EM or Anesthesia?

[cjcarter]

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EM or Anesthesia??? Help sway me one way or another. I've made a pro/con list and they are pretty similar. If you were deciding between the two or picked one of these specialties, please tell me why! Thank you!

 

[CidHighwind]

People will probably disagree with what I have to say, but anesthesia has better hours, higher pay, and a less crazy/busy time while at the hospital than EM. Some people find the craziness of EM appealing, some find the sterile OR setting that’s fairly controlled (until it isn’t) more appealing. But if you’d be happy with either, do gas.

 

[anbuitachi]

People will probably disagree with what I have to say, but anesthesia has better hours, higher pay, and a less crazy/busy time while at the hospital than EM. Some people find the craziness of EM appealing, some find the sterile OR setting that’s fairly controlled (until it isn’t) more appealing. But if you’d be happy with either, do gas.

Unfortunately you are 100% very wrong about this.

If you are interested in both, do EM. Both have similar cons, but EM has more pros in my opinion. MUCH higher per hour pay, Way more time off.

The biggest downside about EM to me is you have to deal with a lot of paperwork compared to anes, and depending on where you are, may have to deal with homeless, drunks, difficult patients, etc. You are also frontline for anything infectious.

Anes is cleaner than EM since you'd work in the ORs, but thats really just compared to EM. You still deal with blood, secretions/gastric contents, urine. You will work much more hours per week if you want to be paid like EM.

 

[InternistDO]

Despite similar people being attracted to them (probably because they're critical care specialties that are fairly high earning), they're pretty different. To me the biggest difference EM is a lot more patient contact, much more of a clinic feel, while anesthesia is obviously in the OR with a focus on one patient at a time. EM is more diverse in terms of pathology, but at the trade off of not being viewed as an expert in anything, while anesthesia gets to be undisputed master of the airway. EM has less hours but at worse times (more nights/evenings), anesthesia you can have a more normal schedule.

Have you rotated in them? If not, you may find yourself surprised by what you enjoy. I pro/conned my way into several specialties that I ended up disliking when I rotated through them.

 

[Rekt]

I'm EM and did gas rotations in medical school and residency. They're not even close at all. You really need to rotate in both. As to the above, it's much easier to make good money in gas than EM, especially with our upcoming job climate.

 

[ace_inhibitor111]

Currently, I’d probably say EM still has the edge on the job market, but that is rapidly changing and by the time you graduate we might see EM making about the same as hospitalists (250k). At least CRNAs still require supervision at the beginning of procedures, whereas midlevels in the ER work-up low acuity cases independently. Also CRNAs have a higher barrier to entry vs the tidal wave of NPAs that will hit us in the next 5 years.

Other thing to consider, in most countries, including those with more ‘universal’ healthcare UK, Australia, Germany etc. EMs make about the same as GPs. Whereas anesthesiology is still the more highly paid medical profession, even in countries who don’t pay their doctors much like Spain and Russia or even Venezuela. In other words, I feel it is a less “replaceable” role than EM.

 

[jurisburger]

I think the biggest con for EM is long-term circadian rhythm disruption which honestly has trickle down effects for everything else in your life. Anesthesia certainly works longer hours and deals with their own BS but at least you're not working 10am-6pm one day and then potentially 7pm-2am the next day and so on and so forth for the rest of your career. My vote is for anesthesia.

***MS4 perspective which I understand is counter to what some of the anesthesia attendings here will say***

 

[anbuitachi]

Most medical students rotating thru anesthesia like it. at where i did med school, it was one of the highest rated rotations, which makes sense cause med students get to do procedures, have zero responsibility, get 1on1 education time from resident and/or attending, and go home really early.

obviously have to rotate to get a feel, but at same time SDN is a GREAT resource to get opinions from many attendings located all over the country

 

[anbuitachi]

Currently, I’d probably say EM still has the edge on the job market, but that is rapidly changing and by the time you graduate we might see EM making about the same as hospitalists (250k). At least CRNAs still require supervision at the beginning of procedures, whereas midlevels in the ER work-up low acuity cases independently. Also CRNAs have a higher barrier to entry vs the tidal wave of NPAs that will hit us in the next 5 years.

