Is EM for me?

[whateverbraves2]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello All,
I am new to student doctor network, but I have read the EM forum for hours at a time before I became a member here.

I am still a student, not even in medical school yet, but all my life I have wanted to become a physician. I originally wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon, than a cardiovascular surgeon, but only for a short time. I always end up wanting to be an emergency physician.

My main question is: Am I fit for Emergency Medicine?
A bit about myself: I am a straight A student, with a several doctors in my family (Not immediate, but lots of my cousins are physicians.) I am a black belt in Taekwondo, and I love a challenge. I am a leader, and I play basketball and football for my school.

I read many medical blogs, including erstories.net, storytellerdoc.blogspot.com, and I read most of the stuff at EP Monthly.

I like taking risks, and I get bored very quickly and I would hate to have to stand in an OR for many hours at a time, but I would also get bored with sitting in an office examining people with the same illness as the person before (IE I would hate to be a neurologist or dermatologist)

I love the fast environments, and I want to be able to help people regardless of age or problem. I want to be able to treat infants and the elderly, rashes, MIs, strokes, and broken fingers.

I am a hard worker, and EM salary is not to much or too little for me. (It is a perfect physician salary for me.)

My best friend's father is a urologic surgeon. I have known the family for years, and I have observed his father on-call dozens of times. I know I would hate that.

I have watched surgeries on Youtube and I find operations interesting. I am not scared of blood.

I think EM is perfect for me, and I cannot imagine myself being in any other specialty.

Do you think I am a good fit for emergency medicine? Thanks!!

Whateverbraves2

 

[crewmaster1]

Why don't you first work on getting into medical school and getting some real medical experience before you start worrying about what type of doctor you should be. It is pretty hard to know if you want to be a CT surgeon or EM doc based on the few nonmedical experiences you list. Chill out, take your time, you don't have to figure this out for at least another 3-4 years. Go volunteer or shadow somewhere and get some real medical experience under your black belt. It will help with getting into medical school and give you a closer view of reality.

 

[DeadCactus]

After a careful analysis of your persona, I believe you should pursue a career in topology. While I know this advice is invaluable, please refrain from attempting to mail me large sums of money. Your gratitude is all I require...

 

[EM6771]

I would recommend spending some time in the ED. See if you can get a job as a tech. It will give you some more insight as well as looking good on a med school app. Sounds like you have some of the personality traits that fit EM but there is a lot more to it than that.

 

[docB]

I echo what others have said, you should concentrate more on whether or not you want to be a doctor and then work toward getting into medical school if you do. Interest in a specialty at this point is fine but you won't really get a good idea of what you want to do until you start doing your clinical rotations in third year. So for now keep an open mind and work on your classes and MCATs.

Moving to pre-allo.

 

[YH5]

I am not scared of blood.

Sounds like a perfect fit!

 

[apumic]

Honestly, it sounds like you need to get into med school first. Your post seems really immature to me. You need to mature a bit, finish college (get into college first?), take the MCAT, apply to med school, etc. Down the road a few years, come back and ask this question. Frankly, you've probably got some maturing to do before you could even get an ED Scribe or ED Tech position as these are both generally quite competitive and do require excellent multitasking skills, people skills, general maturity, etc. (At least where I am, you'd probably not get offered an interview and I get the feeling that it's like this in most areas of the U.S.)

 

[searun]

May I suggest focusing on treating sleep apnea. It is a huge problem.

 

[Residual]

So many harsh responses...

 

[Ride Big Sky]

without reading anything besides the title and not knowing you at all i say yes you are perfect for it. now use this knowledge to pick your future profession 🙄

 

[Sesom]

We don't really know you or you work ethic so at this point it's hard to say if you are a good fit. Also, we are pre med students so we don't usually make those kind of hiring decisions. Just work on making an application for medical school. By the end of medical school you will know if EM is where you want to be. Good luck.

 

[gravitywave]

So many harsh responses...

seriously. OP, you won't truly know the answer to this question until you've done an EM selective rotation in the fourth year of medical school. so don't put the cart before the horse. as things stand though, i see no reason why you wouldn't be a good fit for EM.

 

[apumic]

seriously. OP, you won't truly know the answer to this question until you've done an EM selective rotation in the fourth year of medical school. so don't put the cart before the horse. as things stand though, i see no reason why you wouldn't be a good fit for EM.

This is the reason for the harsh responses. He's putting the cart sideways before the horse.

 

[gravitywave]

This is the reason for the harsh responses. He's putting the cart sideways before the horse.

dude, take it easy. OP is in high school for chrissakes.

edit: either that or a troll or a bot, in which case we're all wasting our time here.

 

[whateverbraves2]

I am not going to determine my future occupation based on this information. I am simply seeing how my personality fits in. I am getting an idea, that is all.

First off, thank you to all who responded kindly.

