Least Required Knowledge Base Medical Specialties?

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Which medical specialties require the least amount of rote fact knowledge memorization? Psychiatry is definitely one of them since it works off of a base of core concepts and less memorizing. What are some others?

Clarification: Assume that my grades and board scores are among the highest and I can undoubtedly obtain any residency I wish.
 
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I'd think those that require least amt of knowledge would be the sub-specialists.
 
vdawg2010 said:
Which medical specialties require the least amount of rote fact knowledge memorization? Psychiatry is definitely one of them since it works off of a base of core concepts and less memorizing. What are some others?
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This will get ugly if it catches on...
 
HAHA, :laugh::laugh::laugh: I'm all about stirring up the pot but you have me beat by a mile on this one! I'm already getting all giddy thinking of all the future nights of entertaining reading that lie before me. PLEASE DON"T LOCK! Just think of how this thread will increase viewership here on SDN! Your easily looking at a possible 10,000+ views thread in the making here.
 
howelljolly said:
Dermatology :poke:
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really? you think derm isn't a lot of memorization?

this thread is not meant to be insulting to any specialty. each specialty is needed for different reasons, and none are better than any other. they all work together to create the field of medicine in taking care of patients.
 
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vdawg2010 said:
are you saying derm for any reason other than the fact that everyone thinks its the best lifestyle, etc?
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I really dont know anything about derm.

In a way, It depends on what you consider memorization. Derm and Pathology require you to have a good visual memory, (though Path requires an enormous memory for everything) But maybe for you, visual memory comes naturally... and so...

I cant really think of any field that doesnt require volumes of memorization. Even those PM&R guys have so much neuromusculoskeletal anatomy and kinesiology stuff memorized, it'll make your head spin.

What some would consider rote memory, you might consider otherwise. For example, many people see patterns and concepts in Microbio and ID... but for the life of me, I dont. However, to me, pulmonary physiology equations are concepts.

Why dont you give us a little more background on your question, so we know where to go with this?

Incidentally... its is a med student issue... not a residency issue, and therefore, its incorrectly filed.
 
howelljolly said:
I really dont know anything about derm.

In a way, It depends on what you consider memorization. Derm and Pathology require you to have a good visual memory, (though Path requires an enormous memory for everything) But maybe for you, visual memory comes naturally... and so...

I cant really think of any field that doesnt require volumes of memorization. Even those PM&R guys have so much neuromusculoskeletal anatomy and kinesiology stuff memorized, it'll make your head spin.

What some would consider rote memory, you might consider otherwise. For example, many people see patterns and concepts in Microbio and ID... but for the life of me, I dont. However, to me, pulmonary physiology equations are concepts.

Why dont you give us a little more background on your question, so we know where to go with this?

Incidentally... its is a med student issue... not a residency issue, and therefore, its incorrectly filed.
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Thank you for the reply. I posted it here because I wanted the feedback of residents. I am trying to figure out what fields would be best for me. In medical school I was diagnosed with a learning disability. Supposedly, I have a superior visual memory, ability to see patterns, and a unique ability of connecting with people. However, I have a very low reading speed and comprehension and of the courses that required significant amounts of memorization (pharm, micro, etc), I did very poor. I did better in the courses that emphasized thinking (such as physio) and poor in those that were rote memorization.

I am currently trying to decide if I should go on to a residency or just quit because medical school was so hard for me because of the volume of reading. Without any regards to how hard different fields are to get in to, what fields do you think would I be ideally suited for if I did pursue a clinical medical career just based on the sheer amount of memorization? Is Derm really a field in which there is not that much amount of material to know?
 
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Didn't I just see this question on the Allo board?
 
Interesting question...weird responses.
 
It also depends on where and how you learn, I was poor in micro as well, but the way my pharm prof taught... pharm was just a logical extention of physiology.

Pathologists and radiologists have a thousand differentials for every thing they look at. But whether thats from rote memory, or a conceptual understanding and extrapolation of a the cellular or anatomical abberancy they are looking at, Im not sure.

