Surgical subspecialties

[ChocolateKiss]

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So I am 100% sure that I do NOT want to go into surgery. I would like to take the least demanding surgical subspecialty rotations (in terms of hours, etc) and was wondering if anyone has advice as to which ones I should pick.

Thanks!

 

[Tiki]

So I am 100% sure that I do NOT want to go into surgery. I would like to take the least demanding surgical subspecialty rotations (in terms of hours, etc) and was wondering if anyone has advice as to which ones I should pick.

Thanks!

In our school it's Optho and Anesthesia.

I'm finishing up my surgery clerkship this week, and before I started it I said the same thing about hating it, and never wanting to go into it. I actually have ended up enjoying it. I had the most fun during my two weeks of Neurosurgery, and ended up hating Optho with a passion b/c I missed the OR.

 

[nala]

At my school it's ophtho and ENT.

I had the same feeling as the poster above...I too was "100% sure" I didn't want to do surgery, and I ended up loving it. I still feel jealous of people who are on their surgery rotations, despite the long hours. I have to do 1 more month as a 4th year, and I am looking forward to getting back into the OR.
Give it a chance - it's actually fun!
And no I'm not going into surgery.

 

[SLUser11]

So I am 100% sure that I do NOT want to go into surgery. I would like to take the least demanding surgical subspecialty rotations (in terms of hours, etc) and was wondering if anyone has advice as to which ones I should pick.

Thanks!

I understand completely where you are coming from, and I don't think you should endure any unnecessary pain during surgery if you're not interested at all.

BUT, surgery is relevant to all specialties, and it seems silly to try to avoid a general surgical experience. I hated internal medicine, but I still felt that I needed to experience it as a student.

That being said, it's hard to tell you which subspecialties are the easiest, because that is something that varies greatly among different institutions. Factors such as the presence/absence of a residency, PAs/NPs, whether you'd be inpatient or outpatient, how busy the service is, etc. You could very easily get your butt kicked on ENT or Urology just as bad as on a general surgery service.

It's probably best to ask the fourth year students at your school.

 

[Dr JPH]

<--- Another "100% sure I dont want to go into surgery" who changed his mind 3 days into my first general surgery clerkship.

I agree with SLU that regardless of your specialty you need to have at the very least a basic knowledge of surgery and the care of the surgical patient.

But if you are insistent upon avoiding it the way people here get around it is to do Anesthesia and sometimes Opthalmology.

 

[hale-bopp]

This is definitely something you need to check out with people at your school, because (judging from the above responses), it varies from school to school. At my school, it even varies within the subspecialty (i.e. ortho Sports medicine (20 hours/week) vs. anything else (the usual >60 hours...except the students who just stop showing up)). Talk to upperclassmen and see what they say. For what it's worth, my worst hours in all of surgery (except Trauma, which is in a league of its own) were on Urology, which I thought would be easy. Anyway, at my school anesthesia is by far the shortest hours, you can definitely spend less than 20 hours "working" that week if you want to.

 

[VincentAdultman]

So I am 100% sure that I do NOT want to go into surgery. I would like to take the least demanding surgical subspecialty rotations (in terms of hours, etc) and was wondering if anyone has advice as to which ones I should pick.

Thanks!

I'd go with transplant, or maybe ortho. I hear trauma surgery is REALLY chill too!

 

[Doc Ivy]

If you can manage to do breast you'll probably have a chill time

 

[LovelyRita]

plastics!!!!

 

[jdh71]

So I am 100% sure that I do NOT want to go into surgery. I would like to take the least demanding surgical subspecialty rotations (in terms of hours, etc) and was wondering if anyone has advice as to which ones I should pick.

Thanks!

for a student Ophthalmology - hands down. anesthesia and ortho is hit or miss depending on the school. everything else sucks time wise.

 

[nutcancer]

This all depends on your school and how seriously they take the subspeciality courses. In our school, ophtho and anesthesia were the easiest. I was out by 9 AM and 8:45 AM, respectively, every day.

 

[Llenroc]

In our school it's Optho and Anesthesia.

I'm finishing up my surgery clerkship this week, and before I started it I said the same thing about hating it, and never wanting to go into it. I actually have ended up enjoying it. I had the most fun during my two weeks of Neurosurgery, and ended up hating Optho with a passion b/c I missed the OR.

You guys can do Anesthesia during your Surgery month! That's cheating. 😡

At our school, you can't even do ENT or Opthalmology during Surgery. Your best bet is to do plastic surgery, but they only take 1 student each month.

 

[Llenroc]

I understand completely where you are coming from, and I don't think you should endure any unnecessary pain during surgery if you're not interested at all.

BUT, surgery is relevant to all specialties, and it seems silly to try to avoid a general surgical experience. I hated internal medicine, but I still felt that I needed to experience it as a student.

