advice?

[maggie08]

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Hi guys!

I'm a sophomore and am begining to prepare for the medschool admissions process (or wait, doesn't that kinda start when life begins?) and i have a few questions:

I have shadowed a perinatologist for a year and a half (among other things) and am 95% sure that is what i wanna do ...

i'm trying to build a list of places i want to apply but i'm not really sure which medschools and/or residencies are known for the ob/gyn departments... and if there is such a thing as a "perinatal department" or if its just an additional fellowship after the ob/gyn route


thanks so much for your words of wisdom to a lowly 'MS(-3)'

 

[DrBuzzLightYear]

I'm a shophomore and...

its SOPHOMORE. spelling is important if you're going to be a doctor.

I have shadowed a perinatologist for a year and a half (among other things) and am 95% sure that is what i wanna do ...

its rare that anyone does what they thought they'd do starting off.

i'm trying to build a list of places i want to apply but i'm not really sure which medschools and/or residencies are known for the ob/gyn departments... and if there is such a thing as a "perinatal department" or if its just an additional fellowship after the ob/gyn route

what exactly do you have in mind? perinatology is used by both obgyn's practicing Maternal and Fetal Medicine (high risk pregnancy or maternal/fetal disease during pregnancy), and by pediatricians practicing Neonatology (care of the infant during the first months of life). the term is confusing, most obgyns are using the term MFM these days. theres no MFM department, its a fellowship after residency. some places are definitely known for their OBGYN and their MFM. but where you go to med school doesnt really matter, just do well when (if) you go.

 

[kittycat_642]

its SOPHOMORE. spelling is important if you're going to be a doctor.

Actually, I disagree. I'm a terrible speller & I've managed to get though 3 years and a few months of medical school. I don't suspect that my inability to spell will prevent me from graduating or being a good doctor.

Actually it's a pet peeve of mine that people think that poor spelling = lack of intelligence.

And finally, to be a real pain in the a$$, "its SOPHOMORE" should actually read "it's" not "its" since you mean "it is" not a possesive. 😛 😛

 

[maggie08]

DrBuzz... thanks for the advice: although it is true i've never been a spelling bee champ, i would think it to be fairly clear that a random 'h' at the beggining of such a word to be a typo rather than indicative of incompetence...[i guess i'm a product of the spell check generation] but, nonetheless, thank you for pointing it out; i shall correct it! 🙂

I am aware of some of the jargon... the peri I followed claimed 'maternal fetal medicine' for title sake (so yes you're right, we're on the same page)... but other than that I don't really know what is the current convention laid out by most schools for this process... plus, it's still a somewhat new field and i was interested in hearing some diverse opinions from those who are currently in the system.

so thank you for your comments and i'm still interested in hearing more!!!

ps thanks kittykat for sticking up for me!

 

[DrBuzzLightYear]

i'll tell you what... promise to NEVER call it perinatology again, and i'll help you...

so, you want the best place for MFM? there's two schools of thought... one, go to an academic place where they will be doing cutting edge technology research. just think of any big academic place (like UCSF). you'll be using lasers to treat TTTS, but the down side is that the patient volume is pathetic, you'll be doing 12 c/s's your first year and will walk out not knowing a breech from a brow (worse case scenario). second, you could go to one of the big NIH centers for MFM research, these are places that have enormous volumes of patients and where they do all the research that defines the standard of care with the technologies available. these are the places that are defining treatment of bv in pregnancy, treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism, treatment of cervical incompetance.... the patient volumes are astronomical and you'll walk out knowing forcep deliveries, breech deliveries, and will have seen every pathology under the sun. the only downside is ego: you have to tell gma that you're going to miami or dallas instead of boston or philly. you sorta need to decide what sort of MFM you want to be, sitting at a desk writing grants all week, or seeing patients at the clinic.