Would you go through General Sx even though you "hate" it?

[Leukocyte]

Personally, I love working with kids (and only want to work with kids), and I like Sx. So, I am considering Pediatric Surgery. But, as you all know, to get there, you need to go through 5-8 years of General Surgery first.

5-8 years of General Surgery (a.k.a. Geriatric Surgery) for a person who only wants to work with kids can be hell.

My question is, would you go through 5-8 years of General Surgery even though you "hate" it just for the fellowship? Is it worth the misery and pain?

Thank You.

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[DO_Surgeon]

Personally, I love working with kids (and only want to work with kids), and I like Sx. So, I am considering Pediatric Surgery. But, as you all know, to get there, you need to go through 5-8 years of General Surgery first.

5-8 years of General Surgery (a.k.a. Geriatric Surgery) for a person who only wants to work with kids can be hell.

My question is, would you go through 5-8 years of General Surgery even though you "hate" it just for the fellowship? Is it worth the misery and pain?

Thank You.

There are only about 30 peds programs in the county so going through 5 years of GS if you hated it would be risky since getting into peds surgery is incredibly competitive. If you are not willing to accept the possiblity of working as a general surgeon or at least an adult subspecialty surgeon then I would consider other options.

 

[dry dre]

At the risk of flogging by electron, I might suggest looking into ortho...peds fellowship isn't competitive via that route.

 

[Leukocyte]

...peds surgery is incredibly competitive...

Oh man, that sure is bad news. 🙁

Thanks for your contributions guys. 🙂

 

[Dire Straits]

leukocyte, have you considered doing emergency medicine followed by a fellowship in pediatric emergency med? that way you would be doing procedures (of course not as much as a pediatric surgeon though). we all know GS residency is tough as it is, but imagine how bad it would be if you didn't really want to be there for 5 years. and if you want to get a pediatric surg fellowship you're gonna have to shine and impress the attendings so you can get one of those few spots. that said, imagine if you got through GS and got a spot in pediatric surgery and realized after all those years you didn't like that either for whatever reason! the advice i've gotten is that you have to enjoy doing general surgery even if you want to later subspecialize, or else you'll be miserable during your GS training. in other words, it may be a dangerous proposition to use a GS residency simply as a stepping-stone to enter a subspecialty fellowship.

 

[Leukocyte]

...it may be a dangerous proposition to use a GS residency simply as a stepping-stone to enter a subspecialty fellowship.

Yes, I guess it does make sence. I also heard that we need at least 2 years of research to even be considered for a Peds Sx fellowship. And with my luck, I should not bet on miracles to happen.

Thank a lot for the advice, Dire! 🙂

 

[hans19]

leukocyte, have you considered doing emergency medicine followed by a fellowship in pediatric emergency med?

Most Peds ER docs do peds (3 yrs) followed by a fellowship in Peds ER (+3 more yrs) rather than EM.

 

[neutropeniaboy]

Oh man, that sure is bad news. 🙁

Thanks for your contributions guys. 🙂

Alternately, you might consider ENT. We operate on children quite a bit. You could also go on to do a pediatric ENT fellowship that would afford you the opportunity to do strictly pediatric head and neck surgery. Peds fellowships are few, but pediatric otolaryngologists are in high demand.

 

[Justin4563]

why dont you just do peds anesthesia.. shorter time to be out. and reasonable amount of money when you are done and you sure wont have a problem finding a job when you are done..

 

[Winged Scapula]

Your question is relevant to what I've struggled with throughout my general surgery residency. While I don't "hate" gen surg, it is not, nor has it ever been my choice for a career. A means to an end (at one time it was PRS, now I'm looking at Breast Oncology), if you will.

As an intern, I spoke with our of our PRS residents whom I'd heard felt the same way about gen surg; when I inquired as to how she did it, she replied, "I put my head down and struggled through." I've done the same and while there are very few gen surg cases I look forward to doing (only if I really like the attending do I get interested in them basically), I have almost made it through (1 more year).

Of course, time in the lab is almost a guaranteed requirement for Peds Surg (and yes, there will be someone who will reply here stating they know someone who didn't require it. I even know someone from a community program without lab research who got a Peds Surg spot; then again, all of his ABSITE scores were 99%). Perhaps the time off from operating will be good for you and help you get through; perhaps it will make you dread going back even more. Peds Surg is a difficult fellowship match; there are other options which would involve operating on children should you not get a position after all your pain and suffering. Burn Trauma with a practice at a Shiner's Burn Center or Trauma/Crit Care at a Chidren's hospital are options for example.

You've been given some great suggestions - if they are of interest to you, the other surgical specialties like Ortho, ENT are great options for working with children, at least throughout your residency and beyond (you will have Peds Surg rotations as a Gen Surg resident as well). Almost all of the Surgical specialties can offer a great career in peds - neurosurg, plastics, urology, etc. Peds gastro doesn't do as many procedures as their adult counterparts but may also be of interest to you. All of these are obviously competitive matches as well but may be a better option if you truly "hate" gen surg.

Obviously no one can tell you whether or not this is a road you want to take. I can tell you to spend 5+ years doing something you "hate" would be extremely hard; its hard enough even if you can only just tolerate it (heck, its hard for anyone, even those who enjoy it).

Best of luck to you.

 

[Leukocyte]

You guys are all great. Kimberly, Justin, Neutropenia, hans, Dire, Dry, and DO_Surg, Thank you very much for your valuble contributions! 🙂

Kimberly, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Its good to know that there are successful people like you who feel the same way. Very encouraging indeed. I wish you Good Luck for a career you love.