Don't fit the surgery personality...

[paki20]

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i LOVE being in the OR but I don't know if I fit the "typical" surgery personality (sorry I'm generalizing, I know..)...the three surgeons who I've worked with directly have been for the most part VERY nice people although very intense (all 3 were in the military at some point and now leaders in their respective fields)..i'm the exact opposite..im a pretty laid back, go with the flow kind of guy, undisciplined and have a more "democratic" type of leadership as opposed to aggressive....all of which paint a perception of me as being lazy, not serious and non-assertive..perception is definitely important so am working on changing that..I am definitely a hard worker and do well in all my classes/exams but I just don't fit the typical type A, intense, strong, die-hard personalities that I have come across in medical school...im very patient, have a high tolerance for things and am a friendly guy but i've noticed that my personality directly clashes with those type of personalties...while i am trying to reflect and fix my own weaknesses, i know that I wouldn't want to be surrounded by ONLY those type of people my entire life...so to get to the point, will I be miserable and alienated by my future colleagues because of my personality if I choose surgery as a career?

 

[porktaco]

Schedule a rotation with urology. They might be more your speed.

 

[duckie99]

You are not defined as a person by your job... If you are good at what you do your colleagues will respect you.

My advice: if you love the OR and doing surgery then go into a surgical field. There may be some fields (potentially urology) which may overall fit your personality better (those guys still work extremely hard though). However, it is my opinion after dealing with lots of surgery residents and seeing how all the interns are "nice" compared to the more "assertive" upper levels that as you work in the field you will naturally become more assertive. This doesn't mean you have to become mean, angry, etc.

 

[alamo4]

Definitely look at urology, ENT, ophthalmology, etc.

Something with procedures but not straight up general surgery. It can have a completely different feel.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Perhaps you used the term undisciplined incorrectly because frankly, out of all the traits that youve listed, its the only one that concerns me.

Surgeons come with all sorts of personalities. You can be a nice liberal democratic sort who gets along well with every one or you can fit the medical student surgeon stereotype and be angry and abusive to everyone around you. Your personality is irrelevant here. What is important is that you are confident, assertive, and disciplined. Those are traits necessary for all surgical specialties, including the very popular urology.

If you cannot be disciplined, in my opinion, you will find a surgical career (or any career for that matter) very difficult.

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

Definitely look at urology, ENT, ophthalmology, etc.

Something with procedures but not straight up general surgery. It can have a completely different feel.

I tend to agree with this. You can find "personality" in these fields as well, but generally we are a more laid back group. I think some part of it is we deal with life threatening problems less often then the general surgeons. We have our big cases and things can go wrong, but our patients are usually not deathly ill in the ICU post-operatively waiting to die. It takes some of the stress off of things.

 

[filter07]

im a pretty laid back, go with the flow kind of guy, undisciplined and have a more "democratic" type of leadership as opposed to aggressive....all of which paint a perception of me as being lazy, not serious and non-assertive..

this is a bad personality for general surgery. for the reason already cited (perception).

 

[ACSurgeon]

when you have a million tasks to get done by the end of the day, you learn to become more assertive. As a junior, there is usually a senior/fellow/attending that you're worried will chew you out if something is not done, so yes, you learn to push people to get their jobs done.

 

[paki20]

thanks for the advice guys, yeah i definitely need to work on my weaknesses and bad habits...

when i say undisciplined, i mean more in my personal life (don't work out as much as I should and gained weight since starting med school, might sleep in late on weekends/days off, room is a mess, procrastinate at times and wait to last minute to finish presentations/assignments, etc.) but in general when it comes to my patients and clinical responsibilities im relatively more disciplined (never missed class, come in early for rotations, stay in late to work, etc)..and i know not everyone is like this but ive seen MANY people in my class and in surgery who are all-rounders and consistently "disciplined" in seemingly EVERY aspect of their life, 24/7 haha (i.e. waking up at 4:30 am every day even when they dont have to, are amazingly in shape and work out no matter what happens or how tired they are, have organized daily routines they follow)..I go through phases but can't keep it up consistently, so yeah relative to them I'm undisciplined and when compared to them I don't match up..and I know no one is "perfectly" disciplined all the time but they definitely give off that perception better than I do, hence my comment on perception...I still have some bad habits left over from undergrad, will residency/fellowship training help build discipline??

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

I wouldn't say any of that precludes you from general surgery. Not everyone is an uber-type A OCD in all aspects of their life. It's about knowing when you have to be disciplined (which some may say is harder to do).

Personally, I'll sleep in late on days off, my room/car is messy, I stretch the boundaries of how late I can sleep to get to work on time and I certainly don't exercise as much as I should. And I don't think I'm rare in those things amongst my fellow residents. But there are certain things I'm very meticulous about, and patient care/operating is one of them. It's definitely been pointed out by attendings that I'm generally pretty laid back, but they also know that when the situation warrants I'm more than capable of being serious/authoritative.

And honestly, residency is stressful. There are certainly people who treat everything as a life and death situation. ("JESUS CHRIST, HOW IS THIS LIST OUT OF ORDER!!") I'm just not sure how they make it through 5 years without perf'ing an ulcer.

 

[filter07]

will residency/fellowship training help build discipline??

Doubtful. Look into something else. Surgery is hard. It is tougher with your personality. It can certainly be done but it will take a lot of effort to overcome your natural tendencies. Do you want to fight yourself all career just to prove you can do it or do you want to be in harmony with your personality and actually be happy? Do what you want but you owe yourself to take a good look at other specialties that might be a better fit...