Other thing to consider, in most countries, including those with more ‘universal’ healthcare UK, Australia, Germany etc. EMs make about the same as GPs. Whereas anesthesiology is still the more highly paid medical profession, even in countries who don’t pay their doctors much like Spain and Russia or even Venezuela. In other words, I feel it is a less “replaceable” role than EM.

CRNAs can practice independently in like 17 states or something. Who knows how quickly the other states will approve of their independence.

But i agree, EM has a ton of room to drop in terms of salary. EM's per hour pay is insane for a 3-4 year residency. Im surprised its taken this long for the guys in suit to take advantage.

I think the biggest con for EM is long-term circadian rhythm disruption which honestly has trickle down effects for everything else in your life. Anesthesia certainly works longer hours and deals with their own BS but at least you're not working 10am-6pm one day and then potentially 7pm-2am the next day and so on and so forth for the rest of your career. My vote is for anesthesia.

***MS4 perspective which I understand is counter to what some of the anesthesia attendings here will say***

Yea shift changes are really tough as one gets older. But many anesthesiology jobs also have bad shift changes. As an anesthesiology attending, i work about 22-23 days per month (about 60 hrs a week, which is around average according to AAMC.org) not including home pager call. I do 4 overnight shifts (which is either 8am to 8am, or 4pm to 8am), and 5 late shifts (7am to ~10pm), and the rest (~11 shifts) are regular shifts (7am to 5pm). So about 45% of my shifts are either overnight or late shifts

 

[CidHighwind]

Unfortunately you are 100% very wrong about this.

If you are interested in both, do EM. Both have similar cons, but EM has more pros in my opinion. MUCH higher per hour pay, Way more time off.

The biggest downside about EM to me is you have to deal with a lot of paperwork compared to anes, and depending on where you are, may have to deal with homeless, drunks, difficult patients, etc. You are also frontline for anything infectious.

Anes is cleaner than EM since you'd work in the ORs, but thats really just compared to EM. You still deal with blood, secretions/gastric contents, urine. You will work much more hours per week if you want to be paid like EM.

How? Gas makes 400+ and EM about 300+. EM has higher burnout (because the job itself is stressful) and it’s a sprint seeing tons of patients the entire time you’re there. Gas has the option of fellowships (some of which greatly increase pay like pain) while “fellowships” in EM are more like hobbies. Also EM will probably settle down once they open up enough residencies and the market is flooded. Gas you focus on one patient at a time (4 while an attending) and you get scheduled breaks while at work. You’ll deal with disrespect in both.

 

[cjcarter]

I'm EM and did gas rotations in medical school and residency. They're not even close at all. You really need to rotate in both. As to the above, it's much easier to make good money in gas than EM, especially with our upcoming job climate.

Can you elaborate on the upcoming job climate?

 

[anbuitachi]

How? Gas makes 400+ and EM about 300+. EM has higher burnout (because the job itself is stressful) and it’s a sprint seeing tons of patients the entire time you’re there. Also EM will probably settle down once they open up enough residencies and the market is flooded. Gas you focus on one patient at a time (4 while an attending) and you get scheduled breaks while at work. You’ll deal with disrespect in both.

you rely on surveys too much. its a lot more complicated than that and you have to know how to interpret the data. Anesthesiology work way more hours for that salary. Per hour wise, anesthesiology is far lower than EM. So yes, while average salary in anesthesiology is a bit higher, its not accounting for the significantly higher hours worked. Your ceiling in anesthesiology is lower b/c there are only so many hours in a day. Some EM attendings pick up extra shifts and make far more. In anesthesiology its much harder to do that b/c you are already working everyday + some weekends.