Some family physicians dont have buckets of minutae memorized... just broad concepts.

Theres also Occupational or Preventative Medicine, which deals with policy, and the care of cohorts rather than individuals.

Psychiatry... if you can get your head around those concepts, and then recognize where you can apply them it might be for you. But, I had quite a few classmates who simply didnt get it.

hope this helps
 
Probably would rule out any of the general fields like Family Medicine, IM, or Peds. The broad nature of those fields makes for a lot of memorization (I would think)


What have you been good at on your clinical rotations? Or are you not to that point yet? If not, then trying to decide on a field before you've seen where your clinical strengths lie would be foolish.
 
Just so you know...
If you start two threads with the same topic, one of them will be closed by the SDN Czar.
 
Pir8DeacDoc said:
Probably would rule out any of the general fields like Family Medicine, IM, or Peds. The broad nature of those fields makes for a lot of memorization (I would think)


What have you been good at on your clinical rotations? Or are you not to that point yet? If not, then trying to decide on a field before you've seen where your clinical strengths lie would be foolish.
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Thank you everyone for your advice.

I am a 4th year but am not currently applying; trying to decide if I should apply next year or just graduate and go do something else like healthcare consulting. I have done a few rotations but it seems like they are all hard (the shelf exams are ridiculous for all of them). I have ruled out Surgery, Anesthesiology, IM, and Ob?Gyn. I did enjoy Family Medicine but I may want to do something that does more than triage patients.

My clinical strengths are undoubtedly my personal skills and dedication to teamwork. I love working. I dread studying. I learn best by pictures, graphs, charts. I thought something like Radiology might be good for me, but I miss out on patient interaction. Something like Derm or Family Medicine has a little of everything and doesn't seem to be a stressful field.

Any continued advice is much appreciated, I have to decide very soon about where to go from here. I am a very hard worker; I just want to pick a field or career that utilizes my strengths and doesn't emphasize my weaknesses. Obviously, going to medical school was probably not concordant with that but its too late to change that.
 
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I'd consider Family... you can really tweak it to fit you.... procedeures, physiotherapy, derm stuff.....
 
troopa said:
I'd think those that require least amt of knowledge would be the sub-specialists.
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1)This is somewhat true, paradoxical and ironic..

2)Its the weekend and this a good stress reliever..

3)It ok for a guy too suggest "I dont wnat to do anything that is too hard..
Although most in this quagmire will admit medicine is hard..
[Im talking about being the best in your field]! :laugh:
 
howelljolly said:
I'd consider Family... you can really tweak it to fit you.... procedeures, physiotherapy, derm stuff.....
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You'd be overwhelmed by the sheer volume reading in a short amount of time. Especially if you need to look something up during or in between patients. Clinic can be real stressful.

Why not anesthesia? There's a lot of physiology there and it's right up your alley...
 
With strengths in visual memory and pattern recognition, radiology does sound a good option. But if patient contact is important for you, it wouldn't be a good fit. It's also pretty competitive to get into - I don't know your scores/grades etc but if you've had a rough time in med school because of your learning disability I'm assuming they may not be that strong.

Endocrine is a very conceptual and physiology oriented field, but you'd have to go through IM residency first.

Psych does sound like a good possibility. IMO it's more of a conceptual field, not much rote memorizing. It does require a special ability to communicate/connect with people, which sounds like a strength for you. Have you done any psych rotations? It's one of those fields you either like or you don't.

howelljolly is so right though, that what is rote memorization to one person may not be to another. To me, physio stuff all feels like rote memorizing. :p

Good luck to you. I thought this was going to be either "what field is easiest so I can be lazy" or "what field is easiest so I can make fun of those in it" but turns out it was actually a serious question that you have a good reason for asking. Clearly you have some good strengths, including the fact that you persevered and got through med school in spite of your disability. Hope you find a field that's a good fit for you. :thumbup:
 
OP,
Unless you are going to be the top 1/3 of your class with very high board scores, derm is out for you. Also, unless you have at least average USMLE scores (hopefully better, like 230 or more) and top 1/2 of your class, I woudl say radiology is out also.

