Which specialty are you interested in?

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Which specialty are you most interested in? (choices listed from aamc.org)

  • Allergy and Immunology

    Votes: 3 0.8%

  • Anesthesiology

    Votes: 22 6.0%

  • Colon and Rectal Surgery

    Votes: 2 0.5%

  • Dermatology

    Votes: 8 2.2%

  • Emergency Medicine

    Votes: 38 10.4%

  • Family Medicine

    Votes: 13 3.5%

  • Internal Medicine

    Votes: 34 9.3%

  • Medical Genetics

    Votes: 4 1.1%

  • Neurological Surgery

    Votes: 18 4.9%

  • Neurology

    Votes: 13 3.5%

  • Nuclear Medicine

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology

    Votes: 14 3.8%

  • Ophthalmology

    Votes: 7 1.9%

  • Orthopaedic Surgery

    Votes: 40 10.9%

  • Otolaryngology

    Votes: 5 1.4%

  • Pathology

    Votes: 3 0.8%

  • Pediatrics

    Votes: 22 6.0%

  • Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

    Votes: 3 0.8%

  • Plastic Surgery

    Votes: 13 3.5%

  • Preventive Medicine

    Votes: 1 0.3%

  • Psychiatry

    Votes: 12 3.3%

  • Radiology

    Votes: 24 6.5%

  • Surgery

    Votes: 28 7.6%

  • Thoracic Surgery

    Votes: 14 3.8%

  • Urology

    Votes: 3 0.8%

  • Other/Not Listed/Undecided

    Votes: 22 6.0%
  • Total voters
    367
I want to do everything. Does anyone else have this problem?

I'm INCREDIBLY interested in ID and immunology, especially as it pertains to International and Public Health and Preventive Med. I'd like to do an MPH in epidemiology (I have an MS in Immuno & Micro), but I'm also interested in toxicology, vaccinology, and molecular medicine.

I've been also thinking a lot lately about Cardiovascular Medicine and Inflammatory Diseases. I did some work in the cardio dept. at the U of Washington, and I got hooked. (Plus I love all the immunology involved). :D

Anesthisology, Trauma Surgery, Hematology/Oncology, Nephrology, and Obstetrics are also high on my list, although I have too little experience with any of them to say for sure.

EM also sounds cool, and I like shift work, but I think I like the more academic specialties because of the research potential. (Not that you can't do EM research...)

Just about the only thing I know I DON'T want to do is Ophthalmics. I HATE EYEBALLS. They gross me out :D
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Is it just me that finds it weird that the top 3 choices are currently EM, IM, and Ortho???

I dont know about you guys, but thats one hell of a mix
 
Big surprise that Urology is pulling up in last. At least you can have a cool nickname like "PP Doc"
 
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Anesthesiology. Minimal patient interaction. No having to deliver bad news. No post op check ups on patients. You keep the patient under and breathing while the surgeon goes in and fixes the problem. I haven't found a downside yet. I'll probably change my mind later, but right now anethesiology looks like fun.
 
saxquiz said:
Anesthesiology. Minimal patient interaction. No having to deliver bad news. No post op check ups on patients. You keep the patient under and breathing while the surgeon goes in and fixes the problem. I haven't found a downside yet. I'll probably change my mind later, but right now anethesiology looks like fun.
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Why do you even want to be a doctor?
 
Where Is Rheumatology!!!??
 
Rockhouse said:
Big surprise that Urology is pulling up in last. At least you can have a cool nickname like "PP Doc"
Click to expand...

Urology was my number 2 choice....for some reason, i would actually like to do this. If a guy ever has problems he's going to go to urologist and do anything he can in order for the doc to fix him.
 
psychiatry :)
 
saxquiz said:
Anesthesiology. Minimal patient interaction. No having to deliver bad news. No post op check ups on patients. You keep the patient under and breathing while the surgeon goes in and fixes the problem. I haven't found a downside yet. I'll probably change my mind later, but right now anethesiology looks like fun.
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Ditto...you hit it on the nail. I think i found the reason why there aren't a whole lot of students going into anesthesia. By the time you finish all your required rotations in third year you are most likely going to apply to residency programs without having the chance to check out some of your elective classes (of which include rads, gas, urology, derm, etc.). Its just that students aren't exposed to it unless they choose so as an elective. One thing you forgot is that you sometimes do have to do post up checks on patients in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit)...they usually stay in there for a few hours and are then shipped off to their respective location.

Depakote said:
Why do you even want to be a doctor?
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Hey now, no reason to judge. I think he's got perfectly good points and pretty much a good idea of the field. Its a relatively laid-back specialty (as compared to surgery...you read in the OR, are able to take pee and food breaks and are heavily involved in the patient but without the whole aseptic cutting going on) with the option of doing private practice and research on the side. You aren't necessarily married to your work/patients and its always going to be different for each patient. Its more about thinking on your toes and lots of pharmacology than just turning on the gas and letting the surgeon do their thing. If you plan on being in the OR soon for some type of volunteer thingy, try and follow the anesthesiologist around for a day or so....you'll see a much different perspective
 
geneticists unite

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I'm fairly certain anywhere I end up will take me through IM - although gases are interesting...

I'm keeping an open mind, let the chips fall where they may.

Of course, I am hoping I don't like surgery. By the time I finished a residency I could probably apply for an AARP card.

