anesthesia vs general surgery

[Anesdoc]

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Who here sometimes contemplates their decision between being an anesthesiologist vs a surgeon? I know I do. I am about to start my CA1 training soon, yet I find my self hesitating to do anesthesia. I love general surgery because I am immediately involved in the patient care, actually doing something for them, I love cutting and fixing things, seeing immediate result and interacting with patients pre and post op. Yet, I hate the cruel residency and harsh lifestyle. In addition, the demand for surgeons is declining steadily and their compensation sucks. I love anesthesia because it's intellectually stimulating, the intense pharmaco-physiology understanding one must have, acutely managing acid base disturbances, fluid resuscitation, etc the cool little procedures, great hours, relatively shorter residency, currently good market. So tell me guys, what do I do?

 

[VentdependenT]

You can use the search to dig up big topics like this and usually find some goodies.

Here is a recent thread on this topic:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=199791&highlight=surgery


In general:

If you aren't in love with surgery then its tough to advocate persuing a career in it. Remember you can always do a surgical prelim year to remind yourself that you should have gone into anesthesiology (or validate it for that matter if you matched an advanced spot)... 😀

 

[Tenesma]

i think I can speak for most people who go into anesthesia, that they at one point contemplated surgery for various reasons.... I remember during my internship having doubts about anesthesia and in fact secured a surgical categorical spot. When i discussed this with my future anesthesia dept. chairman, he told me that he wanted me to be happy and would support my transition into a surgical program - under the condition that I give anesthesia a real try for a week or two... His argument at the time was that until you are actually left alone in the room, you will never understand anesthesia... After my 3rd day of doing anesthesia in the OR, I haven't looked back.... Best decision of my life. So go for it... and if you change your mind it shouldn't be too hard to get into your surgery program (they will know your face - and there is always somebody quitting the surgery residency whose spot you could fill ---)

 

[Anesdoc]

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it. I think the smartest thing to do is to give anesthesia a shot 👍 . I suppose if I don't like it, I can switch to surgery.


😀 😀 😀 😀

 

[Celiac Plexus]

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it. I think the smartest thing to do is to give anesthesia a shot 👍 . I suppose if I don't like it, I can switch to surgery.


😀 😀 😀 😀

it's a lot easier to switch from surgery to anesthesia than vice versa... just something to consider...

 

[gentamicin]

why is it easier to switch from surgery to anesthesia than vice versa? i'm also one who is torn between surgery and anesthesia. i did an anesthesia rotation and didn't enjoy it very much. however, after i did general surgery, i appreciated the lifestyle of anesthesia and i'm interested in anesthesia again....however, is it a good idea to apply to both, and see what kind of programs you get interviews at? and how many anesthesia letters should you use? are surgery letters okay? also, up until now, i was going surgery all the way, and it was only recently that I began thinking about anesthesia again. for this reason, i set up my surgery sub-i and didn't set any up for anesthesia. can i still get into good anesth programs w/o doing sub-i's? also, since i wasn't really into anesthesia at the time i did the rotation, i got a B while my surgical rotations were A's. does this affect my chances of getting into anesthesia?

it's a lot easier to switch from surgery to anesthesia than vice versa... just something to consider...

 

[CambieMD]

why is it easier to switch from surgery to anesthesia than vice versa? i'm also one who is torn between surgery and anesthesia. i did an anesthesia rotation and didn't enjoy it very much.


Surgery is a more competitive specialty to match into than anesthesia.
You should be as certain about your chosen specialty as is possible before going through the time and expense of subjecting yourself to the the match process.

You should get more exposure to anesthesia to see if it is for you. If you don't enjoy a second anesthesia rotation you should probably go through with applying to surgery.


CambieMD

 

[gas-x]

Just remember that as a student, you will probably think that your anesthesia rotation is extrememly boring. I thought it was a bit dull actually. I got to intubate, which I sucked at. afterwards, i basically watched the resident turn some dials, push some drugs, and move the table up and down. sure there were some lines to place, but I didn't really get a chance to do so.

just like someone said previously, you really don't get to appreciate the complexity and stress level of anesthesia until you do it yourself, alone. if something happened intraop and the resident took care of it, your heart rate doesn't bump. but if you're by yourself, you might need a foley.

the best part of anesthesia is taking a patient with some pathology, putting them down, and bringing them back awake, alert, pain-free, and SMOOTHLY. way cool. it's basically putting value in the things that make a difference to the patient, but nobody else can really tell by watching you.

if nothing else, have someone page your 10 times through the night to tell you that they haven't pissed yet, haven't farted yet, haven't eaten yet, is asking you to come in to talk to them....and see if you like that.

 

[GasMD]

if nothing else, have someone page your 10 times through the night to tell you that they haven't pissed yet, haven't farted yet, haven't eaten yet, is asking you to come in to talk to them....and see if you like that.[/QUOTE]

😉

 

[MAC10]

if nothing else, have someone page your 10 times through the night to tell you that they haven't pissed yet, haven't farted yet, haven't eaten yet, is asking you to come in to talk to them....and see if you like that.

LAMO!