What to do if you have no idea?

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Back34

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My situation is this: I'm at the tail end of my third year, trying to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life but keep bumping up against walls, i.e., I haven't found anything that totally holds my interest. The closest I have to a real commitment is family medicine because our school requires that we choose a "pathway" to follow for our 4th year and I enjoyed it more than other rotations, but am still not totally sold on it and don't know if I ever would be. That's my biggest fear: committing to something only to regret it in the future (kinda like how I operate regarding the opposite sex (but that's another story)).

Ideally, if nothing pans out within the next couple of weeks or so, I'd like to do a transitional-type year, where I get a broad exposure to several fields and hopefully will get a better sense as to where I should be heading. I would be grateful for any advice regarding my situation.

I've already talked to the Dean of Students and some others at school, and nobody really had a good answer. Thanks
 
Back34 said:
My situation is this: I'm at the tail end of my third year, trying to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life but keep bumping up against walls, i.e., I haven't found anything that totally holds my interest. The closest I have to a real commitment is family medicine because our school requires that we choose a "pathway" to follow for our 4th year and I enjoyed it more than other rotations, but am still not totally sold on it and don't know if I ever would be. That's my biggest fear: committing to something only to regret it in the future (kinda like how I operate regarding the opposite sex (but that's another story)).

Ideally, if nothing pans out within the next couple of weeks or so, I'd like to do a transitional-type year, where I get a broad exposure to several fields and hopefully will get a better sense as to where I should be heading. I would be grateful for any advice regarding my situation.

I've already talked to the Dean of Students and some others at school, and nobody really had a good answer. Thanks

If you liked family medicine, but would like more options after residency, consider med-peds. You will get similar training to family medicine (minus the OB) and then have about 25-35 options for fellowship afterwards, or you can do peds and medicine, peds or medicine, either in academics or private practice.

A transitional year is a good idea also, but you will be prolonging your residency, which would really only be a problem if you were focused on making big money as soon as you can and/or you had mounds of student debt. Unlike med-peds, transitional year will give you more elective opportunities in medicine and peds, and can also give you exposure to surgery (although you almost never see the OR) and neuro. Can OB be incorporated into transitional year??? Also, from what I have heard, transitional year is much more competitive than people think because so many strong applicants need a transitional year for fields like ophtho, rad onc, radiology, derm, anesthesia, etc. A girl at my school got her first choice for derm and had to scramble for a transitional year spot. Something to think about.
 
i like the transitional year idea b/c it will give you exposure to things... also I believe it doesn't take a year of the all important medicare funding for the field that you do eventually choose... if you don't know what I'm talking about you should search for it...

alternatively, why not do medicine?? by the end of your PGY-2 year you will likely have an idea of a specialty that interests you... GI is very different from Cards is very different from a general internist, etc..

many in my school chose medicine b/c they couldn't figure out what they wanted to do... probably half of all people going into medicine choose it just to prolong their decision and keep the most options open...
 
Chances are you haven't been exposed to several fields, like rads, gas, rehab, derm. What about ophtho, ortho, gu, ent? Many 3rd years get minimal or zero exposure to these fields as 3rd years. You still have time to explore several of these fields.
 
No one ever remembers pathology either. 🙁 People's only exposure is often 2nd year lab where they get jaded and think it's a boring if not insignificant career, unless they are on the "Pathology=dead people" presumption.
 
that's true... path is probably one of the most important if not the most important specialty...

as a rads guy, I can say with some certainty that a mass is malignant/benign, etc. but we always get a biopsy... the pathologist is the one that makes the decisions... is this carcinoid, atypical carcinoid, or small cell... etc. that decision changes management in so many ways...
 
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