W regards to burnout, the survey results literally changes from year to year. Each field differ only by a few percentage points, which in real life, is probably not that significant. In Medscape 2018 survey, EM (45%) is #5 on burnout list, BEHIND family medicine... i can certainly say EM physicians run around more than FM, but clearly burnout has more to do with that. Anesthseiology is ranked a lowly 38%. On the next slide, for BOTH depression + burnout, anesthesiology ranked HIGHER than EM at 13% vs 12%...

But I do agree EM has a lot of room to drop.. when you work less than other fields, but make much more per hour, a lot of ppl in suits can take advantage of that.

 

[cjcarter]

Despite similar people being attracted to them (probably because they're critical care specialties that are fairly high earning), they're pretty different. To me the biggest difference EM is a lot more patient contact, much more of a clinic feel, while anesthesia is obviously in the OR with a focus on one patient at a time. EM is more diverse in terms of pathology, but at the trade off of not being viewed as an expert in anything, while anesthesia gets to be undisputed master of the airway. EM has less hours but at worse times (more nights/evenings), anesthesia you can have a more normal schedule.

Have you rotated in them? If not, you may find yourself surprised by what you enjoy. I pro/conned my way into several specialties that I ended up disliking when I rotated through them.

I have done both. I should have clarified that my pros and cons list are obviously different because the specialties are different, but the pros and cons of each are pretty close in terms of deal breakers, etc. Idk how to explain this properly over the internet lol. Essentially, I can see myself doing both for different reasons which is confusing.

 

[anbuitachi]

Can you elaborate on the upcoming job climate?

EM is going thru what anesthesiology has been going thru for some time now.. and it affects jobs negatively. business takeovers, midlevel independence, lower reimbursement, more residencies etc

i would expect hours to go up and salaries to go down for EM

 

[InternistDO]

Can you elaborate on the upcoming job climate?

EM has seen like a 35% increase in residency positions in the last 3-4 years or so, so there's concern that jobs are going to be harder to come by and salaries will drop.

I can say personally I hated everything about the OR, and I like talking to patients so anesthesia was never on my radar so I can't give the best comparison. I would think less about the stuff you like about the job and more about the stuff you dislike--you may love acute resuscitations, for example, but if you hate seeing the 90% of patients that aren't actively dying than EM might not be for you.

 

[Rekt]

EM is going thru what anesthesiology has been going thru for some time now.. and it affects jobs negatively. business takeovers, midlevel independence, lower reimbursement, etc

i would expect hours to go up and salaries to go down for EM

This, but the main factor right now is how much residency expansion is going on. We've already long lost the battle regarding national groups run by MBAs taking over EM and also having our main society (ACEP) supporting the growth of NPs through a grant helping start Nurse Practitioner "fellowships" so they can pretend to play doctor some more. The expansion is not just here and there, it's massive expansion with multiple programs opening every year, almost monthly it seems. We don't work like IM or FM. We can work in the ED and that's about it. A very negligible amount go into palliative care, sports med, or CCM but most still work EM primarily.

 

[cjcarter]

@Rekt @EmergDO, thank you for sharing. Is this something that could be a deal breaker for upcoming applicants, say if you had to do it all over again?

 

[Rekt]

@Rekt @EmergDO, thank you for sharing. Is this something that could be a deal breaker for upcoming applicants, say if you had to do it all over again?

I'd personally avoid medicine all together.

 

[InternistDO]

I ended up doing IM, not EM, so I'm not the right person to ask unless you want to be sold on primary care

 

[CidHighwind]

I'd personally avoid medicine all together.

What would you do instead?

 

[cjcarter]

I'd personally avoid medicine all together.

