Figuring Out What to Do

[wondertwinkle]

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Basically in the middle of third year. I'm doing surgery at the moment and I've got medicine left. The problem is I have no idea what to do. I thought I was interested in ophtho, but when I was told I wasn't competitive enough I started thinking about other things like anesthesiology. My problem is that I've liked everything so far. But I enjoy being with people and working with attendings in a clinical setting. There's absolutely nothing that's jumped out at me as something I would want to do for the next 50 years. This just worries me because I've usually been excited about everything I get into. But I haven't had that "ah-ha" feeling at all.

The only thing I've felt that "ah-ha" feeling for is ophtho, which I still have to do the elective for, but I love everything about it. I think the stress of trying to convince myself that I should choose something less competitive like anesthesiology has made me just become completely disinterested in medicine. It's not that I don't enjoy learning - I love it. But there's a difference between something being an interest and a calling / passion. I've basically figured that it's ophtho or bust at this point. But I was wondering if you guys could talk about how you figured it out. Did you have an "ah-ha" moment, or just a decision you made at the end? It sounds so trivial, but I've got a lot of docs in the family. And burn out is completely real. So I want to be sure I'm making the right decision.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

so how competitive are you?

 

[wondertwinkle]

well i scored national average on step 1s and am doing well in my third year clerkships. my first / second year grades weren't awful but no where near AOA, which is why i was told i wasn't competitive... but i'm thinking of taking a year off and restarting research with an ophtho PI at a top 10 ophtho program.

So i would probably call myself borderline competitive... without a better step 2 score and a research year to get some LORs... i'm fairly sure i can kiss ophtho goodbye. any thoughts?

 

[sendwich]

so to have a decent shot at ophtho, one needs to be AOA material (ie honor 1st and 2nd year, as well as all/most 3rd year???). Can anyone attest to this?

 

[McGillGrad]

If you don't mind me asking, how do you know you love optho without doing an elective yet?

 

[ShyRem]

Agreed. There are a lot of elective/selective rotations I have done which were not at all what I expected. Many better, some a total yawn which I am SO glad I don't ever have to do again.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

My advice is not to count ophtho out yet. You want to spend your life doing what you wanted to do, not what you settled for instead. I think if you're willing to go to any ophthalmology program anywhere you stand a good chance if you can get 240 or above on step II and honor a few core clerkships. No one cares about preclinical grades, what with all the different grading scales out there. AOA is nice to have but I've seen many people match at awesome ophthalmology programs without it.

If you're shooting for a more competitive ophthalmology program, whether location or reputation wise, a year of research with a well established ophthalmologist will certainly be of great help, especially if you can get one of the named fellowships (HHMI, Doris Duke)

 

[wondertwinkle]

I've actually had a lot of experience in ophtho that is just too long to go into outside of doing a rotation. But I see what you're saying. On the other hand, I know people who love something, hated the rotation, still go into it and they are ridiculously happy that they did. A bad rotation does not discount years of interest in a particular field, nor should a good rotation completely push people into a certain area. My outpatient surgery rotation was awesome: my attending was great, I worked 40 hours per week, and he bought me lunch 3x/week. My inpatient experience was awesome because I got by with working 60 hrs / week without call, evenings or weekends (somehow - thank god!). I loved what I was learning, but I'm not about to go into general surgery.

Also, I think the diff between a good rotation and a bad rotation depends on the person. If I define a good rotation as something that was enjoyable, all my rotations were great. If it's by something that I find to be a calling (and not work), then I haven't found that yet...

Well guess it means I'll just keep going for it unless I discover something awful during the rotation. Pinkertinkle, I did plan to take a year off to do research. Thanks for the help!