easiest residencies....

[amd123]

So I want to be a general surgeon but I realized that General Surgery is one of the toughest/most demanding residencies.

What are some of the more easier residencies/careers in the medical field.

How easy is being a pharmacist/dentist/optometrist?
What do you call the doctors that do regular yearly physicals and diagnose if you have a cold or not?

How easy is their residency?

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[NickNaylor]

I don't think that anyone would say that any residency is "easy." I'm guessing you're asking which residencies are the easiest to get into.

The doctor you're talking about is a general practitioner or a family medicine physician. These are pretty much considered the easiest residencies to get into, along with internal medicine. A general rule is that the more specialized the medicine, the more difficult it is to get involved with. Radiology, dermatology, and orthopedics are generally the most difficult residencies to get into (depending on who you ask).

I can't speak to the other careers that you mentioned because I'm not even sure how their post-graduate training works. You can probably be sure that no matter which path you choose, though, the work will be demanding.

 

[ButImLETired]

So I want to be a general surgeon but I realized that General Surgery is one of the toughest/most demanding residencies.

What are some of the more easier residencies/careers in the medical field.

How easy is being a pharmacist/dentist/optometrist?
What do you call the doctors that do regular yearly physicals and diagnose if you have a cold or not?

How easy is their residency?

Oh dear. Ok.

As Cole said, the doctors who do regular yearly physicals are family physicians. That's probably the easiest residency to get, fairly short, and I suspect it's one of the chillest ones to get through (less time on call and such). It's also often considered sort of a thankless job cause you don't get paid very well and work pretty long hours to make ends meet. If you're in a zillion dollars of debt post-med school, money will matter.

Family med and some of the less-competitive internal medicine residencies (some IM residencies- like the ones at the big name hospitals- are competitive even though as a whole, IM is not) are probably arguably the easiest residencies to obtain that will allow you to practice at the end. IM is often the choice of people who want to be general practitioners (doing physicals and such) but go into more depth into each system or who want to specialize further into one of the many fellowships that branch out- cardiology, oncology, gastroenterology....etc. As far as I've seen from IM residents I've worked with, it's a pretty tough residency to get through, but you learn a pretty huge variety of things. As I said, you can either choose to be a primary care IM physician, or specialize further into one of the branches I mentioned. Oh, I believe general pediatrics and ob/gyn are also pretty easy residencies to obtain, again because they don't make too much money (ob/gyn is particularly bad for that because you have overnight call fairly often and you get sued all the time...)

Pharmacists/dentists/optometrists are totally different healthcare jobs, they're not physicians. I'm not exactly sure what the process is for those or how competitive they might be- my understanding is that they all are less competitive/ have better hours than physicians, but again the compensation varies. Also, if you want to be a surgeon, you might not really fall in love with something like pharmacy or dentistry or optometry- I mean, we are talking VERY different jobs here.

By the way, you might also want to look into podiatry. It's less competitive to get into, and I believe you can do a sort of surgery residency where you can perform procedures on the foot and ankle. If you're interested in that area at all, it seems like a pretty cush way to go to me. But you gotta like those feet.

Good luck!

 

[Dawsonkw]

sorry this has nothing to do with the topic but to Coleonaroll


I LIKE TUWRTULS

 

[NickNaylor]

sorry this has nothing to do with the topic but to Coleonaroll


I LIKE TUWRTULS

 

[amd123]

sorry this has nothing to do with the topic but to Coleonaroll


I LIKE TUWRTULS

It's times likes these that make me wish this forum had a report button, which would allow me to report your post to a Mod/Admin

 

[ButImLETired]

It's times likes these that make me wish this forum had a report button, which would allow me to report your post to a Mod/Admin

Er...there is. It's on the bottom right under your avatar. However, I should point out that mods only deal with actual problems/violations of the terms of service, so you should have a pretty good reason for reporting a post.

 

[XORD]

Oh dear. Ok.

As Cole said, the doctors who do regular yearly physicals are family physicians. That's probably the easiest residency to get, fairly short, and I suspect it's one of the chillest ones to get through (less time on call and such). It's also often considered sort of a thankless job cause you don't get paid very well and work pretty long hours to make ends meet. If you're in a zillion dollars of debt post-med school, money will matter.

