If I do my 1st 4th yr rotation in er sub I and become interested, is it too late? No prior experience and no 3rd yr clerkships. One of the reasons I stayed away from er is I have an accent and am not outgoing in general. How important is it to have good English and to be able to make small talk or "leadership"? Thanks
is it too late to become interested in er?
- Thread starter yesno
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Many medical schools don't have EM rotations during 3rd year. I certainly did not. My first rotation was in July, second in August. I knew I wanted to do EM before that (for various reasons), but I know someone who rotated with me that was going to apply to something else and decided to change after his July rotation. So no, it's not too late at all, start applying for away rotations now, if you haven't already. Having an accent and not being outgoing isn't really an issue, I would say. You have to be a self motivator though, and be willing to jump into any situation.
Oh, and a word of advice, it's EM (when referring to the specialty), and ED (when referring to the department), not ER. People in the field tend to not like using the term ER.
Oh, and a word of advice, it's EM (when referring to the specialty), and ED (when referring to the department), not ER. People in the field tend to not like using the term ER.
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One of the reasons for er is that its only 3yrs and then you only work 12 shifts per month. Radiology is 6 yrs of nerdiness followed by 60hr weeks
This is a terrible reason to go into EM. I'm not trying to dissuade you from the specialty, but if this is your primary/only reason for being interested in it, I would suggest looking elsewhere as you will hate your life despite the "oh so easy" 12 shifts / mo
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Not to mention that 4 out of 5 jobs will be short and expect you to work 18 shifts, "until we get staffed" which will be the other side of never. See ACA, ED overcrowding and staff shortages.
Also just curious. When you studied for exams such as step1, step2, did you enjoy reading explanations to those Uworld Question Banks? For example I am taking step2 in about 1 week and I may spend over 5minutes going over the explanation for an orbital cellulitis question that I got correct. I will not finish the entire question bank by the time that I take the exam. But I'll still do well on it, because it's a no pressure multiple choice exam. I wouldn't do well on any type of practical/oral exam with this strategy. Does this kind of attitude make me not suitable for a job that requires multitasking and time management? One of the things that attracted me to radiology was that you don't have to multitask. But I bet when I do my ED rotation the day will go by real quick, none of that staring at the monitor. I wonder if ED doctors get any of that emotional baggage from their patients that doctors that have a practice get? I mean one of the things that I dont like about fields like FM or Surgery is that patients have complications or decline in health and you have to be involved because they are your patients.
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1. Not too late...But it's "go time" as far as making a decision
2. Don't have to be "mr./mrs. wonderful" as far as personality to match ED - course it always helps
3. Accents welcome
4. Multi-tasking is EXTREMELY important in EM
5. There is some level of emotional baggage in all fields of medicine - you're caring for people not upholstering furniture
6. Per your multiple-choice "pressure" situation - Radiology, FM, Surgery, etc. (i.e., ALL fields) are under varying levels of rather IMMENSE pressure. For instance, in real world Radiology, you have to crank through a LOT of images and there is always a time-crunch along with pressure of possibly missing something. FM has huge time-crunch pressure when they're running 3-5 rooms at once trying to make ends meet and cranking through 15 minute visits that turn into 45 minute visits as their waiting room continues to back up.....
Food for thought.
2. Don't have to be "mr./mrs. wonderful" as far as personality to match ED - course it always helps
3. Accents welcome
4. Multi-tasking is EXTREMELY important in EM
5. There is some level of emotional baggage in all fields of medicine - you're caring for people not upholstering furniture
6. Per your multiple-choice "pressure" situation - Radiology, FM, Surgery, etc. (i.e., ALL fields) are under varying levels of rather IMMENSE pressure. For instance, in real world Radiology, you have to crank through a LOT of images and there is always a time-crunch along with pressure of possibly missing something. FM has huge time-crunch pressure when they're running 3-5 rooms at once trying to make ends meet and cranking through 15 minute visits that turn into 45 minute visits as their waiting room continues to back up.....
Food for thought.
Thank you. Your post kind of summarizes why I am interested in EM but likely not fit for EM. But I am still looking forward to my rotation. I wish I could it.
