where do we see ourselves in 10 years?

[Cescfab]

"where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

I see that this type of question is very common in interviews. I just have no idea really where to go with this?
what to people respond with normally?? I'd like to have a private practice...or I'd like to be specializing in ____...I'd like to live in ____
I mean beyond those sorts of things, what does one do??? what do these ADCOMs look for with this?
this is sort of bugging me out

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[artaxerxes]

"where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

I see that this type of question is very common in interviews. I just have no idea really where to go with this?
what to people respond with normally?? I'd like to have a private practice...or I'd like to be specializing in ____...I'd like to live in ____
I mean beyond those sorts of things, what does one do??? what do these ADCOMs look for with this?
this is sort of bugging me out

for state schools maybe say primary care if you are interested in that, i know my state school has a generalist initative.

 

[Blade28]

The sad thing is, for many of us, 10 years after that interview we'll still be in residency.

Edit: for example, I interviewed in 2000. 7 years later, here I am, still 7 years away from being an attending.

 

[LikeClockWork]

I think this question is partly to see how well you've thought out the ramifications of the med school route. Since I'm applying at in state public places, I'll be sure to let them know I want to be practicing in the state somewhere (rural maybe?) and will hopefully have my debt close to paid off by then. I'll probably mention something about having a family and trying to find time for my hobbies (running, reading) while finishing my residency in some field. I don't think any interviewer would expect anything incredibly specific like what specific hospital, sub specialty, or even how many kids you'd have by then. It's just an opportunity to show them you're not entering into all this lightly and what kind of person you'd like to be in the future.

 

[LaCasta]

"where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

I see that this type of question is very common in interviews. I just have no idea really where to go with this?
what to people respond with normally?? I'd like to have a private practice...or I'd like to be specializing in ____...I'd like to live in ____
I mean beyond those sorts of things, what does one do??? what do these ADCOMs look for with this?
this is sort of bugging me out

Off topic, but are you a Cesc Fabregas fan

 

[Cescfab]

after last week's screamer against city, how can you not be?!

 

[AffrWMohandas]

$200,000 in debt

 

[LaCasta]

after last week's screamer against city, how can you not be?!

It did get me out of my seat

 

[hamidace]

I actually have this question in one of my secondaries and this is my answer:

"
My experiences in the emergency care unit of ... Hospital revealed to me that I personally prefer to be involved in surgical procedure where I can have hands on interaction with patients and see the result of my treatment quickly. I also have special interest in the brain function and neurology. Therefore, after medical school, I have planned to complete one year of internship in general surgery and get my residency in neurosurgery. So, in 10 years I will be a resident graduating from the neurosurgery training program. Although it is very hard to predict the future and there is a chance that I might not become a neurosurgeon, but I am sure I will become a physician and will help the people of my community. I have high hopes and big plans and I will work very hard to achieve my goal."

I would appreciate any comment. Good? Bad? Ugly?

 

[pakbabydoll]

^^ GOOD

I don't know I have never thought about that. All I ever think about is how to get in to medical school and graduate. I have not given any thought to future after medical school. i guess I have some serious thinking to do. What if they ask me this question?

 

[KnuxNole]

Would it br wrong if i said that I would be finishing up my residency in pediatrics, or should I mention that I am starting up my practice and begun to pay off a large portion of my debt? Thanks.

 

[Femme Fatale]

*

 

[etf]

I actually have this question in one of my secondaries and this is my answer:

"
My experiences in the emergency care unit of ... Hospital revealed to me that I personally prefer to be involved in surgical procedure where I can have hands on interaction with patients and see the result of my treatment quickly. I also have special interest in the brain function and neurology. Therefore, after medical school, I have planned to complete one year of internship in general surgery and get my residency in neurosurgery. So, in 10 years I will be a resident graduating from the neurosurgery training program. Although it is very hard to predict the future and there is a chance that I might not become a neurosurgeon, but I am sure I will become a physician and will help the people of my community. I have high hopes and big plans and I will work very hard to achieve my goal."

I would appreciate any comment. Good? Bad? Ugly?

as an aspiring neurosurgeon myself, i have one bit of advice: DO NOT SAY YOU WANT TO GO INTO NEUROSURGERY. particularly if you are someone who would be lucky to get into medical school in the first place (like me). when i told one of my interviewers that i was interested in neurosurg, she looked at me like i was an idiot. for some reason, it just makes you look naive, so i would avoid it - just saying surgery should be fine enough.

