Im a 4th year and I dont know what I want to be when I grow up

[SwankyLove]

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So I have applied to Med-Peds programs...went on some interviews...and am feeling very confident and happy. Until I hear or see anything about surgery. I miss surgery a lot. So this am, I went and looked at gen surg programs that are still accepting applications, and then I started doubting my interest in surgery. Im starting to feel like theres no field of medicine that I like. I have never doubted my decision to go to med school..............but Im doubting whether Im willing to give up surgery for med-peds or give up my life for surgery. Anyone else feeling similarly conflicted? Any other 4th years not know what they want to do???

 

[howelljolly]

Kinda... But I figure that medicine and surgery are different enough that you'd know one way or the other.

With applications to IM, Peds, and GS... youve pretty much got all of medicine covered. If you feel like you miss surgery, but are doubting your interest in it... then what are you "missing"? People have very different experiences in their rotations - good, bad, or indifferent. Are you basing your interest in a particular field on something that had more to do with your specific situation/experience in a rotation, rather than the specialty itself? Did you, for example, get to do a lot of hands on stuff in surgery... and now you miss the hands on stuff... but you dont want to sign your life away.

For example, everyone talks about how they cant stand IM rounds, and many dont care for long term management, myself included. On my IM rotation, rounds were unusually short and painless, and there was an almost entirely inpatient focus. So, I wonder if I'll still like IM, when in residency, I run into the things I don't really like, and havent actually had to deal with for an extended period of time yet. Point is, In my own case, I dont want to base my choice on an atypical experience.

Enough about me, back to you... Think about what you like, what you dont, what you cant work without, and what you refuse to work with. So maybe theres a solution. Will you be satisfied if you do fellowship with a lot of procedeures (GI, cards)? Again, think about what draws you to surgery, and see if you can get that elsewhere.

 

[meister]

So you applied to meds-peds but don't really have an active enjoyment of it (that you've said here), and are simply afraid to go gen surg even though you do have an active enjoyment of it?

This is a no-brainer man. Unless you have certain circumstances like family obligations or something that would limit the amount of time you can devote to medicine, go surgery all the way. Don't do meds-peds as a default and then hate yourself in 5 years when you're explaining to the 5th patient of the day's mom why vaccinating her child against polio will not in fact give him autism.

edit: 😳

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

z

 

[Pinkertinkle]

(Sorry to interrupt)

You mean Polio and Autism right?

Have you seen Jenny McCarthy talk about this on tv? It's so funny. The only people more delusional and hysterical than she is are the people who buy her books and don't get their kids vaccinated based on her "Google-based evidence". Only difference is that she laughs all the way to the bank while those people's kids get sick and still end up developing autism.

I think its MMR and autism. But regarding specialties, the later you decide the less options you'll have.

 

[meister]

I think its MMR and autism. But regarding specialties, the later you decide the less options you'll have.

Yeah MMR is the big bad one, but I didn't really give a **** when I was typing it out because I felt stupid even pretending.

 

[howelljolly]

I think its MMR and autism. But regarding specialties, the later you decide the less options you'll have.

good point

 

[Pinkertinkle]

good point

Doh I meant fewer, classic grammar mistake.

 

[nightowl]

Don't know if I can offer any advice- but I can say I feel like I'm in the same boat as you. I'm a third year med student, and loved my ob/gyn rotation. I love procedures and working with my hands. I haven't done my gen surg rotation yet, but I'm really looking forward to being back in the OR. Even with my interest in surgery based specialties, I'm still very hesitant to commit to one of these fields. I really have high aspirations for other areas of my life, such as having and raising a family, and I want to be the best mom I can be. I'm not so sure I can do that if my job is as demanding as a surgeon's. Especially because my husband is going to be a surgeon, so that would make to of us working long hours/taking call/etc. I still have a year to wrap my mind around this and make a decision, but I think when it comes down to it, it's really what you're willing to sacrifice.

 

[themudphud]

One point that I have heard (and I agree with): do not go into surgery unless you could not see yourself doing anything else. Surgery can be glamorous but it is also quite brutal. You've gotta have a real and absolute love for surgery to get through the (many) tough times. It is hard to suffer through the lows, despite the highs, if you could very well have been doing something else where the highs may not be as high but the lows are considerably less low. Does that make any sense? Because I did grad school, I had the benefit of watching a number of med school classes go through, graduate, etc. and believe me, the people who were deciding between surgery and something else, who chose the something else were ultimately ecstatic about their choice when they would see their surgical counterparts on the wards, looking haggard from no sleep, abuse and not seeing their significant other/spouse in 3 weeks. It's brutal. Those who chose a surgery residency over another field they could see themselves doing are mostly anesthesiologists now (one I know is a dermatologist).
Don't do surgery if you can see yourself doing anything else.

