CT Surg VS Cardiology

[LGMD]

Hi I'm a med student and I have always been fascinated with the heart, and like pretty much everything about it, and like it way above any other organ system. Entering Med School I was always attracted to CT surgery, and I thought of it as the ultimate challenge in which you had to have a strong knowledge base and skill. However after seeing what cardiologists do I really enjoyed it too. I know both are different specialties with different training, etc, and I began to drift away from CT because I find the idea of being a clinician mentally stimulating while at the same time being able to do procedures (Interventional Cards) if eventually I decide to go into cards. Also I've heard a lot of people say that CT is a dead field, with not such a great future. So I would like you guys to comment on your impression on what the future holds for both fields. Thanks in advance.

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[joti]

Hi I'm a med student and I have always been fascinated with the heart, and like pretty much everything about it, and like it way above any other organ system. Entering Med School I was always attracted to CT surgery, and I thought of it as the ultimate challenge in which you had to have a strong knowledge base and skill. However after seeing what cardiologists do I really enjoyed it too. I know both are different specialties with different training, etc, and I began to drift away from CT because I find the idea of being a clinician mentally stimulating while at the same time being able to do procedures (Interventional Cards) if eventually I decide to go into cards. Also I've heard a lot of people say that CT is a dead field, with not such a great future. So I would like you guys to comment on your impression on what the future holds for both fields. Thanks in advance.

I think it is a great dilemma. Personally I think CT surgery wont die but Interventional Cards will always be on the demanding side. The current generation of Academic Cardiologists are very active and aggressive with lot of money from the industry. This may not last long and group of aggressive CT surgeons can change the trend with laproscopic CABG which decrease the immediate mortality of current CABG. Keep in mind drug eluting stents has not been proven to decrease the long term mortality. However the minimally invasive surgeries will continue to dominate the field.

There is no question about the fact there is no other fascinating field in Medicine which gives both intellectual and interventional satisfaction. No other field is so evidence based and dynamic.

My gut feeling is at least for next 10-15 years Cardiologists will dominate in the medical field.

 

[nutcancer]

I think it is a great dilemma. Personally I think CT surgery wont die but Interventional Cards will always be on the demanding side. The current generation of Academic Cardiologists are very active and aggressive with lot of money from the industry. This may not last long and group of aggressive CT surgeons can change the trend with laproscopic CABG which decrease the immediate mortality of current CABG. Keep in mind drug eluting stents has not been proven to decrease the long term mortality. However the minimally invasive surgeries will continue to dominate the field.

There is no question about the fact there is no other fascinating field in Medicine which gives both intellectual and interventional satisfaction. No other field is so evidence based and dynamic.

My gut feeling is at least for next 10-15 years Cardiologists will dominate in the medical field.

do 3rd year and you'll quickly realize surgery and medicine are 180 degrees apart

and you may also realize you want a life outside of the hospital!

 

[LGMD]

"you may want a life outside the hospital!!"
Meaning?

 

[jayjay1978]

I faced the same challenge myself. Started med school convinced that I would do CT surgery--and in fact, when I rotated on CT surgery for a month; I loved the material, the cases, complexity, and the work load etc. But then, I did the medicine rotation, which I loved even more. On top of it all, it didn't help that the surgical PGY5 on the rotation with me had not seen his kid for the last 4 days, cos he was working like a madman (basically work, home/sleep, work). He in fact told me that his kid was 5 years old and he didn't really know her at all.

All that added up to me choosing medicine even though I had a great time in surgery. I just loved medicine more and wanted to have a family/some sense of sanity in my life.

All in all, go with your heart. I could have done surgery and still be happy. It comes down to personal preferences.

 

[LGMD]

I totally feel what the previous poster said. I mean I want a family and would like to spend some time with them. I fear that I may not have the time to do that in surgery. I know that to become an Interventional or EP cards is 7 years, and CT surg is the same amount of time, but it is not spent the same way. Thanks to all of you who have replied.

 

[nutcancer]

i'm not the surgery type, but ct surgery is fascinating. the intraoperative decision making and manual skill is unlike any other field in surgery. if you truly love it, there's nothing else in medicine that will satisfy you.

'you may want a life outside of the hospital!'

what i mean by this is that both cardiology and ct surgery are a ton of work. only choose them if you are fully devoted to it. do 3rd year and then decide if you love those fields enough to sacrifice your personal life for a good portion of your training.

 

[punjabiMD]

keep in mind, to go either route you have to be able to put up with either an internal medicine residency or a general surgery residency before your fellowship. And, in most cases, be a good resident. (i.e. how useful do you want your pre-fellowship years to be?)

 

[cfdavid]

I faced the same challenge myself. Started med school convinced that I would do CT surgery--and in fact, when I rotated on CT surgery for a month; I loved the material, the cases, complexity, and the work load etc. But then, I did the medicine rotation, which I loved even more. On top of it all, it didn't help that the surgical PGY5 on the rotation with me had not seen his kid for the last 4 days, cos he was working like a madman (basically work, home/sleep, work). He in fact told me that his kid was 5 years old and he didn't really know her at all.

All that added up to me choosing medicine even though I had a great time in surgery. I just loved medicine more and wanted to have a family/some sense of sanity in my life.

All in all, go with your heart. I could have done surgery and still be happy. It comes down to personal preferences.

That's seriously screwed up. I respect those that make sacrifices, and doctors aren't the only ones (even check the divorce rate of Navy Seals??). But, why does it have to be that way? (it's rhetorical...)