What should I specialize in?

[Miilaxox]

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I am a sophomore in high school and I want to become either a neurologist, neurosurgeon or a OB/GYN. Which should I choose?

 

[nysegop]

I am a sophomore in high school and I want to become either a neurologist, neurosurgeon or a OB/GYN. The brain is the most fascinating part of the human body to me and I also find pregnancy and everything to do with female anatomy equally as interesting. Will I have any free time in these specialties? I'm not one to make my decisions base on the trivial things. But I am interested in finding this out. Just to know because I do want to travel. I am not one to have a big family though I do want children. I love children but having them is not one of my priorities but it will eventually happen. I just wanted to know if these specialties allow one to have somewhat of a personal life.

Don't become a doctor if you're looking for free time. You can look into healthcare alternatives though: Podiatry, Dentistry, Chiropractic, Nursing, Physical Therapy, etc.

Dermatologists are the MDs with the best hours (usually). They also get paid quite well. Neurosurgeons and OB/GYNs actually have some of the longest working days out of all specialties. Neurology has the best out of the specialties you mentioned.

 

[Mesinan]

I am a sophomore in high school and I want to become either a neurologist, neurosurgeon or a OB/GYN. Which should I choose?

No one can really answer that but you. I see you are wondering about hours and free time you will have.

An OB/GYN typically works 8 hours a day, and then the on call depends on the size of the practice, but for this example I will use 5 people in the practice, has one on call day per week and is off the day after call, and then every 5th weekend is on call.
If you want a typical on call day: http://www.mothersinmedicine.com/2009/12/typical-call-day-obgyn-style.html

Ok, I haven't really researched the hours of a neurosurgeon as much as an OBGYN (because I'm interesting OBGYN), I just know they are awful like OBGYNs, but there is a blog run by about 15-20 mothers in medicine and here is the neurosurgeon's typical work day: http://www.mothersinmedicine.com/2009/12/day-in-life-of-neurosurgeon-seriously.html

I have absolutely no idea the hours of a neurologist, but here is a link for the same blog by mothers: http://www.mothersinmedicine.com/2009/12/another-day-life-of-clinical.html
edit: check this out: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=102617
I'll look for some more and edit and add it. 🙂

Another thing to think about with a specialty like neurosurgery is that spinal, nervous system, and brain surgeries typically take long hours to complete, and while for some, there will be teams of surgeons, but a surgeon may be working for 2-4 hours before they switch off.

 

[DrHart]

Wait until you get into medical school to decide. High schoolers and even most college pre-meds haven't even scratched the surface of medical specialties. You may think you know but you don't. Work hard and wait for inspiration to hit you.

 

[survivordo]

Miilaxox, It's always good to be thinking ahead in terms of what you may want to do with your future. However, right now I would focus on getting INTO medical school. There is a LOT that goes into this. As you fulfill the requirements for matriculation you will gain more knowledge of the medical fields and hopefully your choice will become clear.

Survivor DO

 

[da8s0859q]

Miilaxox, It's always good to be thinking ahead in terms of what you may want to do with your future. However, right now I would focus on getting INTO medical school. There is a LOT that goes into this. As you fulfill the requirements for matriculation you will gain more knowledge of the medical fields and hopefully your choice will become clear.

Survivor DO

Above all else, this.

I once thought about neurosurgery or surgery in general. Surgery was the first to get crossed out on my specialty list in med school.

 

[californicati0n]

I would tend to agree with the posters above. You might come into college and decide against med school entirely. You also might decide that there's another career path that you like way better. What I'm trying to say is that you have all the time in the world to figure that stuff out. 🙂

 

[Mesinan]

Neurosurgery is very complicated. I'll assume, for the sake of argument, that you aren't at all dumb and you won't have any problems getting into and/or excelling in that field. HOWEVER, the overhead costs (primarily from malpractice insurance) are through the F***ing roof. Not to imply that you are looking for money, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for neurosurgeons to make a comfortable living with the insurance costs. They get sued left and right.

OB/GYN. Pretty fun in my opinion. It is a pretty basic profession once you get going. Show up, do some pap smears, come in last minute to a 2-hour long birth and tell the mom she is doing okay, and then go back to doing pap smears. Obviously I'm joking and there is a lot more to it than that, but you get the idea. It is a pretty straightforward specialty, which I like.

