ADT Woes

[Perrotfish]

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Does anyone else here have no idea what they want to do for a living? It's time for me to schedule all kinds of big important things like Sub-Is, ATs, Step 2, and the remainder of my 3rd year rotations. However I still don't have the slightest clue what it is that I actually want to be when I grow up. Is anyone else out there in the same boat, and if so what are you doing to help yourself decide?

What I've had so far: Psych, Medicine, Surgey (general and ortho) and Family.

What I've learned:
-I don't particularly like Family Medicine Clinics
-I hate Surgery with the burning fury of a thousand suns
That still leaves Psych, Medicine, EM, Neuro, Peds, Radiology, and Gas as possible career options. And I need to pick ATs real soon (like tomorrow). Any thoughts?

 

[psychbender]

More important than what specialties you do not like is WHY you do not like those specialties. If you don't like FM clinic because of the patient continuity, basic primary care complaints, people interactions, then Peds would probably also not be a good fit (nor, maybe IM or EM). What is it about Surgery that makes you want to hang yourself with your own underwear? If its dealing with surgeons, then maybe Anesthesiology would not be the greatest choice for you.

There are several sites out there that try to match what (sub)specialty best fits your personality and current desires (patient contact, time, stability of schedule, etc). Have you tried getting ideas from that?

UVA Medical Specialty Aptitude Test
http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/specialties/

 

[DocArmy]

Perrotfish,

I am there with you. I'm still in second year, but I think that one of the great failures of medical education is not helping students figure out what they want to be when they grow up. It would be nice to have some exposure and some direction.

 

[Perrotfish]

Alright, so I've decided to hedge:

Aug: Psych rotation at my 1st choice site
Sep: Unpaid IM rotation at the same site
Oct: IM rotation at my second choice site
Nov: Unpaid Psych rotation at the same site.

If I want EM I figure it doesn't really matter if I rotate at my goal sites, because I'm not going to get straight through training in any event unless I get a deferment. Is this reasonable? If I want an EM intern year do I have a good chance of getting one even if I don't rotate at the programs? Does not rotating with the EM decrease my chance of getting a deferement?

If I ultimately decide I want Peds or Neuro... well then I guess I'm screwed, but I don't have any ideas for that one.

This also, of course, means that there's a site that I won't see at all, but I guess that's all I can really do.

Sound like a solid plan?

What is it about Surgery that makes you want to hang yourself with your own underwear? If its dealing with surgeons, then maybe Anesthesiology would not be the greatest choice for you.

BTW, this is a great point. F- Gas

 

[AF M4]

Go into Rads, you'll thank me midway through your internship year after you've just admitted your third patient of the night for DTs.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

Does anyone else here have no idea what they want to do for a living? It's time for me to schedule all kinds of big important things like Sub-Is, ATs, Step 2, and the remainder of my 3rd year rotations. However I still don't have the slightest clue what it is that I actually want to be when I grow up. Is anyone else out there in the same boat, and if so what are you doing to help yourself decide?

What I've had so far: Psych, Medicine, Surgey (general and ortho) and Family.

What I've learned:
-I don't particularly like Family Medicine Clinics
-I hate Surgery with the burning fury of a thousand suns
That still leaves Psych, Medicine, EM, Neuro, Peds, Radiology, and Gas as possible career options. And I need to pick ATs real soon (like tomorrow). Any thoughts?

Sometimes your opinion of a field can be unreasonably driven by the failings of your particular institution. My school's surgery department seemed like a trip into the time tunnel emerging sometime before WWII: lots of bullying attendings whose skills as surgeons made the treatment they dished out particularly egregious. If I thought a residency in surgery would require more time with people like that, I would have run from surgery. Other, better and later experiences made me reconsider and do a surgery internship, even if I did not have to.

I am not trying to make the case for surgery to you, but you do actually change in school and can grow to like and dislike things that at first you may have felt differently about. Pick stuff that is varied and seems interesting to you.

 

[Perrotfish]

Some more questions, before I take the plunge:

1) Does anyone know of a Navy EM site that gives you good experience as a medical student? Does the Navy have a site equivalent to BAMC?

2) Does anyone have any advice for relative quality of sites in the Navy for Psych? For IM? For Peds?

3) Would it hurt my chaces to hedge? If the psych staff at a hospital sees me roll into another rotation a month later, is that going to hurt me?

 

[Perrotfish]

Anyone?