Not quite sure about what specialty to go into

[brocephalic]

M3 here, half way done, still not quite sure what I want to do. So far I have rotated through family, IM, Surgery, OB, and other than some malignant personalities, I can't really say I have disliked any field. I always wanted to do ortho but as of late, I am not sure. I am a little bit older, non-trad, with a wife and a kid on the way soon and therefore I am not sure whether a surgical residency would be the smartest thing to do at this time. I have also done some intubations while on my surgery rotation and have followed anesthesiologists, and I can see myself doing it, however, the thought of spending 5 years in training (Anesthesiology+a fellowship) just puts me off as I rather be a surgeon. EM is another intriguing option. 3-4 years of training with a solid paycheck. Heck I even enjoyed medicine and can see myself working as a hospitalist.


At this point I am so confused, my heart really tells me to do what I love (ortho) but my head keeps telling me no. I have also had discussions about this with my wife, and while she wants me to follow my dreams, I can't say that she's at least not a little worried about my ortho ambitions (residency in particular). I'll almost be touching 40 if I do ortho+ a fellowship. She told me that in ideal world, she rather have me do a 3 year residency and be done with it, keep in mind we've been married for 5 years and she's always supported me. Is anyone going through this dilemma right now? I am having such a hard time making this decision. If anyone who's been through this, can you please tell me what was your thought process and how did you decide?

BTW, I am not a top student, but got good enough board scores and grades to perhaps match any field other than Derm, plastics, or rad onc (not enough research).

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[todds]

M3 here, half way done, still not quite sure what I want to do. So far I have rotated through family, IM, Surgery, OB, and other than some malignant personalities, I can't really say I have disliked any field. I always wanted to do ortho but as of late, I am not sure. I am a little bit older, non-trad, with a wife and a kid on the way soon and therefore I am not sure whether a surgical residency would be the smartest thing to do at this time. I have also done some intubations while on my surgery rotation and have followed anesthesiologists, and I can see myself doing it, however, the thought of spending 5 years in training (Anesthesiology+a fellowship) just puts me off as I rather be a surgeon. EM is another intriguing option. 3-4 years of training with a solid paycheck. Heck I even enjoyed medicine and can see myself working as a hospitalist.


At this point I am so confused, my heart really tells me to do what I love (ortho) but my head keeps telling me no. I have also had discussions about this with my wife, and while she wants me to follow my dreams, I can't say that she's at least not a little worried about my ortho ambitions (residency in particular). I'll almost be touching 40 if I do ortho+ a fellowship. She told me that in ideal world, she rather have me do a 3 year residency and be done with it, keep in mind we've been married for 5 years and she's always supported me. Is anyone going through this dilemma right now? I am having such a hard time making this decision. If anyone who's been through this, can you please tell me what was your thought process and how did you decide?

BTW, I am not a top student, but got good enough board scores and grades to perhaps match any field other than Derm, plastics, or rad onc (not enough research).

I dont think you can have a straight answer given that you are married and have a kid. Some people say go with your "passion" always, No matter what anybody says, the fact that you have some dependents SHOULD be a factor

Would you rather be a surgeon or be involved in Ortho related field? Some people I know eventually went into Sports Medicine or PM&R after being turned off from an ortho residency. PM&R would give you ample time off DURING residency. Another thing to keep in mind is moving all over the place, with your board scores, you'd probably be able to pick the locations you want to be at in a not-so competitive specialty. These routes are only 4 years.

On the other hand if you need to be a surgeon, then perhaps you can look into some community ortho programs that are not so ridiculous hours wise. Another thing to think about is ENT and Urology which dont have that many emergencies so call would be much better.

Ultimately I think you have to ask why you love ortho - is because of the surgeries or is it ortho diseases/conditions just fascinate you or both? I think thats the best way to go. Good luck on figuring that out.

 

[Sheldor]

I'm also an M3, but thought that I'd share some of my experience. I have a one year old right now, and just finished 18 weeks of OB/Surgery so I have strong feelings about this at the moment.

My personal advice? If seeing your kid grow during their formative years is important to you, don't do any surgery residency. This isn't a knock on surgery, but just my opinion after experiencing it with my son. While you don't often spend the night at the hospital, you will often go 2-3 days without seeing your child. (Leaving before they wake up, and coming home after bed time) As an example, 4 months ago I had a day like i just described. I came home and hadn't seen my son in 3 days and when I opened the door he started yelling excited and WALKED over to me. Apparently he had started walking the day before :/

If Ortho is your passion then you will love it, it was my favorite surgery rotation! However, if your family and your kids are your passion, then I think it will make for a long, perhaps depressing 5 years.

 

[Rollo]

You should look into PM&R.

