How about some advice for a med student who really doesn't know?

[DCBigBAPS]

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Hey everyone, this is my first post here at SDN. This will be a relatively lengthy post considering what I am asking for in return. I am a third year med student who really had no idea what the hell I want to go into. I wen tthe ortho route, the peds heme/onc route and other specialties. To make a long story short, no field gave me everything I wanted. I want to perform procedures and surgeries while still maintaing relationships with my patients and having a tremendous impact in their lives. Also, lifestyle is important for me because I am very into having a family and have other interests outside of medicine. I was introduced to pain management from someone and I wanted to ask those who knew more about it to comment on the field. Because no one will know who I am, I think it will be okay to tell my qualifications to see if I am competitive for anesthesia and then pain management. I got a 237 on my boards, good, but not great. I am top 1/3, and just outside of AOA range. Also, I am very involved with medical education at both my school and on a national level. How am I for placing in a top notch anesthesia program? I understand more goes into it than just grades, but that is at least the basis for opening doors I have seen. To close, I apologize for the length of this post, but what sort of things should I be doing during my third year to find out if this is a field for me and to make connections in the field. Thanks for your time everyone!

 

[Laryngospasm]

That should get you into a good program as long as you dont piss them off at the interview etc. You can worry about how to get into a fellowship later. Youre off to a good start.

 

[lobelsteve]

Consider PM&R. The right program will provide an excellent musculoskeletal background and allow you to get into both ANES based and PM&R based Pain fellowships. They don't call it Plenty of Money and Relaxation for nothing.

 

[DCBigBAPS]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback, but I believe I should make my question more clear. I am not 100% sure about pain medicine as I have not experienced it. Will the field afford me the opportuntiies that I am looking for as outlined in my first post? Also, what are the sort of things I need to be doing as a 3rd year student? Thanks!

 

[Laryngospasm]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback, but I believe I should make my question more clear. I am not 100% sure about pain medicine as I have not experienced it. Will the field afford me the opportuntiies that I am looking for as outlined in my first post? Also, what are the sort of things I need to be doing as a 3rd year student? Thanks!

You can try and work with a Pain physician to find out how much you like it, and be careful as the practice of pain runs the gamut from chronic pain visits with drug seekers to the so called "block jock" oriented practices.