what residency to go into if you don't like people

[(nicedream)]

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You may also consider being a medical director for a spa, CPR/AED training center, or school. Many organizations require minimal "oversight" from an MD in order to sell AEDs, have lifeguards, have school nurses, etc. Choose wisely, because you wouldn't want to get tied up in a great deal of liability. Being a medical director for an EMS would be a bad idea for you.

Other jobs that may interest you:
On site doc for large industrial operations, construction sites, movies, etc. Medical consultant for a publisher. Consultant for a law firm (in a limited capacity. To truly be useful, you would need to be board certified in a specialty.) Get your fingers in enough of these pies and it might add up to full time work.

Hope this helps. Good luck in whatever you do.

'zilla

How do you find jobs such as these?

 

[Dire Straits]

Anyone who is going into path for reasons other than liking the field is going to be sorely disappointed and bitter.

exacly right yaah. that's why i'm not even considering it.

 

[GeneralVeers]

exacly right yaah. that's why i'm not even considering it.

Just out of curiosity, what profession (outside of medicine) would you rather be doing? Since you don't like interacting with people, that significantly narrows what would be suited for you.

 

[(nicedream)]

Just out of curiosity, what profession (outside of medicine) would you rather be doing? Since you don't like interacting with people, that significantly narrows what would be suited for you.

Not really. The main professions in which you have to be a "people person" are medicine and the service industry.
Take business - sure you have to work as a team and talk to other people and negotiate. The incentive the whole time is money though. That's not quite getting up close and personal with a naked stranger and being compassionate and caring.

 

[jashanley]

def not surgery, some of the most compassionate docs are surgeons. try radiology.

I was thinking the opposite but okay. Don't confuse intense and passionate (about surgery) with compassionate/compassion for their patients (of the many that I have met, few are compassionate. This is not limited to surgery but most of medicine. Doctors for the most part are passionate about the level of care they give but compassion tends to get lost in the shuffle.

 

[Lonestar]

Dear Dire straits,

sorry about your poverty. If you wanna make some money, FP/GP is not the way to go. it will take you years to pay off your loans. Now i am not advocating any field, but its hard for any field to fit your descriptions. I am in massive debt also and the first doctor in the family. when 3rd year came around, i realized just how much BS there is in medicine. Currently, I am a 2nd yr anesthesia resident and life is better (working 60 hrs/wk). Best part is i am getting paid. As a resident you will have more responsiblity and more BS to deal with in any field. The way i look at it --> 3rd year med school (hated life); 4th year (sweet); intern yr (someone hang me); 2nd yr-1st anesthesia year (life is actually looking better and will only get better from now on.). I plan on paying off my 200K+ loans within 2 yrs after residency. So the point is, just hang in there. THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. Just be smart and do not pick a field that historically creates a lot of misery. Good luck with your career.

 

[PTOSIS]

all the docs that i have interacted with on my surg rotation )current) are very compassionate. pple who have surgery are incrediblly scared and vulnurable, and the docs that i work with (who might be exceptions to the rule) are always kind and gentle when their pt's need it.

 

[MDgirl76]

because i didn't realize what a sham this profession was until i hit 3rd year. now i've realized it and also realized that i'm in far too much debt from undergrad + med school to bail out now that i'm so close to finishing. at least working for some time as a doctor will give me a secure job that will allow me to pay back the money i owe and make good money on top of that. after that, i'm bailing and doing something else. so i just need to find a specialty i can tolerate until that time.

I know a lot of people who feel this way with medicine more than any other profession - its that feeling when one day you begin realizing this is not what you thought it was - what makes people medicine feel so decieved vs other professions? and i wonder how we can change that so other people do no end up feeling decieved also..

 

[edfig99]

I know a lot of people who feel this way with medicine more than any other profession - its that feeling when one day you begin realizing this is not what you thought it was - what makes people medicine feel so decieved vs other professions? and i wonder how we can change that so other people do no end up feeling decieved also..

i think one thing is for students to not take comments docs make as "being negative" or "trying to discourage students" but rather to view that as realistic viewpoints and insight into the real world. there's this romanticized view of what medicine is that gets perpetuated in the media and in medical school that creates these false expectations that let students down as they advance in their training.

