deciding between EM and Rads...

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darthmicrobius

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I apologize if Im in the wrong place for this thread.. Im an indecisive 4th year student trying to decide between these two very different specialties and Im interested to know what other people think as Ive talked to friends and family and still haven't made up my mind...

I found out pretty quick into 3rd year that I was more interested in med than surgery and I really hated long term follow up/care and office based work.... I much prefer being in the hospital... Ive narrowed my choices down to ER and rads

With that being said, I like the two specialties for the variety of cases you see which make it anything but monotonous... I also like the independence you have when on the job and the fact that there's no call (very little for rads) and you have alot of free time for things outside of medicine...

Im kinda a nerd, I honestly liked the preclinical courses and being in lecture at my school and learning about all aspects of medicine while the rest of my classmates dreaded it... With this said, Im a cerebral person and I want a job that involves a lot of mental stimulation and I know that radiology offers that while ER lacks it at times.... I also don't mind not seeing patients... and on all my other rotations, Ive spent a lot of time looking at images

Im on ER now and I was kinda disappointed when I first started by the number of drug seekers and patients using the ED for runny noses/pcp issues... I do however like the challenge of working up an abdominal pain case for example and knowing just by the H and P that the patients has appendicitis... I like the procedures and the fact that ER docs have to know a little (or a lot) about EVERYTHING in medicine... I also enjoy the trauma aspect and the adrenaline rush of being involved in a code...

Outside of medicine, I have many interest and I want a job that allows me to enjoy them... I love traveling and I like the idea of being able to work abroad (for mission work, or otherwise).... I did a mission trip as a 2nd year in Peru which I loved.. during my 4th year, Im doing rotations in Mexico and Africa and I want to incorporate this into my future career... Ive looked around the web and talked to a few people and it doesn't seem like there are many opportunities for international work as a radiologist...

Im torn between doing something that I would be happy with years down the line (rads) and something that I know will be super fulfilling in the short term and allow me the freedom to travel and the ease of finding a job in a different city or state (EM)...

Im a DO student, unmarried, no extra baggage..... my board scores and grades are all really good and I think Id have a good shot at both specialties... although I don't have a rads letter and may have trouble getting one on such short notice

Im thinking of applying to both and deciding which one I like more later on (in a few months when I do audition rotations)...

Is it feasible to find a 3 year ER program, do it for a few years, then do a rads residency later on?

How difficult is it to switch to/from ER or rads as a pgy1 or 2?

Im about ready to just flip a coin so any advice would be much appreciated.... thanks

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There is a subspecialty of rads called emergency radiology/trauma. There are several places offering fellowships. It offers a little flavor of the ED.
 
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4 things:

1. It sounds like you want to do radiology but have tricked yourself into thinking EM is a sexier specialty (probably because EM has more days off compared to radiology(?))

2. Switching between programs during residency is frowned upon for obvious reasons and should not be considered lightly.

3. Most important thing when choosing a specialty is to be honest with yourself. Deep down you know how you feel when you are in the ED and how you feel during a radiology rotation.

4. At times, too much advise will make you second guess yourself!
 
It's stupid to go into any specialty planning to switch later on unless you can't match into your specialty of choice.

I don't know why you think radiology is more mentally stimulating. Radiologists aren't breaking out the nuclear physics anymore often than other physicians are breaking out the intricate details of infectious disease or physiology. The majority of clinical practice is heuristic decision making on bread and butter cases.

Emergency medicine is going to be more international work friendly, especially if you just want to vacation and hand out Tylenol to some dark skinned babies while updating your Facebook page with photographic evidence of your daring adventures and endless generosity.

If you have a serious commitment to global health, you can find plenty of opportunities in any specialty. I'd even argue that the less traditional specialties have the most opportunity to contribute because they're underrepresented.

Both specialties are great but you don't seem to have any sort of solid reason to pursue EM and want to switch to radiology later on. Procedures, international work, vacation time, and the occasionally mentally interesting case are all available in radiology. Doesn't make any sense to me. Just go straight to radiology...
 
Thank you all...I appreciate the feedback.... even the sarcastic responses
 
yes.At times, too much advise will make you second guess yourself
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I agree with the above poster saying it sounds like (based off what I read) that you are more drawn towards rads. I think that since you didn't like all of the drug seekers and the PCP type things that come to the ER hourly, you would end up hating your job (since you got tired of it during your rotations).
 
Emergency medicine is going to be more international work friendly, especially if you just want to vacation and hand out Tylenol to some dark skinned babies while updating your Facebook page with photographic evidence of your daring adventures and endless generosity.

That is funny
 
Don't apply to multiple specialties. Pick 1 and go for it.

Sounds like you like rads better but are hesitant b/c you like being able to travel and do global health work assoc. w/ EM. If that's the case, just do rads. They may be more difficult to find, but there are opportunities out there to travel and work overseas in rads.
 
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