Family med and some of the less-competitive internal medicine residencies (some IM residencies- like the ones at the big name hospitals- are competitive even though as a whole, IM is not) are probably arguably the easiest residencies to obtain that will allow you to practice at the end. IM is often the choice of people who want to be general practitioners (doing physicals and such) but go into more depth into each system or who want to specialize further into one of the many fellowships that branch out- cardiology, oncology, gastroenterology....etc. As far as I've seen from IM residents I've worked with, it's a pretty tough residency to get through, but you learn a pretty huge variety of things. As I said, you can either choose to be a primary care IM physician, or specialize further into one of the branches I mentioned. Oh, I believe general pediatrics and ob/gyn are also pretty easy residencies to obtain, again because they don't make too much money (ob/gyn is particularly bad for that because you have overnight call fairly often and you get sued all the time...)

Pharmacists/dentists/optometrists are totally different healthcare jobs, they're not physicians. I'm not exactly sure what the process is for those or how competitive they might be- my understanding is that they all are less competitive/ have better hours than physicians, but again the compensation varies. Also, if you want to be a surgeon, you might not really fall in love with something like pharmacy or dentistry or optometry- I mean, we are talking VERY different jobs here.

By the way, you might also want to look into podiatry. It's less competitive to get into, and I believe you can do a sort of surgery residency where you can perform procedures on the foot and ankle. If you're interested in that area at all, it seems like a pretty cush way to go to me. But you gotta like those feet.

Good luck!

hello,thats a decent advice,but i wana do DO and then specialisation,in gastro, or surgery, but as all know DO lack hands on ,in surgeries compare to MD, thats one thing really scares me off. whr u get a chance in the competetive field, and whr u have to impress ppl with ur work, and this residencies like GAstro are very hard to get in,specially for DOs.. can u plz suggest me, is THERE anyway IN this world i can do GAstro,or any decent high earning surgery .being a average student or DO, i badly wana get in surgery.and ya earn good bucks...or shud i quit a option for DO and MD and try for dental,i mean is it gonna be easy to get in dental suregery like maxilo facial.or ortho, bcoz they have decent incomes too. what do u suggest, do DO and take my chances for gastro or surgery, or do DEntal and try for ortho or maxo, which is gonna be easy plz. advice....i really confused

 

[avatarftw]

Dude, please learn how to write a coherent sentence. With your text speak, its incredibly hard to read; I hope you don't do your AMCAS or AACOMAS applications like this...

hello,thats a decent advice,but i wana do DO and then specialisation,in gastro, or surgery, but as all know DO lack hands on ,in surgeries compare to MD, thats one thing really scares me off. whr u get a chance in the competetive field, and whr u have to impress ppl with ur work, and this residencies like GAstro are very hard to get in,specially for DOs.. can u plz suggest me, is THERE anyway IN this world i can do GAstro,or any decent high earning surgery .being a average student or DO, i badly wana get in surgery.and ya earn good bucks...or shud i quit a option for DO and MD and try for dental,i mean is it gonna be easy to get in dental suregery like maxilo facial.or ortho, bcoz they have decent incomes too. what do u suggest, do DO and take my chances for gastro or surgery, or do DEntal and try for ortho or maxo, which is gonna be easy plz. advice....i really confused

 

[orthomyxo]

It's times likes these that make me wish this forum had a report button, which would allow me to report your post to a Mod/Admin

Turtles have feelings too.

 

[XORD]

Dude, please learn how to write a coherent sentence. With your text speak, its incredibly hard to read; I hope you don't do your AMCAS or AACOMAS applications like this...

ok, the thing here is,i Want to do DO athe then Suregery in GAstroentrology,or any otheere decent surgery which have a Good pay....
2. second thing is as we all knoW DOs are not as good as MD is Surgery sTuff, IT will be very hard to get in.and selection is very narrow in competitve and demanding in surgeries.like Gastroentrology...
...so is there anyway i can do Surgery like GAstroentrology,or any other general surgery Being a DO.iwant to knoW which Surgeries ARE easy to get in Apart from , IM, Obes,Family Practice ,i mean anyhting which is lest competitive to get in and get high PAY....................
3. And at last i want to Ask how iF i Quit thE idea of medical. and do DEntal,..and then Orthothonditcs or MAxiloFacial, like that stuFF, is it LESs Competitive Comapre to Medical Surgeries to get in. and how is the salary there in Dental stream.plz advice me..im just a fine student..im Ot like einstien or that brainy. to get top, and get in Demanding surgeries

