Why Derm?

[RangerD]

For those of you choosing Derm, what is it that draws you to this specialty? What is a day in the life of a Dermatologist? What types of patients/cases/procedures makes this attractive?

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[bustbones26]

Myself, I think that derm sia specialty where you get to do a lot of procedures, yet do a lot of clinic time as well. Its a good balance.

Unfortunately, most go into derm because it is a higher paying specialty than primary care, and they don't have to do surgeons hours. How many times does a derm get called in for an emergency? i.e. no pager.


So bottom line: money and lifestyle, that is why most do it

 

[oldandtired]

A lot of what you say is inaccurate.

Getting into derm has much more to do with connections than how well you did in school.

Although derms do not have call responsibilities, they frequently have to see many patients to make anywhere close to what you quoted.

 

[allmightylong]

i'm a premed interested in dermatology mainly because I value family life as much as i value my career.....derm give me that flexability to have both. Money comes second. but would accept 120k yr to do derm and have family life...

 

[allmightylong]

actually i have three area of interests(derm, immunology, and surgery(reconstructive, plastic?). I guess i enjoy doing work that give results in relatively short period of time and the new found self-esteem and confidence people suddenly have. I like seeing people's outlook in life transform. When i was younger i had really bad acne problems for the longest time. I decided to visit a dermatologist and got some medications and within weeks my face cleared up and I remember feeling brand new and full of positive energy. I think these three area of specialty suit me well. What you think? I only hope that i can get a high mcat score in april to offset my low undergrad gpa(3.02). That was four years ago when i wasn't thinking of medical school. I don't have those weak start, strong finish type of undegrad. I was just damn mediocre with occasional flashes of brilliant

BTW: u know which schools have good programs in the area i'm intersted in? Which school u attending now?

 

[banner]

Allmightylong,

If family life is so important to you, you may want to consider not going into medicine. Just the training alone (med school and residency) will interrupt your family life.

I can't even pretend to know a thing about you, but look before you leap.

The road to becoming a doctor is very long and expensive. It may not be worth it in the long run if your number one priority is to have a family.

Sure, it can be done in derm (but not in plastics), but there are better jobs out there with less grueling and expensive training.

Just telling you some stuff that I wish I didn't ignore when I applied to medical school.

 

[allmightylong]

Thanks for the reality checks.

I still have an overwhelming desire to persue medicine. I think i'm up to the task. i've been slaving away as a research lab rat for 4yrs. Worked with some of the coolest virology doc. though.

I'm in this for the long haul and so is my wife. Heck, we'll be selling our home to live in a cheap apt. if i get in. It'll be an experience of a lifetime.

I'm a bit confused about fellowship. Why do people do fellowship? I've heard it's for people interested in teaching???

 

[chef]

hey man, worry about gettin into medschool first. forget about derm right now

 

[Museless]

People interested in teaching might do a fellowship, but a lot of others do too. For some specialties a fellowship is a de facto prerequisite to getting a job. Want to do pain management? Do an anesthesiology, neuro, psych, or physiatry residency first, then do a year of pain med and then go practice. Want to do child psych? That'll be a psych residency first, then two year fellowship. It's post-residency training for highly specialized jobs, teaching has little to do with it except that fellowships are often at university centers where everyone teaches those below them.

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by allmightylong
Thanks for the reality checks.

I still have an overwhelming desire to persue medicine. I think i'm up to the task. i've been slaving away as a research lab rat for 4yrs. Worked with some of the coolest virology doc. though.

I'm in this for the long haul and so is my wife. Heck, we'll be selling our home to live in a cheap apt. if i get in. It'll be an experience of a lifetime.

I'm a bit confused about fellowship. Why do people do fellowship? I've heard it's for people interested in teaching???

For that matter, give dentistry a look if you're looking for a balance between income and family life. National averages are ~$160k for a 37-hour week. Whatever you go for, make sure you know what you're getting into first.