Do you still find dermatology interesting/intellectually stimulating?

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swaggy1090

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Hey guys, M3 here planning on going into dermatology. I was wondering, do you guys still find derm to be intellectually stimulating/interesting? I know a lot of other professions crap on dermatologists for "being fake doctors" or it being boring etc.... but I could see it being really interesting due to the crazy amount of possible diagnosis you see. I was wondering if those of you in practice have found that to be true? I know that my mentors here love it, but they are in academic dermatology, which I imagine sees a lot more crazy stuff than your run of the mill private practice. Also, I'm not really sure how to ask this, but as applicants to derm are usually the very top of their class, top board scores, etc, do you ever feel like your talents are "wasted" in dermatology. Like all of you absolutely crushed med school, do you feel like dermatology is a difficult/complex enough field to match the intelligence/studiousness of those who go into it?
Thanks!

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Hey guys, M3 here planning on going into dermatology. I was wondering, do you guys still find derm to be intellectually stimulating/interesting? I know a lot of other professions crap on dermatologists for "being fake doctors" or it being boring etc.... but I could see it being really interesting due to the crazy amount of possible diagnosis you see. I was wondering if those of you in practice have found that to be true? I know that my mentors here love it, but they are in academic dermatology, which I imagine sees a lot more crazy stuff than your run of the mill private practice. Also, I'm not really sure how to ask this, but as applicants to derm are usually the very top of their class, top board scores, etc, do you ever feel like your talents are "wasted" in dermatology. Like all of you absolutely crushed med school, do you feel like dermatology is a difficult/complex enough field to match the intelligence/studiousness of those who go into it?
Thanks!

The key (and the difficult part about selecting a career as an M3) is finding satisfaction and fulfillment in the bread and butter of the specialty of your choice.

I am in private practice dermatology (far removed from some of the more unique diagnoses you may see in an academic practice) and can say I still enjoy what I do daily. I don't ever feel my talents are "wasted". If anything, the further I move in my career, the more thankful I am to be in this field.
 
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The key (and the difficult part about selecting a career as an M3) is finding satisfaction and fulfillment in the bread and butter of the specialty of your choice.

I am in private practice dermatology (far removed from some of the more unique diagnoses you may see in an academic practice) and can say I still enjoy what I do daily. I don't even feel my talents are "wasted". If anything, the further I move in my career, the more thankful I am to be in this field.
Thanks for your response! I would imagine that most of practice, especially in PP for most fields is majority bread and butter. In PP do you feel like you see enough "zebras" or weird stuff that it keeps you interested/motivated to continue to read and learn in the field?
 
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yes, I find derm intellectually stimulating. i'm in a private practice and see lots of interesting things, and am glad that I went into derm. Most, and even other physicians, haven't so much as heard of many of the conditions that we treat, and so there is often some misunderstanding about what exactly derms do. if you'd like some idea about the intellectual side of derm and the framework of a knowledge-base, consider going into the site dermatology in-review and go to the study guide (it's now called study by chapter), which is just a superficial outline for what residents need to know.
 
Being a dermatologist every day is like being gang raped by a pack of mule deer.
 
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