When should I start to worry about not knowing what I want to do?

[Christiangirl]

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Okay... I am starting to freak out here. I thought that I was really interested in a subspecialty and after my brief exposure I am not so sure. Everyone tells me that this could be due to the fact that as a third year, you don't get to do much, but I don't know.

Anyway, I have only done three rotations thus far . In all honesty, there are things about each of these that I like, but none of them has given me that "I wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of my life feeling." I know that I haven't done much in the clinic, so maybe I should just chill out, but I am starting to worry.

On paper, I am a fairly attractive applicant as far as grades, board scores (basically, my numbers are solid enough that I can consider any specialty at this point and have a reasonable chance) and likely to have one first author publication. Anyway, my question to you all, is when should I worry and is there anything I can do short of just follow the natural course of third year and hope I have some epiphany? When did most of you figure out what you wanted to do?

 

[doc05]

I have similar concerns. I would advise you to do some clinical electives in place of the research. this way you have some additional opportunity to explore another specialty.

you haven't done medicine or surgery yet, which are the big ones, so don't lose hope yet.

 

[Christiangirl]

Doing clinical electives in lieu of research is not an option at this pointl. Thanks for your help though.

 

[DR]

Don't worry about it. It happens to loads of people. There are people in residency programs who are still unsure. Usually what happens is that by the time 4th year rolls around, there is usually something that clicks. Believe it or not, though, there are loads of people who still never quite feel 100%...and some just wind up picking what they like the most, or dislike the least (yes, this does happen). So don't worry...there were lots of people in my 4th year class who were still changing at the last minute. There's time.

 

[ckyuen]

We've had quite a few medical students who rotated through our clinic and their experiences vary quite a bit. It's difficult as a third year to be able to be proficient in any aspects of the eye exam. However, when you are able to examine a patient it's a great field. The surgeries are very detailed and fun to do, but extremely boring to watch,. Watching a resident examine patients is very boring also, but seeing csme or a rd for the first time is great.

 

[ckyuen]

We've had quite a few medical students who rotated through our clinic and their experiences vary quite a bit. It's difficult as a third year to be able to be proficient in any aspects of the eye exam. However, when you are able to examine a patient it's a great field. The surgeries are very detailed and fun to do, but extremely boring to watch,. Watching a resident examine patients is very boring also, but seeing csme or a rd for the first time is great.

 

[Samir Desai]

Before I started my third year of medical school, ophthalmology was at the top of my list. I had enjoyed the ophthalmology research that I did between the first and second years of medical school. When I finally did my ophthalmology rotation, however, I didn't have a great experience. The month was such a busy one that the residents and attendings really didn't go out of their way to make me feel like I was part of the team. Despite my best efforts to be "aggressive" and making it clear to them that I was considering ophtho as a career, I didn't get the opportunity to do much but simply watch others do ophthalmoscopic/slit lamp exams. Prior to that month, I, like most of my fellow students, didn't feel that comfortable examining the eyes. Unfortunately, after the month, I still didn't feel comfortable examining the eye. To make a long story short, I couldn't figure out whether ophtho just wasn't for me or that my rotation experience was clouding my judgement. If I had had a better ophtho rotation experience, would ophtho have been the right fit for me? That's what I couldn't decide. In the end, I chose not to go into ophtho.

While there are some students who are sure of what they want to do even before they start clerkships, there are many others who are not. Even those who are convinced that they will be entering a certain field (like I was with ophtho) often change their minds once they finally immerse themselves in that environment and realize that the specialty is not the right one. While some may click with a certain specialty early in the third year, others don't until late in their third year or even in their fourth year.

My advice is not to get too anxious because you still have lots of time.

My experience with the ophtho rotation did teach me something very important. Ever since then, as a resident and attending, I have always tried to make my students feel like they were part of the team. I always strive to provide them with the best possible experience. Not because I want to convince them to go into Internal Medicine but so they can make an informed and educated decision when it comes time to finalizing their career plans. Isn't that what every student deserves?

Samir Desai, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine