Which specialties should I look into?

[2012mdc]

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I'm a MS3 at a school that doesn't have great exposure to a lot of different specialties besides the core ones of MS (Surg, Med, FM, Peds, Psych, OB) so finding out about other specialties requires some time commitment. I'm still very open to a lot of different specialties and based on the information I will tell about myself I was wondering what specialties I should look into this year.

1. I am hardworking but I do not want a career with bad hours (like GS).
2. I do not need a dermatology type lifestyle but of course that would be a plus.
3. I like doing procedures but not long ones - I do not want to spend 5 or 6 straight hours in the OR (I realize this 5-6 hrs isn't that long but that should give you an idea that I like quick procedures)
4. I'm not big on research - I will do it to get to a field I'm interested in but I don't think I want it as a large portion of my career
5. I have strong interest in technology
6. Patient contact can be good or bad depending on the patient - I do not need the level of primary care patient contact but I don't dislike patient contact either
7. Money is a consideration but money to hours worked is much more important than the pure bottom line
8. My top 3 factors in a specialty decision 1) does it really interest me, 2) lifestyle and then 3) money

Right now radiology (potentially IR) is my top choice. I was planning on looking into rad onc, cardio, and GI. When we talked about skin 2nd year it wasn't really that interesting but I do not have enough(or any actually) clinical derm exposure to eliminate it.

What other fields should I try to find out more about?

Do I have any misconceptions about the fields I listed and they don't fit with what I want to do? (Is IR lifestyle really bad? Do I have to love research to rad onc? etc.)

Thanks in advance. Sorry about the length but I'm starting to get anxious about what I will do with my life

PS - I do have the numbers to be competitive for any specialty but lack the research/demonstrated interest so I want to figure out what I want to do now so I can at least do something the 2nd half of 3rd year.

 

[smq123]

Moved to allopathic, where MS3s and MS4s who have faced similar decisions can weigh in.

 

[Encephalectomy]

Right now radiology (potentially IR) is my top choice. I was planning on looking into rad onc, cardio, and GI. When we talked about skin 2nd year it wasn't really that interesting but I do not have enough(or any actually) clinical derm exposure to eliminate it.

What other fields should I try to find out more about?

Do I have any misconceptions about the fields I listed and they don't fit with what I want to do? (Is IR lifestyle really bad? Do I have to love research to rad onc? etc.)

Thanks in advance. Sorry about the length but I'm starting to get anxious about what I will do with my life

PS - I do have the numbers to be competitive for any specialty but lack the research/demonstrated interest so I want to figure out what I want to do now so I can at least do something the 2nd half of 3rd year.

Your list seems good for your lists of interests, and I would maybe think about adding anesthesia to it. From your description GI and Radonc were what jumped into my mind. It seems like research (preferably alot of it) is something of a requirement for getting into radonc residencies, but if you are out in private practice you won't be doing any research after residency unless you really want to.

 

[Dirt]

I'm a MS3 at a school that doesn't have great exposure to a lot of specialties outside of primary care

Seriously? How is that even possible.

 

[2012mdc]

Your list seems good for your lists of interests, and I would maybe think about adding anesthesia to it. From your description GI and Radonc were what jumped into my mind. It seems like research (preferably alot of it) is something of a requirement for getting into radonc residencies, but if you are out in private practice you won't be doing any research after residency unless you really want to.

Thanks for the info about rad onc. Anesthesia has never been that appealing to me, do pain management anesthesiologists still spend a lot of time in the OR?

Seriously? How is that even possible.

Yeah, it does suck a little but there is another medical school close by where I can make contacts and gain experience, I just need to narrow down my fields a little bit.

We still have people who match into ortho and radiology and other competitive specialties so it's a disadvantage but just a small one.

 

[Rollo]

How about urology?

 

[Dirt]

Yeah, it does suck a little but there is another medical school close by where I can make contacts and gain experience, I just need to narrow down my fields a little bit.

We still have people who match into ortho and radiology and other competitive specialties so it's a disadvantage but just a small one.

What the hell do you guys do third year?

 

[2012mdc]

What the hell do you guys do third year?

When I said primary care I was including psych and surgery in that. I realize that was a poor word choice now but I couldn't think of a better word

We do the core rotations of Medicine, FM, Peds, Surg, OB, and Psych

 

[2012mdc]

How about urology?

