Need Some Advice

[eagle26]

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I was hoping that someone with more insight into the residency and practice of Anesthesiology could give me some much needed advice. Currently, I'm finishing my 3rd year of med school and have been considering Anesthesiology for some time. I even got myself involved in research for the past couple years in our department. My problem is this, however. I have multiple sclerosis and have been pretty stable (some slight problem with my visual fields and slight decreased tactile sensation, but am otherwise fine). I've had it for about 10 years now, and probably have 1 small exacerbation every year or two right now. While I really would like to do anesthesiology, I sometimes worry that, due to the unpredictable nature of MS, that I may lose some manual dexterity and won't be able to start lines and do interventional procedures. I wonder if it's worth pursuing something that I really would like to do, given the fact that I may not be able to practice it long term, or whether I should pursue a field that I may not be as interested in but can practice longer. I've been struggling with this for some time now, and any insight and/or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Joe

 

[Goose...Fraba]

Joe,

Im not a resident or attending, just a third year like yourself, but IMHO I think you should go for it. I mean so long as you think you wont be compromising your future patients health, I think go for it. I guess if things got really worse in the future (which I pray does not happen) you could always take a more administrative or academic role/job. then again maybe a field that was less technically oriented wouldnt be a bad thought, but you know you only live once you might as well do what you enjoy.
I guess my point is, I am sure there are options for you, whatever you decide. Best of luck my friend, 👍
Goose

 

[eagle26]

Thanks for getting back to me. You do have a point about "only living once" and going for it. It seems like I go back and forth between following my heart and being more practical. There doesn't seem to be an easy answer. The other option I was entertaining was doing a Radiology residency with a fellowship in IR (so I can do procedures) and possibly falling back to diagnostic rads if things went bad with my MS. I'm just not sure if I could make it through a radiology residency, and I'll always be thinking "what if I just went ahead and did Anesthesiology like I wanted". Again, no easy answers, but thanks for the input.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Joe

 

[chillindrdude]

kudos for toughing it out thru your adversity. i know many former med students that dropped out for reasons miniscule (sp?) compared to yours. what ever you decide...i would make sure you get and max out your disability insurance. then again...will insurance companies insure you?

best of luck

 

[Skip Intro]

Two issues you have to consider come to mind.

First, do you feel you have an ethical obligation to disclose your illness to any programs? Do you have a legal one? The former is a question only you can answer, and the latter is one that I honestly don't know the answer to. If you become suddenly incapacitated during a case, I wonder if there is a potential for huge liability if something goes wrong. Quite frankly, this may scare a lot of program directors away from offering you a spot. Not to be a downer, just trying to be a realist (which is why you asked, I believe).

Secondly, if you do become incapacitated to some extent and that prevents you from being able to practice anesthesiology anymore but not otherwise practice medicine (e.g., such as loss of some but preservation of other physical abilities that would still enable you to practice as a pediatrician, etc.), would you be content to forego patient contact just to have a desk job and not see patients?

These are the things I would consider before making the decision to go full guns into anesthesiology.

-Skip

 

[eagle26]

Thanks for everyone's input. Like I said, it's not an easy decision, and my greatest fear is having to settle for administrative work after only practicing a few years. There's not much I can do in anesthesiology if I happen to lose manual dexterity. I'm still collecting info, so I'm also looking into interventional radiology. That *may* be a field where I can do procedures but can also fall back to reading films if I have problems down the road. Sort of job security. While I don't think I'd like it as much as anesthesia, I do see potential in that pathway and am trying to get more info on it. I guess my decision comes down to either doing want I really want to do (anesthesia) and accepting the risk of not being able to practice if I have problems later on, or if I want higher job security where that's not as much of a concern (radiology). Tough decisions and coming down to the wire for selecting my M4 electives....

Joe

 

[hoyden]

I've met one person who is in a wheel-chair and needs assistance for basic activities. She has been a pediatrician. Because of her illness she had to change her specialty to psychiatry. So you are not destined only to desk work.
Anesthesiology residency is 4 years. Before you finish it's hard to predict what your course of illness is going to be. Exacerbations may be influenced by stress exposure and also inhalation of the anesthetics as well. Consider discussion with your physician, he/she may have more insight as to the connections between the course of the illness and lifestyle.

 

[Fiend]

Eagle,
I agree with Hoyden and some of the posters. In anesthesia residency, you will have long days, many pretty stressful. Is that the best environment for an individual with MS? What would you tell a patient who asked you the same question (I realize that you are an MS3), but you need to think about your health first and foremost. Just because the last 10 years have been relatively good to you does not mean the next 5 will be (though we all on this forum hope they will be!).
I know of one OB/GYN who developed MS and retrained in Psychiatry.
First and foremost is your health, not your aspirations. There are MANY rewarding careers in medicine that you can have without doing procedures or even seeing lots of patients. Consider psychiatry, of which there is a shortage of providers, especially ones like yourself who would have so much more insight into the human condition than the average medical student. What about preventive medicine or nuclear medicine (yes, this is a residency that can be separate from radiology) or radiation oncology (very competitive).

 

[Atlas]

Joe,

Im not a resident or attending, just a third year like yourself, but IMHO I think you should go for it. I mean so long as you think you wont be compromising your future patients health, I think go for it. I guess if things got really worse in the future (which I pray does not happen) you could always take a more administrative or academic role/job. then again maybe a field that was less technically oriented wouldnt be a bad thought, but you know you only live once you might as well do what you enjoy.
I guess my point is, I am sure there are options for you, whatever you decide. Best of luck my friend, 👍
Goose

YOU BASTARD!!! You stole possibly the greatest clip of Will Ferrell (sp??) and used it as your own! I love that skit. I'm just sad that you beat me to the idea. 😀