Crazy-Cool Career Options!?

[Wristwatch]

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Hello everybody,

I am a longtime lurker and this is my first post. I’ve come to respect the wide and deep knowledge of people on this forum and thought I would ask a question in the hopes of getting some answers for myself and maybe stirring up some curiosity among other folks here.

I just finished my first year of med school and I was hoping that some of you could help me with information related to career options (I hope its OK to post in the residents forum since it is mostly residents who I expect have answers, but if it inappropriate I would be happy to repost somewhere else with apologies to all). Specifically I am curious about unusual career paths that are out there. And I don’t necessarily mean totally unorthodox careers but also sidelines that can spice up a fairly conventional practice.

One of the reasons I decided that medicine was for me was because I thought it would be exciting. I don’t mean exciting in the “Indiana Jones” sense, but just that the day to day activities involved, such as patient contact and diagnosing problems, are exciting to me. For example, before med school I volunteered at a crisis hotline and found it exhilarating even when I was just providing empathy to someone going through tough times. So it seems clear, to me at least, that I’m not some adrenaline junky trying to find a way out of the bread-and-butter of medicine. That being said, I wouldn’t mind some spice.

I was hoping that folks would be willing and able to give some examples of docs who have unorthodox professional interests and activities and how they went about grooming themselves to pursue them. I’d love to know what is out there.

I’ve read a bit about wilderness medicine fellowships on studentdoctor, but the posts have been more about the programs and less about the kinds of careers that docs have after finishing them. I would also love to hear about other out of the mainstream training opportunities or opportunities that docs can make for themselves without a formal training program (I imagine researchers in isolated parts of the world, such the Antarctic or oceanographic research, like to have medical attention on hand).

I’m not even necessarily just talking about things that are physically out there in the wilderness, but anything that is off the beaten path. I’m thinking about things like docs consulting/working for NASA or some of these private space ventures that are getting so much media attention? I just saw the James Cameron movie “Aliens of the Deep”, and started wondering if there are docs working with the astrobiology, or deep sea exploration communities?

These are just some things that occurred to me as possibilities and I’m sure some of them are dead wrong. I’m here admitting ignorance. So how bout it guys and gals, what kinds of crazy-cool things are there to add a little variety to a medical career? And if anyone can think of any specific accounts of unorthodox careers I would love to hear about those as well (books, articles…).

Thanks, my first post has been a pleasure and I look forward to your input.

Wristwatch

 

[xanthines]

I don't know about crazy-cool, but I always thought the EIS was pretty nifty...

http://www.cdc.gov/eis/

I suppose you could fashion yourself into a swash-buckling epi, if you worked at it.

-X

Hello everybody,

I am a longtime lurker and this is my first post. I’ve come to respect the wide and deep knowledge of people on this forum and thought I would ask a question in the hopes of getting some answers for myself and maybe stirring up some curiosity among other folks here.

I just finished my first year of med school and I was hoping that some of you could help me with information related to career options (I hope its OK to post in the residents forum since it is mostly residents who I expect have answers, but if it inappropriate I would be happy to repost somewhere else with apologies to all). Specifically I am curious about unusual career paths that are out there. And I don’t necessarily mean totally unorthodox careers but also sidelines that can spice up a fairly conventional practice.

One of the reasons I decided that medicine was for me was because I thought it would be exciting. I don’t mean exciting in the “Indiana Jones” sense, but just that the day to day activities involved, such as patient contact and diagnosing problems, are exciting to me. For example, before med school I volunteered at a crisis hotline and found it exhilarating even when I was just providing empathy to someone going through tough times. So it seems clear, to me at least, that I’m not some adrenaline junky trying to find a way out of the bread-and-butter of medicine. That being said, I wouldn’t mind some spice.

I was hoping that folks would be willing and able to give some examples of docs who have unorthodox professional interests and activities and how they went about grooming themselves to pursue them. I’d love to know what is out there.

I’ve read a bit about wilderness medicine fellowships on studentdoctor, but the posts have been more about the programs and less about the kinds of careers that docs have after finishing them. I would also love to hear about other out of the mainstream training opportunities or opportunities that docs can make for themselves without a formal training program (I imagine researchers in isolated parts of the world, such the Antarctic or oceanographic research, like to have medical attention on hand).

I’m not even necessarily just talking about things that are physically out there in the wilderness, but anything that is off the beaten path. I’m thinking about things like docs consulting/working for NASA or some of these private space ventures that are getting so much media attention? I just saw the James Cameron movie “Aliens of the Deep”, and started wondering if there are docs working with the astrobiology, or deep sea exploration communities?