 

[littlealex]

Yeah I agree. I also believe that applicants should demonstrate that they are open minded about what specialty they wish to go into. You haven't done your rotations yet, and suggesting that you've already have a specialty picked out is just ignorant. You've only had a small sampling of all medicine has to offer.

As for neurosurgery, if you're not going in with a 3.8/38 or something ridiculous, saying that you want to go into neurosurger may make the adcoms scratch their heads.

 

[Blade28]

wow.....what kind of surgery are you specializing in?

Cardiothoracic surgery.

5 years General Surgery residency, plus 2 years of research between my PGY-2 and PGY-3 years.

3 years Cardiothoracic Surgery fellowship.

10 total years.

2000: med school interviews
2001 - 2005: med school
2005 - 2012: residency
2012 - 2015: fellowship

 

[TheRealMD]

I actually have this question in one of my secondaries and this is my answer:

"
My experiences in the emergency care unit of ... Hospital revealed to me that I personally prefer to be involved in surgical procedure where I can have hands on interaction with patients and see the result of my treatment quickly. I also have special interest in the brain function and neurology. Therefore, after medical school, I have planned to complete one year of internship in general surgery and get my residency in neurosurgery. So, in 10 years I will be a resident graduating from the neurosurgery training program. Although it is very hard to predict the future and there is a chance that I might not become a neurosurgeon, but I am sure I will become a physician and will help the people of my community. I have high hopes and big plans and I will work very hard to achieve my goal."

I would appreciate any comment. Good? Bad? Ugly?

Only thing is that neurosurgery is a 7 year program. Tack on 1 year before med school and 4 years of med school, and that's 12 years away.

I'd play the very safe "I don't know what specialty I really want but hope that your medical school will show me the way" kinda response.

 

[hamidace]

I really appreciate all your comments. I changed my writing and this is the final draft. Again, please let me know if anything else needs to be changed. English is my 2nd language (I moved to US 4 years ago!). So if you see any errors please let me know. Thank you so much.

" My experiences in the emergency care unit of Hoag Hospital revealed to me that I personally prefer to be involved in surgical procedures where I can have hands on interaction with patients and see the result of my treatment rather quickly. Although I am aware of the fact that I have only been exposed to a very small portion of what medicine has to offer me, currently I see myself graduated from the general surgery training program, practicing in one of California’s state hospitals 10 years from now. However, even if I change my choice of residency, I am sure that I will become a compassionate physician dedicating my energy to help the people of my community. I have high hopes and big plans and I will work very hard to achieve my goal."

 

[west nile]

"Don't say doin your wife, don't say doin your wife...doin...your..son..."

hahaha anyone know what thats from????

 

[burningsky]

Family Guy

Great show

 

[Jew Alcindor]

as an aspiring neurosurgeon myself, i have one bit of advice: DO NOT SAY YOU WANT TO GO INTO NEUROSURGERY. particularly if you are someone who would be lucky to get into medical school in the first place (like me). when i told one of my interviewers that i was interested in neurosurg, she looked at me like i was an idiot. for some reason, it just makes you look naive, so i would avoid it - just saying surgery should be fine enough.

I agree. Every second pre-med says this, not really realizing how competitive it is. It's like saying you're gonna play in the NBA before you've even made your school's JV team. There's plenty of evidence on this board; every time somebody says something about neurosurgery, all the actual med students are very dismissive.

 

[TheRealMD]

I agree. Every second pre-med says this, not really realizing how competitive it is. It's like saying you're gonna play in the NBA before you've even made your school's JV team. There's plenty of evidence on this board; every time somebody says something about neurosurgery, all the actual med students are very dismissive.

Of course, there's a certain sense of naiveness that every pre-med had at one point, but it just needs to disappear before you interview. Just don't commit to any one specialty, there's little reason for you to pick one over the other this early in the game.

