Anesthesiology vs. surgery

[sebsvenmdc]

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[2win]

So, I'm definitely not doing surgery. I'm aiming towards anesthesiology because I think it's my best bet in terms of a field that I enjoy and can thrive in...when I'm in the OR on cases, I just don't see how a lot of surgeons know what they're looking at. The anatomical structures are visualized minimally - the view is limited, structures are obscured by tissue, etc. I think I would be a terrible surgeon...I hate the idea of throwing sutures through fascia and arteries! Anesthesiology seems a lot more up my alley because you're relying on physiology and pharmacology and using data as a main component of understanding the deviations from homeostasis. It seems more clear-cut to me because I'm much more comfortable with the idea of calibrating drug doses according to data vs. suturing and incising based upon visual-spatial feedback. I think what surgeons do is very cool. I just think I lack that gift. I think - and I'm hopeful - that I have the anesthesiology gift.

So, I am thinking that being an anesthesiologist will be better time-wise than surgery, right? I plan to work really hard. I'm passionate about exercise though and I would love to be able to exercise like 5 times per week. That would be an impossibility for me in the field of surgery.

Hey dude - I read your post few times...and I still don't know what to answer. I would spend some time in the OR and after that I will try to make my mind.
2win

 

[G-Man82]

Are you currently a 4th year med student? Do what some of my friends did last year - double sub-internships. Do a gen surg sub-I (or one of its specialties) and follow it with an anesthesiology rotation, or vice-versa. Best part is, regardless of which specialty you enter, you can probably get a letter from each rotation.

 

[sebsvenmdc]

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[jetproppilot]

What an idiotic post.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Are you asking a question or just stating a fact that you prefer anesthesia to surgery?

Anesthesia is a great field, although not necessarily a 60 hr/week residency, allowing you time for that cardio you deem so important. Those guys work hard. Don't pick it over surgery because of some misguided idea that its an easy residency.

Maybe you could stack some steps in the OR and do aerobics while taking care of patients. Curling 2 L bags of LR keeps those guns in shape.

 

[Jay K]

i want to exercise and stay in shape. Cardio is so important to me!

pm&r

 

[pgg]

What an idiotic post.

Yeah. If it weren't for the fact that he joined 3.5 years ago and has 300+ posts, I'd think we were being trolled.

 

[sebsvenmdc]

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[sebsvenmdc]

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[Southpaw]

I'm picking a career that will allow me to have more than 1 passion.

I can't think of a single field within medicine that doesn't allow one to have more than one passion. I find your comments insulting but I'm not wasting my time explaining my reasoning. If you're a 4th year student, and don't get it by now, I doubt you will.

 

[sebsvenmdc]

I deleted my comments above, but they are still visible in some of the replies. I think my comments did more harm than good. My apologies.

 

[Sergio99]

Hello,

In my life I have seen so many surgeons who don’t have “the gift” that you cannot imagine. I have also seen many anesthesiologists who don’t have “the gift,” and the same can be said of all specialties, yet they all grow up to be relatively successful and productive adults and practicing physicians.

I know that this is not the ideal, but who can guarantee you that whatever you choose will be the ideal? You just get into the specialty that you enjoy most today and think that you can live with for the rest of your life and the rest is a total unknown. We cannot see the future.

Income-wise, of course, any surgical specialty will be probably much better than anesthesia, but that again, will depend on many variables, such as the type of practice, the payor mix, the location, etc.

Just choose a specialty and do it. Anesthesia is a very enjoyable specialty. It is basically a physiology lab, full of fun, alternating between long boring periods and moments of frantic and desperate efforts to save a life in a disastrous situation. If you like that, I highly recommend it.

Greetings

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

No offense, but have you even done a rotation in anesthesiology? How about general surgery? Sounded like a pre-med there, I won't lie.


G'ah, no wonder there's that negative stereotype. I hope I get into anesthesiology, and I will be working hard like I do regardless of interest. I just hate to know I could potentially have a colleague who decided on anesthesiology because of the presumptive "lifestyle" and not because of actual enjoyment and passion for the field. Every field is tough. The field needs more people who will lead and not just run with the motions for a paycheck.

 

[cfdavid]

No offense, but have you even done a rotation in anesthesiology? How about general surgery? Sounded like a pre-med there, I won't lie.


G'ah, no wonder there's that negative stereotype. I hope I get into anesthesiology, and I will be working hard like I do regardless of interest. I just hate to know I could potentially have a colleague who decided on anesthesiology because of the presumptive "lifestyle" and not because of actual enjoyment and passion for the field. Every field is tough. The field needs more people who will lead and not just run with the motions for a paycheck.

I agree with you, and I'm sure I'm not alone. However, many specialties have similar concerns yet there will always be people making decisions based upon variables other than pure passion.

I think that making the best career decision/specialty selection should be based upon a myriad of variables, and enjoying the field is certainly one of them, but other considerations are in order, I think. I get what you mean though.

 

[JackADeli]

...Maybe you could stack some steps in the OR and do aerobics while taking care of patients. Curling 2 L bags of LR keeps those guns in shape.

LMAO