Second off, I am completely discouraged from using this forum based on all the harsh and rude replies I have seen here. Yes, I am in college (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and I spent time writing the original post, and it has been time well wasted. Most of what I got is a summery of "Shadow Somebody," which I know I will do once the semester is over. I was not looking for that answer. From my understanding, I also read most of the replies here as "Grow up."

This is my last time using this forum because if all of you are so rude, I might as well assume that everybody else is too.

 

[MCAT guy]

dude, take it easy. OP is in high school for

edit: either that or a troll or a bot, in which case we're all wasting our time here.

Agreed here.

apumic way too harsh.

But everyone is right, just focus on getting into medical school. I liked EM for a long time, now I don't think I'd ever go into it. But to each his own.

Getting into an allopathic school should give you enough challenge and if you feel like ER is your bag, then you can keep it in mind as an end goal. Just realize that is just a vision for motivation, right now focus on acceptance to school.

 

[senorsquishie]

Take a semester and take an EMT-B course. Most ED tech jobs want you to be an EMT or CNA for a while first anyway. I've been a basic for a while, and it is not what I first imagined at all. Medicine can be very romanticized (sp?).

For example, you may think you are ok with blood before you find yourself dealing with a massive head trauma, blood everywhere, only to realize you a responsible for keeping that kid alive.

 

[apumic]

Take a semester and take an EMT-B course. Most ED tech jobs want you to be an EMT or CNA for a while first anyway. I've been a basic for a while, and it is not what I first imagined at all. Medicine can be very romanticized (sp?).

For example, you may think you are ok with blood before you find yourself dealing with a massive head trauma, blood everywhere, only to realize you a responsible for keeping that kid alive.

Actually, IMO, that's still pretty romanticized. The bread and butter in many EDs is, frankly, psych (incl. HI, SI, HA, SA, EtOH, drugs), abd pn, fevers, and chest pn. The most exciting thing you may get for an entire week even in a busy trauma center may be a gangrenous foot or a little girl who tripped down the stairs and now has a big laceration above one eye. Historically, EM docs have had very short careers. I believe this has increased in the past couple of decades but you'll still hear currently practicing relatively young guys complain quite a bit if you get to know them well. I'd suggest the OP read this thread on why EM docs burn out so quickly.

 

[the duck]

Actually, IMO, that's still pretty romanticized. The bread and butter in many EDs is, frankly, psych (incl. HI, SI, HA, SA, EtOH, drugs), abd pn, fevers, and chest pn. The most exciting thing you may get for an entire week even in a busy trauma center may be a gangrenous foot or a little girl who tripped down the stairs and now has a big laceration above one eye. Historically, EM docs have had very short careers. I believe this has increased in the past couple of decades but you'll still hear currently practicing relatively young guys complain quite a bit if you get to know them well. I'd suggest the OP read this thread on why EM docs burn out so quickly.

While I agree with the gist of what you're saying, I think the bolded bit is a bit far in the other direction... We generally get something more exciting than that in my 4 hour volunteer stint at a non-trauma center, small, community hospital, let alone in a whole week...

 

[apumic]

While I agree with the gist of what you're saying, I think the bolded bit is a bit far in the other direction... We generally get something more exciting than that in my 4 hour volunteer stint at a non-trauma center, small, community hospital, let alone in a whole week...

It's not. I work full-time in a busy trauma center. Sure, we get cool things. I'm not saying we don't but you're not going to be the doc to see them every time. In other words you might go a week or more w/o seeing anything more interesting than a gangrenous foot or a girl gash her head open falling or an old lady that fell and badly bruised her hip. In addition, as a volunteer that the staff knows is premed, they probably tend to try and pull you in for "cool" cases. That won't happen once you're actually working. Of course, sometimes it's nice to have a relatively easy night. Then again... I wouldn't exactly call dealing w/ psych pts yelling and making a mess of the facility a quiet night....

Basically, think of it this way, in our 60-ish bed, 6-unit ED/trauma center, we probably get around 3-4 interesting cases in a given 12-hr shift. There are generally around 8 docs working at any given time. On average, you'll probably get an interesting case there once every 2-3 shifts or so. In the meantime, you'll see about 40-60 routine/uninteresting cases (of which, probably 50% of those pts are non-paying/indigent and somehow entitled as well). If I were at work, I could check what our current pt load is, but based on space allotment (admittedly not the best measure but it's probably not too terribly far from reality), an approximate breakdown would be:

40% fever/aches/pains (primary care stuff)
20% psych/drugs/EtOH (should be in detox or on a psych unit)
12% acute (semi-stable) trauma & cardiac (appropriate for the ED)
10% minor trauma (urgent care stuff)
10% minor to moderate pediatric emergencies (mostly urgent care stuff w/ some appropriate for the ED)
4% life-threatening (unstable) trauma (obviously appropriate for the ED)
4% life-threatening (unstable) cardiac (obviously appropriate for the ED)

Notice only about 20-30% of these cases are really what you might consider "appropriate for the ED". A good 70-80% of the cases at our ED are really just dumped on us b/c of the state of healthcare. Granted, I don't mind it, actually. I like the variety, but for people just wanting to deal w the "real emergencies" it would suck!

