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- Feb 17, 2007
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This may be a long post, since I will try to describe my thoughts. First off, I greatly appreciate all input into my situation.
I came to medical school b/c I liked science and people, from being hospitalized several times (surgery, mono) and liking the docs and how they helped me. I find myself now, a 3rd year medical student, unsure of what I want to do with the rest of my life. Having done Peds/Med/Surg/OB I can't really see myself doing these professions (for various reasons). Going in to MS3 year I sought to have an open mind, considering things such as Medicine (possibly subspecialty), Anesthesia, and seeing if I enjoyed surgery enough to commit to its rigors.
I did a 3 week selective early on in my 3rd year in Anesthesia, expecting to love every minute of it, which I didn't, although not a true dislike either. Looking back on the experience I feel some of this is related to it being early in my MS3 year and my still learning what it is to be an MS3 (you need to go to bed at 9/10 p.m., you need to step up when a resident says "this may be a difficult airway, maybe you should wait for another one" and say, "no, I really would like to give it a shot, as long as we can bag him"). Things I didn't like were charting, and sitting for an extended period of time (you won't do too much of as an MDA), as well as being freaked out by the number of different lines running across each other. I enjoy pharmacology, physiology, and doing things with my hands (although I don't claim to be anywhere close to being able to start IV w/o assistance much less art/central lines, epidurals, et al).
I have basically talked myself in to a career in anesthesia from discussing it with various attendings/residents/current MS4's and reading posts on SDN, various other resources. This said, I have concerns about where the field is going (as I am leaning towards anesthesia partly based on a large % of MDA's being very happy with their profession, will drastic changes reverse this % in 10 yrs?), and if, choosing the specialty largely from "numbers" and the "personality type" that I ascribe myself to be (in careers in medicine, and the myers-briggs stratton thingy). One attending told me to relax, that I would need to make a "leap of faith" into anesthesia b/c it is something you won't really understand until you are a CA-1/2 truly doing cases day in day out.
I'm on F-Med right now and I will be taking call this friday night with the anesthesia residents to get a bit more exposure, I'm also looking in to doing a rotation really early 4th year, as well as an away rotation (to round out my CV, etc.). I guess, what I am saying after all of this is, can any of you out there relate to a significant portion of my story and/or lend advice (pertinent postives/negatives) relating to the things I am thinking through? Thanks again for reading my novella, and for your thoughts. Sorry for lurking for so long and now posting with such a demanding topic (all about me...), I will be more active and actually contribute info to SDN now that I am on the board I promise!
I came to medical school b/c I liked science and people, from being hospitalized several times (surgery, mono) and liking the docs and how they helped me. I find myself now, a 3rd year medical student, unsure of what I want to do with the rest of my life. Having done Peds/Med/Surg/OB I can't really see myself doing these professions (for various reasons). Going in to MS3 year I sought to have an open mind, considering things such as Medicine (possibly subspecialty), Anesthesia, and seeing if I enjoyed surgery enough to commit to its rigors.
I did a 3 week selective early on in my 3rd year in Anesthesia, expecting to love every minute of it, which I didn't, although not a true dislike either. Looking back on the experience I feel some of this is related to it being early in my MS3 year and my still learning what it is to be an MS3 (you need to go to bed at 9/10 p.m., you need to step up when a resident says "this may be a difficult airway, maybe you should wait for another one" and say, "no, I really would like to give it a shot, as long as we can bag him"). Things I didn't like were charting, and sitting for an extended period of time (you won't do too much of as an MDA), as well as being freaked out by the number of different lines running across each other. I enjoy pharmacology, physiology, and doing things with my hands (although I don't claim to be anywhere close to being able to start IV w/o assistance much less art/central lines, epidurals, et al).
I have basically talked myself in to a career in anesthesia from discussing it with various attendings/residents/current MS4's and reading posts on SDN, various other resources. This said, I have concerns about where the field is going (as I am leaning towards anesthesia partly based on a large % of MDA's being very happy with their profession, will drastic changes reverse this % in 10 yrs?), and if, choosing the specialty largely from "numbers" and the "personality type" that I ascribe myself to be (in careers in medicine, and the myers-briggs stratton thingy). One attending told me to relax, that I would need to make a "leap of faith" into anesthesia b/c it is something you won't really understand until you are a CA-1/2 truly doing cases day in day out.
I'm on F-Med right now and I will be taking call this friday night with the anesthesia residents to get a bit more exposure, I'm also looking in to doing a rotation really early 4th year, as well as an away rotation (to round out my CV, etc.). I guess, what I am saying after all of this is, can any of you out there relate to a significant portion of my story and/or lend advice (pertinent postives/negatives) relating to the things I am thinking through? Thanks again for reading my novella, and for your thoughts. Sorry for lurking for so long and now posting with such a demanding topic (all about me...), I will be more active and actually contribute info to SDN now that I am on the board I promise!