I'm not sure if anyone has said this yet, but OBGYN malpractice insurance is almost as high as neurosurgeon's malpractice insurance. The average for OBGYN is said to be $20,000 and for neurosurgery is $35,000, and they make double the money, probably more than that before malpractice premiums are paid...

 

[nysegop]

I don't know where you got $35,000. That seems low for a neurosurgeon. That being said, OB/GYNs tend to pay more because the profession is extremely susceptible to lawsuits.

 

[Mesinan]

Now you see, I didn't know that. Very interesting. Thank you for that tidbit of information. Any idea why? I mean, I can see where sexual assault/harassment charges come into play with OBGYNs all the time, but I don't know if that would affect the malpractice insurance. I suppose plenty of complications can occur with deliveries too so that would be a big issue. I'm surprised that its so high though.

They can be sued until the child is 18 and if they baby isn't perfect than mom's like to sue. basically.

 

[sonofva]

the malpractice premiums for obgyn are really variable by state. Obs middle of nowhere states, such as Minnesota, can get away with as low as 10-15k. In more average states like CA one can expect to pay around the 50k mark. In certain states it is out of control (FL and Nevada), you could easily pay in the 100's of thousands range. These rates are goverened by how litigious the culture of that state is.

the reason these rates are so high is NOT because of the gyn end of things. it's because of the OB end of things.

everyone expects a perfect baby, and if there is the slightest thing that goes wrong, parents are quick to sue even if it's not the obs fault. then the insurance companies would rather screw the physicians and settle, even if the physician was within standard of care and would win in court. this happens because settling is easier and less risky for the insurance company. however it also drives up premiums more.

you'd have to be really trying hard to get sued for a pap smear. this is why as OB/Gyns age, they will often switch to doing only gyn, because they become more risk averse later in their careers. they let the ob be handled by the younger guys in practice.

 

[PapaGuava]

Dentists with their own practice have great hours, they can even have 4 day weeks if they want. Don't make a decision yet but it's good your thinking about options. As you go through school and early college you ll have a more firm idea.

 

[nysegop]

Screw it. Screw all of it! I'm becoming a hermit. I don't want to be sued. Life would be so much easier if I just moved to Alaska and smoked pot or something.

 

[nysegop]

I recommend Colorado. It is also fairly chilly in Colorado, and the pot is legal now.

Ahhh. Good recommendation. I'm considering rural Washington state too.

 

[nysegop]

Go there in the fall. It is beautiful. 😛

I like the pink leaves.

*puff puff*

 

[mmmcdowe]

I'm not sure if anyone has said this yet, but OBGYN malpractice insurance is almost as high as neurosurgeon's malpractice insurance. The average for OBGYN is said to be $20,000 and for neurosurgery is $35,000, and they make double the money, probably more than that before malpractice premiums are paid...

What time frame is that malpractice for? It seems maybe a little steep (but possible I suppose) for monthly but it is far too low for yearly.

 

[nysegop]

What time frame is that malpractice for? It seems maybe a little steep (but possible I suppose) for monthly but it is far too low for yearly.

👍
I've heard that neurosurgeons generally pay at least $100 K per year.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Malpractice insurance premiums vary widely between states, cities, and specialty. In addition if you have a history of multiple lawsuits the actuarials may increase your premiums as well. If you practice in Philadelphia you will pay more than in Allentown. In Michigan rates are higher in Detroit then they are in Grand Rapids.

I have heard of some states where general surgeons pay about $20,000 in malpractice and I was paying over $100,000 in Pennsylvania. I pay $60,000 approximately here in Arizona with no successful lawsuits on my record. It is certainly not unheard of for obstetrics or neurosurgery to pay in excess of $200,000/year.

Finally, it was mentioned above about insurance companies settling lawsuits. You're a fool if you sign a contract which allows them to settle without your permission. Those premiums tend to be cheaper however in many cases you end up damaging your career because the hospitals and insurers will settle because it's often cheaper than litigation.

 

[Anon212]

So, you have narrowed it down to neurology, neurosurgery, and the good old ob/gyn.