 

[Disinence2]

Everyone seems to love EM!

I believe it is one of the only specialties to have consistently increased growth every year for the last (X) years. I think X is something pretty ridiculous.

Only 5 unfilled EM spots this year! (That's about the same as Derm, and ENT)


Either way. I agree, its way to soon for you to decide. And even if you did have your mind made up, I would bet good money that you would change your mind during 3rd and 4th year of med school. Most people do.

 

[the duck]

It's not. I work full-time in a busy trauma center. Sure, we get cool things. I'm not saying we don't but you're not going to be the doc to see them every time. In other words you might go a week or more w/o seeing anything more interesting than a gangrenous foot or a girl gash her head open falling or an old lady that fell and badly bruised her hip. In addition, as a volunteer that the staff knows is premed, they probably tend to try and pull you in for "cool" cases. That won't happen once you're actually working. Of course, sometimes it's nice to have a relatively easy night. Then again... I wouldn't exactly call dealing w/ psych pts yelling and making a mess of the facility a quiet night....

okay, I get what you're saying now about what you actually see V patients in the department....🙂 I guess it also depends on what one finds "interesting" too. As a psych major, who'd probably go into mental health if medical school falls through, I find psych patients really interesting. Then again, the guy you originally responded too made it sounds like EM docs deal with massive peds trauama every shift... I'll stop talking now.

 

[apumic]

okay, I get what you're saying now about what you actually see V patients in the department....🙂 I guess it also depends on what one finds "interesting" too. As a psych major, who'd probably go into mental health if medical school falls through, I find psych patients really interesting. Then again, the guy you originally responded too made it sounds like EM docs deal with massive peds trauama every shift... I'll stop talking now.

Haha, I agree. I work in psych as well so I am very comfortable around psych pts and enjoy working w/ them. As I said, I really enjoy the variety, but it seems to me the OP and seniorsquishie's description (although not necessarily his/her belief/experience) emphasizes only the fast-paced, trauma-handling aspect of EM, when that's really a pretty minor (albeit interesting and important) part of EM. I'm just not so sure it serves anyone well to only focus on that when EM is multifaceted and it's other facets may be more or less interesting depending upon who you are. Personally, I don't mind working on a pt brought in on O2 after she attempted suicide with 75 Advil, but you can be sure that's not going to be an "interesting" case. (She's probably knocked out with a guard in the rm in case she somehow wakes up and attempts to finish herself off. In reality, all you're doing is getting her up to the ICU and ensuring she gets the medications she needs while she waits.)

 

[kansaskid]

I think it's fine to be interested in a specific field before actually getting to medical school, but keep in mind that interests change and you must be open minded. Otherwise you just sound ridiculous, thus the snarky responses.

Shadow an EM doc, volunteer in the ER, get those tangible experiences down to explore your interest and just focus on getting into medical school first. You won't even have time to explore specific specialties until third year of med school, anyway, so you have plenty of time to decide for yourself if you would be a good fit for the ER.

 

[ucsfstudents]

Yes, EM might be for you if you like adventure, you are outgoing, and you like surprises.

 

[Kaustikos]

Let me highlight some minor red flags/props

Hello All,
I am new to student doctor network, but I have read the EM forum for hours at a time before I became a member here.

Welcome! Thanks for posting! 👍

My main question is: Am I fit for Emergency Medicine?
A bit about myself: I am a straight A student, with a several doctors in my family (Not immediate, but lots of my cousins are physicians.) I am a black belt in Taekwondo, and I love a challenge. I am a leader, and I play basketball and football for my school.

Being active/busy is a good thing - because it makes you able to tolerate/handle multiple things. But having family as physicians doesn't have any relevance, honestly.

I read many medical blogs, including erstories.net, storytellerdoc.blogspot.com, and I read most of the stuff at EP Monthly.

Nice, but it doesn't paint the full picture and here's why -

I like taking risks, and I get bored very quickly and I would hate to have to stand in an OR for many hours at a time, but I would also get bored with sitting in an office examining people with the same illness as the person before (IE I would hate to be a neurologist or dermatologist)

You'll see this anywhere, though. Boring/repetition IS everywhere. You need to realize that this excitement/whatever isn't going to be there all the time and you'll have paperwork. The paperwork is what a lot of pre-meds/people don't seem to get.

My best friend's father is a urologic surgeon. I have known the family for years, and I have observed his father on-call dozens of times. I know I would hate that.

Why?

I think EM is perfect for me, and I cannot imagine myself being in any other specialty.

Do you think I am a good fit for emergency medicine? Thanks!!

Whateverbraves2

No, I don't think you're a good fit. I don't think you really know what you want because you have a skewed interpretation of how medicine works nowadays. Focus on why you want to be a physician and work from there.