Psychiatry requires reading, but perhaps not as much rote memorization as some other fields. That might work for you.

Something like occupational med or preventive med might be good, too, and they don't get as many applicants because I just think not many people apply to them. Also, what about physical medicine/rehab? I really don't know a ton about the field, but if you are good at spatial stuff, etc. it might be a good fit.

I think that fp and IM or peds would be VERY stressful because of the broad nature of those areas which requires memorizing a lot of stuff. Surgery would suck for you, for the same reasons. I actually think the same about anesthesiology, since they have to take hard in training exams every year which stress out the trainees (at least all the anesthesiology residents I have known).
 
dragonfly99 said:
OP,
Unless you are going to be the top 1/3 of your class with very high board scores, derm is out for you. Also, unless you have at least average USMLE scores (hopefully better, like 230 or more) and top 1/2 of your class, I woudl say radiology is out also.

Psychiatry requires reading, but perhaps not as much rote memorization as some other fields. That might work for you.

Something like occupational med or preventive med might be good, too, and they don't get as many applicants because I just think not many people apply to them. Also, what about physical medicine/rehab? I really don't know a ton about the field, but if you are good at spatial stuff, etc. it might be a good fit.

I think that fp and IM or peds would be VERY stressful because of the broad nature of those areas which requires memorizing a lot of stuff. Surgery would suck for you, for the same reasons. I actually think the same about anesthesiology, since they have to take hard in training exams every year which stress out the trainees (at least all the anesthesiology residents I have known).
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Thanks for the reply.

Lets assume that grades, board scores etc are not an obstacle at all.

Have we narrowed it down to Derm, Radiology, and Psychiatry?
 
I have heard that derm and path require a LOT of reading.
 
i would have to say ortho. its mostly surgeries, and no memorization of lots of stuff. ON the other hand, someone mentioned dermatology, and I think otherwise. Dermatologist are required to know LOTS of broad information. The residency is FULL of reading and memorization. They are just less invasive given they are skin docs. Dont be fooled though.
 
vdawg2010 said:
I am trying to figure out what fields would be best for me. In medical school I was diagnosed with a learning disability. Supposedly, I have a superior visual memory, ability to see patterns, and a unique ability of connecting with people. However, I have a very low reading speed and comprehension and of the courses that required significant amounts of memorization (pharm, micro, etc), I did very poor. I did better in the courses that emphasized thinking (such as physio) and poor in those that were rote memorization.
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I would definitely consider PM&R. It requires the ability to see patterns (especially in assessing gait disorders), and it has a lot of patient contact. There is little memorization, but it requires a lot of "thinking" and reasoning.

Try a PM&R rotation, and see what you think. (The fact that it's not very competitive doesn't hurt, either.)
 
smq123 said:
I would definitely consider PM&R. It requires the ability to see patterns (especially in assessing gait disorders), and it has a lot of patient contact. There is little memorization, but it requires a lot of "thinking" and reasoning.

Try a PM&R rotation, and see what you think. (The fact that it's not very competitive doesn't hurt, either.)
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Dude stop. :laugh:
 
I don't know why anyone is encouraging this person. It's kind of a silly thing to argue about. Every field has a lot of complicated things to memorize including treatment algorithms, diagnostic algorithms, normal test values, etc etc. If memorization is simply too much work for you or too hard, then either get out of medicine or find a field that you enjoy so that it doesn't seem like memorization. If you are intellectually stimulated by your field, what seems like memorizing minutae to others often seems like common knowledge to you. Given that medical knowledge exponentially increases each year, along with things we need to know, setting a goal of not having to memorize a lot is a bit foolish and not really worth anyone's time.
 
