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Hey everyone. Another I'm confused what to do with my life post. Goin into rotations I thought I'd end up in psych or fam med. Gen surg was my first rotation and found out I loved being in the OR. I have fourth year set up for gen surg but I'm having second thoughts:
Gen Surg: I love being in the OR and doing procedures. I love that gen surg involves medicine, critical care, and the chance to sub-specialize after 5-7 years if you want to. I enjoy how surgery is a skill that requires diligence and practice. And it just feels awesome to know that I could do surgery as a career someday. I don't mind the early morning and long hours at this point in my life but I was getting pretty burnt out with school overall at the end of third year d/t rotations and shelf exams which made me second guess how much of my life I want to devote to medicine. And of course I always hear surgeons say if you're happy doing anything else other than surgery then choose that. I've also heard that the enjoyment of surgery wears off after many years. I also am single right now and want to get married and have kids. I also have hobbies of reading, writing, lifting a few times a week ect that I'd like to keep going. Maybe even develop new hobbies.
Psych: I've always enjoyed neuroscience and psychology. I was an english lit and bio major and love hearing pts life stories. When I did my psych rotation I really enjoyed it. I had a really interesting case that I submitted for a case report. I enjoyed talking to ppl and feel that I am a good listener and am good at reading people and adjusting my personality to develop report with pts. And the hours were awesome. I didn't interact with too many of the psychotic/"difficult" patients which I heard can be challenging. I also at times got a little bored but it wasn't too bad. I guess nothing can really top the thrill of being in the OR. Also I enjoy medicine and worry that psychiatry will not be a lot of medicine. But there's a lot about psych that I find interesting especially mindfulness and how it can help treat certain disorders. And the idea of having much more free time with psych is beginning to be more appealing. I was all gung ho about the long hours of surgery and how I can handle it but now that I'm burnt out at the end of third year and trying to think about my future and I'm questioning how much I want to commit to work. Or maybe I'm just burnt out and will be fine after a little break I have at the end of May.
I did IM and enjoyed it and the flexibility and chance to subspecialize but three years of IM does not sound too appealing. EM was cool but I want more involvement with pts. Hated clinic and while family med is noble I definitely could not do it. Haven't done anesthesia but heard it's fun to do short procedures however time with patients is limited. Haven't done radiology and it has a great lifestyle but again I think I'd like to see pts more often.
Anyways I know the decision is up to me but just wanted to hear everyone's thoughts.
Gen Surg: I love being in the OR and doing procedures. I love that gen surg involves medicine, critical care, and the chance to sub-specialize after 5-7 years if you want to. I enjoy how surgery is a skill that requires diligence and practice. And it just feels awesome to know that I could do surgery as a career someday. I don't mind the early morning and long hours at this point in my life but I was getting pretty burnt out with school overall at the end of third year d/t rotations and shelf exams which made me second guess how much of my life I want to devote to medicine. And of course I always hear surgeons say if you're happy doing anything else other than surgery then choose that. I've also heard that the enjoyment of surgery wears off after many years. I also am single right now and want to get married and have kids. I also have hobbies of reading, writing, lifting a few times a week ect that I'd like to keep going. Maybe even develop new hobbies.
Psych: I've always enjoyed neuroscience and psychology. I was an english lit and bio major and love hearing pts life stories. When I did my psych rotation I really enjoyed it. I had a really interesting case that I submitted for a case report. I enjoyed talking to ppl and feel that I am a good listener and am good at reading people and adjusting my personality to develop report with pts. And the hours were awesome. I didn't interact with too many of the psychotic/"difficult" patients which I heard can be challenging. I also at times got a little bored but it wasn't too bad. I guess nothing can really top the thrill of being in the OR. Also I enjoy medicine and worry that psychiatry will not be a lot of medicine. But there's a lot about psych that I find interesting especially mindfulness and how it can help treat certain disorders. And the idea of having much more free time with psych is beginning to be more appealing. I was all gung ho about the long hours of surgery and how I can handle it but now that I'm burnt out at the end of third year and trying to think about my future and I'm questioning how much I want to commit to work. Or maybe I'm just burnt out and will be fine after a little break I have at the end of May.
I did IM and enjoyed it and the flexibility and chance to subspecialize but three years of IM does not sound too appealing. EM was cool but I want more involvement with pts. Hated clinic and while family med is noble I definitely could not do it. Haven't done anesthesia but heard it's fun to do short procedures however time with patients is limited. Haven't done radiology and it has a great lifestyle but again I think I'd like to see pts more often.
Anyways I know the decision is up to me but just wanted to hear everyone's thoughts.
