What are the Chances of Not Being able to Specialize?

BU Medical Sciences
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Pinkertinkle said:
You can always go PMR, psychiatry, pathology, and several other specialties that aren't much more or less competitive than the FP or IM.
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Path seems to be increasing in popularity, but I basically agree with the notion that FP is not alone in the medicine "basement" of competitiveness.
(Also note that there are more competitive matches within each of these specialties. The folks who get IM at eg Mass General tend to be pretty competitive; this is hardly the dregs we are talking about).
 
Law2Doc said:
Path seems to be increasing in popularity, but I basically agree with the notion that FP is not alone in the medicine "basement" of competitiveness.
(Also note that there are more competitive matches within each of these specialties. The folks who get IM at eg Mass General tend to be pretty competitive; this is hardly the dregs we are talking about).
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is it harder to get anesthesiology at mass general or dermatology anywhere?
 
questionstoask said:
is it harder to get anesthesiology at mass general or dermatology anywhere?
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Once you get into particular specialties the same places are not the best in each case. You'd have to talk to an anesthesiologist to see what the competitive places are for gas. MGH is a top player in, eg IM, but not everything. You cannot assume there is a single "ranking" that works for multiple specialties. There is overlap in many fields, but in general, due to the dearth of spots, derm is going to be in a class by itself.
 
Thomas Hearns said:
Sorry if this is a noob question... but does it happen often where you, as a doctor, get stuck in a career you don't want? Say you wanted to be a radiologist or something, but ended up in some other field like as a family practitioner. Does this happen often? I wouldn't want to be stuck doing something I didn't like =(
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I believe that this happens to people who strictly follow the rule that pass=MD. Pass may equal MD, but it may not equal the career of your dreams.
 
Two specialities that I would NEVER want to work in:
Optometry
Family Medicine.

Honestly, it would piss me off to see myself go four years into med school, dig myself into a hole of debt, just to give 6 month checkups, physicals, or run the line " Can you see better now?"
 
Law2Doc said:
I think this post hits on the real reason the percentages are so high. If Joe AverageMedstudent comes to his advisor, mentor or the dean with his 200 USMLE and average med school record and says "I need a dean's letter for derm, optho, rads, etc." he is going to be patted on the head and sent back to try again. Schools don't leave you alone to apply unrealistically. You will be told what is unrealistic, often not so subtly. The folks who apply to competitive residencies are only those who have a legit shot at competitive residencies. So it's not so surprising when you have that degree of weeding out even before the application stage that the ultimate acceptance percentages are high.
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Not to mention that if you are a bottom feeder, you can apply to every derm program in the country and not get a single interview. You can't rank what you didn't interview. The match statistics only take into account what was ranked, not applied to so there is no way of knowing who blew their money applying to specialties where they didn't have prayer of interviewing, much less matching.

This will all become clear the closer people get to fourth year. ZIt will then make a lot of sense.
 
Arc said:
Two specialities that I would NEVER want to work in:
Optometry
Family Medicine.

Honestly, it would piss me off to see myself go four years into med school, dig myself into a hole of debt, just to give 6 month checkups, physicals, or run the line " Can you see better now?"
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Optometry is not a medical specialty. I think you mean "Opthalmology" which is a highly desired and competitive specialty and, as it is a surgical specialty, involves a lot more than eyeglasses and contacts.
 
Cutting eyes apart is probbly one of the most disturbing things that I can even imangine. Mabye my perspective will change in med school, I havent had my mind set strictly on one speciality.
 
I have seen war injuries, gunshots, ruptured bowels, retained foreign bodies in most every possible cavity, and lots of other things that made me do a sphincter squeeze. But for me, nothing is more gross than a NSVD.

Bleah.
 
Arc said:
Two specialities that I would NEVER want to work in:
Optometry
Family Medicine.

Honestly, it would piss me off to see myself go four years into med school, dig myself into a hole of debt, just to give 6 month checkups, physicals, or run the line " Can you see better now?"
Click to expand...

That's ophthalmology with two h's and two l's and if you don't want to do it, all the better for the plenty of people that do.
 
If you are considering a specialty, at least in part, for the income potential, it is much more important what type of business head you have rather than your specialty. I started out in internal medicine, and then did a subspecialty fellowship in a traditionally not very competitive field. Due to success as a business, I earn more than cardiothoracic surgeons make in a busy practice.
 
Sorry, should have spelled that out. Episeotomies are okay, C-sections are fine, but when women give birth normally there is all this ripping and goo, and then the head comes out (covered in hair half the time) and all I can think is, "Oh my God, she's going to split open like a melon."

I know it's natural, and women have been doing it since time began, but I find it terrifying and gross, and I want nothing to do with it. I don't understand people who find it "beautiful", but I'm glad they're out there, because it is my goal to never deliver another baby again as long as I live.
 
Tired said:
Sorry, should have spelled that out. Episeotomies are okay, C-sections are fine, but when women give birth normally there is all this ripping and goo, and then the head comes out (covered in hair half the time) and all I can think is, "Oh my God, she's going to split open like a melon."

I know it's natural, and women have been doing it since time began, but I find it terrifying and gross, and I want nothing to do with it. I don't understand people who find it "beautiful", but I'm glad they're out there, because it is my goal to never deliver another baby again as long as I live.
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my biggest problem with ob/gyn is lawyers.
 
Tired said:
Sorry, should have spelled that out. Episeotomies are okay, C-sections are fine, but when women give birth normally there is all this ripping and goo, and then the head comes out (covered in hair half the time) and all I can think is, "Oh my God, she's going to split open like a melon."

I know it's natural, and women have been doing it since time began, but I find it terrifying and gross, and I want nothing to do with it. I don't understand people who find it "beautiful", but I'm glad they're out there, because it is my goal to never deliver another baby again as long as I live.
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i dont know. the natural births are much like c-section. theres all the fluid, lots of ripping of the skin and uterus, and then you see the head pop out of the uterus and a struggle to bring the baby out. the only difference is one is through the lower abdomen and the other way is through the vagina.

its all the same, disgusting, but you get used to it.
 
bwonger06 said:
i dont know. the natural births are much like c-section. theres all the fluid, lots of ripping of the skin and uterus, and then you see the head pop out of the uterus and a struggle to bring the baby out. the only difference is one is through the lower abdomen and the other way is through the vagina.

its all the same, disgusting, but you get used to it.
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I sure as hell didn't. My last week on Ob/Gyn I stopped going to NSVDs and picked up all the C-sections. I had to round on 8 C/S patients every morning, but it was worth it to avoid the stirrups and screaming.

And seriously, if you have "ripping" in your C-sections, instead of "incisions", you've got one scary attending doing the case . . .
 
lol i wasnt expecting to see these kinds of posts in this thread
 
Tired said:
I have seen war injuries, gunshots, ruptured bowels, retained foreign bodies in most every possible cavity, and lots of other things that made me do a sphincter squeeze. But for me, nothing is more gross than a NSVD.

Bleah.
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Amen brother. :laugh: Sounds like we've had similar exposure to things and I couldn't agree more with your assessment. I've delivered 4 babies as an EMT and I would agree that whomever described birth as a beautiful event needs to have their daily dose of antipsychotic medication increased. Yes, the arrival of a new child is amazing but the actual process is something that makes me want to puke.
 
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