Switching out of Rads....tips?

[geneween]

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I'm currently in my transitional year, and I'm starting to think about dropping out my rads spot for next year. I'm enjoying patient care a lot more than I did as a medical student. Also, during my radiology rotation this year, I was pretty miserable (despite getting out early every day.) I guess I wasn't sure what to pick as I became a fourth year. I ended up in rads because I liked the lifestyle and the opportunity to do procedures. I ended up realizing the extent of the limitations of IR (bad position in turf wars). Also, don't know if I want to sit through a rads residency to get there.

If I hadn't done rads, would have done something like ENT or ophtho. I'd think about something like ER or gas as well. I realize these are relatively tough things to go into, but I think I had the grades and board scores to do them as a fourth year. I don't know where I'd stand now though.

Does anyone have any experience with these types of residency switches? How do they work out typically?

 

[exPCM]

I'm currently in my transitional year, and I'm starting to think about dropping out my rads spot for next year. I'm enjoying patient care a lot more than I did as a medical student. Also, during my radiology rotation this year, I was pretty miserable (despite getting out early every day.) I guess I wasn't sure what to pick as I became a fourth year. I ended up in rads because I liked the lifestyle and the opportunity to do procedures. I ended up realizing the extent of the limitations of IR (bad position in turf wars). Also, don't know if I want to sit through a rads residency to get there.

If I hadn't done rads, would have done something like ENT or ophtho. I'd think about something like ER or gas as well. I realize these are relatively tough things to go into, but I think I had the grades and board scores to do them as a fourth year. I don't know where I'd stand now though.

Does anyone have any experience with these types of residency switches? How do they work out typically?

Every physician I have met who dropped out of radiology later regreted their decision to drop out. You should do the first year AT LEAST of the radiology residency and then reevaluate.

 

[reply]

Wow, you're the second one who has posted recently about leaving rads for (of all things) surgery!!!

I decided to switch to rads this year rather far in my general surgery training. Surgery, as fulfilling as it appears to be in medical school and outsiders, also comes with so much unwanted baggage. Several of the chiefs/recent graduates at my program enjoy what they do, but at the same time, a fair number thought the training was not worth it and would've picked a different field. Granted, you're interested more in the surgical subspecialties, but I've even had those in the subspecialities tell me that 1) they regretted medicine or 2) have seriously considered switching to the point of interviewing for positions in other fields.

I'll say it again, there is a reason why rads is a field full of defectors. In my future program, they come from surgery (multiple), anesthesia, EM, IM, and probably more that I'm not aware of.

I am in complete agreement with the above poster. Give rads a chance, you must've had a strong interest in it when you applied. Even if you didn't, you've serendipitiously made a good choice. And after doing enough procedures, you'll realize that with any procedure, there's risk involved. There are plenty of opportunities for patient contact in rads- IR, mammo, ped rads - without all the unpleasantness that can come from it.

 

[chicamedica]

On the other hand, if you really like what you're doing in your medicine program and feel that patient care (e.g. having your own patients, seeing them through their illness, feel fulfillment at seeing them get better or from consoling their loved ones if they dont make it, or from educating a patient about their illness and options, etc) is very meaningful to you, and if you know already that you'll dread doing what radiology is about, I say look into finding out whether you can just convert to categorical medicine in your current program, or switch into a more patient-care oriented advanced field (if you're sure you'll be happy doing that). Don't bother starting your rads program because it will be stressful and hard trying to switch out at that point.

A similar thing happened to me during my prelim medicine year. I realized I loved that type of work, and had numerous experiences which were very fulfilling to me in medicine. Nevertheless, I started my anesthesia program remembering that i did enjoy the field as a med student, and from what people were always saying, people in anesthesia were almost always happy and that usually people switched INTO anesthesia not out of. about 4 months into my anesthesia program, I realized that I enjoyed what i was doing in medicine MUCH MUCH more and i really felt miserable doing anesthesia. I ended up switching back to medicine (making the switch was probably one of the most stressful things i've ever gone through). Maybe I am working a little bit more now, but I have finally found joy in work again and that is extremely precious to me.

So, if you already know you won't be happy doing radiology, dont listen to everyone saying "but people always defect INTO rads!!!" or "people who leave rads always regret it!" I've heard all of that about anesthesia too. You have to pursue the field that makes YOU happy, not the one that makes a bunch of other people happy. You'll come to realize that switching out of these "ROAD" specialties happens a lot more than people realize, it's just not info that is really advertised. I know at least 7-8 people personally who have switched out of fields including rads, ENT and anesthesia, and are a lot happier with what they're doing now. I also know people who switched into those fields and are happy. It's just a matter of finding the field you enjoy. Sometimes it's hard to do as a med student.

 

[gwen]

i would have to agree with everyone above. i would give radiology one year and if you still don't like it, switch out to whatever else you find more interesting.

i switched out of PMR (during internship in IM) to IM. i regret it once in a while when i'm doing a rough night as a hospitalist, but honestly, i know so much medicine and could not have gotten that "intellectual" satisfaction doing PMR. i decided to do medicine b/c i want to eventually be able to do international medicine, not necessarily as a fellowhip though (ER or FP is another route to that) and work on global health. being an internist gives me great perspective into that field.

anyway, good luck to you! let us know what you're thinking...

 

[Winged Scapula]

This forum is for the posting of OPEN positions not for discussion of residency issues. Moving to Gen Res Forum.