 

[Orthodoc40]

OP, do you know what it is that appeals to you about either one? Sometimes it helps people to dissect it and have a look at the parts that they like, and why. Is the interest in surgery about doing procedures? Several people I know realized that family was a good choice for them because there are a lot of procedures in family and that satisfied the part of them that liked surgery without committing to the craziness of surgical residency.

 

[howelljolly]

OP, do you know what it is that appeals to you about either one? Sometimes it helps people to dissect it and have a look at the parts that they like, and why. Is the interest in surgery about doing procedures? Several people I know realized that family was a good choice for them because there are a lot of procedures in family and that satisfied the part of them that liked surgery without committing to the craziness of surgical residency.

I suggested this a week ago. Notice that the OP hasnt said a word since then, and we've been trying to offer advice. Maybe the OP is just sitting back and enjoying everyones concern... attention seeking behavior.

Forget it all, and go for psychiatry.

 

[sirus_virus]

One point that I have heard (and I agree with): do not go into surgery unless you could not see yourself doing anything else. Surgery can be glamorous but it is also quite brutal. You've gotta have a real and absolute love for surgery to get through the (many) tough times. It is hard to suffer through the lows, despite the highs, if you could very well have been doing something else where the highs may not be as high but the lows are considerably less low. Does that make any sense? Because I did grad school, I had the benefit of watching a number of med school classes go through, graduate, etc. and believe me, the people who were deciding between surgery and something else, who chose the something else were ultimately ecstatic about their choice when they would see their surgical counterparts on the wards, looking haggard from no sleep, abuse and not seeing their significant other/spouse in 3 weeks. It's brutal. Those who chose a surgery residency over another field they could see themselves doing are mostly anesthesiologists now (one I know is a dermatologist).
Don't do surgery if you can see yourself doing anything else.

Those days are long gone. Surgery is like any other thing these days.

 

[Orthodoc40]

I suggested this a week ago. Notice that the OP hasnt said a word since then, and we've been trying to offer advice. Maybe the OP is just sitting back and enjoying everyones concern... attention seeking behavior.

Forget it all, and go for psychiatry.

😆

 

[commonwealth ki]

What procedures are there in family?

 

[howelljolly]

What procedures are there in family?

A lot... family is unique in that sense.... when you are in FP residency if you log a certain number of a given procedure, you can do it in your own future practice.

nearly all obstetric and gynecology procedeures
derm stuff.... biopsies, cosmetic laser junk, botox
stress tests, bronchs
sigmoidoscopies, some do colonoscopies
joint aspirations and injections, PM&R junk
vascectomies, some places... appy's
... on and on....


But a lot of it has to do with location, and what other residency traning programs are offered at the same institutions. Generally, the more rural programs, and those that are unopposed by in-house surgery, OB/Gyn and other residents and fellows, tend to teach more procedures.

FP residencies in big cities with lots of other residents and fellows -- less procedures for FP residents.

 

[indo]

word, procedures are the sweet spot of family medicine.

 

[Its_MurDAH]

I was just aimlessly clicking away on stumbleupon as I pondered what the hell I am going to do with my life. Then I clicked on SDN to see if anyone had any answers for me cuz I sure as hell don't. And then I saw this thread...

I am a 3rd year in the same boat, I have no freakin' clue what I want do with my life. I enjoy the surgical field (urology, mostly) but don't like the hours or the lifestyle. I despised my medical rotation but can see myself doing GI and then ERCPs or something. I can see myself doing IR or neurosurg. I could also be an anesthesiologist. Derm has its own appeal but then its 90% acne and 10% zebras once you're an established attending.

Bottom line: I want to do everything and I can see myself doing it al, but I just want to be lazy at the same time and do nothing. I don't even know how to explain it. Every day I think of a new field that I can see myself doing. It's ridiculous. I have exactly two days to figure this **** out because I have to pick electives for next year, not to mention sign up for aways.

Man, I am so screwed.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I was just aimlessly clicking away on stumbleupon as I pondered what the hell I am going to do with my life. Then I clicked on SDN to see if anyone had any answers for me cuz I sure as hell don't. And then I saw this thread...

I am a 3rd year in the same boat, I have no freakin' clue what I want do with my life. I enjoy the surgical field (urology, mostly) but don't like the hours or the lifestyle. I despised my medical rotation but can see myself doing GI and then ERCPs or something. I can see myself doing IR or neurosurg. I could also be an anesthesiologist. Derm has its own appeal but then its 90% acne and 10% zebras once you're an established attending.

Bottom line: I want to do everything and I can see myself doing it al, but I just want to be lazy at the same time and do nothing. I don't even know how to explain it. Every day I think of a new field that I can see myself doing. It's ridiculous. I have exactly two days to figure this **** out because I have to pick electives for next year, not to mention sign up for aways.

Man, I am so screwed.

For the lazy, your best bet is PM&R or psychiatry if you're not very competitive, and dermatology or allergy/immuno (after IM or peds) if you're more competitive. While lifestyle is supposedly good in anesthesia, rad/on, ophtho, rads, and path, I don't think these fields are quite for the lazy.