Choosing a Specialty

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gimmedanews

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Alright, so I'm throwing this open to anyone who feels like they can help my pick what specialty/path would be a good fit.

Here's a few things about me:

1) Patient contact is very important to me. I did research for awhile back in undergrad, and couldn't see myself doing that for any time period, afterward.

2) I have little to no interest in running a business. So, owning my own practice really has little appeal.

3) Money isn't a huge deal to me (I say this as an idealistic first-year medical student, of course, but...). I'm not going to be in as bad a loan shape as some others are, and I have simple tastes.

4) I find the idea of a primary care, check-up doctor to be quite appealing. It's simple and kind of quaint, but that image and role really appeals to me.

5) I really enjoy working with kids (as you can bet, I'm leaning towards being a pediatrician right now...).

6) Not interested in surgery.

7) Hours/Lifestyle. This is kind of an issue. I intend to start a family someday. My father was a doctor (optho, partner/ran his own practice), and I did not see him often. When he was around, it seemed like he was always on call, especially when I was very little. I swore I wouldn't do that to my kids.

So, what do you all think? The idea of being a pediatrician (or other primary care doc) really appeals to me in almost every way, but I'm just worried about the being-on-call nature of the job. I'm not so much concerned about the residency period (since I know I'll be working my tail off no matter what I do), but I AM concerned about controlling my schedule to have sane hours/little call afterward. How much flexibility is there?

Thanks!

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Interestingly my preferences have changed as I've progressed through school. I'm less concerned with call/time commitment, so maybe the time commitment of primary care will be less concerning to you as you move on.
 
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So, what do you all think? The idea of being a pediatrician (or other primary care doc) really appeals to me in almost every way, but I'm just worried about the being-on-call nature of the job. I'm not so much concerned about the residency period (since I know I'll be working my tail off no matter what I do), but I AM concerned about controlling my schedule to have sane hours/little call afterward. How much flexibility is there?
If you want to go the primary care, well-child check route, just join a large group. Your pay won't be as high but you won't be on-call much at all and your hours will be pretty regular.

If you decide you like being in a hospital, you should consider becoming a pediatric hospitalist (you can work like one week on, on week off) or doing Peds EM (shift work...odd hours, but still only about 40 hours a week).
 
Give it time. While it's good to be thinking about stuff as a first year, stick with general concepts (ie preferring children to adults or whether you want to do a lot procedures).

Then wait for clerkships - simply put, you need those experiences to make a decision. I know for me, as a first year, clinic seemed appealing because I really didn't have a good concept of what inpatient care was like. I think that was true for a lot of my classmates as well. Eventually, I found out that clinic makes me want to slam my head against the wall repeatedly, while I love walking into the hospital in the morning...even at 6 or 630. Needless to say, that has been a significant factor (out of many) in helping me find my niche (pediatric critical care).
 
...I say this as an idealistic first-year medical student, of course, but......

No need to pick a specialty so early on (unless eg you are trying to gear up for targeted research to try and pave the way for ortho or derm). It's fine to have leanings, but many of your pre-conceptions will change during third year rotations. Most med students will change their mind at least once during med school and you really know nothing about what suits you best until you try your hand at a number of fields. Some things you think you'll hate you are likely going to love, and some things you think sound cool as a first year won't be all that when you get there. So be patient for now.
 
Agree with the others. Some things are more appealing as ideas or on paper but practical experience teaches us otherwise. For now, try your absolute best in everything, especially with your Step 1 and clinical rotations, so you don't close doors to specialties you might later enjoy. Some ultracompetitive specialties require research projects. If you discover that you love something 3rd year, you can still take a year off to do research in it. The key is to do well in all rotations and board exams, because those things cannot be fixed by taking a year off and are really important in getting the residency you want.

As for what you've discussed above, you can be a pediatric hospitalist, i.e. you work in shifts taking care of hospitalized kids, usually on a 7 days on/7 days off schedule. No call because it's in shifts and because the children are more critically ill likely better compensation than in outpatient clinic.
 
Derm (or pediatric derm) could also fit the bill. There's lots of patient contact, you can always join an established practice so there's no need to open up your own shop, it's not quite primary care but there's certainly a need for more dermatologists, you'll have the opportunity to work with a wide range of ages and if you want, can tailor your practice exclusively toward children, there's an opportunity to be hands-on with procedures (or completely avoid them altogether if you so desire), and of course, it's a lifestyle friendly field.

Alright, so I'm throwing this open to anyone who feels like they can help my pick what specialty/path would be a good fit.

Here's a few things about me:

1) Patient contact is very important to me. I did research for awhile back in undergrad, and couldn't see myself doing that for any time period, afterward.

2) I have little to no interest in running a business. So, owning my own practice really has little appeal.

3) Money isn't a huge deal to me (I say this as an idealistic first-year medical student, of course, but...). I'm not going to be in as bad a loan shape as some others are, and I have simple tastes.

4) I find the idea of a primary care, check-up doctor to be quite appealing. It's simple and kind of quaint, but that image and role really appeals to me.

5) I really enjoy working with kids (as you can bet, I'm leaning towards being a pediatrician right now...).

6) Not interested in surgery.

7) Hours/Lifestyle. This is kind of an issue. I intend to start a family someday. My father was a doctor (optho, partner/ran his own practice), and I did not see him often. When he was around, it seemed like he was always on call, especially when I was very little. I swore I wouldn't do that to my kids.

So, what do you all think? The idea of being a pediatrician (or other primary care doc) really appeals to me in almost every way, but I'm just worried about the being-on-call nature of the job. I'm not so much concerned about the residency period (since I know I'll be working my tail off no matter what I do), but I AM concerned about controlling my schedule to have sane hours/little call afterward. How much flexibility is there?

Thanks!
 
Emergency medicine: good hours with no call, decent-to-outstanding money, don't have to run a business, plenty of patient contact, can work with kids, some cool procedures, but no scrub-in-OR surgery.

Do peds and then fellowship to do EM. Work at a pedi ER, and you've got the flexibility to work at an office too.
 
Sounds like Peds or Family Med will be great for you. Schedule flexibility really depends on the type of practice you join (or the practice model). You can work as a salaried physician and work set hours (no call) in an urgent care setting. Or, you may join a group and choose to work part-time and have no call. Once again, you have to hunt around for these types of luxuries (and since $ isn't your primary motivation, you shouldn't have too many problems finding such positions).
 
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