I’m scared of this. I find myself not really loving any specialties, tolerating few, while it seems most of my classmates are loving it. I hate waking up and pretending to enjoy myself and acting interested/enthusiastic. I’m definitely disappointed bc medicine isn’t what I thought it would be as a naïve pre-med. I’m in too deep at this point so my goal is to just find a job where I can get the biggest bang for my buck to pay off loans, go to work and go home without taking it with me.

 

[CidHighwind]

I’m scared of this. I find myself not really loving any specialties, tolerating few, while it seems most of my classmates are loving it. I hate waking up and pretending to enjoy myself and acting interested/enthusiastic. I’m definitely disappointed bc medicine isn’t what I thought it would be as a naïve pre-med. I’m in too deep at this point so my goal is to just find a job where I can get the biggest bang for my buck to pay off loans, go to work and go home without taking it with me.

The reality, although most on SDN won’t admit it, is that MOST students don’t have some “aha”moment where they figure out what they want to do. Hence why most people just try to go into the specialties that make the most money and/or have the best lifestyle.

 

[anbuitachi]

I’m scared of this. I find myself not really loving any specialties, tolerating few, while it seems most of my classmates are loving it. I hate waking up and pretending to enjoy myself and acting interested/enthusiastic. I’m definitely disappointed bc medicine isn’t what I thought it would be as a naïve pre-med. I’m in too deep at this point so my goal is to just find a job where I can get the biggest bang for my buck to pay off loans, go to work and go home without taking it with me.

quite a few of my co residents chose anesthesiology b/c they didnt like anything else. in other words, they hated it the least

 

[deleted87051]

I know a few doctors who switched from EM to anesthesia. I don’t know any who went the other direction. I’m in anesthesia and I wouldn’t want to do EM. That said, I also know EM docs who LOVE their job.

 

[takeurmeds02]

EM is definitely one of those fields that you have to actually like. It's harder to stomach if it's your choice of exclusion. I've been prepping for a career in EM since before I started medschool (I was a scribe prior).

I started seeing what kinds of cases were being consulted and what was going up to the floors, and I realized that I didn't want to specialize. Having rotated on the floors, I also don't want to follow the same patient for a week.

I like the idea of having a very wide-knowledge base without having to dive too deeply into the minutiae. Plus EM docs are badass when it comes to sh** hitting the fan; though under-appreciated, I'm okay with that. The biggest drawback for me is the fact that your shifts will be all over the place until you become stable within the same place and can force some normalcy on your schedule out of seniority.

In terms of the mid-level encroachment, I've heard not to worry but I've also heard sleep with one eye open lol but at the end of the day, it's the only specialty that I see myself so I'll deal with it.

 

[anbuitachi]

I know a few doctors who switched from EM to anesthesia. I don’t know any who went the other direction. I’m in anesthesia and I wouldn’t want to do EM. That said, I also know EM docs who LOVE their job.

I don't know anyone choosing em bc they hated it the least . It's hard dealing w the population of you don't like it

 

[Splenda88]

EM: 32-40 hrs/wk making 350-400k/yr dealing with the most difficult patients in the hospital.
Anesthesiology: 45-55 hrs/wk making 350k-450k dealing with the most difficult physicians in the hospital.

Pick your poison!

Both jobs seem to be very stimulating and rewarding

 

[deleted564680]

Future of EM = kiosk + mid-levels

 

[MightBeACylon439]

In anesthesia you rarely ever have to deal with "dispo nightmares." It's pretty much the PACU or ICU.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

go to work and go home without taking it with me.

Isn't that reason alone to pick EM over Anes? As in, shift over..wash hands..go home..let the next doc take over!

You probably saw this thread from 2007 about the same question but I'll post here anyways (check reply 14, might help):

Anesthesia vs. Emergency Medicine

Hi all, I've really enjoyed all the helpful info you guys post on here. I'm in my fourth year of med school and am trying to decide between EM and Anesthesia. I was wondering if any of you were in the same boat and could offer some advice. I love the patient contact of EM but hate the...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[cjcarter]

So many good points in this thread I’m even more confused now lol. Leaning slightly more towards anesthesia but idk how I feel about working 55-60 hours a week...