mdfirst said:
i would have to say ortho. its mostly surgeries, and no memorization of lots of stuff. ON the other hand, someone mentioned dermatology, and I think otherwise. Dermatologist are required to know LOTS of broad information. The residency is FULL of reading and memorization. They are just less invasive given they are skin docs. Dont be fooled though.
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I would say any surgical field....its all plumbing :barf:
 
mdfirst said:
i would have to say ortho. its mostly surgeries, and no memorization of lots of stuff.
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Ortho? PM&R? Are you serious? How quickly y'all have forgotten your days in the anatomy cadaver lab. Talk about rote memorization... Hi. This is your hand. And this is your hand all jacked up because your doctor was conceptualizing the big picture and didn't think the details were important. Oh, was that a cutaneous nerve of a branch of a branch? Yea, get your law school application ready cuz you'll be spending some time in court.

I'd avoid Occ Med for the same reason. Public Health/Preventive, probably makes more sense. Psych probably makes more sense. It's all med monitoring anyways and diagnosis is clinical gestault. You might have to memorize the DSM criteria but that's not that hard -- if you put in the effort, an LD can compensate for that. Most psychiatrists don't counsel anyways and gen med carry a big load in the community. So you're left with a complex cases. Probably the hardest part is learning psychopharm and having the clinical intuition for the offlabel usage. But again, there's only a finite number of drugs you need to know and over the course of 4 years, you should get it. If you have Epocrates or EMR, drug-drug interactions can be checked easily without rote memorization, so you can compensate for patient safety.

If you have good grades & scores, and if you have LD, you're probably compensating by working real hard and/or you're given a longer time to take exams. So I would avoid anything that will require recall speed. That rules out gen med, anything anatomical, and anything urgent/emergent.

I'm going with Psych & Public Health/Preventive.
 
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yaah said:
I don't know why anyone is encouraging this person. It's kind of a silly thing to argue about. Every field has a lot of complicated things to memorize including treatment algorithms, diagnostic algorithms, normal test values, etc etc. If memorization is simply too much work for you or too hard, then either get out of medicine or find a field that you enjoy so that it doesn't seem like memorization. If you are intellectually stimulated by your field, what seems like memorizing minutae to others often seems like common knowledge to you. Given that medical knowledge exponentially increases each year, along with things we need to know, setting a goal of not having to memorize a lot is a bit foolish and not really worth anyone's time.
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Yaah is right. Having good people skills cannot take the place of a strong knowledge base. If you do not want to work hard to make yourself an expert in a particular didsipline you should try to find a research job or get an MBA.

I would not say that you have to memorize a lot of information to practice medicine. You have to learn/ understand many concepts. I am in anesthesia. We have to know a lot of many different disiplines. I do not like memorization but there are some things that I must know cold. I find my field interesting so I love to learn new things related to the practice of anesthesia.

Nothing in medicine is easy. Do not waste your time looking for a specialty where you can get by on being a nice person. It doesn't exist.

Cambie
 
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Although it is definitely more conceptual than memorizing, they can write/dictate very long notes. If your LD also has an element of dysgraphia or writing problems, this could affect you as well.

I think with any learning disability, the most powerful factor in overcoming the obstacles is your actual interest. Many student's I've worked with, despite their reading problems, knew they had to work a little harder than most people to be productive. But because they thoroughly enjoyed what they were doing, and had a lot of interest in what they were learning, they were willing to spend that extra time or make that extra effort to gain that knowledge base.

Passion can always trump LD. Especially those who were high funtioning enough to make it to the 4th yr of med school.

Nardo
Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrician
 
Anesthesia has a lot of physio and probably not the most demanding in terms of "thinking" knowledge base. By that I mean that you learn how to respond to a catastrophic situation by drawing on your experiences during residency and on your understanding of physiology - and it's more procedural than diagnostic. There's probably not all of those bizarre zebras you might see in medicine/pediatrics and their subspecialties, like familial yellow nail syndrome and the various presentations of lupus.

