Choice of Specialty

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msruly12

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I am having difficulty choosing a specialty. I want something that involves complex thinking but also involves procedural work. I want my specialty to be somewhere along the lines of oncology and I am fascinated by immunotherapy research.
Was wondering if anyone got any super ideas for me. Thanks
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Radiation oncology
 
msruly12 said:
I am having difficulty choosing a specialty. I want something that involves complex thinking but also involves procedural work. I want my specialty to be somewhere along the lines of oncology and I am fascinated by immunotherapy research.
Was wondering if anyone got any super ideas for me. Thanks
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What kind of procedures?
 
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msruly12 said:
I am having difficulty choosing a specialty. I want something that involves complex thinking but also involves procedural work. I want my specialty to be somewhere along the lines of oncology and I am fascinated by immunotherapy research.
Was wondering if anyone got any super ideas for me. Thanks
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OB/GYN --> GYN-Oncology fellowship, but I'm biased.

Other than rad-onc, i'm pretty sure there is no other field where you can go directly into oncology.. it's a fellowship. Medicine --> oncology. Surgery --> surgical oncology. GYN --> gyn-onc. the same probly goes for neuro, I would guess.
 
You should look into gyn-onc. From what I know, gynoncs are the only ones that manage their patients both surgically and medically. So you'd be in charge of lopping off some hilariously large tumors then giving them chemo afterwards.
 
consider dermatology... lots of skin cancers, lots of procedures, and immunomodulators and immunotherapy are both heavily researched and heavily used.
 
Even interventional radiology does cancer stuff.
 
Thanks for your help guys.:thumbup::thumbup:
Gyn oncology sounds really cool. It's got the perfect blend of procedure and brains, but my wife would never let me do that.
Do dermatologists specialize in oncology? Also what kind of procedures would Derm-oncologist do?
 
msruly12 said:
Thanks for your help guys.:thumbup::thumbup:
Gyn oncology sounds really cool. It's got the perfect blend of procedure and brains, but my wife would never let me do that.
Do dermatologists specialize in oncology? Also what kind of procedures would Derm-oncologist do?
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Eh? I'm sure you love your wife and all, but it's your occupation and your professional life. If you really wanted to do gyn-onc way, way more than any other field, then...

But yeah, derm and rad onc were the two I had in mind. Don't know nearly enough about derm to answer your question though.
 
msruly12 said:
Gyn oncology sounds really cool. It's got the perfect blend of procedure and brains, but my wife would never let me do that.
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yeah, wow pal. that's... pretty f'ed up. does your wife know what actually goes on in gyn onc? for that matter, do you?? what kind of "procedures" do you see yourself doing???
 
msruly12 said:
I am having difficulty choosing a specialty. I want something that involves complex thinking but also involves procedural work. I want my specialty to be somewhere along the lines of oncology and I am fascinated by immunotherapy research.
Was wondering if anyone got any super ideas for me. Thanks
Click to expand...

ENT would be right up your alley if you could handle the training. Allergy and cancer are mainstays. Procedures are obviously big, as a surgical subspecialty, but there can be a very big amount of clinic also. Like 3-4 days/week.
 
I tried explaining it to my wife, but in the end, if shes not comfortable with it, its not worth getting into. That is, if I can find another specialty that ell interest me.
Derm, Rad onc, and ENT all sound like great ideas. Any good ideas where I can find info on what their onc sub-specialties deal with on a regular basis?

For ENT, if I wanted to go into Head and neck oncology what would I sub-specialty would I train in? Also would I be doing surgery and giving chemo?
 
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Your wife seems ridiculous. When she has a kid someday, you should give her a hard time about letting male doctors or nurses see her.
 
I don't really understand what the wife issue with gyn-onc is so I don't know if this will matter. But radiation oncology plays a significant role in treating many gynecologic cancers and is actually probably their main procedural area.

edit: I was going to give some advice about the wife but I'm not married and don't know you so figured it isn't my place but I am curious as to what the issue is if you are comfortable sharing.
 
Urology has some great stuff - lots of medicine and surgery in one go
 
msruly12 said:
I tried explaining it to my wife, but in the end, if shes not comfortable with it, its not worth getting into. That is, if I can find another specialty that ell interest me.
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I hope I'm not making unfounded assumptions based on your username and post history, but I'd recommend that you ask your wife to speak to her spiritual advisor.
 
KeyzerSoze said:
I hope I'm not making unfounded assumptions based on your username and post history, but I'd recommend that you ask your wife to speak to her spiritual advisor.
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it's true, post history suggests OP is MS0 in which case he has at least six years in which to change her mind :rolleyes:
 
Agreed about the wife. Some of the best OB/GYN doctors are males and they're all professional. That's absolutely ridiculous to have that paranoia.
 
