Late Switch & Opinions

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

CyrusHabs7695

Full Member
5+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2017
Messages
1,979
Reaction score
3,175
Hi all, just looking for some opinions on going forward with a possible recent change of heart ive had in career choice.

Current MS3 at an MD school in southeast, just finished up my surgery rotation. Up to this point, been pretty committed to DR with an interest in pursuing IR via ESIR or traditional fellowship route. 239 step 1, 4 abstracts presented at national conferences, no step 2 yet, mediocre clerkship grades (honored surgery though).

Like I said, been pretty confident on the DR/IR path and enjoyed surgery during my rotation, but didn't absolutely love the overall general surgery (burns, trauma, GI, etc). However, on my last week of the rotation, I was assigned to spend the week with the Cardiothoracic team and absolutely loved it and enjoyed my time there more than anything ive experienced yet. Actually enjoyed reading the material to get ready for the next day and it was something I could see myself doing.

So my question is, my med school has a big CT department (no i6 though), so if I were able to get on a few publications and develop some good relationships (LORs) over the next 7-8 months, would there be any shot in i6 programs? My main conflict here is that I just did not really like Gen Surg that much, and idk if I would be happy during the 5 years of it in order to get the CT fellowship.

Would there be anything wrong with dual applying to i6s and DR, and if the i6 works out then great, and if not then I would still be happy in DR?

Also have read about the 4+3 CT/Gen Surg programs, if anyone can shed some more light on that.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Hi all, just looking for some opinions on going forward with a possible recent change of heart ive had in career choice.

Current MS3 at an MD school in southeast, just finished up my surgery rotation. Up to this point, been pretty committed to DR with an interest in pursuing IR via ESIR or traditional fellowship route. 239 step 1, 4 abstracts presented at national conferences, no step 2 yet, mediocre clerkship grades (honored surgery though).

Like I said, been pretty confident on the DR/IR path and enjoyed surgery during my rotation, but didn't absolutely love the overall general surgery (burns, trauma, GI, etc). However, on my last week of the rotation, I was assigned to spend the week with the Cardiothoracic team and absolutely loved it and enjoyed my time there more than anything ive experienced yet. Actually enjoyed reading the material to get ready for the next day and it was something I could see myself doing.

So my question is, my med school has a big CT department (no i6 though), so if I were able to get on a few publications and develop some good relationships (LORs) over the next 7-8 months, would there be any shot in i6 programs? My main conflict here is that I just did not really like Gen Surg that much, and idk if I would be happy during the 5 years of it in order to get the CT fellowship.

Would there be anything wrong with dual applying to i6s and DR, and if the i6 works out then great, and if not then I would still be happy in DR?

Also have read about the 4+3 CT/Gen Surg programs, if anyone can shed some more light on that.
I6 programs are pretty challenging to match into, and a critical element is making sure the fit is right. Doing away rotations or even taking an extra year to do research at another program where they have an i6 program would give you the best chance. If cardiac surgery is all you want to do, then taking a year extra to get there is almost nothing compared to the 6-8 years of residency.

Having said that... if you think you'd be happy doing IR, you should strongly consider sticking to IR.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
When medical students ask me how I picked my specialty, I always give them the same little story. I ask them what they love doing. They usually say surgery, or medicine, or cardiology or something like that. I tell them they've probably misheard the question. For example, I love sleep, food, and sex - not necessarily in that order. The med student invariably always corrects their answer and insists they also love those things. To which I reply, make a list of the things you really like. For me, it was surgery. For them it may be cardiology, or ID, or radiology. For you it sounds like DR, IR, and CT surgery.

Then I tell them that always keep in perspective the things you love, and choose something you really like that gives you the most time to do the things you love. That answer is almost never surgery - unless surgery is the only thing you liked.

Hope that helps. I believe that is probably why dienekes told you to do IR.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 10 users
Members don't see this ad :)
When medical students ask me how I picked my specialty, I always give them the same little story. I ask them what they love doing. They usually say surgery, or medicine, or cardiology or something like that. I tell them they've probably misheard the question. For example, I love sleep, food, and sex - not necessarily in that order. The med student invariably always corrects their answer and insists they also love those things. To which I reply, make a list of the things you really like. For me, it was surgery. For them it may be cardiology, or ID, or radiology. For you it sounds like DR, IR, and CT surgery.

Then I tell them that always keep in perspective the things you love, and choose something you really like that gives you the most time to do the things you love. That answer is almost never surgery - unless surgery is the only thing you liked.

Hope that helps. I believe that is probably why dienekes told you to do IR.
I6 programs are pretty challenging to match into, and a critical element is making sure the fit is right. Doing away rotations or even taking an extra year to do research at another program where they have an i6 program would give you the best chance. If cardiac surgery is all you want to do, then taking a year extra to get there is almost nothing compared to the 6-8 years of residency.

Having said that... if you think you'd be happy doing IR, you should strongly consider sticking to IR.

Thank you guys, I really appreciate it. I think I will most likely stick with IR. I have a feeling I was star-struck when I saw my first heart surgery and didn't necessarily think about doing it for the rest of my life
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Thank you guys, I really appreciate it. I think I will most likely stick with IR. I have a feeling I was star-struck when I saw my first heart surgery and didn't necessarily think about doing it for the rest of my life

Good assessment. And probably the right decision. I doubt you'll regret rads and then IR. Some really cool and useful things IR can do. I imagine it provides a lot of enjoyment and sense of immediate satisfaction like surgery does.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Also if you like cardiovascular physiology, there are certainly avenues within IR to get close to that. However what your path to being "happy" in surgery sounds like a much narrower needle to thread. Always sensible to pick the path that allows you to maintain the widest array of options for being satisfied. At some point you'll have to commit, but entering residency is honestly still too early (in my mind).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Also if you like cardiovascular physiology, there are certainly avenues within IR to get close to that. However what your path to being "happy" in surgery sounds like a much narrower needle to thread. Always sensible to pick the path that allows you to maintain the widest array of options for being satisfied. At some point you'll have to commit, but entering residency is honestly still too early (in my mind).

Appreciate the response. Do you mind elaborating on the cardiovascular avenues within IR, just out of curiosity. I was under the impression that IC and vascular pretty much run the show on cardiac procedures.
 
Appreciate the response. Do you mind elaborating on the cardiovascular avenues within IR, just out of curiosity. I was under the impression that IC and vascular pretty much run the show on cardiac procedures.

Probably should have said "vascular" as opposed to cardiovascular. But my knowledge of the area is honestly superficial. Much better answered by the vascular surgeons or IR people you may know.
 
Top