MD & DO Please suggest electives, given my interests and stats

[ainsky]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am a 3rd year with no idea what I want to do. 4th year and away rotation applications are just around the corner. I have a few months of elective time but not sure what to explore. Do you have any suggestions

People recommend path or rads because I despised most of my IM patients. I am just not sure about the security of these fields in the future. I think I would prefer to "own" my own patients the way oncologists, surgeons, and other non-support fields do

I think what I value most is feeling like I am actually doing something valuable and job security/flexibility.

Step 1: 240s
School: Low tier MD
Quartile: 3rd
Clinical grades: all Ps so far

 

[ainsky]

Based on your interests. And your interests are only that you despise your IM patients and want to own your own patients?

You're not really giving much of anything to go off of. Anesthesia, rads, and path are the fields most likely to minimize your interaction with patients that you might see in IM. Or peds. All are valuable. I would recommend an anesthesia rotation.

Based on your interests. And your interests are only that you despise your IM patients and want to own your own patients?

You're not really giving much of anything to go off of. Anesthesia, rads, and path are the fields most likely to minimize your interaction with patients that you might see in IM. Or peds. All are valuable. I would recommend an anesthesia rotation.

i think i would love to be a peds subspecialist such as cards or NICU, cardiac embryology was one of the few things that didnt totally blow when I was in preclinicals. but i dont know much about peds residency. is it 3 years of trying to do physical exams on crying babies and trying to build rapport with kids who are awkward and dont want to be there while the parent breathes down your neck?

 

[Oso]

but i dont know much about peds residency. is it 3 years of trying to do physical exams on crying babies and trying to build rapport with kids who are awkward and dont want to be there while the parent breathes down your neck?

lol

 

[mvenus929]

i think i would love to be a peds subspecialist such as cards or NICU, cardiac embryology was one of the few things that didnt totally blow when I was in preclinicals. but i dont know much about peds residency. is it 3 years of trying to do physical exams on crying babies and trying to build rapport with kids who are awkward and dont want to be there while the parent breathes down your neck?

Well, if you want to do NICU, you're going to need to learn how to examine crying babies... But really, it depends on your personality. I only encounter awkward kids that don't want to look or talk to me occasionally. And parents generally trust me to know what I'm doing and aren't hovering. Except the first time moms. They hover.

Do a rotation in the PICU or NICU. You won't have the parents around as much as in a clinic setting. Depending on your institution, post-op hearts will likely go to the PICU (but there may be a separate CV PICU), so you can see them more up close and personal.

 

[sovereign0]

Don't get caught up looking for a perfect specialty. You're most likely going to have to make a sacrifice somewhere. It's pretty hard to do NICU without being able to handle doing exams on crying babies. You've got to weigh what's important to you and what you're willing to deal with.

 

[Tradewinds]

Have you done your core Peds rotation yet?

 

[mrbreakfast]

Since making this post, OP has been banned.

Anyway,

Clinical grades: all Ps so far

My (limited) understanding is that straight Ps in all the required clerkships is a red flag.