what specialty to pursue?

[alimarie81]

Does anyone have some advice as to how they chose which specialty to pursue? I would like to go into something procedure-based, but don't think I want to go down the surgery route. Any advice would be helpful. I will be an MS1 at a DO school in the fall. Thanks

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[Fermata]

Why not wait until you actually get some exposure third year to actually consider this? The reason being is that there is a bunch of specialties and to arbitrarily pick one now might not be the best decision.

 

[IMGforNeuro]

I do agree with Fermata.
However i would add that many people enter med school with certain career goals. I feel that one should not choose any speciality with money in mind. You will lose motivation and get bored of doing it in a few years even with the money you earn if you do not have interest in a speciality.
Some people like me choose a speciality after experiencing the trauma of a particular disease in family members. I am very interested in neurology. I have been a neurosurgery resident in my country. I have seen some close family members living the crippling life of stroke. I belong to a family of doctors with both my parents and my grandfather being doctors. In fact my grandfather suffered a massive stroke and lived as a hemiplegic in the last 10 yrs of his life. This motivated me to pursue neurology and is also the reason why i want to pursue a stroke and cerebrovasc fellowship.
Different people have different motivations.
I honestly feel that ' money ' should not be , because incomes in specialities change with time. Medicine advances fast and it is only interest in a field which will keep you going. Also doctors in every field earn much more than the average person .
Many people develop interest in different specialities when they go through med school.

 

[doc05]

Originally posted by IMGforNeuro
I do agree with Fermata.
However i would add that many people enter med school with certain career goals. I feel that one should not choose any speciality with money in mind.

Let's be realistic though. You probably didn't pay for med school, but here in the U.S., that's what we do...so keeping money in mind is very very important.

 

[IMGforNeuro]

every physician here still makes a lot of money.
I do understand these financial issues , but every physician makes good money , the statistics prove it.

 

[Lonestar]

again, don't pass judgement when you don't have 200,000 in loans to pay back. Even better, maybe you can offer suggestions to make the system cost less. But, no one wants to do that, b/c it would actually require analytical skills.

 

[doc05]

Originally posted by IMGforNeuro
every physician here still makes a lot of money.
I do understand these financial issues , but every physician makes good money , the statistics prove it.

your first post was a little mistaken, now you are just being stupid. the statistics prove that physicians are working harder and harder for less and less money. reimbursements will continue to decline in every specialty.

 

[IMGforNeuro]

well guys may be what you are saying is true.
But what i am saying is that one should have interest in a speciality to enjoy practising it. Many people have interest in different fields which may be related like neurology , neurosurg , neurorad. OR int med subspecialities or otolaryngology and neurosurg.
I spoke to many people who are interested in one speciality but rushing towards cards because of the current income potential.
I could still modify what i said that money should not be the only motivation to pursue a speciality , interest in a field is also important.
Secondly any speciality which is high paying now will attract many people and may not be that paying 5 or 10 yrs from now. There is no way to accurately predict these trends.

 

[beyond all hope]

Have to agree with IMGNeuro. I am carrying almost 200K in debt, and don't have parents to fall back upon, but I still think it's better to choose with your heart and not your wallet. Sure, having money is nice, but nothing beats having a job you love. And if you love it, you will find ways to make money.

Don't tell me MDs don't make good money. I can moonlight for 200$/hour. One shift = 2G. Sure, you might not become a millionaire, but if that's what you're after, don't do medicine.

Also probably right about trends changing. Path used to make huge $$$, now not so much. Psych money is now on the rise. Surgery is down, EM was up and it's falling again.

As for specialty, try to identify what you like most about medicine and go for it. If you like procedures, consider surgery/EM/anesthesia. If you like primary care: IM/Peds/FP.
If you like being an expert, subspecialize in just about any field.

 

[DoctorDoom]

Originally posted by alimarie81
Does anyone have some advice as to how they chose which specialty to pursue? I would like to go into something procedure-based, but don't think I want to go down the surgery route. Any advice would be helpful. I will be an MS1 at a DO school in the fall. Thanks

You have a lot of choices, depends on what kind of procedures you want to do. ER, interventional radiology, cardiology, all sorts of specialties are available, are not surgery, and are procedure oriented.

Best thing is to keep your eyes and ears open in 3rd year, and do some electives early on that give you an idea of the options that most interest you.

Good luck!

 

[alimarie81]

Originally posted by Dr. Cuts
Interventional Radiology.

Dr. Cuts:
What exactly is "interventional radiology"?
thanks for your advice

 

[kcrd]

other procedure-heavy specialites are GI, Cardiology and Anesthesiology. OB/Gyn could be considered one, too.

 

[alimarie81]

I have thought seriously about OB/GYN. I really like that it combines the primary care aspect with procedure-based medicine. I just don't know about the malpractice issues surrounding OB/GYN. Is it really worth it? I live in IL, (Chicago), which I think is particularly bad for OBGYN malpractice issues.

 

[Sharky]

Proctology

 

[Dr JPH]

Originally posted by alimarie81
I have thought seriously about OB/GYN. I really like that it combines the primary care aspect with procedure-based medicine. I just don't know about the malpractice issues surrounding OB/GYN. Is it really worth it? I live in IL, (Chicago), which I think is particularly bad for OBGYN malpractice issues.

Do you want to deliver babies or not?

I think another poster put it quite simply: wait until you have had exposure to different areas of medicine.

I am an MSII soon to be on rotations and I STILL don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

 

[Dr JPH]

PS: message to Sharky...why do you have a whale for your avatar??

 

[Dr JPH]

Originally posted by alimarie81
Dr. Cuts:
What exactly is "interventional radiology"?
thanks for your advice

Check out this link:

http://www.sirweb.org/patPub/whatIsAnIR.shtml

 

[alimarie81]

thanks-
I appreciate it

 

[Sharky]

Originally posted by JPHazelton
PS: message to Sharky...why do you have a whale for your avatar??

I couldn't find a shark one so I settled for the whale. I was hoping no one would notice.