EM vs. IM

[SexPanther]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey guys,

So I'm leaning towards EM and have an away scheduled for September that I am excited for. However, there is a nagging thought in the back of my mind that I may possibly want to go into IM. Anybody face a similar decision between the 2 fields, and what about EM convinced you that it was right for you? Thanks for your time.

 

[SoCuteMD]

How do you feel about rounding?

Personally, I've only sat through rounds about 15 times, but they make a railroad spike through my frontal lobe sound appealing!

 

[totalbodypain]

I've got the attention span of a drunk four year old boy with a fresh crate of silly string ( ohhhhhhahhhhh), and I'll try not to extrapolate that to your position, but it is really pretty simple. Do you like the first 6 hours of treating a patient or the following 6 days. I get bored after I've stabalized the patient/ sunk the dispo and have no desire to sit and baby sit them for the next week in the unit/floor/morgue let alone round daily and actually try to come up with new, somewhat interesting things to say (which in my opinion is a mark that usually gets missed by a long shot). So pick which end of the spectrum you like and run with it.

P.S. If you can't ramble on for at least an hour over random electrolyte abnormalities/the differential diagnosis of their alternating macrocytic/microcytic anemia (based on when the lab mixes up the specimens) then IM is not for you.

 

[JCserver3]

Keep in mind that medicine in private practice is entirely different from what happens on the floors. Rounding should not be a major decision factor.

There are combined EM/IM programs out there as well.

I like EM because of the more diverse population (kids and adults, surgical and medical cases).

 

[NinerNiner999]

The above posters both bring up good points to consider, but remember that formal rounding will only apply to your training, and not to your individual practice (where often times it will be you seeing patients on you own). As the other poster alluded to, if you feel like you need to have a relationship with your patients or see them for follow-up, EM is not for you. On the other hand, if you enjoy acute treatment and critical care, being the first to diagnose and treat illness, and putting your work behind you when you leave the hospital, EM is right up your alley. Don't worry too much about your decision - the answer will present itself faster than you think!

 

[DrQuinn]

At our place, we have medicine interns rotate for a month in the ED. A lot of them have decided to switch into EM... and the general theme of the reason why is because: "Its so much fun actually DIAGNOSING things...."

'nuff said.
Q