 

[Blade28]

" My experiences in the emergency care unit of Hoag Hospital revealed to me that I personally prefer to be involved in surgical procedures where I can have hands on interaction with patients and see the result of my treatment rather quickly. Although I am aware of the fact that I have only been exposed to a very small portion of what medicine has to offer me, currently I see myself graduated from the general surgery training program, practicing in one of California's state hospitals 10 years from now. However, even if I change my choice of residency, I am sure that I will become a compassionate physician dedicating my energy to help the people of my community. I have high hopes and big plans and I will work very hard to achieve my goal."

Just out of curiosity, what procedures did you see in the ER?

I'm just wondering why your ER experience didn't make you want to become an ER doctor.

That is, unless you were watching trauma procedures, or plastics/hand/ENT/ophtho/etc.

Edit: didn't realize you had edited your earlier post. I would still comment on what, exactly, you saw (i.e. why surgery vs. ER, for example).

 

[Smctbone]

Just don't commit to any one specialty, there's little reason for you to pick one over the other this early in the game.

I'm earning my MPH in Epidemiology with a major focus on infectious diseases, which includes clinical research experience. I've really enjoyed the topic and I'm pretty determined to be a Hospital Epidemiologist (outbreak surveillance). An ID intern has one of the lowest compensations of all MD specialties, and Hospital Epidemiologists often go uncompensated, or if they are it's <$40,000. So it's not exactly a lucrative specialty, just a really cool one.
So does it look bad if I say I have a particular interest like this? I've stood behind it, but I've also been humble and admitted that it's early, that I could just as well sway to something like pediatrics.
Just wondering if I should change my approach at upcoming interviews.

 

[Femme Fatale]

*

 

[TheRealMD]

I'm earning my MPH in Epidemiology with a major focus on infectious diseases, which includes clinical research experience. I've really enjoyed the topic and I'm pretty determined to be a Hospital Epidemiologist (outbreak surveillance). An ID intern has one of the lowest compensations of all MD specialties, and Hospital Epidemiologists often go uncompensated, or if they are it's <$40,000. So it's not exactly a lucrative specialty, just a really cool one.
So does it look bad if I say I have a particular interest like this? I've stood behind it, but I've also been humble and admitted that it's early, that I could just as well sway to something like pediatrics.
Just wondering if I should change my approach at upcoming interviews.

Well, the thing is that you'll spend 2 years basically rotating through specialties to find out what you like. If you are already set on one (i.e. admitting it at interviews), then I find that you aren't going to enjoy those 2 years as much as a person with an open mind.

Anyway, ALWAYS tack on the "open mind" part during an interview if you say you are interested in infectious diseases, otherwise it works against you. It's really just a test to see if 1) you are looking towards the future and 2) you realize that the future will probably change. I think the statistics say that only 8% of people who picked a speciality before med school actually choose it afterward. I've already switched mine and I'm not even in yet!

 

[Blade28]

lol, I had to research this one. Impressive is one way of describing this. I don't think 7 years is that bad.....I looked up your salary and you'll be able to pay off all your student loans (assuming you have them) in one year with mad change to spare..... Hmm.....it looks like you may become my unofficial mentor. What was your MCAT score?

Are you interested in Cardiothoracic Surgery? Or General Surgery?

I have around $150k in student loans...ouch!

My MCAT? God that was a long time ago (1999)...IIRC, 33S (11V 11P 11B).

 

[smq123]

An ID intern has one of the lowest compensations of all MD specialties, and Hospital Epidemiologists often go uncompensated, or if they are it's <$40,000. So it's not exactly a lucrative specialty, just a really cool one.

What's an ID intern?

I like ID too - it's interesting, and the topic is a lot of fun. (For me, at least.) I don't know if I want to do it, though, because I kind of like doing procedures, and there are no procedures in ID. I would also miss being the primary doctor in charge of a patient, and developing that kind of professional relationship - just being a consultant, over and over again, might get draining. (HIV clinics change that somewhat, I guess.) We'll see.

It's fine to say that you're interested in infectious diseases and epidemiology based on your MPH experience. Just don't say anything like "This is definitely what I want to do," because you really don't know enough about the practice of ID to say for sure.

 

[Smctbone]

What's an ID intern?

I like ID too - it's interesting, and the topic is a lot of fun. (For me, at least.) I don't know if I want to do it, though, because I kind of like doing procedures, and there are no procedures in ID. I would also miss being the primary doctor in charge of a patient, and developing that kind of professional relationship - just being a consultant, over and over again, might get draining. (HIV clinics change that somewhat, I guess.) We'll see.