Perhaps anesthesiologists can correct me on this?
 
For PM&R you definitely don't need to read as much as some of these other specialties.
 
Llenroc said:
For PM&R you definitely don't need to read as much as some of these other specialties.
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Dude, don’t make me pimp you on the brachial plexus…

Which fields have the least amount of rote memorization? It’s a relative thing. As others have stated, all fields have large volumes of important and seemingly trivial facts pertaining to their specialty.

It’s the reinforcement and integration of these memorized facts that allow you to proceed to things like pattern recognition, “thinking”, and “reasoning”. Memorization of your regional anatomy allows you to identify structures and prevents you from damaging stuff during surgery or procedures. Recall of simple things like medication doses and side effects, normal values, electrode placements for EMGs, also allows you to be more efficient in practice.

Advancements are being made in all fields. If you don’t keep up with the literature, you will fall behind. Sometimes we see something outside of our bread and butter practice that we haven’t seen since internship, and a little refresher reading is in order. I don’t care what field you are in, you must continue to read to maintain and expand your knowledge base. If you don’t read, you won’t be as good a physician. Simple as that.
 
Llenroc said:
For PM&R you definitely don't need to read as much as some of these other specialties.
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Wrong. I thought the same thing at one point. MSK medicine is very complex if you want to be any good at it. Knowing every muscle's origin/insertion, innervations, from the scalenes to the pelvic floor is very difficult, you know all that stuff we quickly forget after M1 year. Approaching shoulder pain or back pain from a specialist point of view is much different from that of a fam practice doc. Physiatrists need to know a lot more than a +/- Lasegue sign. And most of the stuff is not high yield at all. To top that off you have to know SCI, TBI, wound care, O&P, WC, etc. The field is extremely broad but specialized at the same time. Compare that to the narrow focus of say... GI or renal.
 
E Dubble said:
Wrong. I thought the same thing at one point. MSK medicine is very complex if you want to be any good at it. Knowing every muscle's origin/insertion, innervations, from the scalenes to the pelvic floor is very difficult, you know all that stuff we quickly forget after M1 year. Approaching shoulder pain or back pain from a specialist point of view is much different from that of a fam practice doc. Physiatrists need to know a lot more than a +/- Lasegue sign. And most of the stuff is not high yield at all. To top that off you have to know SCI, TBI, wound care, O&P, WC, etc. The field is extremely broad but specialized at the same time. Compare that to the narrow focus of say... GI or renal.
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And even then... In GI you need to know everything about the GI tract from the mouth to the anus, as well as the hepatobiliary system, and pancreas. You medically manage essentially every pathology that a general surgeon would manage with removal of the offending organ.

With renal, allthough your bread and butter is acute and chronic renal failure, the amount those guys know is mind boggling.... and its all fair game for their boards. besides having the Basic sciences totally memorized, they know inorganic chemistry as if they did a masters degree in it. Also, every zebra in medicine is somehow tied to the kidneys. Put it this way...Dr. House is a Nephrologist.
 
howelljolly said:
And even then... In GI you need to know everything about the GI tract from the mouth to the anus, as well as the hepatobiliary system, and pancreas. You medically manage essentially every pathology that a general surgeon would manage with removal of the offending organ.

With renal, allthough your bread and butter is acute and chronic renal failure, the amount those guys know is mind boggling.... and its all fair game for their boards. besides having the Basic sciences totally memorized, they know inorganic chemistry as if they did a masters degree in it. Also, every zebra in medicine is somehow tied to the kidneys. Put it this way...Dr. House is a Nephrologist.
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True that.
 
Actually-- seriously-- I think he is both (did 2 fellowships). But hell, he could be a fetal surgeon and the show wouldn't make any less, or more, sense.
 
Yep, in the first episode, he said hes a BORED certified diagnostician, with dual certifications in ID and Nephrology.
 
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