Nevermind.
 
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ScubaV said:
I have a similar concern and I thought I'd ask in here rather than creating a new thread. I'm looking for specialties that have relaxed, regular work hours, minimal hands-on work/procedures, and limited patient contact. I'm already thinking about radiology and pathology, but I want to know if there are others to consider. Thanks.
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Pat... oh, you said that. I dunno, man -- I wanted to say derm because the cushy lifestyle might make up for the other things you don't want in it, but I don't know if that's your sort of thing. Other than that, I'm not sure. Kind of curious to see what others say myself.
 
I wonder how many of the people responding about how ridiculous the wife is being are actually married.
Even if you disagree about what should or shouldn't bother someone, the fact remains that marriages do not succeed without mutual respect and compromise. Your wife being uncomfortable with a given field for any reason is something to consider.
I'm not saying that if you had your heart set on a given field since you were 3 and that has always been your dream that you need to choose your marriage over your dream. But you also should (and OP, you clearly are) recognize that it isn't just about you. It's ok to give up a little because it means a lot to your spouse.
 
ygree001 said:
I wonder how many of the people responding about how ridiculous the wife is being are actually married.
Even if you disagree about what should or shouldn't bother someone, the fact remains that marriages do not succeed without mutual respect and compromise. Your wife being uncomfortable with a given field for any reason is something to consider.
I'm not saying that if you had your heart set on a given field since you were 3 and that has always been your dream that you need to choose your marriage over your dream. But you also should (and OP, you clearly are) recognize that it isn't just about you. It's ok to give up a little because it means a lot to your spouse.
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No no, I totally agree about it being a matter of compromise and communication and all that. What I have a problem with is the possibility that someone would give up their dream profession -- something they would be doing for decades of their life -- because of a little insecurity on the part of a significant other.

I am not married, but I would never dream of telling my wife that she couldn't be a urologist because I didn't want her shaking hands with other guys' winkies if she really wanted to do it.
 
My dad actually chose is speciality based on what his (ex)wife thought would be best, rather than following his gut. While he grew into it and does love his speciality now, there was always a part of him that wanted to go back and do the other option.

Letting your significant other have any significant choice in what specialty you can or can't do is obscene. You HAVE to do what you enjoy the most. It isn't like you are going into the specialty for sexual gratification or sub-specializing in single supermodel with daddy issues gynecological surgery.
 
MossPoh said:
My dad actually chose is speciality based on what his (ex)wife thought would be best, rather than following his gut. While he grew into it and does love his speciality now, there was always a part of him that wanted to go back and do the other option.

Letting your significant other have any significant choice in what specialty you can or can't do is obscene. You HAVE to do what you enjoy the most. It isn't like you are going into the specialty for sexual gratification or sub-specializing in single supermodel with daddy issues gynecological surgery.
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Obscene? Wow. I couldn't disagree more strongly. Sure, the OB GYN thing seems a bit weird, but what if a spouse objected to a specialty which had very long hours or something? If anything, it would be obscene to not consider their objections very carefully.
 
OP, show your wife a video of a pap being done (on youtube, if there is such a video?). She'll see it's not as sexy as she thinks it is.

Does she have objections to your OB/Gyn and FM rotations? You can't get through med school without those...

IDK, sounds more like a problem with your marriage than with your choice of specialty. My husband wouldn't care if I went into urology, I know that.
 
KeyzerSoze said:
Obscene? Wow. I couldn't disagree more strongly. Sure, the OB GYN thing seems a bit weird, but what if a spouse objected to a specialty which had very long hours or something? If anything, it would be obscene to not consider their objections very carefully.
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IDK, I would think that would be a deal breaker from even starting a medical career. Physicians are known for having to work long hours in pretty much every specialty, at least at the beginning.
 
Hah. If my gf said a specific specialty made her uncomfortable, I'd pick it out of spite. :p
 
MossPoh said:
My dad actually chose is speciality based on what his (ex)wife thought would be best, rather than following his gut. While he grew into it and does love his speciality now, there was always a part of him that wanted to go back and do the other option.

Letting your significant other have any significant choice in what specialty you can or can't do is obscene. You HAVE to do what you enjoy the most. It isn't like you are going into the specialty for sexual gratification or sub-specializing in single supermodel with daddy issues gynecological surgery.
Click to expand...