 

[ridabike]

Yeah it's a tough one.
Who do you hate the most living people or dead people.Rads vs path. I mean...you know you've got to pick your fight here. Alternately pick something more or less low key like FM. At least it's short compare to everything else outthere, and you may have some free time to start working on your next career.

Whoa, I think recommending FM to an admitted "people hater" is a very BAD idea. FM is for those who like working with people--this poor person will be miserable in FM a lot of which is convincing people to take care of themselves.

 

[Mike59]

I don't see how anyone can truly dislike pathology?

C'mon seriously, that field rocks! You are a doctor's doctor, you truly understand the underlying processes for all diseases and you get paid SERIOUS $$$ for a 9-5 day.

If you dislike clinical medicine, to me path is a no-brainer...

 

[yaah]

I don't see how anyone can truly dislike pathology?

I don't know, dude. I think people get so caught up in the whole patient care business that they think they're cheating themselves unless they spend at least part of their day palpating prostates and sharing a good cry with someone.

 

[(nicedream)]

I don't see how anyone can truly dislike pathology?

C'mon seriously, that field rocks! You are a doctor's doctor, you truly understand the underlying processes for all diseases and you get paid SERIOUS $$$ for a 9-5 day.

If you dislike clinical medicine, to me path is a no-brainer...

Am I ******ed, or does path involve a lot of looking in microscopes? I definitely hate that. But I'm probably ******ed...

 

[CoffeeFreak]

Yeah...try being a lawyer...I don't know of anyone who has ever complained of being a lawyer. Also check out "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.

FM low key? are you kidding? FM is the most "people oriented" specialty of them all and is a sure way to drive the OP to slice his wrists!

to the OP -- consider looking into something like a consulting firm that loves recruiting MDs, even those right out of school and without a residency -- become some type of consultant, get your MBA and you'll be able to make more money than you would have as a physician and repay your debt. you can consider law school as well...since you have so much debt, a little more won't make a difference and again, you'll make much more as a lawyer than a doctor -- particularly as a lawyer with an MD (even without residency training). Finally, you can do what a classmate of mine did...started internship, hated it, joined a venture capital firm and is making a good chunk of change and lovin' life.

otherwise, you'll have to see what you hate more -- path/rads or "people specialties".

 

[billydoc]

Whoa, I think recommending FM to an admitted "people hater" is a very BAD idea. FM is for those who like working with people--this poor person will be miserable in FM a lot of which is convincing people to take care of themselves.

Really? As if advising doing any kind of work with people, when one doesn't like them is a better idea?And besides criticising my idea,what do you propouse? 😡 Did you read why I thought of FM? O'K, here it goes for specialy-gifted The guy said he wants out of the profession. FM is not exactly a brain surgery. After all, he's got through four years of schooling didn't he? So no matter how you look at it, he'll have to compramize something somewhere. But FM is onl 3 stinking years, dude. And it leaves you loads of time to do what you really want. As I said before, he will have to pick his fights one way or the other. And you,ridabike, don't need to pick one with me 😀.The OP had already said he wants out of this profession.Why is everyone trying to sell him the "bag of goods", when he said thanks, but no thanks 🙄 ?

 

[residentx2]

Cush residency. Low stress. Decent money (120000 +). Its mostly an administrative job. You don't have to particularly like the the patients and they don't have to like you. (you work for the company, not them) Emergent stuff goes to the ER. Non work related stuff goes to their family doc. You can get your foot in the door of a large company and go that route when you decide to leave medicine. Perfect.

 

[Lemont]

I don't see how anyone can truly dislike pathology?

It may have something to do with the specialty being dead boring (no pun intended) and filled with mostly the weirdos from med school.