 

[SLUser11]

Doubtful. Look into something else. Surgery is hard. It is tougher with your personality. It can certainly be done but it will take a lot of effort to overcome your natural tendencies. Do you want to fight yourself all career just to prove you can do it or do you want to be in harmony with your personality and actually be happy? Do want you want but you owe yourself to take a good look at other specialties that might be a better fit...

Agree. OP, I know very little about you, but my gut feeling is that you will be unhappy in surgery, and several of the busier surgery subspecialties.

 

[MediCane2006]

thanks for the advice guys, yeah i definitely need to work on my weaknesses and bad habits...

when i say undisciplined, i mean more in my personal life (don't work out as much as I should and gained weight since starting med school, might sleep in late on weekends/days off, room is a mess, procrastinate at times and wait to last minute to finish presentations/assignments, etc.)

ummm if this is true then I guess I fit the definition of undisciplined. And I'm extremely happy in surgery. I do think my personality has changed a bit over the course of residency/fellowship, in that I'm more assertive, less worried about hurting people's feelings, and overall more confident. But i don't think I've ever fit the stereotypical "surgeon persona".

If you truly love surgery and you're happy in the OR, give it a shot. Agree with those who have said you may find your personality fits in with some of the surgical sub specialties too.

 

[heyyouduh]

thanks for the advice guys, yeah i definitely need to work on my weaknesses and bad habits...

when i say undisciplined, i mean more in my personal life (don't work out as much as I should and gained weight since starting med school, might sleep in late on weekends/days off, room is a mess, procrastinate at times and wait to last minute to finish presentations/assignments, etc.) but in general when it comes to my patients and clinical responsibilities im relatively more disciplined (never missed class, come in early for rotations, stay in late to work, etc)..and i know not everyone is like this but ive seen MANY people in my class and in surgery who are all-rounders and consistently "disciplined" in seemingly EVERY aspect of their life, 24/7 haha (i.e. waking up at 4:30 am every day even when they dont have to, are amazingly in shape and work out no matter what happens or how tired they are, have organized daily routines they follow)..I go through phases but can't keep it up consistently, so yeah relative to them I'm undisciplined and when compared to them I don't match up..and I know no one is "perfectly" disciplined all the time but they definitely give off that perception better than I do, hence my comment on perception...I still have some bad habits left over from undergrad, will residency/fellowship training help build discipline??

you sound just like me. and I'm about to (fingers crossed) match into gen surg. while theres probably more of the "disciplined" personalities in surgery, I've come across many residents and programs on my interview trail that are more like you and me. you just have to find the right program for you. good luck.

 

[Buzz Me]

I've met many residents who were 100% dedicated while in the hospital, but had terrible personal lives and were disorganized/destructive beyond belief. What's important is your work ethic, dedication to patients and honesty while working (and while on home call, obviously).

 

[DrPapa]

If you like surgery, go for it. Don't listen to anyone that says you don't match the personality.

I'm a very laid back guy. I'm generally unmotivated and somewhat lazy in things outside of work/school. However, I love what I do so I don't mind the hard work. I'm assertive when I need to be. So far, I'm loving my residency (in a stereotypical high-strung surgical sub-specialty) and I think I'm doing pretty well. Frankly, you'll probably get along better with your co-residents and the nurses (which makes life infinitely easier) if you're more laid back.

Bottom line is, if you love your field, your passion for your job will show and you will be successful.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Like others have said, if your lack of discipline refers to your life outside of the hospital, then who cares?

As long as you take good care of patients, enjoy the OR and office work of a surgeon and are disciplined enough to answer your pages/calls, be there when someone needs you and to follow up on your work, then it doesn't matter if you don't go to the gym or hold your pant hems up with Scotch tape.

 

[badasshairday]

I don't know guys, there was an orthopedics surgery foot and ankle fellow I worked with in med school... he was not a surgical personality. I felt he got walked on and sort of taken advantage by ancillary staff and other doctors. Kind of got **** on. He was a really nice and cool guy, but sometimes you have to be more assertive as a surgeon. I am pretty laid back, not nearly as passive as this ortho guy, but I felt like it would be a problem if I pursued surgery. I decided not to do it, maybe I was wrong or maybe I am right.. I guess I will never know.

 

[Apollyon]

I don't know guys, there was an orthopedics surgery foot and ankle fellow I worked with in med school... he was not a surgical personality. I felt he got walked on and sort of taken advantage by ancillary staff and other doctors.

Intentional choice of words?

 

[wjs010]

my brother is slightly type A and perfetionist, but he is/was never mean to anyone. he was chief of gs in dallas. i don't think you have to be mean or even type A ( though most are type A) to be a great surgeon...you just have to be good and confident. epitome of a great surgeon? look at dr oz 😀

 

[Winged Scapula]

my brother is slightly type A and perfetionist, but he is/was never mean to anyone. he was chief of gs in dallas. i don't think you have to be mean or even type A ( though most are type A) to be a great surgeon...you just have to be good and confident. epitome of a great surgeon? look at dr oz 😀

😱

 

[survivordo]

Paki,

It's all about who you surround yourself with. There are definitely surgical residencies that have a more collegial feel than others, mine being one of them. I would say we have more of a family feel than anything... sometimes you piss off your brother but you know he'll be there in the end. It's good that you have identified this about yourself early so you can surround yourself with people more your style.

Survivor DO

 

[balaguru]

Your post made me think of something I just read today: "Don't tolerate mediocrity. The burden caused by mediocre people falls on conscientious people. If the burden becomes too great, the conscientious people leave. You're left with mediocrity."

David H. Gustafson, reflecting on his positive experience of being a heart transplant patient.

You have some insight which is certainly a good start. Good luck to you.

 

[SouthSideSteve]

epitome of a great surgeon? look at dr oz 😀

lol, that's cute.