Signs a student is "wrong" for dermatology

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odyssey2

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Have you ever dealt with students who were interested in dermatology for exclusively lifestyle reasons but you felt were wrong for the specialty? What were the signs they should have gone into something else?

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Have you ever dealt with students who were interested in dermatology for exclusively lifestyle reasons but you felt were wrong for the specialty? What were the signs they should have gone into something else?

I was in academics briefly. Come application / match season, I had to remind myself it is not my place to determine which students were "right" and "wrong" for the specialty.

I don't think there is anything wrong with being interested in dermatology for lifestyle reasons. I think it is misguided if that is the only reason for the interest in the field. For most specialties, attendings have the ability to control what their lifestyle looks like once they are done with training. It would be incredibly short-sighted to pick a field solely because of lifestyle.

I would actually feel sorry for this student. Dermatology is a great field but there are plenty of pain points in day to day practice, even if you do get to go home at 5PM. If you hate the field, those pain points become that much more intolerable over a 20-30 year career.
 
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