Which Specialties Require the Least amount of after work reading?

[copacetic]

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i really loathe reading. I can do it if i have to, but i would rather avoid it if i can. my issue is that i cant sit at one place for long periods of time. what specialties require little at home reading? i have heard that surgury doesn't require too much reading at home (unlike something like radiology or internal medicine). I will read if i have to, but naturally i will avoid it if i can...please dont hate!!!

 

[Winged Scapula]

Contrary to popular opinion, surgery residents have to read. While you certainly learn by doing, the in training and board exams don't often ask details about your daily activities in taking care of patients, but minutiae that can only be found by cracking a book. When you add in the hours at the hospital with the hours required reading, it can be pretty exhausting.

I think you are going to have trouble finding a field in which much reading ISN'T required; every field has stuff you simply cannot learn on the job and must read to understand. Socratic Method aside, you will not find a specialty in which you experience every possible disease or dysfunction and have hands on training which could *somewhat* replace reading. You understand your patients better by reading.

Its not that I don't sympathize with you - after all, I love reading but there is something to be said for doing something non work related or even sleeping after a long day/night at the hospital.

Finally, medicine is a continuing education career. You will be expected to keep up with recent updates in your field, and to do reading even once you are finished with residency.

I'm sure you will get suggestions as to fields with less reading. But I guarantee you, that for every PM&R post you get you will get someone else who claims they DO read a lot (just like me and surgery - although I honestly do think surgery is a pretty bad example of a field that doesn't read a lot.).

So my suggestion is that you learn how to maximize your reading comprehension and enjoyment if you are planning on a career in medicine.

 

[copacetic]

thanks for the reply. its my attention span that kills me. I hate just sitting there...its like theres a separate consciousness in the back of my head that is keenly aware of the fact that i'm just sitting there.

 

[michaelrack]

The reading required for a psychiatry residency is usually less than for an internal med residency, but you will occasionally get some BS psychoanalytic stuff to read that will take a while.

 

[copacetic]

hey yeah i used to think psych was pretty easy to figure out until i did my mcat a couple years back. i was doing the VR section and had 1 passage left, with 15 minutes to go. i mean, i figured i was going to ace VR cause of all the time i had left (im actually a pretty fast reader, and good at comprehending). lo and bheold the last passage was some cognitive psych thing. I read the preamble to the passage and i swear i almost pissed my pants...lol. i spent 15 minutes reading over and over and i didn't have a clue left right or centre. so i just guessed. it was pretty funny actually. like i've come across some pretty complicated quantum mechanics stuff and understood it easier than that cognitive psych stuff. i got mad respect for psych people now...well at least the more senior advanced stuff anyways. i think that one passage killed me...though i still did good on VR.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

hey yeah i used to think psych was pretty easy to figure out until i did my mcat a couple years back. i was doing the VR section and had 1 passage left, with 15 minutes to go. i mean, i figured i was going to ace VR cause of all the time i had left (im actually a pretty fast reader, and good at comprehending). lo and bheold the last passage was some cognitive psych thing. I read the preamble to the passage and i swear i almost pissed my pants...lol. i spent 15 minutes reading over and over and i didn't have a clue left right or centre. so i just guessed. it was pretty funny actually. like i've come across some pretty complicated quantum mechanics stuff and understood it easier than that cognitive psych stuff. i got mad respect for psych people now...well at least the more senior advanced stuff anyways. i think that one passage killed me...though i still did good on VR.

My question to you is how are you going to handle medical school if you hate reading that much?

If you're using your VR passage from the MCAT as a frame of reference for Psych residency then you've got A LOT to learn my friend!

 

[pgg]

i really loathe reading. I can do it if i have to, but i would rather avoid it if i can. my issue is that i cant sit at one place for long periods of time. what specialties require little at home reading? i have heard that surgury doesn't require too much reading at home (unlike something like radiology or internal medicine). I will read if i have to, but naturally i will avoid it if i can...please dont hate!!!

I hear investment bankers all make six figures straight out of undergrad. No academic aptitude or discipline is required.

🙄

We've all run into people like you who are some distance out of residency. They don't read, they don't keep up. They practice out-of-date medicine. They have nothing to teach. When asked questions, they get a glazed look on their faces or confabulate unrelated or disconnected answers. In short, they suck, and you'll be one of them if you "loathe" reading.

