General surgery typically has a bad rep, so why do people still go into it?

[dr.0ne]

Hey everyone,

I'm a m2 at a mid tier allopathic school. I'm trying to get some advice on my situation and hopefully someone can help answer a part or all of the things I'm asking about.


I've realized in my life now that being close to family and friends means a lot to me. (1) Would applying to programs in California (where I'm originally from) be a difficult feat to pull off if I'm trying to do general surgery? I've realized that I most likely will not be competitive for sub surgical programs, but I've got these deep feeling that I would really enjoy working with my hands. So if I wanted to do gen surg, would be it possible to match close to home with the right stats?

My biggest fear is being stuck in a really toxic program that would zap my enjoyment of the field, which I've heard that gen surg programs are notorious for (2) so my second question is, are all gen surg programs known to be toxic and how does one select a good program?

(3) And would getting a general surgery job be hard these days or is it about the same demand as primary care?

Feels like I'm overlooking something big and obvious by considering general surgery. Please tell me I'm not throwing away my life doing this.

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[deleted804629]

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[VincentAdultman]

Damn OP. That thread title...

But seriously you need to figure out if you'd actually enjoy surgery first. Your reasons for doing general surgery are

1. A deep feeling

2. Won't be competitive for sub specialities

Which are weak to say the least. Oh. And BTW reason 2 is BS. If you're a M2 RIGHT NOW you haven't even gotten to any of the stuff Ortho, ent, etc look at.