switching specialties

[LovesBikes]

so I'm a PGY1 at an EM program that I ranked pretty low on my list. I was a last minute switch into EM--I was going to do OB but the lifestyle scared me and I liked the acuity and procedural aspects of the ED and I thought the lifestyle would be better.

Surprise, the lifestyle is not better. I spend most of my days off adjusting my sleep schedule around and my 10h shifts usually stretch into 11's or 12's anyway. I feel like I spend so much time trying to pick up new patients and "move the meat" that I have no time to do the procedures that drew me to the specialty. I dread going into work every day and it's only December of my first year. I don't know if this is just intern blues or if I really did make a terrible mistake.

I am trying to decide if I should pursue switching into OB or if I should stick it out in EM and then pursue critical care afterwards, my ICU rotation was the only one thus far that I've liked.

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[rokshana]

so I'm a PGY1 at an EM program that I ranked pretty low on my list. I was a last minute switch into EM--I was going to do OB but the lifestyle scared me and I liked the acuity and procedural aspects of the ED and I thought the lifestyle would be better.

Surprise, the lifestyle is not better. I spend most of my days off adjusting my sleep schedule around and my 10h shifts usually stretch into 11's or 12's anyway. I feel like I spend so much time trying to pick up new patients and "move the meat" that I have no time to do the procedures that drew me to the specialty. I dread going into work every day and it's only December of my first year. I don't know if this is just intern blues or if I really did make a terrible mistake.

I am trying to decide if I should pursue switching into OB or if I should stick it out in EM and then pursue critical care afterwards, my ICU rotation was the only one thus far that I've liked.

Did you really expect "lifestyle " as an intern?

 

[doc05]

Did you really expect "lifestyle " as an intern?

It is the "intern blues."

Don't quit. And if you do quit, don't go into OB.

Also keep in mind that as an attending, EM lifestyle is good. Not so for OB.

 

[LovesBikes]

Did you really expect "lifestyle " as an intern?

while I didn't expect "lifestlye," I did not expect to dread going in every day. I didn't expect feeling miserable all the time. I didn't expect hating the patients and feeling like I'm drowning in a mass of people who need their sore throats and std's checked at 0300 on Tuesday morning.

I find myself missing the OR, missing having ownership of patients, continuity. And not the continuity we have in the ED, all our "regulars" are demanding and awful to deal with

 

[Psai]

You don't like the hours so you want to do OB where not only do the hours suck, so does the company

 

[Crayola227]

while I didn't expect "lifestlye," I did not expect to dread going in every day. I didn't expect feeling miserable all the time. I didn't expect hating the patients and feeling like I'm drowning in a mass of people who need their sore throats and std's checked at 0300 on Tuesday morning.

I find myself missing the OR, missing having ownership of patients, continuity. And not the continuity we have in the ED, all our "regulars" are demanding and awful to deal with

I can't speak to the rest of it, but I can say that the dread going in everyday and feeling miserable all the time, is normal for this part of the year.

EM can be very "us" (providers) vs "them" (patients). How are you liking working with your coworkers? That always kept me sane.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Although there may be high and low points in internship, hating everything about your job is a bad sign. In a surgical field it might be OK, because in the PGY-1 you might not spend much time in the OR so as you progress you might find that you get much happier. But EM work is EM work -- the patients will be the same in your future training years, you'll just be given more responsibility.

 

[anonperson]

so I'm a PGY1 at an EM program that I ranked pretty low on my list. I was a last minute switch into EM--I was going to do OB but the lifestyle scared me and I liked the acuity and procedural aspects of the ED and I thought the lifestyle would be better.

Surprise, the lifestyle is not better. I spend most of my days off adjusting my sleep schedule around and my 10h shifts usually stretch into 11's or 12's anyway. I feel like I spend so much time trying to pick up new patients and "move the meat" that I have no time to do the procedures that drew me to the specialty. I dread going into work every day and it's only December of my first year. I don't know if this is just intern blues or if I really did make a terrible mistake.

I am trying to decide if I should pursue switching into OB or if I should stick it out in EM and then pursue critical care afterwards, my ICU rotation was the only one thus far that I've liked.

I'm not sure what to make of wanting a better lifestyle and trying to go into OB GYN. If you do obstetrics, patients will deliver between the hours of midnight and 8am thoroughly messing up your sleep.

Do it if you want to do the specialty but don't delude yourself that it is a great lifestyle.

 

[enalli]

Surprise, the lifestyle is not better.

Your lifestyle is better. Yes, it sucks, but it actually sucks less than that of your OB resident colleagues. If lifestyle is your main qualm, then switching to OB will make things worse.

I feel like I spend so much time trying to pick up new patients and "move the meat" that I have no time to do the procedures that drew me to the specialty.

How many patients are you seeing per shift? Are you being pressured by your faculty to see more patients, or are you pressuring yourself? Intern year is not the time to be carrying the pod, especially the first half of the year. Your focus should be on getting the basics right and getting procedures. Your senior residents should presumably be pretty proficient with most procedures and should be sharing them with you.