Specialty that requires least amount of physiology

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
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Every medical specialty requires the same basic competency in physiology - otherwise, you won't be able to pass your USMLEs. Honestly, you probably shouldn't go to medical school if you don't like physiology - you'll need a firm foundation in order to understand and apply biochemistry, pharmacology, and pathophys.

Once you get out into practice, it becomes second-nature so I guess it's less of an issue since you beat it to death over and over and over again during med school and residency. But I think physiology is important for every specialty.

Sorry, but I think you picked the wrong career path.
 
Okay, so what specialty involves no organ systems, and does not involve prescribing medications?

I have two options for you:

1. Magnetic healer
2. Lightning bonesetter

Before AT Still founded osteopathic medicine, he did these two things, which are still a part of our curriculum today, and options for residency through the AOA. Just kidding. Or maybe I'm not.
 
the pathophys specialists are IM I'd say. I'm actually having trouble figuring out fields that don't require a strong basis in physiology or pathophysiology...rads...? I mean you still need to know about the various disease processes and the subtleties of them that can show up on films in various ways. but I'd guess that's relatively the least.

*EDIT* psych uses even less physio, although they're very big on neurotransmitter physio atm.
 
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LadyWolverine said:
Every medical specialty requires the same basic competency in physiology - otherwise, you won't be able to pass your USMLEs. Honestly, you probably shouldn't go to medical school if you don't like physiology - you'll need a firm foundation in order to understand and apply biochemistry, pharmacology, and pathophys.

Once you get out into practice, it becomes second-nature so I guess it's less of an issue since you beat it to death over and over and over again during med school and residency. But I think physiology is important for every specialty.

Sorry, but I think you picked the wrong career path.
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That was totally harsh. I think the OP said "least" amount of physio, not no physio. It's true that it's in everything, but you've gotta admit that endocrinologists use it a bit more than psychiatrists do.
 
Judgement at its finest. The person asked for a specialty with the least amount of physiology, and they get a lecture about picking the wrong career path. There's a reason why there are people called researchers who focus their work on physiology (physiologist) and medical doctors. They are not the same.

I'm not sure about the least, but anesthesiology and endo would probably be two of the heaviest.
 
I love how "least" gets twisted into "don't like" and "lack of firm foundation."

if this was an LSAT related question some of you would fail.
 
neuroprotector said:
That was totally harsh. I think the OP said "least" amount of physio, not no physio. It's true that it's in everything, but you've gotta admit that endocrinologists use it a bit more than psychiatrists do.
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I'll take it a step further and say it was a stupid statement, but I will give them the benefit of a doubt that they didn't really mean it as extremely as they stated it. I don't particularly like any of our classes, but that doesn't mean I won't like doctoring. I just don't like memorizing every detail of every pathway ever discovered. It makes any subject that was ever remotely interesting become tedious. Enjoying classes and enjoying medicine are two different worlds, IMHO. Of course, this is from a second year standpoint. Maybe I'm completely wrong and I'll find out in a few months when 3rd year rotations kick off.
 
drpapaya said:
I was wondering... Which medical specialty requires the least amount of physiology?

Thanks.
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Almost every specialty of medicine is going to use some physiology. Rather than choosing which branch of medicine uses the least, consider which organ systems you enjoy the most and base your decisions around that.
 
Mr hawkings said:
Radiology

pathology
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I'd think Radiology would require one of the highest levels of physiology knowledge. Being able to identify pathology on a study, as well as the effects of all the different contrast media, etc.. At least in theory.
 
Physiology is a broad subject, it's really a collection of more basic subjects like biochemistry, biophysics, pharmacology, fluid mechanics, etc. that have been applied to understanding homeostatic and life-supporting systems in animals. So, maybe you'll hate cardiac and pulmonary physiology, which deals with fluid flows and pressures, etc. On the other hand, you may enjoy neurophysiology and endocrinology, which involve chemical information being transported across synapses and through the bloodstream with feedback loops. If you fall "in love" with an organ system or a particular technique, you *will* be able to learn the physiology that goes with it, it is really not that difficult.
 
Preventive medicine?

Def not PM&R. Those people know a ton about neurophysiology, on par with neurologists.

I think what the OP wants to know is, what field(s) do I not have to apply a large deal of physiology knowledge on a day to day basis? I would actually vote for pathology. You may need to know why cells and tissue look the way they do, but it isn't like medicine or surgery where you need to know and apply physiological principles all day every day.

