Med student personality types and speciality choice?

[howelljolly]

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Regardless of what various governing bodies like to call it, I don't view things like pediatrics, internal medicine or general surgery as specialties. And I'm thinking about general surgery. If I go into general surg, I wouldn't tell people "Oh, I'm planning on being a specialist."

I agree, and this adds another dimension to the symantics. In the vernacular "specialty" can have a number of meanings. But, I think that the vernacular pretty consistently says that you must do a subspecialty/fellowship in order to be a "specialist". Unless you do a residency in ortho, optho, emergency, plastics.... which kinda makes you a specialist in something. Or what about psych, radio, or path? Are you a specialist because you are in THE field which deals with mental illness, or can make a radiologic or histologic diagnosis?

Is being a member of an exlusive group what makes you a specialist? Or is a specialist one who deals exclusively with a particular organ system? Or is a specialist someone who is trained in general surgery or medicine, and has specialized their practice to a particular organ system?

I dont know. What I am pretty sure about is that saying that I'm special, and someone else is not isn't cool.

 

[dienekes88]

I agree, and this adds another dimension to the symantics. In the vernacular "specialty" can have a number of meanings. But, I think that the vernacular pretty consistently says that you must do a subspecialty/fellowship in order to be a "specialist". Unless you do a residency in ortho, optho, emergency, plastics.... which kinda makes you a specialist in something. Or what about psych, radio, or path? Are you a specialist because you are in THE field which deals with mental illness, or can make a radiologic or histologic diagnosis?

Is being a member of an exlusive group what makes you a specialist? Or is a specialist one who deals exclusively with a particular organ system? Or is a specialist someone who is trained in general surgery or medicine, and has specialized their practice to a particular organ system?

I dont know. What I am pretty sure about is that saying that I'm special, and someone else is not isn't cool.

???

Very few people are genuinely special, but that's hardly the point we're arguing.

Furthermore, "specialist" doesn't refer to the practitioner's qualities as a person. It refers to the scope of his/her practice.

 

[dienekes88]

Have you pooped in the past week?

If yes, you're too relaxed for CT. </stereotype>

Nice.

I wonder if Blade28 has pooped this week.

If I had his mailing address, I'd mail him some ex-lax and metamucil.

 

[badasshairday]

Damn, some of you guys are really sensitive. He didn't say anything sinister.

 

[howelljolly]

He sure did.

This started as a discussion about what personality types fit into what specialty. Nevermind that we dont know what we mean by "specialty" Someone pointed out that the cartoon didnt include IM; which is a pretty popular choice of residency, Im lead to believe. His response was "IM isnt a specialty, its a default". Not only is that thoroughly unhelpful to someone who's probably wondering if his personality would fit into IM, it's saying that IM is a "default" (whatever that means), and apparently not worthy of having people with a personality....
Thats pretty malignant.

Now, Im going to take my emergency medicine personalty, get a sandwich, and cry myself to sleep.

 

[dienekes88]

Damn, some of you guys are really sensitive. He didn't say anything sinister.

People will see what they want to see... even if it isn't there.

 

[howelljolly]

Ive got a tendency to do that. It'll make me a better ER doc.

 

[heartthrob]

 

[Blade28]

Nice.

I wonder if Blade28 has pooped this week.

If I had his mailing address, I'd mail him some ex-lax and metamucil.

No CT Surg yet, remember? 🙂

But G Surg is keeping me plenty busy. 2-5 cases a day. 😱

 

[teddybear]

I think it might be emergency medicine for me. Zero attention span. Zero.

 

[DocPsychosis]

You people are either 'Spergin or *****s and blew a funny one-liner all out of proportion.

In my mind, everyone outside of the Big Three primary care practices (IM, peds, FM) is a specialist, and everyone within them is not. If you "graduate" from IM to become a cardiologist, you are a specialist; if you move again to become an E-P cardiologist, you are a subspecialist. Don't know if this is technically correct, but it makes sense to me.

 

[ygree001]

.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Ignore all this talk about personality and flowcharts and go into whatever you want.

I am neither crazy nor do I have ADD nor am I a cowboy and I matched into a great EM program.

 

[meister]

I really like dead people and inspecting mortal wounds. Any thoughts on what I should go into? Neuro maybe?

