Information on Peds in general.
Started by JustK
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What kind of information do you want? That's a pretty open topic you've picked!
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I like working with kids. I like having the opportunity to identify and fix issues before they become real problems. Kids are so freakin' honest that I never get tired at work. The pathology you find in kids is amazing, and even with overwhelming odds, kids usually get better. Plus, there's room to specialize for people like me who like sick patients and procedures.
And besides, adults have cooties.
Residency itself is both one of the most amazing things I've ever done and soul-killing. But that's true no matter what specialty you're in.
And besides, adults have cooties.
Residency itself is both one of the most amazing things I've ever done and soul-killing. But that's true no matter what specialty you're in.
What speciality of Peds are you in? In case your wondering, I'm a highschooler just wondering about the medical field out there and I really like kids, I plan on specializing in Neonatal, but like many have said once your in college you may look at that differently.
I'm in residency, which means I rotate through everything. Everything that I rotate through is strictly pediatrics, but I work in neonatology, outpatient clinics, general inpatient hospital work, and every peds subspecialty you can think of (infectious disease, nephrology, cardiology, gastro, developmental). When I finish, I'll likely do a fellowship (3 years of more specialized training, still in pediatrics) in Emergency Medicine. But we'll see.
That's a really hard question to answer. For some people, it's the hours. I just got off a 30-hour shift. For some people, it's being around sick, and often dying kids. For others, it's dealing with family members who make unreasonable demands or have expectations that just aren't realistic given the disease process and/or your resources.
For me, it's the fact that residency takes away from other parts of my life. I don't hike, camp, cook, read, or write nearly as much as I used to. I've lost friends along the way because I didn't make it to a birthday part, wedding, or other event. Peds is nice because depending on what field you choose, you can easily have a life outside of work. An almost normal one at that. But almost without exception, your outside life will be severely limited in residency. It does, however, get better.
For me, it's the fact that residency takes away from other parts of my life. I don't hike, camp, cook, read, or write nearly as much as I used to. I've lost friends along the way because I didn't make it to a birthday part, wedding, or other event. Peds is nice because depending on what field you choose, you can easily have a life outside of work. An almost normal one at that. But almost without exception, your outside life will be severely limited in residency. It does, however, get better.
I did a full intern year in surgery, and then jumped ship and am now finishing up an intern year in peds. I'm pretty excited to be a second-year resident for real this time starting in July.