What's the typical length of urology surgeries?

 

[MossPoh]

IR works near surgery type hours. Just putting that out there.

 

[nlax30]

Before I got through your whole post I was actually going to suggest IR. Certainly can involve a crazy schedule though. On my rads rotation I spent some time with a couple interventional docs there who had previously been at a busy trauma center for 15+ years and they definitely worked a LOT.

I don't want to go into rads, but I really enjoyed most of the procedures they did and for the most part they were pretty quick. Peripheral angio cases can get a little lengthy, especially with wearing lead the whole time, but still better than a 6hr surgery like you mentioned.

Personally I'm going for Cardio, as I enjoy their procedures and being in the cath lab as well as cardiac physiology and the medicine side of the field.

There's also GI & Pulm, both of which have good amount of fairly short procedures. Pulm is usually with critical care so you may or may not enjoy that aspect of medicine.

 

[sunset823]

When I said primary care I was including psych and surgery in that. I realize that was a poor word choice now but I couldn't think of a better word

We do the core rotations of Medicine, FM, Peds, Surg, OB, and Psych

um, those are the same core rotations every other medical school in the nation has. So your school is really no different. Some schools do allow elective time to explore non-core specialties third year, but mine isn't one of them, you have to have a pretty good idea of what you want to do to take your first 4th year rotation in it.

That being said, you say you're not that interested in the OR, but pain management has little to no OR time and makes lots of money, so that might be an option for you (if you don't mind an anesthesia residency).

I personally like OR life and schedules, as well as the ICU, so I'm leaning anesthesia/critical care, but lifestyle is not a factor in my decisions (except to the extent that I would like a research career and to go out to a movie every so often).

If you have really good numbers, though, rads might be a good choice. RadOnc would be tough even with numbers cuz half the people who apply are MD/PhDs (or some other type of graduate degree), and I think a minimum requirement is at least 5 publications these days. I worked in a RadOnc dept for a year, I found it really boring, but if you're into rads, you'll like radonc. RadOnc is very techie and you gotta like physics. It is also VERY academic - there are people who work in private practice, but they're few and far between from what I've seen, so if you don't like research, it may not be for you. Just might want to explore research options sooner rather than later.

I believe urology is a 5 year residency (I have less than zero interest in it, but my cousin does it, and he did some type of robotics fellowship, so if you're into technology that might be something to consider). Also, look at ENT, it's some surgery but also some clinic stuff, and the lifestyle is pretty good.

 

[Wyclef]

Hands down, Diagnostic Radiology. You will thank yourself a thousand times over. IR pays the bigger bucks, but your lifesytle becomes like a surgeon.

 

[2012mdc]

um, those are the same core rotations every other medical school in the nation has. So your school is really no different. Some schools do allow elective time to explore non-core specialties third year, but mine isn't one of them, you have to have a pretty good idea of what you want to do to take your first 4th year rotation in it.

That being said, you say you're not that interested in the OR, but pain management has little to no OR time and makes lots of money, so that might be an option for you (if you don't mind an anesthesia residency).

I personally like OR life and schedules, as well as the ICU, so I'm leaning anesthesia/critical care, but lifestyle is not a factor in my decisions (except to the extent that I would like a research career and to go out to a movie every so often).

If you have really good numbers, though, rads might be a good choice. RadOnc would be tough even with numbers cuz half the people who apply are MD/PhDs (or some other type of graduate degree), and I think a minimum requirement is at least 5 publications these days. I worked in a RadOnc dept for a year, I found it really boring, but if you're into rads, you'll like radonc. RadOnc is very techie and you gotta like physics. It is also VERY academic - there are people who work in private practice, but they're few and far between from what I've seen, so if you don't like research, it may not be for you. Just might want to explore research options sooner rather than later.

I believe urology is a 5 year residency (I have less than zero interest in it, but my cousin does it, and he did some type of robotics fellowship, so if you're into technology that might be something to consider). Also, look at ENT, it's some surgery but also some clinic stuff, and the lifestyle is pretty good.

Thanks for the comprehensive response. Are PP Rad Onc docs really that far and few between?

