Undecided and down to the wire

[krufne01]

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Hi all,

ERAS application is do soon and I am waffling on my choice.

Throughout medical school I always thought I'd do a sub-specialty of IM. In my third year I became uncertain of that path. I am annoyed by the slow pace of IM and terrified at spending another 6-7 years in training. Not to mention the lifestyle afterwards will still be ugly.

So I started thinking about EM. I like the diversity, especially having ortho as part of the mix, but somewhat dislike the generalist nature. I love the precedures too. Everyone I know tells me I should not go into EM--they see me as very scientific and think I will become bored in EM. I did an EM rotation, hoping I would fall in love with it, but finished still feeling very uncertain about IM or EM.

I have stong numbers, but my applications is complicated by couples matching (with FM) and some geographic restraints. My indecision is what is holding things back. Currently my application si setup for IM, I just can't pull the trigger out of fear that I am making the wrong choice.

Any thoughts? Should I do a categorical IM year and transfer if I hate it? Should I apply to both and hope I find enlightenment in the next three months? Just do IM and than work in a community ED after finishing?

 

[LotaPower]

Hi all,

ERAS application is do soon and I am waffling on my choice.

Throughout medical school I always thought I'd do a sub-specialty of IM. In my third year I became uncertain of that path. I am annoyed by the slow pace of IM and terrified at spending another 6-7 years in training. Not to mention the lifestyle afterwards will still be ugly.

So I started thinking about EM. I like the diversity, especially having ortho as part of the mix, but somewhat dislike the generalist nature. I love the precedures too. Everyone I know tells me I should not go into EM--they see me as very scientific and think I will become bored in EM. I did an EM rotation, hoping I would fall in love with it, but finished still feeling very uncertain about IM or EM.

I have stong numbers, but my applications is complicated by couples matching (with FM) and some geographic restraints. My indecision is what is holding things back. Currently my application si setup for IM, I just can't pull the trigger out of fear that I am making the wrong choice.

Any thoughts? Should I do a categorical IM year and transfer if I hate it? Should I apply to both and hope I find enlightenment in the next three months? Just do IM and than work in a community ED after finishing?

If your EM month didn't do it for you and you got couple's match to worry about I would hesitate to apply to EM this time around... There are some EM/IM programs out there if u feel attached to both but from what I understand, it's ur first EM month that seals the deal....or doesn't. I would go for door number 2 and do a categorical IM year based on what you've said so far...

good luck

 

[pinbor1]

If your EM month didn't do it for you and you got couple's match to worry about I would hesitate to apply to EM this time around... There are some EM/IM programs out there if u feel attached to both but from what I understand, it's ur first EM month that seals the deal....or doesn't. I would go for door number 2 and do a categorical IM year based on what you've said so far...

good luck

You could also try a surgical subspecialty like ENT or Optho. It sounds like you like procedures and a relatively faster pace than IM.

 

[bartleby]

I would take the fact that you weren't hooked on EM after your month to be a warning sign. As much as the lifestyle might appeal to you, you shouldn't try to fit a square peg into a round hole. You are keeping your options in a sense by doing IM as it will another year or two to decide what you really want to do with your life before you have to apply for fellowship.

 

[beyond all hope]

For the most part.

It's a speciality that requires good instincts and good organizational skills. I love seeing lots of patients and doing procedures but I miss out on the intellectual aspects of medicine you find in the subspecialties.

Even if you get an 'interesting case' you don't have time to really pontificate, you just blast off a bunch of labs and studies and call a specialist. You usually don't even find out the results of your work unless you're very good at following up.

Most of the challenging cases in EM are challenging because your patient is intoxicated/demented or just a plain difficult historian.

 

[mikecwru]

I disagree. While time constraints are heavy and our decisions might not revolve around certain lab values as much as the floor people down the line, EM requires thought and has the potential for academic input and research. It can be very intellectual. Most of the times when I call a consult or for an admission, it's to arrange the appropriate treatment or followup, no to figure out what I should do.

If you feel this way about your specialty, I'm sorry for you. But don't paint the rest of us in a bad light and add fuel to the fire.

mike

For the most part.

It's a speciality that requires good instincts and good organizational skills. I love seeing lots of patients and doing procedures but I miss out on the intellectual aspects of medicine you find in the subspecialties.

Even if you get an 'interesting case' you don't have time to really pontificate, you just blast off a bunch of labs and studies and call a specialist. You usually don't even find out the results of your work unless you're very good at following up.

Most of the challenging cases in EM are challenging because your patient is intoxicated/demented or just a plain difficult historian.