Beginning to question my decision to go into peds!!!

[diamonddoc]

Hi folks,
I was wondering whether anyone started to feel the same way I do. I chose peds b/c I enjoy working with the kids and their parents. IM would have been a default for me, I enjoyed my medicine rotation, but nothing "jumped out" at me. Peds was nice, comfortable, and easy-going so I chose peds. Now, once I certified my ROL and the finality of the situation begins to sink in I wonder, and am anxious, whether I made the right decision.
Peds is hard. Enjoyable as it may be, the 3 upcoming years and the years beyond make me think "what the hell did you do?" I am a male in a now female-dominant field. I don't know if this has me thinking too hard or is it just natural anxiety but I am really concerned that I will be, in the words of an uncle, "just giving vaccines and throat cultures all day." I don't know what to think.

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[notstudying]

Cheer up diamonddoc!

If you liked the kids, the parents, and the people in peds that is half (or more) of the battle. And, if you do find that you don't like it once you've started, you aren't alone-it happens to people in all specialties, and often they can switch to a residency they are happier with.

As for being male in a female dominated field-I think men often have it easier in peds, especially the type of guy (read: friendly and warm) that tends to do peds. I know our local job market is tough for women who want to go into private practice after residency, but the guys could take their pick because practices are having a hard time finding men. If you don't like wiping kids noses in private practice, you can always do a fellowship in anything from NICU to adolescent medicine. It's easy to have cold feet now, but it's too late to change anything, so the best thing to do is remember why you chose peds in the first place, and remember all the options you have if it turns out you aren't happy.

And, ignore your uncle!

Good luck on match day!

 

[Kalel]

Well, I have a couple of comments. First of all, you should realize that it's not too late, you could choose not to rank any programs and just attempt to scramble into something like IM or a prelim year in something. You may end up in a program/location that you don't like though. I think that you are just getting cold feet about your decision. Remember that after you finish your peds residency, you still have the option of doing a lot of different specialties. It sounds like you like working with kids but are just turned off by the well-child visits, and the specialties will allow you to see kids without seeing your common cold or well child checks all the time. Finally, I don't see why going into a female dominated profession like peds should be a disadvantage. It's not like they are going to discriminate against you or anything, as the previous poster indicated, many groups are probably looking for guys just so their group can have a mix of practioners. Good luck!

 

[gecko]

I know how you feel. Before, I always wanted to do Peds, until about Dec of my 4th year, I did a rotation in peds Rehab at a big rehab institution. I loved it, and it got me thinking about rehab. I decided to do another rotation in general adult rehab the next month to see if I would be interested, and to make a long story short...I realized that I really wanted to switch to rehab. When it came down to submitting my ROL, I decided to scramble for PMR. I didn't find a program that I liked, and after speaking with several advisors, I decided to do a year of peds as a prelim yr, and it would also leave the door open for me to change my mind and stay with peds if I wanted to.

It's now been 2 years later, and after much effort, I have successfully switched fields, and am now very happy doing PMR at a program i'm very happy with, and I didn't waste any time since my peds year counted as my prelim.

So, don't think that it's too late....it's never too late. Think hard about what is bothering you about peds. Write down on a piece of paper the pros and cons of both medicine and peds, and then think real hard about which one fits you best, and make a committed decision. Talk about it with your friends and family (or maybe talk to your peds advisor)....although remember that only YOU can make that decision for yourself.

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to offer more advice.
Good luck!