Who is still HAPPY in EM and why?

[DreamingTheLive]

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All right. This has been quite the "Debbie Downer" festival as of late here in the EM forum.

Frankly, it is a bit disheartening as a newly minted 2nd year EM resident who still LOVES every shift. Granted, there is a LOT that EM docs (Especially community ED docs whose viewpoints and problems are TERRIBLY underrepresented in mainstream EM media/publications) need to continually FIGHT for moving forward (Fellow residents and new attendings, I IMPLORE you to join in this fight!).

As I was considering medical specialities as a med student (trust me, I considered ALL of them). EM seemed to represent one of the best bang for your buck deals and also seemed to have a pretty bright future moving forward.

I'd love to hear the forums thoughts on this?

How do you feel the future of EM is compared to the rest of medicine as a whole (or other specialties specifically)?

And for those of you who have been practicing EM for a while, please PLEASE let your voice be heard and tell us what you think your keys to success are!

 

[Birdstrike]

All right. This has been quite the "Debbie Downer" festival as of late here in the EM forum.

Frankly, it is a bit disheartening as a newly minted 2nd year EM resident who still LOVES every shift. Granted, there is a LOT that EM docs (Especially community ED docs whose viewpoints and problems are TERRIBLY underrepresented in mainstream EM media/publications) need to continually FIGHT for moving forward (Fellow residents and new attendings, I IMPLORE you to join in this fight!).

As I was considering medical specialities as a med student (trust me, I considered ALL of them). EM seemed to represent one of the best bang for your buck deals and also seemed to have a pretty bright future moving forward.

I'd love to hear the forums thoughts on this?

How do you feel the future of EM is compared to the rest of medicine as a whole (or other specialties specifically)?

And for those of you who have been practicing EM for a while, please PLEASE let your voice be heard and tell us what you think your keys to success are!

1- You love EM and every shift. That's all that matters. Thread should lock right here.

2-You absolutely should not be on SDN while going through a tough stretch in residency. Don't do it because you're going to end up listening to, and being the therapist to people. Come here when you're ready to be a therapist. Okay, exception: you just need to blow up and vent (which may be what this thread is). That's what SDN is: Epic Ventfest. Otherwise avoid SDN during training (or at least block my posts). I'm glad I didn't know about SDN in residency. (It was just getting going). Otherwise my brain would have exploded.

3-The future of EM is such that you will be very, very needed. (That doesn't mean people won't b¡itch every chance they get).


Though I'm not usually one to quote Bluegrass music, play this one on a full moon for the drunks at 4 in the morning, and I'm promise somebody will feel better:

"Rock me mama like a wagon wheel, Rock me mama anyway you feel. Hey mama rock me..."
- Wagon Wheel (Bob Dylan/Ketch Secor)

 

[DreamingTheLive]

Lol.

Ladies and gentleman, Birdstrike. Accept no substitutes.

 

[@JackShephard]

I think the major criticisms of EM are happening to a majority of medical specialties.

If you compare EM to every other medical specialty, I think it's pretty good (lowly medical student opinion).

 

[dotcb]

I pretty much enjoy every shift. If I work 4 days in a row, by the end of the 4th, I'm over it. But in general I'm very happy.

Yesterday I intubated 2 patients, reversed a head bleed on warfarin, had a patient with temp 25 and HR 35, and took care of some straightforward appreciative patients who really needed help.

I still think it's a good gig. The only time I really get bothered is by negative interactions w/ consultants, but am much better at handling those too.

Negative people like having an audience, and the internet's a good place for that. Take everything with a grain of salt and do what's right for you.

 

[Doctor J]

Still loving every shift myself.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't give thanks that I didn't have to match into another specialty. We've got it way better.

 

[Birdstrike]

Still loving every shift myself.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't give thanks that I didn't have to match into another specialty. We've got it way better.

Dr J, you talk a good talk, but you look completely burned out. Your color looks bad, jaundiced, possibly. You're flat on your back and frankly, you look completely fried like KFC after striking a power line. Your wings seem completely clipped. Yet you talk as if you're completely refreshed. What gives?

 

[WilcoWorld]

Dr J, you talk a good talk, but you look completely burned out. Your color looks bad, jaundiced, possibly. You're flat on your back and frankly, you look completely fried like KFC after striking a power line. Your wings seem completely clipped. Yet you talk as if you're completely refreshed. What gives?

He does have "Libelous" as part of his avatar...

 

[WilcoWorld]

Count me as someone still happy in EM. I'm going on 6 years out of residency. I didn't like my last job, so I left. I don't always love everything about my (not really still) new job, but we're always making changes, and these are usually for the better.

I think that a key to my happiness in EM (and life) is a sense of control/having options. The maintenance of control/options is multifactorial and will be different for every person, but one common strategy is to live within your means so as to not be locked into a lousy job.

 

[Doctor J]

Dr J, you talk a good talk, but you look completely burned out. Your color looks bad, jaundiced, possibly. You're flat on your back and frankly, you look completely fried like KFC after striking a power line. Your wings seem completely clipped. Yet you talk as if you're completely refreshed. What gives?

Did I just get clipped by Birdstrike?

Not my best look I admit. Picked during residency when I felt... like that bird.

Life as an attending is so much better.

 

[Birdstrike]

Did I just get clipped by Birdstrike?

Not my best look I admit. Picked during residency when I felt... like that bird.

Life as an attending is so much better.

You got "striked" by the Bird! Lol.

Just kidding. I like that avatar. Super memorable. I wouldn't even think about changing it. Super cool.

 

[EMedGrrl]

Fifteen-ish years in, and loving it. Academic job with administrative responsibilities (which I still love, despite some of the regulatory headaches), teaching, a little research, clinical work, good balance ... wouldn't trade it for anything.