 

[Tenk]

While these specialties do have some overlap in terms of airway and sedation, they are by no means similar in terms of day to day practice.

Pay: The overall pay is good in both although EM has a potential higher $/hr rate depending on location. I wouldn’t let pay decide this one.

Call: EM generally has no call. Anesthesia usually does. EM wins here.

Nights and Holidays: EM loses on this one for sure.

Day to day work: Anesthesia is probably the winner here. They don’t have to deal with a lot of the garbage social situations and consultants on a daily basis and generally just work a nice day shift when not on call. Their job is overall less stressful as well. There are quite a few docs who go EM -> anesthesia. I have never met one who went anesthesia -> gas although I am sure they exist.

Overall it depends on what you want in life:

Do you want to work hard, play hard with more time off but an ever shifting schedule with the possibility that your department may go from zero patients on the board into a raging dumpster fire from hell all the while playing phone tag with consultants because nobody wants to deal with your patients? Choose EM.

Do you want a steady job with a set schedule while you try to keep patients alive while a surgeon tries to kill them and blames you anytime they even twitch? Choose anesthesia.

 

[Splenda88]

So many good points in this thread I’m even more confused now lol. Leaning slightly more towards anesthesia but idk how I feel about working 55-60 hours a week...

EM job is challenging but there is no specialty in medicine where one can work 2 days/wk and still make 200k+...

EM beats every single specialty in medicine financially as long as one can deal with the chaotic nature of that specialty.

 

[Epilepsy365]

Better go into research then. I’m already prepping for an alternative career in case clinical medicine sucks ass. Have zero interest in being the hospital police.

 

[Got Em]

Currently, I’d probably say EM still has the edge on the job market, but that is rapidly changing and by the time you graduate we might see EM making about the same as hospitalists (250k). At least CRNAs still require supervision at the beginning of procedures, whereas midlevels in the ER work-up low acuity cases independently. Also CRNAs have a higher barrier to entry vs the tidal wave of NPAs that will hit us in the next 5 years.

Other thing to consider, in most countries, including those with more ‘universal’ healthcare UK, Australia, Germany etc. EMs make about the same as GPs. Whereas anesthesiology is still the more highly paid medical profession, even in countries who don’t pay their doctors much like Spain and Russia or even Venezuela. In other words, I feel it is a less “replaceable” role than EM.

If you're a full time ER doc, the average would never be 250k per year, unless you work in academics, NYC, Denver, etc (basically pockets of saturation). Medscape and other surveys are usually on the lower end for ER salaries. The average right now is 350k minimum, so you're asking for a 30% decrease in salary. I have not seen this in any specialty in any number of years. There's too much doom and gloom all over SDN.

Anesthesia has CRNAs. Ophthalmology has optometrists. Radiology has AI/technology. Derm, GI, surgical subspecialties all have private equity looming. Non-surgical specialties all have nurse practitioners waiting in the wings. Community ICUs are being staffed by NPs at night, while the intensivist is on-call from home. Surgical specialties will one day have NPs/surgical techs doing the non-critical portions of the surgery. Robots will then take over.

OP, I would stop worrying about the future of medicine and just focus on what you like to do or what you hate the least. If you still can't pick, then choose based on lifestyle, then potential income level. It is still a job and many physicians have other hobbies or even change careers.

 

[PieOHmy]

OP, I would stop worrying about the future of medicine

WHy would you tell ANYONE not to worry about the future?
IT is a good exercise to be concerned about the future.
Why would you want to pick a specialty that will be obsolete in 20 years if thats the case. Wouldn't you want to know?
That's like telling financial analysts don't worry about trends and future trends, just go with your gut and pick what you like.