 

[howelljolly]

Psychiatry

 

[johnnyredfire]

What ya'll need to do is stop bickering about what the definition of a word means and maybe go out there and save some people. First order of business.

 

[meister]

Thanks dude, you should save some people as well.

Oh wait... 🙂

 

[diosa428]

I am neither crazy nor do I have ADD nor am I a cowboy and I matched into a great EM program.

😍

 

[SilverScrubs]

does anyone have a chart that includes more bars? that was pretty cool 😉

 

[teddybear]

I am neither crazy nor do I have ADD nor am I a cowboy and I matched into a great EM program.

😡 Boooooo

 

[teddybear]

What ya'll need to do is stop bickering about what the definition of a word means and maybe go out there and save some people. First order of business.

Agreed.

 

[AnaSedai]

http://www.winerfoundation.org/Myers-Briggs/mbti chart and specialty.html

Something from Google Books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=t7...=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result#PPA42,M1

Well that figures. I scored exactly halfway between INFJ and INTJ, and Psychiatry is at the top of the list for both of those types. Guess I chose right after all. Good thing too, since I'm graduating in exactly two months. Woo hoo! 🙂

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

Well that figures. I scored exactly halfway between INFJ and INTJ, and Psychiatry is at the top of the list for both of those types. Guess I chose right after all. Good thing too, since I'm graduating in exactly two months. Woo hoo! 🙂

Nice Screenname.....

-Asha'man Chuck

 

[DrBubbles]

I noticed Family Medicine wasn't on the flow chart--too bad. Since it's not, I end up as IM. Although, (and not to enter the bickering), I feel like Internists are (generally) the smartest docs out there. Which is why I don't think I'll go into it.

I'm thinking Family Med, hopefully in a rural area, and the google books link says I should do 'General Practice.' What does that MEAN anymore? (Considering they have IM and FM on the list too...?)

 

[vtucci]

Emergency medicine did not appear on the myers-briggs categories for medical specialty and personality type but cardiology was????

 

[PepperMD]

Thanks dude, you should save some people as well.

Oh wait... 🙂

LMAO. Nice...

Hold on, let me send another patient their way:

 

[Narmerguy]

Hold on, let me send another patient their way:

 

[Impromptu]

Nearly every single IM residency candidate I met on the interview trail (I was interviewing for a PGY1 medicine prelim year) told me that they wanted to do Cards or GI. The desire to do straight IM was a rarity.

 

[FatPigeon]

Nearly every single IM residency candidate I met on the interview trail (I was interviewing for a PGY1 medicine prelim year) told me that they wanted to do Cards or GI. The desire to do straight IM was a rarity.

Not only that, but the mere thought of being stuck in IM for 3 years (and, potentially, getting trapped in there forever... 😱) seems to keep a lot of people from being interested in cards, GI, etc.

If cardiology were a straight 6-year match out of med school, it would be so competitive as to steal half the applicants away from plastics and ENT. Absolutely.

 

[Gibbles]

How can so many people not understand the difference between a speciality and a subspeciality in medicine? Seriously, where the hell do half of you all go to medical school, because understanding this simple concept is pretty much a must after your first day of third year?

Internal medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, OB/GYN, Family Medicine are all specialities. Going into residency beyond attaining your M.D. after medical school implies specialization, because you become board certified in a speciality area of medicine.

Infectious Disease, Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Pulmonolgy, Orthopedic Surgery, Ophthamology, Pediatric Neurology, Perinatology are all subspecialties. Figure out what they trained in first, then figure out what extra training they've had beyond that.

Orthopedics, Urology, Ophthamology, Neurosurgery, ENT are all surgical subspecialties.

Understand the simple differences above and move on with your lives. Not understanding this is the difference between saving your patient's life and getting your ass chewed for 20 minutes because you called the wrong person in the middle of the night.


And, no...Internal Medicine is by no means a default. The majority of Internists that I encounter are not only superior in terms of exam skills, but also in terms of history taking. Those are skills that are important to a "doctor" and not a "scalpel jockey" with the "orthopedic point" that miraculously allows surgeons to listen to the heart, lungs, and bowel sounds at once with a single, well-placed stethoscope over the lower/mid thorax.

 

[sprinkibrio]

Who brought this thread back to life? I hate this thread... stupid trollish arguement about specialization. Boring.