Which specialties do you guys think are suited for the aggressive add-type, A personalities(like me)?
Surgery, ER, Ortho??
Surgery, ER, Ortho??
Best specialties for Type-A personalities
- Thread starter drboris
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I think you nailed it with 3 good choices for more aggressive people there. Each will have its more non-aggressive, not so ADD side as well though...like doing Whipples in surgery, long back cases in ortho, managing primary care issues for indiginent patients in ER. Of course all of those specialties will also give you good exposure to trauma and other emergent cases that need to be treated immediately and I get the sense that that is what you are after with your description. As a medical student I still think it's cool to go to the OR in the middle of the night for an appy, I'm sure this wears off somewhat as an attending but who knows.
I also think that within nearly every specialty you can find fairly aggressive practitioners, so don't limit yourself too early. In IM GI and Cardiology tend to have emergencies, as does critical care. Actually I was pretty surprised how my OB rotation was in terms of excitement, crash c-sections, shoulder dystocias, preeclampsias, all kinds of very serious problems. Even psychiatrists who do consult-liason work seem to be more like trauma surgeons in terms of personality.
In my opinion though, the ultimate job for a thrill seeker would be doing EM or surgery and then getting a helicopter job. Those guys and gals seem to really have fun and do some amazing things in the field and in the air.
I also think that within nearly every specialty you can find fairly aggressive practitioners, so don't limit yourself too early. In IM GI and Cardiology tend to have emergencies, as does critical care. Actually I was pretty surprised how my OB rotation was in terms of excitement, crash c-sections, shoulder dystocias, preeclampsias, all kinds of very serious problems. Even psychiatrists who do consult-liason work seem to be more like trauma surgeons in terms of personality.
In my opinion though, the ultimate job for a thrill seeker would be doing EM or surgery and then getting a helicopter job. Those guys and gals seem to really have fun and do some amazing things in the field and in the air.
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If you believe what Mr Hide and forskin say, then dermatology is Type A too.
The thrill isn't so much in treating acutely ill patients with difficult medical problems. The thrill for them comes from the sense of hubristic elitism that they feel when they look in the mirror every day and say "yup, I matched in derm!! That means I am better then everyone else." This kind of narcissistic pride can be just as exilirating as performing a life saving transplant or cracking a chest to restart a heart, for the right kind of personality type.
The thrill isn't so much in treating acutely ill patients with difficult medical problems. The thrill for them comes from the sense of hubristic elitism that they feel when they look in the mirror every day and say "yup, I matched in derm!! That means I am better then everyone else." This kind of narcissistic pride can be just as exilirating as performing a life saving transplant or cracking a chest to restart a heart, for the right kind of personality type.
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my god...I come back after couple of days and this forum has been bombarded by "Best specialties for <insert adjective> personality?" 
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