My comment about the core rotations was in response to the question "what do you guys do 3rd year". When I said we don't get exposure I meant that we don't have any home residency programs outside of the core 6 that we rotate in 3rd year - no rads, rad onc, derm, anesthesia, etc. Which makes it a little more difficult to make connections and I can't really "sample" everything I could be potentially interested in for any decent amount of time.

 

[deleted116380]

IR is pretty cool. I'm an MS2 and have been involved with IR at the local cancer center since this February and have been doing research since. Got to go to SIR and meet the higher ups there and talked with them. They love their job. Not super repetitive, get to deal with patients and other times not, etc.

It's probably my biggest interest now...surgery is cool, but I don't like the hours or duration of some procedures and repetitiveness. IR oncology hours are not that bad. 8AM-6PMish (the latest) M-F at our place. The four docs take turns on-call for weekends. Pretty laid back and they all enjoy what they do. I think 1 day a week they each just do dictations.

Other than IR, I can see myself in only a few other fields. If I couldn't do any of those, I'd do research full time rather than go into a field that I don't care for much. I really like research, though...

 

[sunset823]

Thanks for the comprehensive response. Are PP Rad Onc docs really that far and few between?

My comment about the core rotations was in response to the question "what do you guys do 3rd year". When I said we don't get exposure I meant that we don't have any home residency programs outside of the core 6 that we rotate in 3rd year - no rads, rad onc, derm, anesthesia, etc. Which makes it a little more difficult to make connections and I can't really "sample" everything I could be potentially interested in for any decent amount of time.

ok, I see your point. As for RadOnc, I guess private practice does exist, but almost 60% of RadOnc's are in academia, which is much higher than most other specialties:
https://freida.ama-assn.org/Freida/...o?method=viewGraduates&spcCd=430&pageNumber=3

I would assume the ones in PP are in huge group practices that are almost at the level of academic institutions anyway.

 

[MilkmanAl]

How about urology?

That was the first thing that came to mind for me. Anesthesiology and radiology also seem to fit.

 

[Rollo]

Thanks for the comprehensive response. Are PP Rad Onc docs really that far and few between?

My comment about the core rotations was in response to the question "what do you guys do 3rd year". When I said we don't get exposure I meant that we don't have any home residency programs outside of the core 6 that we rotate in 3rd year - no rads, rad onc, derm, anesthesia, etc. Which makes it a little more difficult to make connections and I can't really "sample" everything I could be potentially interested in for any decent amount of time.

Not to stray from the main point of this topic but if any pre-meds are reading this, they should pay attention to what the OP is facing.

Now, I'm not suggesting that OP is in a very bad situation.

I'm merely pointing out the fact that going to a school that does not have many home residency programs outside of the core clerkships could potentially be another "nuisance" that some students may or may not want to deal with.

Obviously, there are many ways to overcome this little difficulty, i.e. do away rotations or get in touch with a nearby school that has residency programs outside of the core clerkships. Some of us would not want to deal with that, and would rather prefer that our school have some residency programs outside the core so we can explore it, even as early as first year.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

RadOnc would be tough even with numbers cuz half the people who apply are MD/PhDs (or some other type of graduate degree), and I think a minimum requirement is at least 5 publications these days. I worked in a RadOnc dept for a year, I found it really boring, but if you're into rads, you'll like radonc. RadOnc is very techie and you gotta like physics. It is also VERY academic - there are people who work in private practice, but they're few and far between from what I've seen, so if you don't like research, it may not be for you. Just might want to explore research options sooner rather than later.

The bolded is not true, at least from what I've gathered from hanging around a lot on the RadOnc forums. Most RadOncs end up in private practice. The rest of your paragraph is pretty accurate though (except for the boring part...I personally think it's the coolest thing in the world 🙂). It's a very academic field and there's a heavy emphasis on research. There's some ridiculously cool technology there though (Gammaknife, Cyberknife, you get to play with linear accelerators, some really cool stereotactic body radiotherapy stuff coming out, etc)! Plus, I hear that the patients are some of the nicest to have (ie. they're very grateful, they're compliant, want to work together with you to beat the cancer, etc); I know the OP mentioned an averseness to the type of patient commonly seen in the PCP's office, so this might be something that interests him/her.