 

[nev]

ok, the thing here is,i Want to do DO athe then Suregery in GAstroentrology,or any otheere decent surgery which have a Good pay....
2. second thing is as we all knoW DOs are not as good as MD is Surgery sTuff, IT will be very hard to get in.and selection is very narrow in competitve and demanding in surgeries.like Gastroentrology...
...so is there anyway i can do Surgery like GAstroentrology,or any other general surgery Being a DO.iwant to knoW which Surgeries ARE easy to get in Apart from , IM, Obes,Family Practice ,i mean anyhting which is lest competitive to get in and get high PAY....................
3. And at last i want to Ask how iF i Quit thE idea of medical. and do DEntal,..and then Orthothonditcs or MAxiloFacial, like that stuFF, is it LESs Competitive Comapre to Medical Surgeries to get in. and how is the salary there in Dental stream.plz advice me..im just a fine student..im Ot like einstien or that brainy. to get top, and get in Demanding surgeries

First off.. do your homework about actually knowing the difference between DOs and MDs. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN BASIC SCIENCES TRAINING BETWEEEN MDs AND DOs! There is only an additional skillset training in OMT for DOs.

 

[ButImLETired]

ok, the thing here is,i Want to do DO athe then Suregery in GAstroentrology,or any otheere decent surgery which have a Good pay....
2. second thing is as we all knoW DOs are not as good as MD is Surgery sTuff, IT will be very hard to get in.and selection is very narrow in competitve and demanding in surgeries.like Gastroentrology...
...so is there anyway i can do Surgery like GAstroentrology,or any other general surgery Being a DO.iwant to knoW which Surgeries ARE easy to get in Apart from , IM, Obes,Family Practice ,i mean anyhting which is lest competitive to get in and get high PAY....................
3. And at last i want to Ask how iF i Quit thE idea of medical. and do DEntal,..and then Orthothonditcs or MAxiloFacial, like that stuFF, is it LESs Competitive Comapre to Medical Surgeries to get in. and how is the salary there in Dental stream.plz advice me..im just a fine student..im Ot like einstien or that brainy. to get top, and get in Demanding surgeries

I'm sorry man, I'd give you advice but that's not really English there. I have no idea what you're asking. Do you not speak English?

 

[avatarftw]

I've never called anybody a "troll" because I think its overused but I think that you may be one. I don't know anybody that can alternate capitalized letters and undercase letters. If somebody did normally write like you, well...that would be crazy!

ok, the thing here is,i Want to do DO athe then Suregery in GAstroentrology,or any otheere decent surgery which have a Good pay....
2. second thing is as we all knoW DOs are not as good as MD is Surgery sTuff, IT will be very hard to get in.and selection is very narrow in competitve and demanding in surgeries.like Gastroentrology...
...so is there anyway i can do Surgery like GAstroentrology,or any other general surgery Being a DO.iwant to knoW which Surgeries ARE easy to get in Apart from , IM, Obes,Family Practice ,i mean anyhting which is lest competitive to get in and get high PAY....................
3. And at last i want to Ask how iF i Quit thE idea of medical. and do DEntal,..and then Orthothonditcs or MAxiloFacial, like that stuFF, is it LESs Competitive Comapre to Medical Surgeries to get in. and how is the salary there in Dental stream.plz advice me..im just a fine student..im Ot like einstien or that brainy. to get top, and get in Demanding surgeries

 

[ryncPharmD]

First off.. do your homework about actually knowing the difference between DOs and MDs. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN BASIC SCIENCES TRAINING BETWEEEN MDs AND DOs! There is only an additional skillset training in OMT for DOs.

Please XORD, do not go to DO/MD school, Dental school, bartending school, or trucking school. I would recommend going back to elementary school and learning how to freaking spell and form coherent sentences. You just sound like a lazy loaf, it is embarrassing. If you don't want to try and excel at anything why would you want to get into a healthcare field?

 

[Law2Doc]

First off.. do your homework about actually knowing the difference between DOs and MDs. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN BASIC SCIENCES TRAINING BETWEEEN MDs AND DOs! There is only an additional skillset training in OMT for DOs.

