- Joined
- Aug 3, 2005
- Messages
- 208
- Reaction score
- 2
As I've struggled with my own personal crisis of figuring out what to do with the rest of my life, several mentors have advised me that it's easy to fall in love with any surgical specialty when things are their finest. Vascular is awesome if you're doing carotids and aneurysms. Trauma is terrific when you save a father of three via an ex lap. But this obviously isn't the real picture. The real indicator of the right field for you, they tell me, is how well you can tolerate the bad parts.
So, in an effort to figure it all out, I'm trying to list the rotten features of each field. Would love to have input from others, if the spirit moves you.
Trauma
*Lots of babysitting, not much operating
*When you do operate, often it's on someone who'll go straight to jail after discharge
Endocrine
*You're a three-trick pony for the rest of your life (thyroids+parathyroids+adrenals)
Pedi
*When things go wrong, it's REALLY SAD
*STAT calls in the wee hours of the morning to put in a central line
*Endless broviacs
*Parents
Breast
*To borrow a recent phrase from these boards: "blob surgery"
(no offense Dr. Cox!)
Vascular
*Ulcers
*Civil war surgery
*Surgery in a lead vest (some might see this as a positive)
*Patients hella sick
Surg Onc
*Ok, I stole this from filter below, b/c it's perfect: Staging. Academic minutia. Positive margins. Recurrences.
Thoracic
*Potential for terrifying airway shambles (trachea patients scare me!)
*Patients hella sick
Cardiac
*Tough job market
*When things go awry, patients CRASH
Colorectal
*Frequency of "prone jack-knife" positioning
*Condyloma acuminata
MIS
*Bariatrics
Plastics
*High-maintenance population
*Vanity surgery
Burns
*skin grafts the rest of your life
*ORs hot as hell
Critical care
*Missing out on OR time
Transplant
*Crappy lifestyle
*Livers can be shambles
*Immunosuppressed patients (again stolen from filter below)
Please chime in!
So, in an effort to figure it all out, I'm trying to list the rotten features of each field. Would love to have input from others, if the spirit moves you.
Trauma
*Lots of babysitting, not much operating
*When you do operate, often it's on someone who'll go straight to jail after discharge
Endocrine
*You're a three-trick pony for the rest of your life (thyroids+parathyroids+adrenals)
Pedi
*When things go wrong, it's REALLY SAD
*STAT calls in the wee hours of the morning to put in a central line
*Endless broviacs
*Parents
Breast
*To borrow a recent phrase from these boards: "blob surgery"
(no offense Dr. Cox!)
Vascular
*Ulcers
*Civil war surgery
*Surgery in a lead vest (some might see this as a positive)
*Patients hella sick
Surg Onc
*Ok, I stole this from filter below, b/c it's perfect: Staging. Academic minutia. Positive margins. Recurrences.
Thoracic
*Potential for terrifying airway shambles (trachea patients scare me!)
*Patients hella sick
Cardiac
*Tough job market
*When things go awry, patients CRASH
Colorectal
*Frequency of "prone jack-knife" positioning
*Condyloma acuminata
MIS
*Bariatrics
Plastics
*High-maintenance population
*Vanity surgery
Burns
*skin grafts the rest of your life
*ORs hot as hell
Critical care
*Missing out on OR time
Transplant
*Crappy lifestyle
*Livers can be shambles
*Immunosuppressed patients (again stolen from filter below)
Please chime in!