with our healthcare model)

I think people should choose speciality based on their character/personality. I seen many people go for surgery residency but quit after they have kids (both male/female) citing they want work life balance...

I chose FM mainly because of lifestyle choice. I don't want to do calls or crack my brains too hard.
When I reach my 40s/50s, I want to have the option of working by choice/flexible hours (i.e locum), referring on once I am not sure of a case rather than thinking too hard (like specialists have to). Of course I have to accept that my pay will be lower.

This was a decision that I made after doing a palliative posting, where I encountered many people in their early 50s dying of cancer. One of the dying patients told me, we only have 20-30 years of golden period to enjoy life, so make it count. (Which makes sense given that from age 0-25, we are only students are are probably too poor, once over 55, we probably too tired/no energy to do things)
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Having said that, I need to stress that I am single, and plan to remain single. (Goals/priority may be different for those who want to start a family- i.e they may need a higher income)
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