Reading - routinely, continuously, and FOREVER - is at the core of being a competent physician. If this is something that you (as a pre-med!) are already struggling with, then you're better off in another field. There are lots of careers that don't require ongoing reading that are interesting, rewarding, and well-compensated ... pick one of them.

 

[Ludicolo]

My question to you is how are you going to handle medical school if you hate reading that much?

Exactly. The first thing I thought when I read the OP was that they are in for a world of hurt if they get into med school.

I'm sure you will get suggestions as to fields with less reading. But I guarantee you, that for every PM&R post you get you will get someone else who claims they DO read a lot (just like me and surgery - although I honestly do think surgery is a pretty bad example of a field that doesn't read a lot.).

Hey now...

If anything, I want my students/residents/fellows reading more.
Reading is part of the job. Get used to it.

 

[lowbudget]

thanks for the reply. its my attention span that kills me. I hate just sitting there...its like theres a separate consciousness in the back of my head that is keenly aware of the fact that i'm just sitting there.

You may just need to think out of the box. Nobody ever said you need to read sitting down. Read while you're on a stair-master, exercise bike, or treadmill. Stand up while you read, and take notes on a dry erase boards on the wall. Buy DVD's, use interactive media on the internet, listen to tapes/CD's during your commute... or how about this... GO TO LECTURE.

If you've got bad study habits, you need to figure out what works for you and what doesn't because you have little time and margin for error in med school, residency, and beyond. And part of it has to do with the sheer volume of matieral but also that you need to keep up with your peers. And of course, your patients will depend on you being up to date... and correct.

And if all else fails, go get evaluated. And get treated. Depression and mood disorders affect your ability to concentrate. Some people over the years have learned to compensate for untreated ADHD and in certain settings struggle to be functional. Others have a learning disorder or dyslexia. Others who have thought disorders are constantly distracted by things that are not there.

 

[Unty]

i really loathe reading. I can do it if i have to, but i would rather avoid it if i can. my issue is that i cant sit at one place for long periods of time. what specialties require little at home reading? i have heard that surgury doesn't require too much reading at home (unlike something like radiology or internal medicine). I will read if i have to, but naturally i will avoid it if i can...please dont hate!!!

If you are truly pre-medical, i would advise you to rethink medical school. You have to read non-stop in order to pass Step exams as well as board exams down the road.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Exactly. The first thing I thought when I read the OP was that they are in for a world of hurt if they get into med school.

Me too, although I refrained from invoking Burnett's Law most of the time!

Hey now...

If anything, I want my students/residents/fellows reading more.
Reading is part of the job. Get used to it.

Sorry (honestly)...I meant that to come off as defending your field, although you have to admit that there are people out there who think its pretty cushy without many very ill patients, crises or emergencies and certainly without having to read or actually know much. I KNEW that if people started listing specialties without much reading required, that PM&R would get mentioned.

I was just trying to deflect some of the bullets heading your way....seems like I didn't do such a good job.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Me too, although I refrained from invoking Burnett's Law most of the time!





Sorry (honestly)...I meant that to come off as defending your field, although you have to admit that there are people out there who think its pretty cushy without many very ill patients, crises or emergencies and certainly without having to read or actually know much. I KNEW that if people started listing specialties without much reading required, that PM&R would get mentioned.

I was just trying to deflect some of the bullets heading your way....seems like I didn't do such a good job.

What's this? Another jab at cushy fields? I'm starting to see a trend Dr. Cox! 😛

 

[Top Gun]

i really loathe reading. I can do it if i have to, but i would rather avoid it if i can. my issue is that i cant sit at one place for long periods of time. what specialties require little at home reading? i have heard that surgury doesn't require too much reading at home (unlike something like radiology or internal medicine). I will read if i have to, but naturally i will avoid it if i can...please dont hate!!!

If you loathe reading, why would you choose medicine, which is a very academic field? I mean, there are new studies to keep up with, new treatments, and you sometimes even have to review what you learned in medical school. And besides, during residency, when you come home every day, its not like you have to spend hours on end reading. Just an hour or two each day should suffice. Its not hard.

Medicine is an intellectual field. That means reading comes with the territory.

 

[Winged Scapula]

What's this? Another jab at cushy fields? I'm starting to see a trend Dr. Cox! 😛

Hey, I'm entitled!

After all, don't you think that I get the label from my gen surg colleagues since I take no ED call?😛

 

[chrisisinnocent]

I'm going to have to go with PM&R I'm not even sure they have a journal or a textbook.