These are top choices for me as well, after plastics.

Anyway, let me break these down for you a bit.

Neurology includes A TON OF RESEARCH. I don't know if you've done any research yet or know anything about it, but it can be very boring to some people. If you aren't into doing research, neurology probably isn't going to be a good fit.

Neurosurgery is very complicated. I'll assume, for the sake of argument, that you aren't at all dumb and you won't have any problems getting into and/or excelling in that field. HOWEVER, the overhead costs (primarily from malpractice insurance) are through the F***ing roof. Not to imply that you are looking for money, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for neurosurgeons to make a comfortable living with the insurance costs. They get sued left and right.

OB/GYN. Pretty fun in my opinion. It is a pretty basic profession once you get going. Show up, do some pap smears, come in last minute to a 2-hour long birth and tell the mom she is doing okay, and then go back to doing pap smears. Obviously I'm joking and there is a lot more to it than that, but you get the idea. It is a pretty straightforward specialty, which I like.

There is no way for US to tell YOU what you should specialize in. And frankly, if you haven't completely fallen in love with a single specialty (like I have with plastics), then you might consider holding off until you're in medical school. I know a lot of people that waited to see what residency position they got before making the jump. But, you have to research each speciality and figure out if you like it and if you think its a good fit for you.

FWIW, not sure what you mean by that, but if you're saying that you have to do a ton of research to get into it/ in residency, that's not the case. Neurology is a field that has a lot of ROOM for research if that's what you're into, and now that Obama has committed to this new brain mapping project, I'm sure more neuro research opportunities will pop up. It's the truest "last frontier" and a lot of people find neuroscience research interesting.
However, it's really a pretty non-competitive specialty to get into so it doesn't really "require" research or even really strongly encourage it. Not that it discourages it, but unlike say radiation oncology, or even plastic surgery/ neurosurgery where the competition is stiff enough that a good amount of research is a big benefit, it's just not needed. No one I know going into neurology, currently in neurology etc is heavily involved in research. They could if they wanted to, but they're clinicians. So don't be discouraged if you hate research and want neuro.

On the other hand, I don't know anyone who applied in nsurg without a healthy amount of research background. Many programs have research built into the residency, too. So you'd be surprised. "Surgery" doesn't mean "more clinical" necessarily. Many (in fact, many of the most highly regarded, "big name") of the general surgery programs are 7 years instead of 5 because they include 2 years of academic research- you need that for competitive fellowships like peds surgery, etc. That's why we tell you guys to take a deep breath and not worry about this stuff quite yet. Not only will the landscape of medicine likely change a good amount by the time it becomes relevant to you, and not only will YOU change a good amount by then, but you've barely scratched the surface of a lot of this stuff. SDN is great to get info and start to think, but don't get too stuck in one thought.

 

[mmmcdowe]

When I was asking a similar question a few months back about neurology, a few people told me that they press the research end of it quite extensively. Essentially, they are looking for people that WANT to research it. Like you said, its the "last frontier" and a lot of unanswered questions remain. I may have been misinformed, but I gathered the impression that they are looking for people to progress the field more than they are looking for people to practice the specialty.

I could be wrong though. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. 😛

Definitely not true. Such a mentality would likely only exist at very select institutions.

 

[nysegop]

How come ~94% of neurosurgery residents have previous research experience?

 

[mmmcdowe]

How come ~94% of neurosurgery residents have previous research experience?

I thought we already answered this on another thread? Because it is easy to get research experience, considering >50% of pre-meds already have it even before medical school and because neurosurgeons respect innovation. It's a small field, so there is a lot of work to do. However, in neurosurgery (and all fields) the primary focus is still medical practice.

 

[nysegop]

I thought we already answered this on another thread? Because it is easy to get research experience, considering >50% of pre-meds already have it even before medical school and because neurosurgeons respect innovation. It's a small field, so there is a lot of work to do. However, in neurosurgery (and all fields) the primary focus is still medical practice.

So a lot of that research could have come as an undergraduate?

 

[mmmcdowe]

So a lot of that research could have come as an undergraduate?

Who knows, that's the fickleness of polls. Someone could have made a presentation on a research topic for their attending and called that research.