 

[ace_inhibitor111]

If you're a full time ER doc, the average would never be 250k per year, unless you work in academics, NYC, Denver, etc (basically pockets of saturation). Medscape and other surveys are usually on the lower end for ER salaries. The average right now is 350k minimum, so you're asking for a 30% decrease in salary. I have not seen this in any specialty in any number of years. There's too much doom and gloom all over SDN.

Anesthesia has CRNAs. Ophthalmology has optometrists. Radiology has AI/technology. Derm, GI, surgical subspecialties all have private equity looming. Non-surgical specialties all have nurse practitioners waiting in the wings. Community ICUs are being staffed by NPs at night, while the intensivist is on-call from home. Surgical specialties will one day have NPs/surgical techs doing the non-critical portions of the surgery. Robots will then take over.

OP, I would stop worrying about the future of medicine and just focus on what you like to do or what you hate the least. If you still can't pick, then choose based on lifestyle, then potential income level. It is still a job and many physicians have other hobbies or even change careers.

Uhh.. I don’t know if you realize but right now 200 EM residency spots are being added every year. The number of EM residents has increased by 36% in the last 5 years. These “pockets of saturation” are soon to become vast expanses of saturation.

 

[scoopdaboop]

ACGME - Accreditation Data System (ADS)

Looks like from 2016-2019, the number of residencies added has gone down every year, but there's still a TON of residencies added. Still, I don't think EM is down in the dumps yet, but is concerning if this continues yearly.

Other specialties have seen lots of increases in residency spots, like GI and Interventional Cardio in 2018-2019, but it's not the amount of ER residencies that are opening up YEARLY, especially bad in 2016.

EDIT: Just realized a lot of those are DO programs that got accredited in the new match lol.

 

[RangerBob]

EM was one of the most miserable rotations I did. The daily practice was enjoyable (I liked FM, so I enjoyed the the 85% of EM patients that were there for PCP type problems). But the shift were miserable. I’d much rather work 60hrs/week with a set schedule than 30-40 with the shifting schedule.

At the end of the day, I had more usable free time on almost all other rotations than EM.

The caveat is I need my sleep, and I don’t shift my sleep schedule easily. EM is just a poor personal fit for me.

I know plenty of EM physicians who love it. I can say the same for all specialties. But I do hear often from elderly EM physicians that it gets much harder as they age. It works great while you’re young and single, but the lifestyle is a bit different when you’ve got kids and your body doesn’t adjust to the changing schedules as much (though by then perhaps you’re senior enough to get first crack at shifts)

You have to ask yourself what will you still enjoy and find meaningful in 15 years after the initial excitement wears off. Who really cares about whether one pays more than the other per hour or per year-you’ll make a killing in either.

 

[InternistDO]

WHy would you tell ANYONE not to worry about the future?
IT is a good exercise to be concerned about the future.
Why would you want to pick a specialty that will be obsolete in 20 years if thats the case. Wouldn't you want to know?
That's like telling financial analysts don't worry about trends and future trends, just go with your gut and pick what you like.

The issue is it's very difficult to predict what will happen 20 years in the future. There's a big chance (almost a certainty) of significant healthcare changes in the next twenty years, from Medicare for All to simple changes in what CMS/insurers decide to pay for things. Something as simple as deciding to not pay for screening colonoscopies anymore could tank GI salaries, or the invention of some new therapy could make some obscure subspecialty very lucrative. New AI things could ruin the radiology job market, or it could allow them to read (and bill for) a zillion more scans and double their income.

You're much more likely to enjoy your job if you pick a specialty you enjoy as opposed to trying to figure out the best cost/benefit analysis using assumptions that are certainly going to change. The vast majority of specialties allow you to live very comfortably in basically anywhere in the US, and it's not like making $250k vs $350k is going to dramatically change your happiness level.

 

[deleted87051]

FWIW people were saying anesthesia was dead in 1996-1997. Only about 150 out of the 1100 spots filled. The job market did suck then but it turned around dramatically in 5 years. More recently the same thing happened to a lesser degree in radiology. Both fields are doing great IMO. So is EM. Nobody can predict the future.

