thinking trauma as an undergrad...help!

[uclakid]

hey guys...i'm a third year undergrad and am really interested in trauma/gen surgery. I'm anticipating interviewers grilling me about how much I know about the current trends/situation of trauma surgery. can anyone tell me or direct me to some other information source? I want to know as much as i can about trauma surgery these days (especially for women surgeons)...thanks everyone!

p.s. I heard that trauma centers were in danger of closing (or that was the general trend in southern cali)...is this true? is it still happening?

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[Seaglass]

On a med school interview, even if you're interested in Trauma, you are unlikely to get a lot of deep questions about it. You're more likely to be asked why you are so interested in Gen Surg/Trauma and how you came to that decision.

C

 

[zensurg]

i mentioned trauma surg on my application and i didn't get a single question, nor did i expect it. i was, however, paired up to interview with a surgeon in a couple interviews. as long as there is adequate state-funding and warm bodies trauma centers can't close. LA county's system is jacked up beyond belief.

 

[doc05]

when you apply to medical school, tell them you want to go into rural FP or inner city peds. that's what they want to hear. too many of the interviewers are medicine guys who hate surgeons.

 

[uclakid]

when you apply to medical school, tell them you want to go into rural FP or inner city peds. that's what they want to hear. too many of the interviewers are medicine guys who hate surgeons.

are you serious?? well i definitely don't want to hinder my chances of getting in by mentioning my future plans...but I thought letting them know would make them realize how serious I am....

my father is a trauma surgeon, and I've spent time with him in the hospital (like shadowing)...how can I use this to my advantage?

 

[Seaglass]

Yes he is serious. That is what they want to hear. But I always advocate for honesty.

 

[doc05]

my father is a trauma surgeon, and I've spent time with him in the hospital (like shadowing)...how can I use this to my advantage?

"dad has, for as long as I can remember, told me to choose anything but medicine."

 

[uclakid]

"dad has, for as long as I can remember, told me to choose anything but medicine."

"Not me!" haha

 

[Rony]

Some of the previous responses epitomize what is wrong with medical education today. To say you are interested in one thing when you're not-that raises questions about your academic integrity, and your intellectual honesty. That is NOT what they want to hear..such empty generalizations are simply far from the truth. When I applied, I was interviewed by a Urologist and a Psychiatrist..I find it hard to believe they wanted straight FP applicants. Every MD is biased towards his or her specialty, it's what they chose to do for the rest of their entire lives, but wouldn't it make for a boring class if everybody is going into the same thing.

You can always say you like trauma, but without necessarily bashing the other specialties..you could say that some aspects in primary care or psych or whatever may help you address pyschosocial issues that frequently arise in trauma patients.

 

[fourthyear]

Trauma centers closing? Trauma patients have to go somewhere, so I can't see how that is possibe really. I'm sure many are loosing money, so some may close, but there will always be jobs for trauma surgeons as long as people keep getting shot/stabbed/car wrecked/falling off ladders at work, ect.

You're worrying way too much. Med school interviewers don't expect you to have specifics of your intended specialty this early in your carreer. Prepare more for the general questions of why you want to go to med school or be in medicine at all. I'd be really surprised if you got someone who expected you to know current trends in any specialty field at this point in your carreer.

 

[LuckyMD2b]

when you apply to medical school, tell them you want to go into rural FP or inner city peds. that's what they want to hear. too many of the interviewers are medicine guys who hate surgeons.

The advice given above is highly dependent on the institution at which you are applying or who your interviewers are. From my POV, there are definitely more than a few places that couldn't care less about about primary care medicine and would be much more interested in your research in the structural biology and energetics of some obscure potein.

you should tell the truth in your interview, and say that you're interested in trauma surgery for whatever reasons that you have. But also at this early stage in the game -- try and keep an open mind, and remember that there are many fascinating things in medicine today; it's okay to have a favorite but you'll be exposed to a lot of things in med school that you may like better.

Also i like to think that most docs are smart enough to tell when they are being BS'ed.

 

[slickster]

how about getting in first, then worrying about which field considering most people change their minds a zillion times. and just be open during med school interviews. if you say trauma for sure, they will pigeon hole you and judge you on their likes/dislikes of trauma surgeons. if you say your open to all fields, kind of like the idea of trauma surgery, but just really, really want to help people you'll be honest and put your best foot forward. keep in mind throughout your entire interviewing/applying to med school, residency, jobs, whatever, people do have preconcieved notions and will judge you on those notions if you allow them to. and remember, no matter what you may think or say say now, no one expects to you know for sure what you want to become, nor will they hold you to it, so just get in. best of luck.

 

[supercut]

Generally med schools want to know more about why you want to be a doctor, rather than what specialty you are interested in. Most med schools don't have many surgeons on admissions committees, and you are unlikely to see any surgeons during your first two years (unless you shadow or something like that)

I'd try to focus your personal statement towards medicine in general (think about the role of MD vs other health care professionals and why you are willing to put in so much time, effort and debt toward being in that role). During interviews you can say you are intrigued by surgery, but you don't need to elaborate. Make it clear you are looking foward to learning about all aspects of medicine.

Yes, many schools have a heavy primary care focus. Don't lie and say you are interested in primary care when you aren't, though.

 

[punjabiMD]

when you apply to medical school, tell them you want to go into rural FP or inner city peds. that's what they want to hear. too many of the interviewers are medicine guys who hate surgeons.

Yeah it's true that this could vary by school, but it doesn't matter. You want to get in but you don't want some idiotic interviewer to give you a bad eval just because you seemed "too hardcore" or "naive" about wanting to go into trauma surgery... this could very possibly cost you, a good, honest, bright student, your admission into the "school of your dreams."

Trust me I've interviewed enough applicants this year to see how damned subjective the process is. The interviewer is not God; heck some of them are jerks (my worst interview was at my school... the guy was pissed because the interview had been scheduled during some meeting he had and he decided to spend half the interview bashing on my undergrad school). Therefore there is no reason for you to think you would lack academic integrity by not telling the truth; this is not a test and it's not like you are making up your life story and saying that you have degrees that you don't really have from schools you never went to.

If you're asked what you would like to go into, the smartest/safest thing to say would be "I'm not sure at this time since it is much too early to say; however if I were choose a field right now I would go into peds/IM/FP/whateverprimarycarefield," and simply reiterate that it's too early to say anything. This is the "easy way out" and will avoid any feelings of guilt. If you don't like the idea of doing this then heck just take your chances and tell them that you want to do trauma surg. and maybe it won't make a difference!