Three questions for med students

[malpractitioner]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I have three questions for the med students on here (some are multiple questions).

1. Why is dermatology such a popular specialty? If you're into dermatology, maybe you can explain what you love. I can't imagine what so many people enjoy about working with skin conditions.

2. I'm very personable and social, and I like an adrenaline rush from time to time - i.e. I like politics and drama, and enjoy administrative junk. Are there specialties in medicine which accomodate this (besides ER medicine)? Should I look into hospital administration? Are there other medical gigs which allow people to be social, work with lots of people (not just sick people), and play politics?

3. What does it feel like when you start treating and interacting with patients? Is it an adrenaline rush, boring or another feeling entirely? If I become a doctor, I really want a specialty which allows me to show off my personality and work with people.

 

[Abilene85]

A big factor for #1 is that derm pays well and has regular hours.

 

[njbmd]

Moving to the Dermatology Forum.

 

[malpractitioner]

Moving to the Dermatology Forum.

Dear moderator, I think my post is about much more than dermatology. The other two questions are not related to dermatology at all, and even on the first question, I would like a wider viewpoint. I would appreciate it if this was not in dermatology, because the last two questions are the most important questions of this post and I don't want only dermatology students to answer them.

 

[abefromann]

OP,

Do you want to work with really sick patients? That's the FIRST question. If you want to sit at a desk and play politics and wear suits, be an administrator. As a doctor, there aren't too many jobs in medicine early on (if any) that allow you to be a politician and also administer patient care. Once you're established in a particular field as an MD, however, you would be able to go down that road as a department chair or section head. That's after years and years of hitting the wards and being on call and punching the clock and putting in extra hours of kissing a$$. If you're a politician at heart, and don't like working with smellies under threat of litigation and pulling really hard hours then go get your MBA and do the health admin concentration.

Your question about what it's like to work with patients is amazingly general. The experiences vary widely from 'I hate this patient and he's disgusting and I just need to get out of this room ASAP' to 'this is the loveliest grandmother that I've ever met and she is a wonderful and compliant patient'. And so forth. The 'adrenaline rush' is pretty cool, but I'm told it wears off pretty quickly. There are those in medicine who thrive on this and it's the only thing that makes the hard work pay off. If you are one of those people that would do it for glory, or because it looks cool on tv, then think again and go shadow some docs (and take call -- don't just go after lunch until 4pm).

You mentioned ER. I've only done a 4-wk (17 shift) rotation as a student and done some admissions for medicine rotations as well. From what I see and hear from the attendings/students, EM is a fun and a meaningful specialty but frought with time pressures, a whole different patient population, difficult schedules that messes with your internal clock, and times where breaking really bad news is required (the child that just died from head trauma, his mother next door being evaluated for her own broken arm and hip). Any field will have these things, but EM probably more than most. Nonetheless, all specialties will have politics and places where your 'personality' can shine. I'm still trying to figure out what you mean by that (and my coffee's wearing off so I'll stop trying).

The best thing about medicine, which is something that I forgot for a while, is working with patients. Sure the material's really interesting and you'll get respect from lots of people, but glory fades eventually. Just do it because you like to work with/help people, as corny as it sounds. That's really what makes your job meaningful.

Ah -- you asked about dermatology. Well, this is a whole different topic. In short, dermatology is popular for the EXACT SAME REASONS other specialties are: work less, make more. Look at the numbers across specialties and it's obvious. Most people don't ever do a derm rotation in medical school so even doctors sometimes don't have a good understanding of derm's impact on patient care. Most think it's acne and cosmetics and there's not much medicine involved. This is flat out not true. Obviously, it's a lot lower on the triage list than most specialties. The biggest component to derm is being about to improve someone's quality of life. If you help a patient avoid walking around with total-body psoriasis, or help a 5th grade girl not lose large patches of hair, that's worthwhile.

 

[DrGregoryHouse]

1. Dermatology - Great hours, great money, essentially no call. Also from what I hear Dermatology is sort of an elite club that's very hard to break into. It's the second most competitive specialty (after plastics).

2. ER physicians are known for being adrenaline junkies. But, I disagree heartily with the post above about administration and medicine. PM&R (physical medicine and rehabilitation) has a lot of administration and makes decent money with good hours. You sort of supervise physical therapists and can run several rehabilitation centers for pre/post surgery patients. Good news it's relatively unknown and easy to get into.

3. I don't know I'm an M1.5

 

[realgraverobber]

Since you are asking for medical students...

I have three questions for the med students on here (some are multiple questions).

1. Why is dermatology such a popular specialty? If you're into dermatology, maybe you can explain what you love. I can't imagine what so many people enjoy about working with skin conditions.

