I wanted to do ob/gyn originally. Somehow got talked out of it due to the "if you can imagine anything else, then do that" and "high malpractice" trap which led to me to IM. Not nearly as passionate about it as I was about ob/gyn.
I wrestled with thoughts of switching but the nightmare of changing gears my intern year, without board certification, and the thought of having no job at all, esp during a pandemic, terrified me so I stuck through. So far GI was the only thing that really kinda drew me- it has a nice mix of clinic, inpatient, and procedures (similar to ob/gyn) which I like. Still, passion-wise, no where near ob/gyn.
I saw a young female Crohn's pt the other day, and it took me back to ob/gyn and made me miss that pt population...
I am at a cross-roads. On one hand, I have been tee-ing an application for GI with research, rotations, etc. GI ranks among the highest satisfied specialists on national surveys, among females too, while ob/gyn ranks near the bottom. I would have good job security and I also gel with the people with GI.
On the other hand, I was hoping my feelings for ob/gyn would have subsided by now and I dont want to regret this in middle age. Things that scare me from switching are: 1) not matching ob/gyn and having to be a general IM doc 2) programs not having enough $$ to fund me 3) matching to a crappy ob/gyn program without all accredited fellowships 4) realizing maybe I don't like surgery as much as I think 5) ob/gyn seems to be crazy competitive now so I wonder if applying would be a total crapshoot. Luckily, I can take the financial hit of extra training. I am a bit of a workaholic and don't mind the extra hours either.
For me, it was ultimately the pt population of ob/gyn I was drawn to. It was the only time I truly felt PRIVILEGED to be working for these pts.
Is the grass just greener on the other side? Anything I'm missing? Does it all really become a job in the end? Maybe I'm too naive?
***please be nice about ob/gyn (yes I know most people's experience was negative, yada, yada). Would especially like opinions from those in IM, GI, surgery, or ob/gyn
I wrestled with thoughts of switching but the nightmare of changing gears my intern year, without board certification, and the thought of having no job at all, esp during a pandemic, terrified me so I stuck through. So far GI was the only thing that really kinda drew me- it has a nice mix of clinic, inpatient, and procedures (similar to ob/gyn) which I like. Still, passion-wise, no where near ob/gyn.
I saw a young female Crohn's pt the other day, and it took me back to ob/gyn and made me miss that pt population...
I am at a cross-roads. On one hand, I have been tee-ing an application for GI with research, rotations, etc. GI ranks among the highest satisfied specialists on national surveys, among females too, while ob/gyn ranks near the bottom. I would have good job security and I also gel with the people with GI.
On the other hand, I was hoping my feelings for ob/gyn would have subsided by now and I dont want to regret this in middle age. Things that scare me from switching are: 1) not matching ob/gyn and having to be a general IM doc 2) programs not having enough $$ to fund me 3) matching to a crappy ob/gyn program without all accredited fellowships 4) realizing maybe I don't like surgery as much as I think 5) ob/gyn seems to be crazy competitive now so I wonder if applying would be a total crapshoot. Luckily, I can take the financial hit of extra training. I am a bit of a workaholic and don't mind the extra hours either.
For me, it was ultimately the pt population of ob/gyn I was drawn to. It was the only time I truly felt PRIVILEGED to be working for these pts.
Is the grass just greener on the other side? Anything I'm missing? Does it all really become a job in the end? Maybe I'm too naive?
***please be nice about ob/gyn (yes I know most people's experience was negative, yada, yada). Would especially like opinions from those in IM, GI, surgery, or ob/gyn