The worst field for the OP would be anesthesiology or critical care medicine.
 
TexasTriathlete said:
I'd think Radiology would require one of the highest levels of physiology knowledge. Being able to identify pathology on a study, as well as the effects of all the different contrast media, etc.. At least in theory.
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really? i didnt think that was the case, but i guess i was wrong
 
LadyWolverine said:
This is ridiculous and untrue. Good luck managing a critically ill cardiac, trauma, or vascular patient without a decent grasp on physiology.
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The question was "least amount" not "no amount". I still say surgery.
 
TexasTriathlete said:
I'd think Radiology would require one of the highest levels of physiology knowledge. Being able to identify pathology on a study, as well as the effects of all the different contrast media, etc.. At least in theory.
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you're just being antagonistic. 🙂

I think Radiology would be toward the bottom of the list. Pathology, though, might benefit from a general phys knowledge base (I'm thinking renal, maybe blood, liver, etc.).

I agree with the general theme of this thread, though... physiology is pretty core. Embryology, biochem, psych, and even pharm aren't that important for some specialties, but phys is essential.

But you don't have to be a whiz or anything. Just know the basics-
 
If I were splitting hairs, I would say that radiology tends to involve pathophysiology more so than bread-and-butter physiology - things like endocrine feedback and the cardiac cycle. But we really only deal with it inasmuch as it is reflected in imaging. On the other hand, there is nuclear medicine, which is almost strictly physiologic imaging.
 
colbgw02 said:
If I were splitting hairs, I would say that radiology tends to involve pathophysiology more so than bread-and-butter physiology - things like endocrine feedback and the cardiac cycle. But we really only deal with it inasmuch as it is reflected in imaging. On the other hand, there is nuclear medicine, which is almost strictly physiologic imaging.
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I like your sig. I am reading HOG for the first time now. The fat man is great. Do you agree that the best medical care is none at all? That concept is interesting. (that may sound like an idiotic and unanswerable question... but I am an M1, so there you go.)
 
sirus_virus said:
The question was "least amount" not "no amount". I still say surgery.
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😕😕😕

I used a ton of physio on surgery. Surgical oncology, cardiac surgery, GI surgery (especially HPB) and endocrine surgery rely on physiology.

Not to mention that, as a surgeon, you often do a LOT of SICU and CCU - and critical care medicine is like physiology for adrenaline junkies.

Have you rotated through surgery yet??
 
smq123 said:
😕😕😕

I used a ton of physio on surgery. Surgical oncology, cardiac surgery, GI surgery (especially HPB) and endocrine surgery rely on physiology.

Not to mention that, as a surgeon, you often do a LOT of SICU and CCU - and critical care medicine is like physiology for adrenaline junkies.

Have you rotated through surgery yet??
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I am wondering this as well. Surgery was the rotation where I actually needed to go back and re-read my physiology book. Not only for the actual surgeries themselves, but even moreso for the pre- and post-op management of surgical and trauma patients. On general, cardiac, and trauma surgery I felt like I was constantly being asked questions about hemodynamics, ventilation, renal function, and GI physiology. As a matter of fact, I'd go so far as to say the most valuable information from my preclinical years so far were our cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal physiology blocks. You need to understand how these systems work at their most fundamental level before you can figure out how to fix things.
 
neuroprotector said:
guys, for the last time. psych.
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The attendings where I did my psych rotation (a dedicated hospital complex for patients suffereing from schizophrenia) were all very much involved in neurophysiology research, especially as it pertained to schizophrenia. Granted, these were academics, not private practice types.
 
LadyWolverine said:
The attendings where I did my psych rotation (a dedicated hospital complex for patients suffereing from schizophrenia) were all very much involved in neurophysiology research, especially as it pertained to schizophrenia. Granted, these were academics, not private practice types.
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There are some neuro-types in psych, but let's be honest: there's about as much bio in the biopsychosocial model as there are swedes in ikea.

Swedish_Chef_Muppet.jpg

doesn't count.
 
public health, epidemiology, or health policy.
 
mos def anesthesiology, no phys there
 
seth03 said:
if anything, surgery is applied anatomy; and anesthesiology would be applied physiology
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True.

I dont see how anyone could think anesthesiology does not involve a boat-load of physiology
 
How has nobody mentioned ortho yet? It is almost a badge of honor to forget that the body consists of anything besides the limb you are working on at the time.