 

[ace_inhibitor111]

The issue is it's very difficult to predict what will happen 20 years in the future. There's a big chance (almost a certainty) of significant healthcare changes in the next twenty years, from Medicare for All to simple changes in what CMS/insurers decide to pay for things. Something as simple as deciding to not pay for screening colonoscopies anymore could tank GI salaries, or the invention of some new therapy could make some obscure subspecialty very lucrative. New AI things could ruin the radiology job market, or it could allow them to read (and bill for) a zillion more scans and double their income.

You're much more likely to enjoy your job if you pick a specialty you enjoy as opposed to trying to figure out the best cost/benefit analysis using assumptions that are certainly going to change. The vast majority of specialties allow you to live very comfortably in basically anywhere in the US, and it's not like making $250k vs $350k is going to dramatically change your happiness level.

Tell that to the AAMC, who predicted a “physician shortage” 10-15 years ago that everyone believed. How can physicians blindly believe this and yet refuse to do their own analysis and advocate for themselves?

You can make reasonable predictions based on available data. What happens when you increase medical student enrollment by 35% in the span of a decade? Substantial increase in competition for residency spots obviously, and look, that’s what we have now. If the number of residency spots in EM rapidly increases, we can look at what happened to rad onc or path and reasonably discern that things are not going to be good. Colonoscopies not being paid? Well come on, there’s a difference between a reasonable prediction and a ridiculous one.

 

[CidHighwind]

FWIW people were saying anesthesia was dead in 1996-1997. Only about 150 out of the 1100 spots filled. The job market did suck then but it turned around dramatically in 5 years. More recently the same thing happened to a lesser degree in radiology. Both fields are doing great IMO. So is EM. Nobody can predict the future.

Tell that to the Radonc folk. They’re all in agreement that the field is dead.

 

[deleted87051]

Tell that to the AAMC, who predicted a “physician shortage” 10-15 years ago that everyone believed. How can physicians blindly believe this and yet refuse to do their own analysis and advocate for themselves?

You can make reasonable predictions based on available data.

You are contradicting yourself. First you point out the AAMC made an inaccurate prediction. They didn’t. Then you also say you can make “reasonable predictions based on available data.”

Time and again these predictions have been wrong. That’s just a matter of chance. If you make a prediction, you are predicting one outcome out of an infinite numbers of possibilities. If there are changes, nobody can predict the direction of the change. The safest course of action is to choose a specialty that truly interests you.

 

[deleted87051]

Tell that to the Radonc folk. They’re all in agreement that the field is dead.

It won’t be in 10 years. A shortage of radonc docs is almost guaranteed in 5 years. This pattern has played out many times in the past.

 

[Splenda88]

It won’t be in 10 years. A shortage of radonc docs is almost guaranteed in 5 years.

But it would be foolish for anyone to go into rad onc now thinking things will be better in 5 years...

 

[deleted87051]

But it would foolish for anyone to go into rad now thinking things will be better in 5 years...

Actually it would be very smart. Just like it was for people who went into radiology 5 years ago and anesthesia back in 1996. If you’re interested in radiology, do radiology. I think most radiologists would rather gouge their eyes out than be a hospitalist or an anesthesiologist.

 

[Splenda88]

Actually it would be very smart. Just like it was for people who went into radiology 5 years ago and anesthesia back in 1996. If you’re interested in radiology, do radiology.

It was not smart... Things got better of course, but people don't get into titanic when it's sinking.

 

[deleted87051]

It was not smart... Things got better of course, but people don't get into titanic when it's sinking.

How wasn’t it smart? Definitely smarter than following the herd.

 

[Splenda88]

How wasn’t it smart? Definitely smarter than following the herd.

We did not know if things were going to turn around. Things has not turned around for pathology, for instance.