 

[nima123]

I'm a MS3 at a school that doesn't have great exposure to a lot of different specialties besides the core ones of MS (Surg, Med, FM, Peds, Psych, OB) so finding out about other specialties requires some time commitment. I'm still very open to a lot of different specialties and based on the information I will tell about myself I was wondering what specialties I should look into this year.

1. I am hardworking but I do not want a career with bad hours (like GS).
2. I do not need a dermatology type lifestyle but of course that would be a plus.
3. I like doing procedures but not long ones - I do not want to spend 5 or 6 straight hours in the OR (I realize this 5-6 hrs isn't that long but that should give you an idea that I like quick procedures)
4. I'm not big on research - I will do it to get to a field I'm interested in but I don't think I want it as a large portion of my career
5. I have strong interest in technology
6. Patient contact can be good or bad depending on the patient - I do not need the level of primary care patient contact but I don't dislike patient contact either
7. Money is a consideration but money to hours worked is much more important than the pure bottom line
8. My top 3 factors in a specialty decision 1) does it really interest me, 2) lifestyle and then 3) money

Right now radiology (potentially IR) is my top choice. I was planning on looking into rad onc, cardio, and GI. When we talked about skin 2nd year it wasn't really that interesting but I do not have enough(or any actually) clinical derm exposure to eliminate it.

What other fields should I try to find out more about?

Do I have any misconceptions about the fields I listed and they don't fit with what I want to do? (Is IR lifestyle really bad? Do I have to love research to rad onc? etc.)

Thanks in advance. Sorry about the length but I'm starting to get anxious about what I will do with my life

PS - I do have the numbers to be competitive for any specialty but lack the research/demonstrated interest so I want to figure out what I want to do now so I can at least do something the 2nd half of 3rd year.

One word for you: Ophtho.
You don't learn anything about it in med school but if you're smart enough to give it serious thought, with your criteria, you'd fall in love 😉

 

[cpants]

What's the typical length of urology surgeries?

As an attending urologist you can choose to only take on short cases (simpler open cases, endoscopy, stone work). You could easily limit your cases to 2hrs or less. The field in general has tons of long cases though and you will need to do them during residency.

 

[knr228]

I'm in a similar boat: I love clinic and small clinic procedures but hated medicine and am not really big into technology or lab research. Thoughts?

P.s. I am also couples matching. My husband will be doing general sugary.

 

[OtoHNS]

One word for you: Ophtho.
You don't learn anything about it in med school but if you're smart enough to give it serious thought, with your criteria, you'd fall in love 😉

Ophtho was my first thought as well. Private practice ENT would also match your interests well but you'd have to put up with a few years of long head and neck cancer surgeries during residency (i.e. I LOL'd when you described 5-6 hours as "long").

 

[2012mdc]

Ophtho was my first thought as well. Private practice ENT would also match your interests well but you'd have to put up with a few years of long head and neck cancer surgeries during residency (i.e. I LOL'd when you described 5-6 hours as "long").

Haha I knew the surgeons would laugh at that but it seemed long for me.

Definitely going to have to investigate a lot of stuff. Thanks everyone for the suggestions and advice

 

[Rollo]

You should check the careers in medicine website.

http://www.aamc.org/students/cim/

 

[2012mdc]

almost finished my medicine rotation now and while it's not bad I don't think I could survive 3 years of IM residency.

Pretty much settled on Rads right now

 

[deuist]

I'm in a similar boat: I love clinic and small clinic procedures but hated medicine and am not really big into technology or lab research. Thoughts?

P.s. I am also couples matching. My husband will be doing general sugary.

Family medicine at an unopposed program might be for you. You'll spend several half days each week in clinic. You'll deliver babies, first assist during surgery, perform colposcopies, flexible sigmoidoscopies, and a host of other small procedures. The trick will be finding a program that can give you all of those things---something that really limits your options.

 

[J ROD]

I would recommend Rads, Optho, or maybe even EM.

 

[2012mdc]

Family medicine at an unopposed program might be for you. You'll spend several half days each week in clinic. You'll deliver babies, first assist during surgery, perform colposcopies, flexible sigmoidoscopies, and a host of other small procedures. The trick will be finding a program that can give you all of those things---something that really limits your options.

I pretty much agree. If you have the numbers Derm sounds like a good fit.

If you love clinic that eliminates Rads and EM.