Choosing a surgical specialty

[NeuroBurgers]

Hi all,

I'm at a Canadian medical school and my third year surgery rotation consists of a mandatory 3 weeks of gen surg and then another 3 weeks of ONE of the following: CV surgery, thoracic surgery, plastics, ortho, uro, vascular or neuro.

I'm having a particularly hard time picking a specialty. As of now, as a career choice, I'm leaning towards general surgery. I've been exposed to a lot of surgical oncology, and it seems to be what I'm most interested in. The only exposure I've received so far in my school curriculum is in ortho/gen/neuro. We're learning the rest of the specialties AFTER the deadline to pick a specialty (which doesn't make much sense to me).

I've ruled out neuro b/c I don't like the anatomy, and ortho b/c I've never been adept at muscle/joint movements. This leaves me with: CV, thoracic, plastics, uro and vascular.

CV: I worry about the job market, at least in Canada. Most Canadian schools have either no or 1 residency position. But I know very little of the field.

Thoracic: I know next to nothing of the field.

Plastics: ?

Vascular: I'm not sure I'd like the patient population here.

Uro: I like the personalities of some of the surgeons I've met here. I'm quite laid back and I found a lot of urologists to be too.

Any suggestions as to how to go about picking a specialty? Do any other specialties (other than gen surg) cover a lot of surgical oncology?

Sorry if I'm positing in the wrong place.

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[Grurik]

I'm a last year medical student. Will give my thought FWIW.
Cardiac: very little surgical oncology. Interesting cases nevertheless. I like variety and probably most of the CV cases in the future will be very advanced.
Thoracic: has surgical oncology. Some departments also covering esophagus, in some upper GI takes them..
Plastics: can work in team with the surgical oncologists for the reconstructive part. Guess you could do some research on skin tumors, parotid tumors etc.
Uro: a lot of tumor surgery. Prostates, kidneys, bladders.. Lots of variety in the field.

 

[NeuroBurgers]

I'm a last year medical student. Will give my thought FWIW.
Cardiac: very little surgical oncology. Interesting cases nevertheless. I like variety and probably most of the CV cases in the future will be very advanced.
Thoracic: has surgical oncology. Some departments also covering esophagus, in some upper GI takes them..
Plastics: can work in team with the surgical oncologists for the reconstructive part. Guess you could do some research on skin tumors, parotid tumors etc.
Uro: a lot of tumor surgery. Prostates, kidneys, bladders.. Lots of variety in the field.

thanks for your response! i didn't know any of this

 

[NeuroBurgers]

(I'm also guessing it'd be wise to look up the bread/butter for each specialty, and see which I vibe with. Not a fool-proof method, because I know liking things on paper does not always equal liking things in real life)

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Hi all,

I'm at a Canadian medical school and my third year surgery rotation consists of a mandatory 3 weeks of gen surg and then another 3 weeks of ONE of the following: CV surgery, thoracic surgery, plastics, ortho, uro, vascular or neuro.

I'm having a particularly hard time picking a specialty. As of now, as a career choice, I'm leaning towards general surgery. I've been exposed to a lot of surgical oncology, and it seems to be what I'm most interested in. The only exposure I've received so far in my school curriculum is in ortho/gen/neuro. We're learning the rest of the specialties AFTER the deadline to pick a specialty (which doesn't make much sense to me).

I've ruled out neuro b/c I don't like the anatomy, and ortho b/c I've never been adept at muscle/joint movements. This leaves me with: CV, thoracic, plastics, uro and vascular.

CV: I worry about the job market, at least in Canada. Most Canadian schools have either no or 1 residency position. But I know very little of the field.

Thoracic: I know next to nothing of the field.

Plastics: ?

Vascular: I'm not sure I'd like the patient population here.

Uro: I like the personalities of some of the surgeons I've met here. I'm quite laid back and I found a lot of urologists to be too.

Any suggestions as to how to go about picking a specialty? Do any other specialties (other than gen surg) cover a lot of surgical oncology?

Sorry if I'm positing in the wrong place.

I'd pick thoracic or vascular. Going into general surgery, those both have pathways for fellowships and have skills that are utilized in general cases as well. But in the end, pick what you think you'll enjoy.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Hmmm... @ThoracicGuy says "pick thoracic...". Seems suspicious.

I'd actually pick Urology. If you like it as much as you think you will (and I can see why its an attractive specialty), then you'll have to choose between it and GS, assuming your interests stay the same. If you end up doing GS, you might not have another chance to do it.

While there are Integrated programs in most of the others (at least here in the US), if you end up in GS, then you have plenty of time to decide on whether its CT, Vascular, PRS, etc. that floats your boat or milks your caribou (or whatever you say up north).

 

[NeuroBurgers]

Hmmm... @ThoracicGuy says "pick thoracic...". Seems suspicious.

I'd actually pick Urology. If you like it as much as you think you will (and I can see why its an attractive specialty), then you'll have to choose between it and GS, assuming your interests stay the same. If you end up doing GS, you might not have another chance to do it.

While there are Integrated programs in most of the others (at least here in the US), if you end up in GS, then you have plenty of time to decide on whether its CT, Vascular, PRS, etc. that floats your boat or milks your caribou (or whatever you say up north).

Thanks for the responses y'all!

Interestingly enough, in Canada, vascular and cardiac surgery are now their own residency specialties (ie from med school, you can go right into vascular or cardiac surgery. thoracics is still lumped in w gen surg)