I seriously would advise not getting married if your not willing to take on the sacrifices that it entails. If you make every decision considering that you might be divorced in 15 years, you will be divorced in 10. Marriage isn't a part of your life that you can "hedge you bets" in and still be successful at it.
 
still wishing OP would come back and clarify :whistle:

if he doesn't, I'm going to have to default back to Jersey Shore to get my wacky relationships fix
 
Thanks for all your help guys. I was torn between a few specialties, Gyn Onc being one of them. But my wife's opinion definitely put that at the bottom of my list. Say all you want but my marriage is very important to me; and if I know that she won't appreciate that specialty, to me thats like a specialty that has really long hours or some other undesirable factor.

Anyway, after tons and tons of research I found radiation oncology to be exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks again for all your help, good luck.
 
Having worked on a gyn onc service, I can tell you there is nothing "sexy" about it. These women often times have huge deformities from the tumors pre-op. Then, post-op and post-radiation, you take care of them with their recto-vaginal fistulas, and ultimately mets that block both ureters and cause renal failure or cause "socked in" abdomens with bowel obstructions. Then, you help women get comfortable while waiting to die from their cancers. Also, the average patient is in their 50s.

I can see why she'd be concerned. :rolleyes:
 
MossPoh said:
It isn't like you are going into the specialty for sexual gratification or sub-specializing in single supermodel with daddy issues gynecological surgery.
Click to expand...

:laugh::laugh::laugh: I suppose you could if you wanted to (in LA or something), but yeah, that's sorta weird for the wife to be concerned about.

ygree001 said:
I wonder how many of the people responding about how ridiculous the wife is being are actually married.
Even if you disagree about what should or shouldn't bother someone, the fact remains that marriages do not succeed without mutual respect and compromise. Your wife being uncomfortable with a given field for any reason is something to consider.
I'm not saying that if you had your heart set on a given field since you were 3 and that has always been your dream that you need to choose your marriage over your dream. But you also should (and OP, you clearly are) recognize that it isn't just about you. It's ok to give up a little because it means a lot to your spouse.
Click to expand...

surftheiop said:
I seriously would advise not getting married if your not willing to take on the sacrifices that it entails. If you make every decision considering that you might be divorced in 15 years, you will be divorced in 10. Marriage isn't a part of your life that you can "hedge you bets" in and still be successful at it.
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:thumbup: and this is why I am never, ever getting married - I am stubborn as bloody heck, and it wouldn't work out so well. (I just recruited a friend onto the 'spinsterhood rocks' bandwagon, and I'm still basking in the glory) I do agree if you decided to get married, though, you gotta reap the consequences. If that means not doing what you love, well, that's what you decided to get yourself into.

msruly12 said:
Anyway, after tons and tons of research I found radiation oncology to be exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks again for all your help, good luck.
Click to expand...

And for some serious advice - OP, I don't know where you are in your medical training, but radonc is a very very difficult specialty to get into. Not only do you need excellent grades and board scores, you also need TONS of research. I think about 40% of people who get into radonc are MD/PhD, so if you are thinking about doing it and have the pre-med grades for it, I'd apply that route. If not, it's not a bad idea to take a year to do some significant research, either prior to med school or in one of those year off programs (NIH, Doris Duke) between your M3 and M4 years. I think most radonc applicants have at least 4-5 pubs (abstracts, peer-reviewed) by the time they apply.

:luck: (with both your career and your wife)
 
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surftheiop said:
I seriously would advise not getting married if your not willing to take on the sacrifices that it entails. If you make every decision considering that you might be divorced in 15 years, you will be divorced in 10. Marriage isn't a part of your life that you can "hedge you bets" in and still be successful at it.
Click to expand...

I don't plan on getting married to anybody that chooses to dictate my career path based on their personal insecurities. Just like I wouldn't get married to anybody that constantly snoops on my email, questions me about phone calls, checks my phone or anything else resembling that petty/paranoid/insecure b.s.

Marriage is about sacrifices for both parties. If your significant other chooses to dictate what speciality or career you go into, then perhaps they shouldn't be your significant other. We aren't talking about becoming a stripper or prostitute here. If my wife/fiance/girlfriend chooses to stop doing whatever it is she was doing and pursue another avenue, then it is my job to support her in her decision and do my best to get her to achieve her goals, regardless of my preconceptions of that field. I think getting a PhD in English Lit is about the most worthless thing you can do, but I'd never deter the one I love from pursuing it because of what I think, especially since I don't know jack about it.

When one is weighing the pros and cons of choosing a specialty, things like family and how much flexibility you want should come up in your decision, but your happiness and satisfaction is absolutely critical. Who gives a damn if you have extra hours to spend with your wife and kids if you're miserable and exhausted with the work you're doing? I have very fond memories of my mom and dad growing up, but it wasn't because of the hours they worked. It was because they maximized the time they did have with me.

