Trouble choosing specialty (derm, peds, onco)

[Xanthe]

Hey everyone.
I will graduate next year in a European country (here you can apply to med school after high school and it takes 6 years to earn a degree.) I just state this because some of the concerns US students may have (like derm being insanely competitive or being in debt) do not apply to me (although derm is pretty competitive here too, if someone's willing to relocate there are free spots, and we don't have to pay for med school as well.)

I'm stuck between 3 specialties. Derm interests me and I can't deny the "lifestyle" is tempting as well. I have many interest outside med school and I think derm would allow me to have hobbies, take care of myself. I have problems with time management but it bugs me that I'm overweight and I always put aside diet and exercise because of med obligations. Also if I take later life and family into consideration derm seems to be the best choice, I would have plenty of time to be with my future kids and yet-to-be husband. Family time is really important to me and I don't want to be one of the physicians hated by their loved ones because they feel like everyone else is more important...

But I have some second thoughts. Also I like derm I wouldn't say it is my one true passion, and to be honest, the aforementioned cons weight a lot in my decision making process. Although sometimes I think I will regret forgetting heart&lung sounds, treating even simple things like pneumonia. Basically being a "real" doctor (not to offend anyone, but I hope you can grab what I'm referring to.) I find children to be more honest and fun to work with, that's why I prefer peds over IM. Also my tutor is a ped doc.

Onco is another story. Initially I came to med school to become an oncologist. I lost my mother to colon cancer and that was why I pursued med school in the first place. But I somehow dropped the idea although I am truly interested in onco, like to read about it, and I would like the aspect of being there for patients in that critical time of their life. I would feel like I really help people. And the cause onco once again popped in my mind is the diagnosis of my father. He has myelofibrosis and I feel like everything is happening again. I am genuinly excited about onco but I fear of burning out if I repeatedly can't save a big percentage of my patients.

Sorry because of the long post. I just wanted to let you know the things I think about.
tl;dr: derm/peds/onco? Pros cons?

Thanks, Niki

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[raiderette]

Because you are in Europe and pay is not the factor that it is in the US, I would go back to the basics: sick or healthy patients? Kids or adults? Impatient, outpatient or a mix? Going into medical school, I loved two specialties, and was swayed by a third, but went with my original because I want the patient population and the mix of inpatient and outpatient.

 

[CidHighwind]

Reading your posts screams “peds” to me. Do that and don’t look back. Also no need to apologize about not thinking dermatologists are real doctors. There’s a reason Seinfeld made that joke over 20 years ago

 

[themoonman2]

Peds deals with lots of basic dermatologic issues and (in the U.S. at least) has an oncology fellowship. Since money isn't really a consideration, peds seems like a good choice! I wouldn't let other peoples' perception of derm affect your choice tho. Dermatologists need to know a great deal of information that requires studying at home, it's just that most people have no idea what that information is, so they don't recognize the knowledge base dermatologists have. Also, in the U.S., dermatologists typically do an entire year of internal medicine where they learn how to diagnose and treat lots of basic medical problems; i.e. pneumonia, COPD, etc.

 

[Dr. Doctor MD]

Hey everyone.
I will graduate next year in a European country (here you can apply to med school after high school and it takes 6 years to earn a degree.) I just state this because some of the concerns US students may have (like derm being insanely competitive or being in debt) do not apply to me (although derm is pretty competitive here too, if someone's willing to relocate there are free spots, and we don't have to pay for med school as well.)

I'm stuck between 3 specialties. Derm interests me and I can't deny the "lifestyle" is tempting as well. I have many interest outside med school and I think derm would allow me to have hobbies, take care of myself. I have problems with time management but it bugs me that I'm overweight and I always put aside diet and exercise because of med obligations. Also if I take later life and family into consideration derm seems to be the best choice, I would have plenty of time to be with my future kids and yet-to-be husband. Family time is really important to me and I don't want to be one of the physicians hated by their loved ones because they feel like everyone else is more important...

But I have some second thoughts. Also I like derm I wouldn't say it is my one true passion, and to be honest, the aforementioned cons weight a lot in my decision making process. Although sometimes I think I will regret forgetting heart&lung sounds, treating even simple things like pneumonia. Basically being a "real" doctor (not to offend anyone, but I hope you can grab what I'm referring to.) I find children to be more honest and fun to work with, that's why I prefer peds over IM. Also my tutor is a ped doc.

Onco is another story. Initially I came to med school to become an oncologist. I lost my mother to colon cancer and that was why I pursued med school in the first place. But I somehow dropped the idea although I am truly interested in onco, like to read about it, and I would like the aspect of being there for patients in that critical time of their life. I would feel like I really help people. And the cause onco once again popped in my mind is the diagnosis of my father. He has myelofibrosis and I feel like everything is happening again. I am genuinly excited about onco but I fear of burning out if I repeatedly can't save a big percentage of my patients.

Sorry because of the long post. I just wanted to let you know the things I think about.
tl;dr: derm/peds/onco? Pros cons?

Thanks, Niki

Based on what you wrote it's very clear that you are passionate about Oncology and could not care less about Dermatology. The bolded paragraph is exactly why you would be such a good fit. It's something you really love and an area where you could make the impact that you want to. Personally I would want to see an Oncologist with the mindset and passion for the field that you do.

Also oncology lifestyle and derm lifestyle should be near identical post residency. Both are almost entirely outpatient clinic based specialties. You'll be doing this for the next 40 years, you need to to something that you care about and are excited to wake up for each day. Reading your post it's clear what you enjoy!

 

[clinicallabguy]

I once sat down with a faculty member at my medical school and had a similar conversation. I couldn't decide between several specialties and enjoyed all of my rotations. He re-framed the problem for me in a way that I appreciated and told me that I will only know the life that I choose, and that I'll never know what my life would have been like if I chose any of the others. So if you see yourself happy in multiple specialties, then that is a GREAT problem to have. It's still a challenge choosing, but you won't go wrong.

It's a better situation than coming into medical school knowing that there is only one specialty that you could be happy in and finding out that it is not what you expected. Then you're really screwed.

Lifestyle of a specialty alone will not make you enjoy what you do, and may not protect you from burnout. Is 40 hours a week of "meh" a better life than 60 hours a week of something you find meaningful?