 

[(nicedream)]

Cush residency. Low stress. Decent money (120000 +). Its mostly an administrative job. You don't have to particularly like the the patients and they don't have to like you. (you work for the company, not them) Emergent stuff goes to the ER. Non work related stuff goes to their family doc. You can get your foot in the door of a large company and go that route when you decide to leave medicine. Perfect.

Where can one find info on occu. med. More info on what the specialty entails, what the lifestyle is like, etc. There seems to be no info on it anywhere.

 

[billydoc]

Where can one find info on occu. med. More info on what the specialty entails, what the lifestyle is like, etc. There seems to be no info on it anywhere.

As an RN, in my other life, I was offered Occupational health nurse positions few times. I know that CIA is still running ads in NY Times Job section 😱.
For RNs there is a www.AAOHN.org site. There must be something similar for the docs. But it won't work for the OP, because you still need to do your residency. I'm not aware of any residency programs in corporate health. But I think you can approach any company as your prospective employer, and if you can sell it to them, they may create such a position just for you 😀 .
Good Luck

 

[shorrin]

It may have something to do with the specialty being dead boring (no pun intended) and filled with mostly the weirdos from med school.

nice....

How about really creative people who enjoy science and diagnosis rather than H&P's including questions like so when was your last BM and what was it like....If you truly enjoy rectals, then you are the man for the job.

 

[Johnny Drinksal]

This is stupid...I don't think that anyone on this board should be condemning the OP or suggesting that he needs psychiatric help just because he knows that he doesn't like working with people and he doesn't like medicine anymore. In fact, you all should be thanking him for at least being honest about his feelings...now he won't be that disgruntled doc who gives his patients poor care. And honestly, how many of you out there are unhappy with medicine right now but aren't being honest enough to admit it? I think he is being quite practical since he has a lot of loans to pay back and realistically medicine is his only career option at least in the short term at this point. Has no one else ever gotten to this point in med school and realized they made a mistake, that they want to do something else? That is grounds for needing a psychiatric consultation? In my opinion the posts that suggested that are the most asinine and shallow posts I have come across in a long time. If someone goes to law school and they decide two years in that law is not what they want to do, it is just considered a career change...but for some reason it's a sign of mental illness if you change your mind on medicine. Ridiculous.

To the OP, all I can say is good luck, hopefully you'll find some area where you can work for a few years, pay back your loans, and get out.

 

[(nicedream)]

As an RN, in my other life, I was offered Occupational health nurse positions few times. I know that CIA is still running ads in NY Times Job section 😱.
For RNs there is a www.AAOHN.org site. There must be something similar for the docs. But it won't work for the OP, because you still need to do your residency. I'm not aware of any residency programs in corporate health. But I think you can approach any company as your prospective employer, and if you can sell it to them, they may create such a position just for you 😀 .
Good Luck

There are 32 programs in occupational health, usually as part of schools of public health (Harvard has a big one). You need at least one PGY for all of them, and some require completion of a primary care program.

 

[billydoc]

Amen to that! This is exactly how I viewed the OP's post. The guy realized itwasn't for him, but now he's got a crapload of loans to repay. So he is being honest, and wants to make the best of the situation. I don't understand ppl who are still idealizing medicine. It's a nice field to be in, but only if you want to do it. The guy wants to keep his own sanity, and avoid killing somebody along the way. My hat is off to him for being honest 😀

This is stupid...I don't think that anyone on this board should be condemning the OP or suggesting that he needs psychiatric help just because he knows that he doesn't like working with people and he doesn't like medicine anymore. In fact, you all should be thanking him for at least being honest about his feelings...now he won't be that disgruntled doc who gives his patients poor care. And honestly, how many of you out there are unhappy with medicine right now but aren't being honest enough to admit it? I think he is being quite practical since he has a lot of loans to pay back and realistically medicine is his only career option at least in the short term at this point. Has no one else ever gotten to this point in med school and realized they made a mistake, that they want to do something else? That is grounds for needing a psychiatric consultation? In my opinion the posts that suggested that are the most asinine and shallow posts I have come across in a long time. If someone goes to law school and they decide two years in that law is not what they want to do, it is just considered a career change...but for some reason it's a sign of mental illness if you change your mind on medicine. Ridiculous.