It's fine to say that you're interested in infectious diseases and epidemiology based on your MPH experience. Just don't say anything like "This is definitely what I want to do," because you really don't know enough about the practice of ID to say for sure.

sorry, I meant ID internist

Thanks for the input

 

[neuro1617]

I know that your specialty of interest can definitely change between premed and applying to residencies, but every doctor I saw when shadowing asked what specialty I'd like to do. I think it's good to have dreams & some idea of what you want to do. The med student I was there with told me she hates med school, has no idea what area of medicine she'd like to go into & that the career is very different than what she thought it would be. Also she said she can't believe that all she does is study..most people know that's what med school consists of. At least if you can be excited about a particular area of medicine, you know you'd probably like medicine as a career & are interested in it.

 

[lisichka]

/

 

[Femme Fatale]

*

 

[vicinihil]

so I'm curious. Is it bad to be idealistic? Because you don't know your board scores, nor your grades...so how can you predict the specialty? Don't most people try to get the specialty with the best lifestyle? (ROAD) which needs incredibly high board scores. Those that don't get there, settle for primary care medicine. I'll agree that a portion of the medical community choose primary care medicine over specialty, but I'm speaking for the majority of students. If you get a 240 (99%), chances are you aren't going into Gerontology (of course there are a few that will) but probably picking derm, rad, oph, or anesthesiology.

Also (I'm doing UVA's sec) which asks this question. Should be say where we WANT to be or where we think we'll end up. Because one is lofty in aspiration while the other is much more grounded.

 

[Smctbone]

so I'm curious. Is it bad to be idealistic? Don't most people try to get the specialty with the best lifestyle?

Also (I'm doing UVA's sec) which asks this question. Should be say where we WANT to be or where we think we'll end up. Because one is lofty in aspiration while the other is much more grounded.

sure, go ahead and tell the adcoms that youre looking for a specialty that pays the most and requires the least amount of overtime, instead of a specialty you'll be most interested in. I'm sure they'll at least appreciate the honesty

But seriously, I dont see a problem with being idealistic at this point. It doesnt hurt to have a particular goal that you aspire to...seems to me like that would give you more of a drive/motivation. But at the same time, it's probably important to keep in mind TheRealMD and smq's advice

 

[Blade28]

wow do you know what type of cardio surgery you want to do/?

cabg, valve replacement? or do you guys do all types?

oh and did you get a chance to separate a vein from a leg? how much exposure do u really get at this stage? please do tell as much as you can/want... i am really curious, been trapped in an OR watching cabgs abroad and want to compare... thank you.

gee, such a long process

I like a lot of the cardiac procedures - CABGs (on- and off-pump), valves (tissue or prosthetic), aortic repairs. But I also love the thoracic aspect - lung resections, esophagectomies, tracheal repairs, the occasional stomach procedure, and of course lung transplants.

"Separating a vein from a leg" - we call that vein harvesting, or saphenous vein harvesting, since we're usually taking the great saphenous vein from either one or both legs. Usually this is done either through one long incision or several shorter ones, but there are newer ways to do it through one tiny hole - amazing stuff! Then of course you have to carefull sew everything up at the end - we don't use staples here (nor on the chest), though other people may.

All in all, a great field (though many others will exhibit some hesitation and certainly less enthusiasm!).

 

[MassTransport]

I was asked this in one of my interviews, he was specifically looking to see if I'm seeing patients. I got the distinct impression that he was uninterested in talk about my family/debt/other out of career goals.

 

[Law2Doc]

I know that your specialty of interest can definitely change between premed and applying to residencies, but every doctor I saw when shadowing asked what specialty I'd like to do. I think it's good to have dreams & some idea of what you want to do...

Sometimes it's a trap. I know a surgeon who intensely dislikes folks who say they want to be a surgeon before they take their surgury rotation because, in his view, before that point you cannot possibly have had adequate exposure. His view --anyone who "always wanted to be a surgeon" is someone who probably is basing their decisions on things they see on TV.

It is fine to have a notion, but best to keep an open mind. Most people in med school change their minds at least once in terms of career path.

As for 10 years, I agree with the prior poster who said many people will still be in residency -- the horizon is too short. They need to ask 15+ years.