Emergency Medicine and General Surgery

[mcmedstudent]

I'm having a tough time deciding between both emergency medicine and general surgery. I love the initial management of all the various cases and being in the OR. I know they are two different specialties with two different jobs and that many will advice do one or the other. Is there any way to do both? I know doing both residency programs will require 8/9 years+. Let's say I'm fine with doing the required length of both residencies and the income, is it possible to do it? As a student I know what I'll be signing up for but I don't know what it will be like in actual practice. Not practical, I understand. But advice for the possibility of both?

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[nimbus]

I'm having a tough time deciding between both emergency medicine and general surgery. I love the initial management of all the various cases and being in the OR. I know they are two different specialties with two different jobs and that many will advice do one or the other. Is there any way to do both? I know doing both residency programs will require 8/9 years+. Let's say I'm fine with doing the required length of both residencies and the income, is it possible to do it? As a student I know what I'll be signing up for but I don't know what it will be like in actual practice. Not practical, I understand. But advice for the possibility of both?

You could start out in GS and switch to EM as thousands have done before you.

 

[operaman]

Practically speaking, what most people do in this case is simply pick one and aim for crossover. Doing gen surg and a trauma fellowship is probably what gives you the most options and trauma jobs would tend to give you more of the lifestyle aspects of EM (no call, shift work, etc). You also have the bailout option of practicing general surgery in a more standard setup if you get tired of shift work.

Alternatively, you could just do EM and look for jobs that are more procedure heavy and save yourself many extra years of training.

Honestly you would be best off doing more soul searching and figuring out what sounds more interesting once the newness wears off. Initial management is fun but eventually it’s fairly routine with sporadic moments of pure terror. The OR is awesome but eventually the cases themselves become routine too.

Gen surg plus trauma/cc probably gets you closest to an all of the above situation.

 

[Tenk]

Don't.

Do you want a life outside of work? Pick EM.

Do you want a life of surgery? Pick surgery.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Agree with the GS -> Trauma fellowship route will get you as close as possible to what you are describing.

 

[shouldigomd]

I'm having a tough time deciding between both emergency medicine and general surgery. I love the initial management of all the various cases and being in the OR. I know they are two different specialties with two different jobs and that many will advice do one or the other. Is there any way to do both? I know doing both residency programs will require 8/9 years+. Let's say I'm fine with doing the required length of both residencies and the income, is it possible to do it? As a student I know what I'll be signing up for but I don't know what it will be like in actual practice. Not practical, I understand. But advice for the possibility of both?

No practical way of combining both, would be a huge waste of time.

 

[libertyyne]

Trauma.

 

[Dral]

As someone who sorta practices two specialties (ones more closely related than surg and EM) I’ll tell you it’s difficult to be really good at both. Pick one. I like the idea of trauma surgeon that others have mentioned.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

I do believe that trauma surgeons still have significant clinic obligations and often need to do general surgery cases since there aren't a ton of places that can fill up a surgeon's practice only with traumas.
I could be wrong but that's what I've heard from our trauma surgeons (who are in a pretty trauma-heavy city).

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Which field do you think can tolerate the most mundane aspects of?

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

If you want both then just do GS, considering the number of ER docs who will consult you without working up the patient.

Jk Jk

Realistically, there is no way of doing both specialties to their fullest.

You have to pick between working in the ER vs. the OR. If you can’t see yourself not working in the OR, you could pick GS and take a Trauma/Critical Care route.

Keep in mind though, Trauma/CC surgeons can end up spending a majority of their time rounding in the ICU instead of operating. Furthermore, trauma surgeons are not immune from taking general surgery call, meaning you’ll also be taking career of appendicitis, cholecystitis, bowel obstructions, etc.

If you haven’t shadowed or worked in the ER or on a Trauma service I highly encourage you to do so.