To the OP, all I can say is good luck, hopefully you'll find some area where you can work for a few years, pay back your loans, and get out.

 

[Primum est non]

Dire ...

I'm impressed. At this point you have accomplished generating 73 posts! Let's see .... September 3rd .. that's about 6 or 7 a day. I wonder if you won the bet yet?



.

 

[ivan lewis]

Okay, process of elimination time...
Rads and path out b/c you hate the fields
FM, IM - gotta rule out b/c people are what you deal with, all day, every day
Surg - contrary to popular belief we don't get to just walk into OR once the patient is asleep, operate, and leave before the patient wakes (although, that would be lovely...) You have clinic time...lots and lots of clinic time. You round on lots and lots of patients very early in the morning. Plus, we probably have to deal with patient families more than anyother field (aside from peds) You probably wouldn't like any of this...rule out
Peds - yeah....r/o
PMR - don't know too much about. although the people who went into this field from my med school went into it b/c they didn't want to work very hard and still make decent money
ER - you're kidding right? You see a new patient like every 15 minutes. Half of these people are the type that probably drove you to hate medicine in the first place (seekers, etc)
Anesthesia - Now here's your field. During residency you spend 10-15 minutes with the patient before surg, putting in iv's etc. 10 minutes afterwards, mostly while they're groggy from the meds. Yeah, you'll get the occasional unit months or pain months where you'll see patients but you'll just have to suck it up. After residency, your residents/CRNAs will do most of the work so even less patient interaction!!! Plus 4 years and out earning big bucks to start.
My rec: Anesthesia residency. Find an attending position at a VA hospital where you're guaranteed a resident or CRNA, the patient population doesn't ask too many questions, and you close shop by 3pm.
If you decide not to follow my rec, at least promise that you'll never, ever consider surgery

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Research.....

 

[mcfaddens]

if you have so much hate in your heart, then finish med school go directly to law school and be one of those blood sucking MD/JD malpractice attorneys. That might make you happy.

 

[myrandom2003]

so PM&R is out because i rotated in it for a month and there is a lot of patient contact...and someof them whine too much, and some of them are legit and have a lot of disabling circumstances because of strokes or trauma or whatever...and u still have to talk to the phy therapists and stuff...

I would say, Radiation oncology...u have to talk to people for a little bit, u dont have to get to know them and u get to zap them with radiation from behind a big shield or separated by 6 feet of concrete...

another one that i dont know anything about but seems to be little patient stuff is medical informatics...i think that deals with computers from the sound of it...

ORRRR see if u can add an MBA to ur degree...ur already in debt, why not add a little more, and then just run the hospital...9-5, no patients no malpractice

 

[kbrown]

I would steer clear of EM. While an above poster stated that we are in and out in 3 minutes, don't work and drink beer, he fails to understand why we're in and out quickly. Volume overload and the seriousness of pathology seen demands that we do things "emergen"tly (i.e., in and out in 3 minutes).

If you have very little tolerance for people, then I guarantee that the ED is NOT for you. You will see the most frustrating, malingering, demanding, obscene patients in the ED.

I would consider the suggestion of transitional year, getting your license and doing consultation work for an insurance company. Those jobs have you sitting in a office, reading over claims and making medical decisions without ever seeing a patient.

 

[Finally M3]

so PM&R is out because i rotated in it for a month and there is a lot of patient contact...and someof them whine too much, and some of them are legit and have a lot of disabling circumstances because of strokes or trauma or whatever...and u still have to talk to the phy therapists and stuff...

The above is accurate. Inpatient wise, depending on the rehab unit, you magically transform into a medicine resident on top of having to keep track of their neuromusc. problems and their progress during therapy. And many of them are here for weeks, so you get to know them, their families, etc. And during inpatient, the hours suck (yes, we really do work)

Outpatient, you see a lot of brain injury/stroke/msk pain patients, and again, personal interaction is at a premium. Or at least being able to fake it convincingly.