Good MD specialization for anti-social student

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Darkocyte

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What specialty would you guys think is good for anti-social people? Not like seriously anti-social just not good at talking to people/selling stuff.

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Good luck getting into med school if you're not good at talking to people.
 
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How about you simply work on your social skills so you can eventually choose a specialty that you legitimately enjoy?


Or don't go to medical school and get a PhD instead. Either way.
 
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medical examiner

unless youre a sorcerer!
 
Radiology and pathology, though even with radiology it isn't uncommon to have to talk to your peers rather than patients if they want to go over images with you.

That said, there are plenty of extremely awkward people in medicine that see patients. Sometimes I wonder how they manage to retain patients, yet they do.
 
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Radiology and pathology, though even with radiology it isn't uncommon to have to talk to your peers rather than patients if they want to go over images with you.

That said, there are plenty of extremely awkward people in medicine that see patients. Sometimes I wonder how they manage to retain patients, yet they do.

I'm kinda awkward with some people. But the people I do click with, I really click with them well
 
I love when people use psychological terms incorrectly. You realize antisocial personality disorder has little to do with being shy/awkward, right? It refers to treating others poorly while being indifferent to it. A lot of criminals are antisocial. It's unfair to compare introverts to criminals.
 
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I love when people use psychological terms incorrectly. You realize antisocial personality disorder has little to do with being shy/awkward, right? It refers to treating others poorly while being indifferent to it. A lot of criminals are antisocial. It's unfair to compare introverts to criminals.

This. What you're looking for is "introverted." Anti-social is more akin to sociopathic behavior. Medicine involves working with people. Specialties with less patient contact does not equate to less interaction with your colleagues. You must learn to build professional relationships with other attendings--which may be just as difficult as working with patients.
 
What specialty would you guys think is good for anti-social people? Not like seriously anti-social just not good at talking to people/selling stuff.
Doctors generally aren't selling anything lol.

Path and rads are the classic "I don't like interacting with people" specialties.
 
I'm kinda awkward with some people. But the people I do click with, I really click with them well
I've got this weird thing where I come off well to patients that I'll rarely, if ever, see again, but I'm awkward with coworkers I know I'm going to be working with later. After a couple years in a given environment, I start to chill out and make friends, but initially I'm always very standoffish. Likely largely stems from my policy of separating my personal and professional lives completely.
 
Things are easiest with a script.

When I see study patients, I'm totally fine talking to them about work stuff. The second it turns social...womp womp.

I have an really sarcastic and dry sense of humor. Doesn't translate well when I don't know people.
 
Doctors generally aren't selling anything lol.

Path and rads are the classic "I don't like interacting with people" specialties.

Half of being a doctor is being a salesman. You are constantly selling to your patients, other providers, and even people within your own practice. For starters, remember that most pre-med/medical students/residents don't see how the majority of physicians practice, ie. private practice. Academic medicine is very different and having your training based around a big medical school + hospital gives people a warped sense of how things work for most physicians. Even within academics, there is a tremendous amount of buying and selling. Every time the ER calls me, they are trying to sell something. Every time I call a Nephrologist for a HD consult, I am selling something. Every time I explain the procedure that I 'need' to perform to a patient and their family, I am selling something. Medicine by and large is a people specialty. Yes, there are specialties where this is severely minimized, but for the bulk of the work force, not being able to put on a friendly face and interact at least somewhat normally with the average person around you is fairly detrimental.
 
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Half of being a doctor is being a salesman. You are constantly selling to your patients, other providers, and even people within your own practice. For starters, remember that most pre-med/medical students/residents don't see how the majority of physicians practice, ie. private practice. Academic medicine is very different and having your training based around a big medical school + hospital gives people a warped sense of how things work for most physicians. Even within academics, there is a tremendous amount of buying and selling. Every time the ER calls me, they are trying to sell something. Every time I call a Nephrologist for a HD consult, I am selling something. Every time I explain the procedure that I 'need' to perform to a patient and their family, I am selling something. Medicine by and large is a people specialty. Yes, there are specialties where this is severely minimized, but for the bulk of the work force, not being able to put on a friendly face and interact at least somewhat normally with the average person around you is fairly detrimental.
I'm aware of all that- I've had to play the "you need this treatment because" and "could you write me an order for" game for quite some time. I just take issue with the word "selling." Convincing, certainly. But the word selling had bad subtext, generally.

I'm just a stickler for language, particularly in a culture that is increasingly hostile to physicians and science.
 
I'm aware of all that- I've had to play the "you need this treatment because" and "could you write me an order for" game for quite some time. I just take issue with the word "selling." Convincing, certainly. But the word selling had bad subtext, generally.

I'm just a stickler for language, particularly in a culture that is increasingly hostile to physicians and science.

This is what I'm trying to tell you. In academics it may be "convincing" because in the end, they have to end up doing what you are asking. In private practice, it is actually selling. You are a salesman. It is part of the job.
 
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There are a bajillion awkward people in medicine. I mean, if you had to meet a person for five minutes and then tell them you were going to do a digital rectal exam on them in any other circumstance, wouldn't that be awkward as all hell? But let me tell you that medicine is a protected space, and that credential and white coat will allow you to be pretty outrageous at certain times. Ask any physician here -- there are some definite odd ducks in the hospital. However, if you are doing right by the patient and your clinical and technical acumen are excellent, then you should have not problems in medicine. Don't expect to be Plastic Surgeon 90210 though.

To answer your question... radiology, pathology, anesthesiology.
 
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