You could also maybe consider ophtho or ENT. But def not general surgery - those patients end up in the ICU way too often.
 
Kaushik said:
Conversely, what specialty requires the most amount of physiology? I mean using it on a daily basis. Anesthesia? I'm absolutely in love with physiology currently.
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Internal med, especially it's subspecialties? Nephrology, cardio, pulm, ect. Obviously more specific to a certain system, but definitely in depth physio.
 
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Most: anesthesiology, nephrology, cardiology, pulm/CC, GI, endo, heme/onc

Least: psych, neuro, ortho?
 
skiz knot said:
😕😕😕
Surgery is applied physiology.
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I guess its how you're trained. I'd say that surgery is applied anatomy.

On my surgery rotation, I didnt use one bit of physiology... except for the stomach. I.e. what gets secreted where, and what and where it feeds back to. Any physiological issue got turfed to medicine or anesthesia.

Where Ive used physiology the most is in Medicine and the subspecialties.

The use of physio on a day to day basis differs between the training phase and the private practice phase. For example, in academia, psychiatry deals with complex neurophysiology - dopaminergic pathways, and those crazy loops that completely escape me now... something about inhibitory and excitatory pathways.... However, in private community practice, a psychiatrist can get away with knowing only that 1. Ach and Dopamine need to balance out. 2. High dopamine - schizophrenia 3. low serotonin - depression

So, in practice, I think the fields that require the least day to day reliance on physiology are: psych, surgery, pathology, radiology in a small hospital without nuclear med or functional/metabolic imaging, ortho... maybe optho and derm....
 
howelljolly said:
I guess its how you're trained. I'd say that surgery is applied anatomy.
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Surgery may be applied anatomy...until you get out of the OR and onto the floor. Have you spent any time rotating on CT, vascular, surg onc, trauma, transplant? There's tons of physiology, both pre-op and post-op. The SICU team may manage many of these issues (I'm assuming this is what you mean by "turfed to medicine"), but you still need to understand physiology very well to understand whether or not your patient is weaning from the vent, in renal failure, septic, etc. Most of the general surgery senior residents and attendings that I worked with had very detailed knowledge of both physiology and critical care management of surgical patients.
 
LadyWolverine said:
Surgery may be applied anatomy...until you get out of the OR and onto the floor. Have you spent any time rotating on CT, vascular, surg onc, trauma, transplant? There's tons of physiology, both pre-op and post-op. The SICU team may manage many of these issues (I'm assuming this is what you mean by "turfed to medicine"), but you still need to understand physiology very well to understand whether or not your patient is weaning from the vent, in renal failure, septic, etc. Most of the general surgery senior residents and attendings that I worked with had very detailed knowledge of both physiology and critical care management of surgical patients.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that SICUs (= Surgical ICUs) are run by surgeons and anesthesiologists. So yeah, if you're the surgeon who is running the SICU That month, you'd better have a good grasp of physio....

I honestly feel that people who think that there is little physio in surgery had a very limited experience on their surgery rotation.
 
LadyWolverine said:
Surgery may be applied anatomy...until you get out of the OR and onto the floor. Have you spent any time rotating on CT, vascular, surg onc, trauma, transplant? There's tons of physiology, both pre-op and post-op. The SICU team may manage many of these issues (I'm assuming this is what you mean by "turfed to medicine"), but you still need to understand physiology very well to understand whether or not your patient is weaning from the vent, in renal failure, septic, etc. Most of the general surgery senior residents and attendings that I worked with had very detailed knowledge of both physiology and critical care management of surgical patients.
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smq123 said:
Not to mention that SICUs (= Surgical ICUs) are run by surgeons and anesthesiologists. So yeah, if you're the surgeon who is running the SICU That month, you'd better have a good grasp of physio....

I honestly feel that people who think that there is little physio in surgery had a very limited experience on their surgery rotation.
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Thats why I think it depends on how you're trained. And true, I dont know much about any surgical subspecalty, besides vascular. I didnt deal with much physiology there either.

And yes, when I said "turfed to...", I had SICU patients in mind.

In the SICU, it seemed that the surgery people were OCD about knowing every possible numeric value to the 3rd decimal which could be associated with the patient... but they never seemed to do anything with that data.....they didnt even care to understand some of it.... as long as they knew what it was. They wanted to know where they were, and where they needed to be. They really didnt talk about the why or how.... i.e. the physiology. They were problem solvers....do-ers, not thinkers.

I guess its the culture of the institution.
 
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