That being said, it's hard to tell you which subspecialties are the easiest, because that is something that varies greatly among different institutions. Factors such as the presence/absence of a residency, PAs/NPs, whether you'd be inpatient or outpatient, how busy the service is, etc. You could very easily get your butt kicked on ENT or Urology just as bad as on a general surgery service.

It's probably best to ask the fourth year students at your school.

Surgery academics are certainely relevant, but the actual surgery clerkship is the biggest waste of time I've ever endured. For me, Surgery was standing around in the OR all day holding a god damn retractor - without breakfast, lunch, a trip to the bathroom, or so much as a drink of water. And the people there were the nastiest, nastiest mother ****ers I've ever met. The less time that you have to put up with the bull**** of surgeons, the better off you are. I learned NOTHING on the job. Every question I got right on the surgery exam was because I read it in a book.

I think trying to minimize your hours spend on the wards in a surgery clerkship is a good idea, and you'll be a better doctor for it, as you'll have more time to actually learn important surgical concepts from your books. 👍

 

[SLUser11]

I think trying to minimize your hours spend on the wards in a surgery clerkship is a good idea, and you'll be a better doctor for it, as you'll have more time to actually learn important surgical concepts from your books. 👍

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever read here on SDN.

Most medical specialties, but surgery more than others, are hands-on, and much more can be learned from being on the wards or in the OR than you can get from hiding from your residents and reading Blueprints.

I don't know you, but I assume you have a large gap in your surgical knowledge. Hopefully, your patients will never suffer from your desire to take shortcuts.

I searched your posts, and it looks like you hate surgery and had a horrible experience as a third year. It's very likely that your specific institution is to blame for that, as opposed to the entire field of surgery.

Basically what I'm saying is: That's fine if your attitude sucks, but don't advertise it to other students as a "good idea."

 

[aggernodi]

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever read here on SDN.

Most medical specialties, but surgery more than others, are hands-on, and much more can be learned from being on the wards or in the OR than you can get from hiding from your residents and reading Blueprints.

I don't know you, but I assume you have a large gap in your surgical knowledge. Hopefully, your patients will never suffer from your desire to take shortcuts.

I searched your posts, and it looks like you hate surgery and had a horrible experience as a third year. It's very likely that your specific institution is to blame for that, as opposed to the entire field of surgery.

Basically what I'm saying is: That's fine if your attitude sucks, but don't advertise it to other students as a "good idea."

I agree. As a surgeon (to hear the perspective from the other side), the last thing I want to do to help a medical student out is one who seems to have a chip off their shoulder. I'm a HUGE believer in getting medical students involved and take into consideration what that student wants to do in life. As a basic, I try to make sure all students do a tracheostomy as a primary surgeon with me assisting which I believe is an important skill to have for airway purposes regardless of the specialty you go into. Knot tying and suturing are also other important skills regardless of the specialty.

For those students who have great attitudes (even if they plan on going into pediatrics, etc), I almost always have first assisting on major head and neck cases (just me and student...not even a resident helping) involving tongue/jaw/neck resections with free flaps.

It'a all about attitude. I've also have had students that always show up late, always disappearing, I never know where they are, whining, etc. They are the one I have just retracting.

Of course, people in surgery are people. I totally agree with Llenroc that there are some real nasty individuals in surgery...but those nasty individuals exist in every profession. The nastiest person I've ever met during my medical school rotations back in the 1990s was actually a neurologist. She made my life MISERABLE!!! I still remember to this day.

 

[Hard24Get]

As a basic, I try to make sure all students do a tracheostomy as a primary surgeon with me assisting which I believe is an important skill to have for airway purposes regardless of the specialty you go into. Knot tying and suturing are also other important skills regardless of the specialty.

For those students who have great attitudes (even if they plan on going into pediatrics, etc), I almost always have first assisting on major head and neck cases (just me and student...not even a resident helping) involving tongue/jaw/neck resections with free flaps.

Wow, can I rotate with you? The few times I got to first assist was before the attending showed up, and I loved it. You have to keep in mind different surgeons have their own feeling about med student participation, and someone who ignores you on a regular basis can make you unhappy and discouraged. Some of my classmates didn't ever get to close on some rotations, and I think that makes Surgery hard to appreciate (towards the end of my rotation, I started asking to do stuff, and it wasn't ill-received). But the clinical decisions made on rounds are always helpful to hear. 👍 👍

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Wow, can I rotate with you? The few times I got to first assist was before the attending showed up, and I loved it. You have to keep in mind different surgeons have their own feeling about med student participation, and someone who ignores you on a regular basis can make you unhappy and discouraged. Some of my classmates didn't ever get to close on some rotations, and I think that makes Surgery hard to appreciate (towards the end of my rotation, I started asking to do stuff, and it wasn't ill-received). But the clinical decisions made on rounds are always helpful to hear. 👍 👍

I was thinking the same thing, particularly sense ENT is one of the few types of surgery that interests me......