I’ve been a PCP for 4 years and have made the difficult decision to go back for fellowship. My main motivators are to narrow my scope of practice, have more intellectually stimulating work, and better long term lifestyle. Although there are things I love about primary care, I just can’t see myself doing this 15 years from now for many reasons.
I did really well in med school and residency. I have really strong board scores, went to a large university program, and have really good recommendations. (I’m not trying to sound boastful, I’m just trying to give context).
I’ve been torn between Endo and Heme Onc and I would love other perspectives. These are my thoughts.
Heme/Onc is probably what I feel most passionate about. I have found that through my last 4 years of work, I have been the most invested in my patients with cancer, particularly if I found it. I feel like it suits my personality well, most people who know me would probably say I like to take time with my patients, answer questions, and in general would find me to be very compassionate. I am not a researcher though, and Oncology is extremely research based. It’s just never been my passion although I wouldn’t mind to read and stay up to date on cancer treatments if it were part of my job. I truly don’t know what to expect of a heme/onc lifestyle though and I know it varies depending on location. I would not plan to stay in academics. I would probably pursue more of a community setting and do various solid tumors. Other things that I may need to be transparent about as far as my personality goes. I often second guess myself, even when I know I’m right or did the right thing. Bad patient encounters can be extremely emotional and taxing for me. I can sometimes become too invested in people and not separate home and work life.
Endocrine appeals to me because I think it’s very similar to what I do now, minus the chronic pain/anxiety/paperwork/random catch all that primary care has unfortunately become. I think it would be an easy transition for me and it’s a fairly laid back 2 year fellowship. My main concern with endocrine is money. I know that sounds terrible, but I don’t want to give up an attending salary for 2 years to make less, ya know? I like that it’s fairly problem focused, I actually like managing diabetes, and I love that I could remove some of the less desirable parts of primary care.
Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!
I did really well in med school and residency. I have really strong board scores, went to a large university program, and have really good recommendations. (I’m not trying to sound boastful, I’m just trying to give context).
I’ve been torn between Endo and Heme Onc and I would love other perspectives. These are my thoughts.
Heme/Onc is probably what I feel most passionate about. I have found that through my last 4 years of work, I have been the most invested in my patients with cancer, particularly if I found it. I feel like it suits my personality well, most people who know me would probably say I like to take time with my patients, answer questions, and in general would find me to be very compassionate. I am not a researcher though, and Oncology is extremely research based. It’s just never been my passion although I wouldn’t mind to read and stay up to date on cancer treatments if it were part of my job. I truly don’t know what to expect of a heme/onc lifestyle though and I know it varies depending on location. I would not plan to stay in academics. I would probably pursue more of a community setting and do various solid tumors. Other things that I may need to be transparent about as far as my personality goes. I often second guess myself, even when I know I’m right or did the right thing. Bad patient encounters can be extremely emotional and taxing for me. I can sometimes become too invested in people and not separate home and work life.
Endocrine appeals to me because I think it’s very similar to what I do now, minus the chronic pain/anxiety/paperwork/random catch all that primary care has unfortunately become. I think it would be an easy transition for me and it’s a fairly laid back 2 year fellowship. My main concern with endocrine is money. I know that sounds terrible, but I don’t want to give up an attending salary for 2 years to make less, ya know? I like that it’s fairly problem focused, I actually like managing diabetes, and I love that I could remove some of the less desirable parts of primary care.
Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!