Originally posted by keraven
Crap -- now I'm waivering again. EM was the default in my mind as I started med school -- for most of reasons everyone has listed including proceedures, shift work, a life outside the hospital, etc. I highly disliked IM and knew I was never a primary care type. What I found most frustrating was that much of how the patients did was up to them, and so many of them didn't/couldn't take care of themselves....the patients who kept coming back in for a CHF exaserbation because they ate a pizza or lived on canned soup -- I could only take so much of that.
I got to surgery and thought I found my home. I LOVE finally working with my hands. I like the fact that so many of our patients come in with a problem (even if it's a simple hernia), and we actually help them, make a difference, and don't just try to keep a chronic problem from getting worse. I enjoyed the 3rd and 7th lap chole and I did the first. And, oh, how I loved trauma. At least at our Level I trauma center, trauma is handled by the trauma surgeon on call, not the ER staff. I started "ruling in" surgery. I'm starting to have second thoughts about the lifestyle, however.
My biggest problem is that I don't feel like I have the time to decide -- unlike everyone tells me I do. I have a surgical sub-I scheduled for the end of May/beginning of June. I have elective time July, August, and November. Sept and Oct is Psych. Anything after November is pretty much irrevalent. So I have 3 months for aways and to officially decide what I want to do. If I'm on the surgery path, I feel like I HAVE to do surgical aways at good programs in both July and August. If I take July to do an EM rotation, I feel like I'm be harming my chances of matching surgery.
I think the only reason EM is still in my mind is for the lifestyle. It's a big factor, but it's the ONLY thing at this point.
Thoughts?