Good specialties for people who don't give a crap

[footcramp]

followup question: how do you know if you give a crap or not?

because some days i care, other days i don't. i don't want to ruin my life because i'm inspired by some days that i care now, nor do i want to give up inspiration just because i'm lazy on some days.

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[dinosaurcrumpet]

So, how about it. People who get to residency application time are thinking, "you know, I really don't like anything. In fact, I hate some of this crap. What should I do? I just don't really care a whole helluva lot." Now, c'mon, I know there are a good number of people here who feel like that--so out with it! What did you pick?

So you're asking what specialties are right for a slackass loser, right? Anesthesiology and psychiatry (loserology itself) are perfect for those miserable, spiritually void miscreants who don't wish to do anything challenging or meaningful with their lives.



On second thoughts, most of the oddballs who go into loserology (psych) seem to do so in order to find out what it is that's wrong with them. You seem to know that already so the logical choice for you would be gas.

 

[mysophobe]

So you're asking what specialties are right for a slackass loser, right? Anesthesiology and psychiatry (loserology itself) are perfect for those miserable, spiritually void miscreants who don't wish to do anything challenging or meaningful with their lives.



On second thoughts, most of the oddballs who go into loserology (psych) seem to do so in order to find out what it is that's wrong with them. You seem to know that already so the logical choice for you would be gas.

This is a joke, right?

 

[OUsooner]

another great thread. keep it going. on vacation 'til i graduate so nothing like getting sauced than waking up in the afternoon and being entertained by these threads.
this particular thread has it all - mmmmdonuts who will tear into anyone's a$$ and the holier than thou gwen - who is the reason lawyers, insurance companies and upper mgt in hospitals laugh at docs as they continue to trim our salaries.

sidenote to gwen: just because u want to go save the world doesnt mean i shouldnt ask for a big fat salary to help pay back my big fat debt.

 

[sophiejane]

another great thread. keep it going. on vacation 'til i graduate so nothing like getting sauced than waking up in the afternoon and being entertained by these threads.

Norman, huh? What I wouldn't do for a swirl and some nachos on the Mont patio right about now...have one for me, okay?

 

[Plastikos]

I appreciate the honesty here, but know that this is a very large sect of the population that you are referring to, and some of us are now physicians. Everyone is entitled to their own views, of course, but I hope you don't assume that your perspective is the norm among your medical colleagues. You could end up unwittingly insulting people that you do respect.

Are there ppl out there that enjoy pts that never listen, keep getting the same self-made dz or injury, and are also the biggest complainers. Maybe the majority of drs. dont voice their opinion (not my experience), but its hard to enjoy that aspect of medicine and he didnt say it in a condescending manner either.

Ppl who are now physicians are in no way of low socioeconomic status, maybe economic, but not social.

 

[myrandom2003]

is it that you dont give a crap about ur patients or is it that the healthcare system is so f'd up that you have ceased to care...

i mean we have to do all this extra stuff to cover our buts...who needs that?

 

[GoPistons]

Not true. There are still some of us who give a crap and who are not in it for the money. Most of us go into primary care and/or work with underserved populations. And no, I am not a pre-med. I will be starting residency July 1, and my ideals are still alive and well. And no, I'm not some young pup who hasn't ever held a job in the real world. I am a former mutual fund team manager for a large financial company who gave it all up to go back and fulfill my dream of being a physician. Don't assume that everyone out there is a greedy and disillusioned as you seem to be.

nice to see that a former mutual fund manager who probably has earned million(s) of dollars now is "back to work" for the common good... how much gas is up your a$$... I don't know... but let's be frank, if I already had a million/bazillion dollars I would want to save the world too...

 

[Severus]

Odd... we were just discussing this same thing over at the other place. Muy interesante....

 

[MD'05]

Odd... we were just discussing this same thing over at the other place. Muy interesante....

Sev! How goes it?