These are just some things that occurred to me as possibilities and I’m sure some of them are dead wrong. I’m here admitting ignorance. So how bout it guys and gals, what kinds of crazy-cool things are there to add a little variety to a medical career? And if anyone can think of any specific accounts of unorthodox careers I would love to hear about those as well (books, articles…).

Thanks, my first post has been a pleasure and I look forward to your input.

Wristwatch

 

[Wristwatch]

I don't know about crazy-cool, but I always thought the EIS was pretty nifty...

http://www.cdc.gov/eis/

I suppose you could fashion yourself into a swash-buckling epi, if you worked at it.

-X

That does sound pretty cool. But I'm not really set on being swash-buckling. It just seems that medicine, as essentially applied human biology, lies at the intersection of a lot of interesting areas of study and other pursuits that are not actually part of the typical practice of medicine. I'm just speculating that a doc could (and probably a lot have) found ways to get in on these areas.

Thanks for the tip about EIS. That's great. Keep'em coming!

Wristwatch

 

[craig_rt]

Well, in Australia we have the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Because of the remoteness of many communities and stations (ranches), the medical service is airborne and attends emergencies, clinics etc.

Craig

 

[chuck deli]

Cruise line physician.

 

[usnavdoc]

People have varrying opinions on military medicine, but I think that everyone would agree that it is unorthodox. You have choices of aerospace medicine, undersea medicine, epidemiology, ground combat, humanitarian services, expeditionary medicine, and conventional medicine. You name it and the military has some version of it. The army has USAMDIID if you like the whole EIS stuff at the CDC. Then there is the travel.

Its definitely not for everyone and you dont carry a whip like indiana jones but Ive enjoyed my 5 years for the most part. Glad to be moving on to civilian residency but I dont regret it. But I have seen the whole world in some form or fashion.

And if you find yourself in a more conventional medical career then there is always MSF or Doctors without borders. Volunteer 6 months somewhere in the world. I plan on that at some point in my ffuture.

There is also the state department. Be an embassy doctor. And the CIA hires doctors as well. To work as medical officers, medical analysts, and psychiatrists.

 

[xenium]

After reading your post, it seems some of your thoughts were similar to ones I've had in the past.. and (particularly b/c of your enjoyment in grief counseling) I think I have the winner for you..

Forensic psychiatry.

They do clinical stuff part time (so you're a "doc", see patients, help people, etc), and forensic consulting part time. The clinical psychiatry component is nice b/c psychiatry varies so incredibly much and you have a lot to pick from (neuropsychiatry, psychotherapy, etc).

The forensic stuff is extremely interesting. Basically evaluating (and possibly treating or testifying for) people with things varying from hardcore mental illness (schizophrenia, psychosis, etc) all the way to malingering (or just personality/psychological stuff) who happen to get mixed up in the law somehow. It can be clinical forensic practice, e.g. treating people in county settings, jails, even prisons.. or it can be private practice consulting (e.g. folks who've had traumatic brain injuries after a car accident and involved in a lawsuit claiming psychiatric sequela). Forensic psychiatry is the intersection of medicine, psychiatry, and the law.

What can be more exciting (heh, or scary etc) than treating an agitated criminally insane individual (in a prison setting to boot)..? or more interesting than evaluating a severely ill psychotic patient who's dysfunctioning neuroanatomy is causing him to enact a complex plan concocted from a delusion, etc..?

Funny.. b/c people often think of surgery as exciting, but to me.. I found it kinda boring/routine -- the friggin patient is lying asleep on the table! (obviously it's a matter of what you find interesting -- bleeding blood vessels or reading a ct scan, etc).

Which brings up another point - there is exciting and then there is interesting. I found surgery a little exciting but not interesting at all. I found radiology totally unexciting but interesting. (General) psychiatry for me was both exciting and interesting.

The core of forensic psychiatry is, obviously, psychiatry. One must be comfortable (and even enjoy) all the nuances thereof -- the good and the not so good. Also, i think if you really are looking for unique career options then psychiatry has many more. E.g. consulting for special projects (e.g. movies like 'the aviator,' 'ray,' etc), civic/policy areas (as psychiatry is naturally the branch of medicine most interowoven with sociology, etc).

In summary:
the pros of forensic psychiatry -
very interesting work
unique, nothing else like it in all of medicine
intense atmosphere
consulting in nature, so very flexible/great lifestyle
lucrative, very specialized
won't be affected by trends in medicine
potential to do a lot of good for a terribly marginalized population

the cons -
scary patient population (can hunt you down, etc)
public misperception (the standard psychiatry stigma, mistaking for psychology, criminal profiling etc)
not (necessarily) clinical - you're not medically helping someone

Anyway.. look into it further if interested. If so, do a 4th year elective. Good luck.