Sure it's 4 years residency but the hours are pretty nice as far as residency is concerned. You will still get to do some procedures, treat musculoskeletal pathologies, have a nice paycheck (average salary $278K - MGMA 2010), good hours, and develop satisfactory relationships with patients who are grateful to you for making their pain go away or have them walk again.

Not to mention with the aging and obese population, you would be in demand since people will always have back pains or have musculoskeletal injuries or injuries from strokes.

And PMR is not competitive from what I hear. If I were in your shoes, I would put PMR at the top of my list.

Otherwise, EM is another attractive option. Shift work, nice pay, various pathology, "won't take work home with you", and be able to have time for family during residency.

 

[Brachyury]

M3 here, half way done, still not quite sure what I want to do. So far I have rotated through family, IM, Surgery, OB, and other than some malignant personalities, I can't really say I have disliked any field. I always wanted to do ortho but as of late, I am not sure. I am a little bit older, non-trad, with a wife and a kid on the way soon and therefore I am not sure whether a surgical residency would be the smartest thing to do at this time. I have also done some intubations while on my surgery rotation and have followed anesthesiologists, and I can see myself doing it, however, the thought of spending 5 years in training (Anesthesiology+a fellowship) just puts me off as I rather be a surgeon. EM is another intriguing option. 3-4 years of training with a solid paycheck. Heck I even enjoyed medicine and can see myself working as a hospitalist.


At this point I am so confused, my heart really tells me to do what I love (ortho) but my head keeps telling me no. I have also had discussions about this with my wife, and while she wants me to follow my dreams, I can't say that she's at least not a little worried about my ortho ambitions (residency in particular). I'll almost be touching 40 if I do ortho+ a fellowship. She told me that in ideal world, she rather have me do a 3 year residency and be done with it, keep in mind we've been married for 5 years and she's always supported me. Is anyone going through this dilemma right now? I am having such a hard time making this decision. If anyone who's been through this, can you please tell me what was your thought process and how did you decide?

BTW, I am not a top student, but got good enough board scores and grades to perhaps match any field other than Derm, plastics, or rad onc (not enough research).

If you are not sure what to do, it's worth looking into AAMC's free 'Careers in Medicine' website

 

[lacrosse87]

Have you considered ophthalmology? Although it's 4 years total (1 yr intern + 3 yrs ophtho), you'd be able to combine some surgery with an easier life during residency and as an attending. Not that many true ocular emergencies

 

[officedepot]

.

 

[sirenomelia]

I wouldnt select your career based on hours or money. A good doctor in any field will work hard and put in hours. A good dad/husband will be a good dad/husband even if he's a neurosurgeon and called at night all his life. Few tips I would advise that pay off in my experience:

1. Er towards the field with people whose personality you align with. There's some personality traits that some argue are stereotypical but hold alot of truth for you succeeding and being happy and productive. If you are type A/OCD and you've got to be a surgeon than do that. You'd go crazy with the slow pace of being a medicine flea. Meathead jocks that are bright but aren't necessarily detail oriented cluster in ortho. Intellectual types that arent put back by chronic problems without immediate answers will like neurology or nephrology. Also pay attention to who is happy with their job/life. People who describe liking alot of things and maybe see themselves doing something procedure oriented cluster in the subspecialty surgery fields- optho, ortho, urology, etc or select IM fields like GI. Dont ignore what fields are saturated or more in need as finding adequate job opportunities is an underated factor in choosing.

2. If you're still not sure than er towards the more competitive thing first. Its alot easier to shift from ortho or radiology to medicine or ER but very hard to change in the other direction. Sometimes you have to do something for a while to figure out you do or dont like it. Its ok to change your mind and is not that uncommon.

3. Match in a bigger place so that another residency option to switch into without relocating is a plausible option. I haven't yet met the "Evil Program director" that wants to fire and ruin a resident's life that so many describe here. They want you to succeed and be happy and will most often help you switch if thats what you want.

 

[brocephalic]

Thanks for your responses guys/gals.... good thoughts..... I have no experience with PM&R, I will shadow a PM&R to see what its like. So far, I know that I love being in the OR and rather do surgery than medicine, however, I am not completely opposed to the idea of doing medicine. I have been building my resume up for ortho so far and was really gunning for it. I will also look into ophtho and ENT but I didn't quite enjoy head and neck anatomy in M1 year. As for personalities, I am more of a laid back guy who works hard and doesn't mind putting long hours, definitely enjoy working with my hands. Also somewhat of a serious weightlifter/runner. Lol, I really feel I belong in ortho, except when I think about my poor wife and our soon to come baby, as well as the prospect of possibly moving to a total new place with no family or friends around. That's when I start to reconsider my ambitions, lol.