We see dermatology as a highly-elective field that won't be slashed my medicaid and insurance reimbursements. Why do I believe that? Because it is not required (i.e., reimbursible via insurance or medicaid) to get Botox, facelift, dermabrasion, and the other things that wealthy bluehaired's want to keep them at the fountain of youth. These people are fee-for-service customers. They pay before they get their coat on and leave the place, like a restaurant.

2. I'm very personable and social, and I like an adrenaline rush from time to time - i.e. I like politics and drama, and enjoy administrative junk. Are there specialties in medicine which accomodate this (besides ER medicine)? Should I look into hospital administration? Are there other medical gigs which allow people to be social, work with lots of people (not just sick people), and play politics?

Enjoy administrative junk? Maybe teaching will be your thing. You can be asleep at the wheel and get a lot of cheap cheesecake all paid for by tax dollars. Play politics, sounds like a psycho.

3. What does it feel like when you start treating and interacting with patients? Is it an adrenaline rush, boring or another feeling entirely? If I become a doctor, I really want a specialty which allows me to show off my personality and work with people.

Talking with patients (I'm a student and have never treated one) is great, and reminds me why I put up with this bullsh*t of a profession. Yes I am niave and haven't gotten out of my classroom much, but we already are mainlining BS and reconsidering our choice due.

 

[leechy]

I'm a third year, and I didn't go into med school considering derm. Now it looks increasingly attractive, although I'm still probably not going to do it (but this time because it's really hard to get into).

And yes, it's because the hours are good, and because the residency itself is actually humane. Even PM&R (also a lifestyle field) has a tougher residency.

I'm realizing during third year that I need more rest and flexibility in my life. It's one thing to 'decide' that you're okay with having relatively little control over your schedule and working long hours (as I told myself before med school). It's another thing to actually work those hours and see what it's actually like.

 

[Mallory Weiss]

I know that you don't really want to hear this, but I think Derm is fascinating. Dermatologists get the things that primary care doctors have looked at but can't figure out...so you have to be an excellent diagnostician.
You get to combine improving your patients' aesthetics, relieving painful conditions, treating some life-threatening problems, surgery, medicine...it's everything good about doctoring!
I would want to do it even if the hours weren't good!

 

[Substance]

I know that you don't really want to hear this, but I think Derm is fascinating. Dermatologists get the things that primary care doctors have looked at but can't figure out...so you have to be an excellent diagnostician.
You get to combine improving your patients' aesthetics, relieving painful conditions, treating some life-threatening problems, surgery, medicine...it's everything good about doctoring!
I would want to do it even if the hours weren't good!

I agree totally. It's the only rotation on clerkship besides surgery and EM that required me to use my brain and not memorize some "algorithm/flowchart". It's real medicine.

I hear rads and path are like this too; being specialties that have to rely on history, physical, labs, and the imaging/biopsy (ie the total picture) to figure out the problems; all without the socialwork/physiotherapy that bogs down every other medical specialty.

 

[mm3781]

I agree with theabove 2 posts as well. I was actually trying to talk myself out of derm (i know, I am an idiot for considering it), but I am going into it because I love it. I enjoy the very hands on nature of the specialty along with the fact that it combines minor surgery and pathology along with seeing patients' problems resolve and the thankfulness of patients. I love cell bio, immunology, and pathology and I am also a very visual person, so derm fits me perfectly. It also seems that everyone in derm works well together and truly loves their specialty, and I love working with derm residents because they are so enthusiastic about derm.

 

[braveone]

Hey what are some of the more challenging diagnosis/treatments that dermatologists regularly do? That family physicians cannot do? Also in this thread EM and PMR were also mentioned. And while I know nothing about dermatology (except that it is competitive), I have interest in those 2 fields. What subject do the students who end up going into those fields generally enjoy the most in ms1? I for one hate anatomy and like biochemistry and physiology.

 

[Doublecortin]

I have three questions for the med students on here (some are multiple questions).

1. Why is dermatology such a popular specialty? If you're into dermatology, maybe you can explain what you love. I can't imagine what so many people enjoy about working with skin conditions.

2. I'm very personable and social, and I like an adrenaline rush from time to time - i.e. I like politics and drama, and enjoy administrative junk. Are there specialties in medicine which accomodate this (besides ER medicine)? Should I look into hospital administration? Are there other medical gigs which allow people to be social, work with lots of people (not just sick people), and play politics?

3. What does it feel like when you start treating and interacting with patients? Is it an adrenaline rush, boring or another feeling entirely? If I become a doctor, I really want a specialty which allows me to show off my personality and work with people.

From medicine stand-point, an innumerable and spectacularly diverse array of non-dermatological conditions manifest themselves in some sort of skin lesions, and to a lay person they all look the same. So it is a diagnostically challenging specialty with a lot of breadth.
You can also do small non-complicated procedures if you like to work with your hands that have good outcome.
and yeah, $ and hours don't hurt either 😉