While I agree that the degrees are equivalent, I think you overstate your position to the extent you are suggesting in the last sentence that DO = MD PLUS OMT. The education is about the same number of hours logged over a grueling 4 years. Meaning to the extent DOs spend X hours learning OMT, they learn X hours less of other things. So while both sets of training are largely equivalent and good enough to form a basis for residency you don't want to try to argue that one is the same as the other PLUS something, because for every plus, there will be an equivalent MINUS in education. Having worked with both MD and DO grads I would suggest that while both are good at their jobs, each will have knowledge gaps the other doesn't, not only because of OMT, but also because the schools are preparing students for different licensing exams with different topic emphasis.

Now as to OP's question, although I agree his post is trollish and poorly typed (which is something he will have to resolve or graduate education is probably not in his future), he gets a little leeway since this is the high school board. I think it's hard to deny that there would be at least some small competitive advantage to be coming from a US allopathic school if your goal was general surgery. Not saying this isn't a realistic option for DO grads, just that you have a better shot from the other side.

I think OP is a bit confused in terms of specialties. GI is a subspecialty of IM. General surgeons do surgery within the abdomen, but they are not termed gastroenterologists. For both paths you are going to have to work fairly hard. While they are not the most competitive paths, you probably need to be above average for both. And you will be working very hard during residency for either path, whether MD or DO. In fact, medicine in general is a very poor career choice for someone concerned with "which one is easiest" type questions. None are easy. You are going to work very very hard in med school and residency and beyond if medicine is your career. People's lives depend on it. While dental can be an easier path, the surgical subspecialties within dentistry like OMFS are not. I'd say get into and do well in college, and then take stock and see if your goals in life still involve "what is easiest". If that's the case, then don't become a professional. There are plenty of "easy" jobs out there that pay the bills but don't involve reading up on a patient after a 30 hour shift.

 

[uclakid]

So I want to be a general surgeon but I realized that General Surgery is one of the toughest/most demanding residencies.

What are some of the more easier residencies/careers in the medical field.

How easy is being a pharmacist/dentist/optometrist?
What do you call the doctors that do regular yearly physicals and diagnose if you have a cold or not?

How easy is their residency?

become a doctor of family medicine. you have to go to medical school and do a residency in family medicine. that's all.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

I don't think that anyone would say that any residency is "easy." I'm guessing you're asking which residencies are the easiest to get into.

Radiology, dermatology, and orthopedics are generally the most difficult residencies to get into (depending on who you ask).

Yeah, Law2Doc pretty much hit the nail on the head - there's no "easy" way to the MD. Just making it to med school is a big accomplishment, it's best not to look that far in the future with any desire of certainty. I can't speak for optometry or pharmacy but in general I'd wager it's slightly less stress/work than med school. Still, those aren't exactly "easy" degrees or alternatives, either.

In reply to the above, with respect to board scores and % of admitted applicants, I'd say in general derm and plastics are hardest, then maybe ENT, ortho, then rads, neurosurg, uro, maybe optho...Cards and gastro just don't fit, as fellowships that don't necessarily always value step 1 like the others do. Rad Onc is also super uber competitive and may even be the hardest, but they seem to care more about research than raw scores. And as was said before, an IM residency at Harvard or UCSF might actually be harder than your average ortho residency in terms of numbers. But that's an exception.

Easiest ones to get in to are family med, psych, peds, and maybe IM and neuro. It's variable. G surg is not super competitive, either. As far as the residencies go, they all require a lot of hours and hard work. Some, like G Surg, are known for being pretty intense and sometimes a bit draining or "dehumanizing." I'd say some like derm are known for being a lot cushier. In general there's a formula that occurs: the competitiveness = money + lifestyle/hours/ease. Fields like derm with slightly less income potential than, say, ortho or rads, but that are even more competitive than ortho or rads, tend to have very sweet lifestyles/hours. That's just the way it works. "Easy" jobs that pay well in medicine are exceedingly rare. But if you're in it for the "right reasons," whatever they may be for you, you won't necessarily want a job where you're expected to only work 40 hours a week anyway. I'd actually find that frustrating.

