Thinking v Doing

[nvshelat]

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So as I'm setting up my rotations for next yr, I've been thinking about what fields I like and why...and thinking about the whole thinking/doing dichotomy... and realizing that while I'm not fully satisfied as just a thinker or just a do-er, I definately am more of a thinker than a doer... which brings me to my question

Would you say anesthesiology is more thinking or more doing? Or even?

 

[lord_jeebus]

I think it's a false dichotomy.

You either think or don't think. You either do or don't do. They're not mutually exclusive.

I think the highlight of anesthesia is a lot of thinking while doing.

 

[coprolalia]

I think the highlight of anesthesia is a lot of thinking while doing.

It's a field where you can probably get by without a lot of thinking, but you're eventually gonna get burned. There is a lot of doing in this field. A lot of times you wish there was more thinking.

If you want to spend most of your time thinking, Medicine might be a better career for you. But, ask yourself what you really will be happy doing ten years from now. That's what I based a large part of my decision to pass gas on.

-copro

 

[nociceptor]

So as I'm setting up my rotations for next yr, I've been thinking about what fields I like and why...and thinking about the whole thinking/doing dichotomy... and realizing that while I'm not fully satisfied as just a thinker or just a do-er, I definately am more of a thinker than a doer... which brings me to my question

Would you say anesthesiology is more thinking or more doing? Or even?

I am still a novice and probably not a good one at that. However, I am consistently thinking about doing.

 

[amyl]

So as I'm setting up my rotations for next yr, I've been thinking about what fields I like and why...and thinking about the whole thinking/doing dichotomy... and realizing that while I'm not fully satisfied as just a thinker or just a do-er, I definately am more of a thinker than a doer... which brings me to my question

Would you say anesthesiology is more thinking or more doing? Or even?

even. you might be over thinking this. do some of whatever you are interested in and see if you are happy staying late or can't wait to leave...

 

[anestheticman]

to me anesthesia is about knowing what you need to know about medicine so well that the thinking occurs so quickly (and you're always thinking 6 steps ahead, etc.) that really it becomes more of a doing speciality (but not to the extent of gen. surg)....

i think this distinction is important and if you like medicine but get bored with diff. diagnosis and long rounds and you like procedures but don't fit in with surgery i think its def. worth checking out but as amyl said you have to try it.

 

[amyl]

like medicine but get bored with diff. diagnosis and long rounds and you like procedures but don't fit in with surgery .

well put... true for me.

 

[Gas]

It's a different kind of thinking/doing compared to other specialties. You think and do at the same time, sometimes in critical, life threatening situations. Example - kid is intubated, becoming hypoxic, you are thinking about the differential (faulty connection, bronchospasm, R mainstem intubation, PTX, VAE, intracardiac shunt, etc.) and at the same time doing to rule things out (100% FiO2, check connections, listen to lungs, look at CO2 monitor, PIP, etc). Now if it takes you more than a few seconds to recognize the hypoxia and start to act, the kid's life could be in jeopardy and this hypoxia could progress to cardiac arrest. Not like on medicine rounds where you get lab tests, imaging studies, talk about the differential, consult some specialists, and then institute your treatment.

I have the utmost respect for internists. Their knowledge is vast, but our medicine colleagues just don't deal with critical situations daily. And that is the point - it's a different kind of thinking, a different differential (you have to know what could kill the kid the fastest and look for it), and a different mindset to fix the problem.

 

[coprolalia]

I have the utmost respect for internists. Their knowledge is vast, but our medicine colleagues just don't deal with critical situations daily. And that is the point - it's a different kind of thinking, a different differential (you have to know what could kill the kid the fastest and look for it), and a different mindset to fix the problem.

Very well said. 👍

-copro

 

[fakin' the funk]

I have the utmost respect for internists. Their knowledge is vast, but our medicine colleagues just don't deal with critical situations daily. And that is the point - it's a different kind of thinking, a different differential (you have to know what could kill the kid the fastest and look for it), and a different mindset to fix the problem.

A great IM chief I was with drilled this into my head: Your differential is what's common, and what's gonna kill 'em.

I thought that was not only very un-medicine-like, but very simple, and more importantly, very memorable.