 

[Ludicolo]

Sorry (honestly)...I meant that to come off as defending your field, although you have to admit that there are people out there who think its pretty cushy without many very ill patients, crises or emergencies and certainly without having to read or actually know much. I KNEW that if people started listing specialties without much reading required, that PM&R would get mentioned.

I was just trying to deflect some of the bullets heading your way....seems like I didn't do such a good job.

No worries 👍

I'm well aware about the perceptions about PM&R. The exposure that pre-med and med students get to the field is pitiful compared to other specialties, so it's natural to develop assumptions based on heresay and limited observation. PM&R is not very competitive in terms of matching (save for the "top tier" programs), and the pace of practice is not as intense as other specialties, so there is the viewpoint that it is a field for slackers. And unfortunately, it does tend to attract that particular type of person - because it is a non-competitive, lifestyle field. In my experience though, the slacker who chooses PM&R based solely on lifestyle and non-competitiveness tends not to be very happy later on in life.

That being said, I have seen the positive impact that a dedicated, intelligent, well-read physiatrist can have on the disabled patient. And while it is true that you learn a lot by doing, you reinforce that learning by focused reading. Bottom line - if you want to be a better doctor, regardless of specialty, you need to maintain and expand your knowledge base by reading.

 

[Ludicolo]

I'm going to have to go with PM&R I'm not even sure they have a journal or a textbook.

We actually have two major textbooks, and two major journals. In addition to reading relevant articles in neuromuscular journals, orthopedic journals, stroke journals, spine journals, pain journals...

See how much we read!

 

[RTrain]

We all have our private opinions about one another's specialties - who is more cerebral, who lacks academic rigor - but as a whole medicine is an extremely demanding profession no matter what specialty you choose, requiring lifelong commitment to study and improvement. So the point here is not whether we think PM&R is hard or if we think orthopods read as much as urologists, the point we need to convey to the OP is that there is no specialty anywhere in medicine that does not absolutely require significant outside study to be competent.

Either you'll have to learn ways to make reading and study palatable, or pick a different profession. Sorry, but that's how it is.

 

[sestamibi]

Not derm.

Derm is a cushy residency but I hear the reading the residents have to do is enough to drive anyone crazy if they don't actually like the material.

Someone quoted me 4 hours/day which has to be an exaggeration.

 

[jdh71]

i really loathe reading. I can do it if i have to, but i would rather avoid it if i can. my issue is that i cant sit at one place for long periods of time. what specialties require little at home reading? i have heard that surgury doesn't require too much reading at home (unlike something like radiology or internal medicine). I will read if i have to, but naturally i will avoid it if i can...please dont hate!!!

If this has already been said . . . then it's probably good you hear it again . . .

What exactly do you think doctorae means?

If you want to be a doc, leave that weak sauce at home. You'll never be able to stop reading.

 

[roja]

Bottom line - if you want to be a better doctor, regardless of specialty, you need to maintain and expand your knowledge base by reading.

Well said. I'm just going to say 'ditto'.

 

[dragonfly99]

If you really hate to read, you should turn back now. Medical school and residency will kick your butt and you WILL hate them. And you might hate the rest of your professional life. It's not that we are hating on you, but really all medical fields require a lot of reading.
If you just like action and other types of intellectual stimulation, how about doing stock trading or being some sort of wheeler-dealer businessperson? I'm not kidding. I think it's important to do something you have an affinity for. If you are temporarily burned out from a hard college semester, that is one thing, but really if you have never liked to read, etc. then I don't think you'll like being a doctor.

 

[LADoc00]

thanks for the reply. its my attention span that kills me. I hate just sitting there...its like theres a separate consciousness in the back of my head that is keenly aware of the fact that i'm just sitting there.

Holy crap...dude you are in the wrong field if you hate reading.

Could you be dyslexic or have ADD?

Reading is supposed to be fun. Im unclear how you will make it through surgery rotations retracting for 5 hrs at a time if you get bored that quickly....

 

[deleted109597]

You have to read non-stop in order to pass Step exams as well as board exams down the road.

That's patently false.

However, it might hold true for the OP.

 

[radslooking]

also, don't call it "surgury" if you want to be taken seriously

 

[Winged Scapula]

also, don't call it "surgury" if you want to be taken seriously

I didn't notice that...