Anyway, there are a lot of specialties out there whose strengths and weaknesses it would be impossible to assess without a lot more perspective. You just never know what your fit will be until you live them during med school. And still it's hard to know. Add to this that there are a million variables between now and actually choosing a residency that it's basically not worth spending too much time thinking about. It's good to know all the different types of medical practices out there, though.

 

[45408]

ok, the thing here is,i Want to do DO athe then Suregery in GAstroentrology,or any otheere decent surgery which have a Good pay....
2. second thing is as we all knoW DOs are not as good as MD is Surgery sTuff, IT will be very hard to get in.and selection is very narrow in competitve and demanding in surgeries.like Gastroentrology...
...so is there anyway i can do Surgery like GAstroentrology,or any other general surgery Being a DO.iwant to knoW which Surgeries ARE easy to get in Apart from , IM, Obes,Family Practice ,i mean anyhting which is lest competitive to get in and get high PAY....................
3. And at last i want to Ask how iF i Quit thE idea of medical. and do DEntal,..and then Orthothonditcs or MAxiloFacial, like that stuFF, is it LESs Competitive Comapre to Medical Surgeries to get in. and how is the salary there in Dental stream.plz advice me..im just a fine student..im Ot like einstien or that brainy. to get top, and get in Demanding surgeries

Yeah, we gathered.

 

[the duck]

Yeah, we gathered.

 

[Venko]

While I agree that the degrees are equivalent, I think you overstate your position to the extent you are suggesting in the last sentence that DO = MD PLUS OMT. The education is about the same number of hours logged over a grueling 4 years. Meaning to the extent DOs spend X hours learning OMT, they learn X hours less of other things. So while both sets of training are largely equivalent and good enough to form a basis for residency you don't want to try to argue that one is the same as the other PLUS something, because for every plus, there will be an equivalent MINUS in education. Having worked with both MD and DO grads I would suggest that while both are good at their jobs, each will have knowledge gaps the other doesn't, not only because of OMT, but also because the schools are preparing students for different licensing exams with different topic emphasis.

Now as to OP's question, although I agree his post is trollish and poorly typed (which is something he will have to resolve or graduate education is probably not in his future), he gets a little leeway since this is the high school board. I think it's hard to deny that there would be at least some small competitive advantage to be coming from a US allopathic school if your goal was general surgery. Not saying this isn't a realistic option for DO grads, just that you have a better shot from the other side.

I think OP is a bit confused in terms of specialties. GI is a subspecialty of IM. General surgeons do surgery within the abdomen, but they are not termed gastroenterologists. For both paths you are going to have to work fairly hard. While they are not the most competitive paths, you probably need to be above average for both. And you will be working very hard during residency for either path, whether MD or DO. In fact, medicine in general is a very poor career choice for someone concerned with "which one is easiest" type questions. None are easy. You are going to work very very hard in med school and residency and beyond if medicine is your career. People's lives depend on it. While dental can be an easier path, the surgical subspecialties within dentistry like OMFS are not. I'd say get into and do well in college, and then take stock and see if your goals in life still involve "what is easiest". If that's the case, then don't become a professional. There are plenty of "easy" jobs out there that pay the bills but don't involve reading up on a patient after a 30 hour shift.

Entirely agree.

TL
EM Attending

 

[Yours73]

I am sorry if this would offend any one, but as a medical director of a 22 MD group, I can clearly see a big difference between MDs and DOs. you may say the same school, this and that, but facts are facts and are seen on daily basis in real life, MDs are more solid as physicians and are more rounded, my hospital doesn't even give DOs ICU priviliges.

 

[HockeyDr09]

I am sorry if this would offend any one, but as a medical director of a 22 MD group, I can clearly see a big difference between MDs and DOs. you may say the same school, this and that, but facts are facts and are seen on daily basis in real life, MDs are more solid as physicians and are more rounded, my hospital doesn't even give DOs ICU priviliges.

You're a medical director, that necrobumped a two year old thread, that won't give DO's ICU priviliges (which I believe isn't even allowed as it's blatant discrimination of equivalent degrees , could be wrong), and has one post.

:troll:

 

[PhilliesPhan]

You're a medical director, that necrobumped a two year old thread, that won't give DO's ICU priviliges (which I believe isn't even allowed as it's blatant discrimination of equivalent degrees , could be wrong), and has one post.

:troll:

HAHAHAHAHA LMFAO!!!! Wow, funniest thing I've seen all night!