exploring surgical subspecialties

[SurgeDO]

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[DopaDO]

As a second year about to go on rotations, I still don't know if I like surgery or not. I'm taking the approach of busting my butt no matter what. The last thing I want is someone telling me I can't do something bc I didn't work hard enough. I think it's wise to just do the best you can on boards, have research, etc just in case you do want something ultra competitive. I probably will try to shadow a few different docs in some of the fields i wont have exposure to until 4th year (radonc, Ortho, ENT, Urology etc) before rotations (but after boards) to get a better idea of what I want. Depending where you go to school, you can probably get some shadowing in 1st and 2nd year, but since your not in school yet it might be best to shadow now.

 

[SurgeDO]

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[DopaDO]

thanks for the advice!

how do you feel about shadowing during 1st and 2nd years? is there enough time for it? would you recommend trying to gather LORs during these years?

i will undoubtedly become much less motivated as i progress through medical school/discover cool bars/make friends, so i would like to hit the ground running as fast as i can (p = mv, right?).

I personally, didn't do any shadowing but I definitely think there is time for it if you manage your time appropriately. I'm involved in a lot of extracurriculars and still have free time to hang out with friends/go to the bar etc.

I may not be the best person to ask for this, but it is my understanding that you really don't need to get LOR until you start clinical years, so I would hold off on that til then. If your going to shadow, do it because you want to, not bc it'll make you a better applicant (bc it won't).

 

[LodgeJig]

Surge, I'm in the same situation as you. Also starting this year, also interested in a surgical specialty. My plan is to start shadowing surgeons right away. It's never too early to get exposure and see where you jive. From what I've gathered, a good amount of where you fit in will be determined by personal interest, personality and workload - a combination which requires experience to decipher. As far as research, I don't entirely see the point until you know your target.

 

[Orthojoe]

It doesn't matter in reality what research you do. As long as you have some- my opinion

Mine was in pediatrics and I matched Ortho. I had long discussions during my interview about my research. I believe they just want to see if you can think critically and understand the research process.

Lastly, although shadowing is good you will never know if you truly like it until you live it as close as you can --ie rotate through it. I thought gen surg was awesome during my shadowing and first two years. However when I rotated through it, the first week was great but by the end of my rotation I knew it wasn't for me. I never even thought about Ortho until I was on IM and found I really enjoyed the trauma and Ortho cases. Once I walked into my elective Ortho rotation January of my third year I knew it was for me.

I think the current match process does a disservice to us, in reality it requires us to pick a specialty by mid to end of our third year. I don't think we can really make that decision wholly until rotating through the specialty and sometimes we can't do that until our fourth year.

Getting LOR during your third year is best since you'll have access to physicians/program directors who closely worked with you. Plenty of time to get these.

Getting good clinical grades and board scores are more important than shadowing experience if your interested in surgery. If you are going to shadow do it during your summer breaks. I did this with ED and it helped but again it wasn't until I rotated though ED that I had a real idea if it was for me or not.

 

[NeuroLAX]

thanks for the advice!

how do you feel about shadowing during 1st and 2nd years? is there enough time for it? would you recommend trying to gather LORs during these years?

i will undoubtedly become much less motivated as i progress through medical school/discover cool bars/make friends, so i would like to hit the ground running as fast as i can (p = mv, right?).

If you plan accordingly you should have plenty of time in your otherwise busy schedule to shadow during pre-clinicals. At my school we have preceptorships incorporated into the curriculum, so we "shadow" 4 times per semester. It really isn't shadowing, though, because we actually talk to the patients and practice taking histories, performing physical examinations, and writing SOAP notes.

 

[SurgeDO]

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[SurgeDO]

It doesn't matter in reality what research you do. As long as you have some- my opinion

Mine was in pediatrics and I matched Ortho. I had long discussions during my interview about my research. I believe they just want to see if you can think critically and understand the research process.

Lastly, although shadowing is good you will never know if you truly like it until you live it as close as you can --ie rotate through it. I thought gen surg was awesome during my shadowing and first two years. However when I rotated through it, the first week was great but by the end of my rotation I knew it wasn't for me. I never even thought about Ortho until I was on IM and found I really enjoyed the trauma and Ortho cases. Once I walked into my elective Ortho rotation January of my third year I knew it was for me.

I think the current match process does a disservice to us, in reality it requires us to pick a specialty by mid to end of our third year. I don't think we can really make that decision wholly until rotating through the specialty and sometimes we can't do that until our fourth year.

Getting LOR during your third year is best since you'll have access to physicians/program directors who closely worked with you. Plenty of time to get these.

Getting good clinical grades and board scores are more important than shadowing experience if your interested in surgery. If you are going to shadow do it during your summer breaks. I did this with ED and it helped but again it wasn't until I rotated though ED that I had a real idea if it was for me or not.

great advice; thanks, orthojoe.