There is a big difference between catering to the insecurities of someone and choosing the speciality that fits you and your personal goals.
 
MossPoh said:
I don't plan on getting married to anybody that chooses to dictate my career path based on their personal insecurities. Just like I wouldn't get married to anybody that constantly snoops on my email, questions me about phone calls, checks my phone or anything else resembling that petty/paranoid/insecure b.s.

Marriage is about sacrifices for both parties. If your significant other chooses to dictate what speciality or career you go into, then perhaps they shouldn't be your significant other. We aren't talking about becoming a stripper or prostitute here. If my wife/fiance/girlfriend chooses to stop doing whatever it is she was doing and pursue another avenue, then it is my job to support her in her decision and do my best to get her to achieve her goals, regardless of my preconceptions of that field. I think getting a PhD in English Lit is about the most worthless thing you can do, but I'd never deter the one I love from pursuing it because of what I think, especially since I don't know jack about it.

When one is weighing the pros and cons of choosing a specialty, things like family and how much flexibility you want should come up in your decision, but your happiness and satisfaction is absolutely critical. Who gives a damn if you have extra hours to spend with your wife and kids if you're miserable and exhausted with the work you're doing? I have very fond memories of my mom and dad growing up, but it wasn't because of the hours they worked. It was because they maximized the time they did have with me.

There is a big difference between catering to the insecurities of someone and choosing the speciality that fits you and your personal goals.
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The OP never said Ob was his lifelong dream. He said it was one of several things that interested him. That is a very different scenario than what several posters are describing.

And one other thing (again not just directed at you), sometimes a succesful marriage does in fact require you to cater to your spouses illogical insecurities/idiosyncrasies because I promise you, you also have some that you need them to accept.
I guess there could be 2 approaches: Find someone who always wants exactly what you do (good luck!), or someone who you choose to partner with and commit to - in sickness, health, and even irrational insecurities if need be.
I suppose the third option is not to get married if you know you won't be willing/able to go with the second.

And again, I'm not suggesting you need to give up your lifelong dream for your spouse being slightly uncomfortable. (You may choose to, depending on your priorities.) I'm just saying you also don't need to have every little thing exactly how you want it at great cost to your spouse. Obviously, the devil is in the details.
 
ygree001 said:
The OP never said Ob was his lifelong dream. He said it was one of several things that interested him. That is a very different scenario than what several posters are describing.

And one other thing (again not just directed at you), sometimes a succesful marriage does in fact require you to cater to your spouses illogical insecurities/idiosyncrasies because I promise you, you also have some that you need them to accept.
I guess there could be 2 approaches: Find someone who always wants exactly what you do (good luck!), or someone who you choose to partner with and commit to - in sickness, health, and even irrational insecurities if need be.
I suppose the third option is not to get married if you know you won't be willing/able to go with the second.

And again, I'm not suggesting you need to give up your lifelong dream for your spouse being slightly uncomfortable. (You may choose to, depending on your priorities.) I'm just saying you also don't need to have every little thing exactly how you want it at great cost to your spouse. Obviously, the devil is in the details.
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Actually, what MossPoh said is much more accurate. In a marriage, and in a situation like the Op's, when you encounter a notion--and possibly a misunderstanding--founded on insecurities, you address it, discuss it, and as a result, understand each other better. This leads to mutual growth and a stronger marriage. You do not, however, cater to your spouse's insecurities and, in effect, nurture them. That's absolutely ridiculous, and THAT is what will lead to divorce.
 
Many students choose a specialty after the third year of medical school. For some, the fourth year is when they end up choosing a specialty. Sometimes the draw to a certain specialty is intangible, more like a feeling, like the right fit. Relationships and priorities will have to be factored in.
 
Mister Beausky said:
Actually, what MossPoh said is much more accurate. In a marriage, and in a situation like the Op's, when you encounter a notion--and possibly a misunderstanding--founded on insecurities, you address it, discuss it, and as a result, understand each other better. This leads to mutual growth and a stronger marriage. You do not, however, cater to your spouse's insecurities and, in effect, nurture them. That's absolutely ridiculous, and THAT is what will lead to divorce.
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My point was that just because you think they are illogical doesn't mean that they are. I am all for communicating and working things out together - that is what I have been trying to say all along. But you don't get to decide what your spouse should and shouldn't think is an issue. It's also not your place to force your spouse to confront what you consider to be their insecurities and help them move past it - your spouse is not your child, and talking about not nurturing their insecurities sounds condescending to me.
I don't want to drag this any more off topic than it has already gone. I was only trying to express my opinion that communication is crucial, and the importance of not just dismissing out of hand your spouses feelings. I hope I didn't upset anyone.
 
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