 

[Toohotinvegas33]

Ortho probably doens't read that much, besides some articles in Popular Mechanics or the Craftsmans catalog. After that they pop in a few videos of Bob Vila on hinge joints.

Is this about right TIRED?

 

[Mastashake]

If you don't like reading, you can become a lawyer. They never have to read, they just make their paralegals do it all... And during law school, you can get the briefs on-tape! 😉 [/sarcasm]

I'm a lowly pre-med, but I can tell you reading is THE primary source of obtaining information for almost any sort of schooling. So if you want to go into something that doesn't require a lot of reading, go into something that doesn't require a lot of education.

If I was to take a gander at a high-paying profession that probably doesn't require as much reading as other, similar paying fields, I would guess an engineering. Granted, what they lack in reading they make up for in 5-page long mathematical equations, but as I said before, any profession that makes a lot of money is hard work.

I do believe that even though you don't LIKE to read, you can still be an okay doctor, but whether you like to read or not, you'll still be reading stuff like crazy. As long as you don't dislike it enough to refuse doing so, you'll be fine.

 

[NPR]

also, don't call it "surgury" if you want to be taken seriously

Surgerization is the appropriate term.

You must walk into OR rooms and let out a primal scream of "I am a surgerizer!"

It's the only way to be taken seriously.

I wish I knew this as a MS3.

 

[climbguy]

i really loathe reading. I can do it if i have to, but i would rather avoid it if i can. my issue is that i cant sit at one place for long periods of time. what specialties require little at home reading? i have heard that surgury doesn't require too much reading at home (unlike something like radiology or internal medicine). I will read if i have to, but naturally i will avoid it if i can...please dont hate!!!

I think it's also important to keep in mind that at the pre-med stage you're forced to read about things you may not have any interest in because it is required to get your degree or get into med school. Hopefully, you will choose to work in a field that you actually have some interest in, which will make reading less of a chore. Not that you will always feel like picking up a book at the end of the day, but you will find it easier to read about renal failure or whatever if you like that area of medicine.

 

[southerndoc]

There are two types of specialists that have no reading requirements: the unemployed and the retired.

You chose the wrong career if you didn't want to study. I hope nobody told you that studying ended with medical school. You will be studying not only as a resident, but as an attending too.

 

[DarthNeurology]

Contrary to popular opinion, surgery residents have to read.

I've seen a lot of surgery residents studying for ABSITE examinations. Totally shocked as contrary to popular opinion I was caught by surprise as I didn't know that surgery residents could read, much less had to read. I guess you learn something new everyday! Just kidding!😎

I am sure that surgery attendings have to read a lot too as so much seems to change in surgery and it seems every surgeon has a lab or is a big shot clinical researcher. What do you read Winged to stay current?

 

[Winged Scapula]

I've seen a lot of surgery residents studying for ABSITE examinations. Totally shocked as contrary to popular opinion I was caught by surprise as I didn't know that surgery residents could read, much less had to read. I guess you learn something new everyday! Just kidding!😎

Very funny. 😀

I am sure that surgery attendings have to read a lot too as so much seems to change in surgery and it seems every surgeon has a lab or is a big shot clinical researcher. What do you read Winged to stay current?

I get all these freebie journals that I read while doing something mindless (on the cardio machines at the gym, etc.) and then regularly read articles of interest in JACS, Ann of Surg Onc and The Breast Journal.

I get lots of journals but honestly have a hard time keeping up with them, especially the Journal of Clinical Oncology which comes out about every other day and has an average of 600 pages per volume. Every now and again, I have a party where I sit on the floor and make some show of ripping out interesting articles to read and throwing the rest of the journal away...to date I have two extremely large boxes of articles to read.

 

[Ludicolo]

I get all these freebie journals that I read while doing something mindless (on the cardio machines at the gym, etc.) and then regularly read articles of interest in JACS, Ann of Surg Onc and The Breast Journal.

I get lots of journals but honestly have a hard time keeping up with them, especially the Journal of Clinical Oncology which comes out about every other day and has an average of 600 pages per volume. Every now and again, I have a party where I sit on the floor and make some show of ripping out interesting articles to read and throwing the rest of the journal away...to date I have two extremely large boxes of articles to read.

You have a "to read" box as well? I thought it was just me!

It is challenging distilling all of that info down to a few pertinent articles.

But be honest - even if you love your job - the first place in the journal you turn to is the classifieds.