Does anyone have links to those medical specialty personality tests? The two I took matched my number one as Plastic Surgery. :laugh:
 
BaylorGuy said:
Is it just me that finds it weird that the top 3 choices are currently EM, IM, and Ortho???

I dont know about you guys, but thats one hell of a mix
Click to expand...

IM is up there for the obvious reasons--its a 'general purpose' field with a lot of need and a lot of people who are inevitably going to end up there because they either dont want to go through a long fellowship, cant match anywhere else or are truly just interested in a broader perspective (more heterogenous mix of patients, et)

EM and Ortho are interesting. I knew Ortho was competitive, but I had no idea EM was that competitive, particularly considering the bad lifestyle (terrible hours compounded by unyielding stress). Ortho is ranked high because most SDNers are gunners or quasi-gunners, and these people tend to be interested in such high-profile, testosterone-driven fields. EM can also be rationalized the same way, lots of type-A people on here who thrive under stressful conditions.
 
junebuguf said:
IM is up there for the obvious reasons--its a 'general purpose' field with a lot of need and a lot of people who are inevitably going to end up there because they either dont want to go through a long fellowship, cant match anywhere else or are truly just interested in a broader perspective (more heterogenous mix of patients, et)

EM and Ortho are interesting. I knew Ortho was competitive, but I had no idea EM was that competitive, particularly considering the bad lifestyle (terrible hours compounded by unyielding stress). Ortho is ranked high because most SDNers are gunners or quasi-gunners, and these people tend to be interested in such high-profile, testosterone-driven fields. EM can also be rationalized the same way, lots of type-A people on here who thrive under stressful conditions.
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According to a national survey of matriculating med students at aamc (but I don't have the link anymore), about 10% wants to go into ortho. I think ortho is a national phenomenon, not a particular SDN gunner thing.
 
saxquiz said:
Anesthesiology. Minimal patient interaction. No having to deliver bad news. No post op check ups on patients. You keep the patient under and breathing while the surgeon goes in and fixes the problem. I haven't found a downside yet. I'll probably change my mind later, but right now anethesiology looks like fun.
Click to expand...

Hahaha anesthesiology is not THAT simple. You have to do pre-op histories and physicals and make post-op visits. Plus, anesthesiologists are very involved in ICU/Critical Care Units (one is always on call). Critical care and pain management are 2 of the fellowships you can do, and pain management DEFINITELY involves long-term patient interaction.

As positives, most anesthesiologists talk about the immediate gratification/feedback of doing their job well, and relief at not having to worry about non-compliant patients refusing to take their BP medication and stop smoking in the long run.

As negatives, anesthesiology is long stretches of vigilant boredom punctuated by occasionally hectic moments. Plus, some surgeons have slightly negative perceptions of anesthesiologists as doctors who are afraid of taking complete responsibility for a patient.

So, it has its ups and downs. That said, I had never really considered until I started my clinical research job in anesthesiology and now I'm a big fan. I particularly enjoy the procedural aspects of it (intubation, IV starts, nerve blocks, etc), but to each their own.
 
I know what I dont want to do:

OB/GYN, surgery, neurosurgery, opthalmology, dermatology.

At this point, I can see myself in the ER, since I've worked mostly with emergency situations and I love the pace of it (especially with my interests in wilderness med).

I have also started to check out pathology though, because I my attention is just riveted by disease process- gross stuff gets me excited. :laugh:

Who knows? I'm going to remain open. Maybe I'll love reconstructive surgery or cardiology?
Whatever I do, I want to be a clinical professor somewhere. I really enjoy teaching.
 
If I had to pick now, I'd do ophthalmology! Eyes are the best!!! But i'm also interested in a bunch of other ones like IM, EM, General Surgery...
 
i keep changing my mind, but i think i'm headed for endo, cards, surg, anesthesiology, neurosurg, rads, or ob/gyn. in that order. teeth and eyeballs gross me out.
 
Right now, I know the most about and am the most interested in neurology. I'm NOT interested in: ob/gyn, derm, surgery (all), urology.
 
TimmyTheWonderD said:
wow! 106 votes and i am the first to vote for pathology....am i the only freak who is considering hanging out with stiffs for the rest of my life? ;)
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I recently did an internship at at the medical examiner's office and it was pretty interesting. You start to realize that your life isn't nearly intersting as alot of people. On a side note, apparently there is a severe deficiency of docs going into forensic pathology, so it may be a fruitful match after medical school.
 
TimmyTheWonderD said:
wow! 106 votes and i am the first to vote for pathology....am i the only freak who is considering hanging out with stiffs for the rest of my life? ;)
Click to expand...
I recently did an internship at the medical examiner's office and it was pretty interesting. You start to realize that your life isn't nearly as fascinating as alot of people. On a side note, apparently there is a severe deficiency of docs going into forensic pathology, so it may be a fruitful match after medical school.
 
LabMonster said:
This is posted on another thread but if you haven't taken it yet - give it a try. There seem to be many people who are quite surprised.

Specialty Compatibility Test
Click to expand...

Every time I take one of these tests I get a different result! Guess I'm not ready to commit to anything :D
 
Anybody find interventional radiology interesting? Sounds like it would be pretty interesting with alot of room to grow.
 
SDN makes so much more sense now. We're being overrun with orthopods.
 
dbhvt said:
SDN makes so much more sense now. We're being overrun with orthopods.
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I wonder when they'll find out they don't want to be Orthopods?
 
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