 

[MD'05]

listen, i have no problems discussing my personal plans...i'm not out to fight here with anyone. but i do plan on using my medical skills in the third world country. i am indian and hope to at least help out with that part of the world. i was going into pmr (so trust me, i totally understand the "plenty of money and relaxation" motto that most people care about nowadays). but i realized that i really couldn't contribute much to the third world with just pmr knowledge, even though i totally loved rehab. as a doctor, i knew i would be comfortable financially no matter what field i chose and i am not afraid of hard work (also happen to love pulm-cc...i know, total contrast to pmr)...but i also want to do more than earn "millions of bucks in 10-15 years and retire". so yeah, i will be earning good money with pulm-cc, but i am planning on doing something with that money AND knowledge ---> applying it where it is needed. seriously, go to a third world country if you haven't already, then you will realize what a privilege it is to be a doctor and especially an american doctor. you can only use so much money in your life...you're not taking it to the grave with you.

Before you venture off to a third world country, why don't you donate some money to SDN and keep our precious resource afloat. Oh, and speaking of third world countries, you obviously haven't seen the impoverished areas of the United States. You need to get out more.

 

[MD'05]

nice to see that a former mutual fund manager who probably has earned million(s) of dollars now is "back to work" for the common good... how much gas is up your a$$... I don't know... but let's be frank, if I already had a million/bazillion dollars I would want to save the world too...

Amen to that.

 

[tridoc13]

nice to see that a former mutual fund manager who probably has earned million(s) of dollars now is "back to work" for the common good... how much gas is up your a$$... I don't know... but let's be frank, if I already had a million/bazillion dollars I would want to save the world too...

Mutual fund TEAM manager, not mutual fund manager. I came to med school already in over $50K of debt and now have almost $250K in debt. Please try not to assume you know where other people are coming from.

 

[Severus]

Sev! How goes it?

Whattup MD'05????

Things are good over here. We miss you from our lounge days. Stop on over or PM.


[/thread derail]

 

[Lonestar]

Dear White Zin,

i had come to a similar conclusion as yourself during 4th year. Medicine is a big illusion (full of $hit). what you have to realize now is that it is too late (unless you have little debt). AND it will only get worse (regardless of specialty). Residency will suck (period). You have to cut your losses and move on. There are plenty of posts (helpful in my opinion) about your choices. What you have to ask yourself is will specialty X in private pracitce make me happy (or atleast can i do this for a while) so that i can pay back my loans in a reasonable amount of time and have plenty of time off to spend with my family. Remember, there is a silver lining to medicine (after residency). You just have to make it past residency in one of those lifestyle oriented fields. ROAD specialties, Path, PM&R, rad onc, etc. I am about to enter my third year of anesthesiology residency. This was my decision. There have been few days where i questioned my career choice and there have been many more days where i was very happy with my choice. Residency can be unusally cruel and demanding. But if you persevere you can make your own schedule once you graduate. So my recommendation to you would be to ask yourself can i put up with the bull$hit in specialty X?

 

[sacrament]

Odd... we were just discussing this same thing over at the other place. Muy interesante....

haha... yeah, what a crazy coincidence!! It's almost as if... as if...

 

[8744]

followup question: how do you know if you give a crap or not?

because some days i care, other days i don't. i don't want to ruin my life because i'm inspired by some days that i care now, nor do i want to give up inspiration just because i'm lazy on some days.

You have to give a crap. Sorry. You will be a terrible doctor if you don't and everyone will know it unless you are an academy-award level actor.

On the other hand, there is much in medicine, especially medical residency training, which is 100 percent pure-D chicken**** and if you find it hard to give a crap about these sort of things then welcome to the friggin' club.

You do not have to float around with a big old feces eating grin professing a love of taking one for the team.

 

[u_r_my_serenity]

Not giving a **** about any specialty might as well be stated as not being dedicated to the human condition to even the slightest degree. Take a look at your old personal statement that you used to get into medical school. Most people exaggerate but there's usually some remnant of truth buried within. I doubt you were let into school with this attitude. How much did you spend in terms of time and money without really contemplating what you will be doing for a signifiacnt fraction of your life? -especially without enjoying it. What kept you going? Money? What other people think? Here's your winner's share for your wisdom:

1. One (1) large, red, rubber nose.

2. One (1) pair of big, floppy shoes.

3. One (1) spritzing lapel pin.

4. One (1) horn.

 

[OUsooner]

MMMMMM sophiejane, I would love to partake in a swirl or six at the Mont. Unfortunately that was long ago in undergrad. In kansas city now and moving to Chicago to do my transitional at swedish covenant.

 

[kam730]

honey, i'm actually about to start my pulm-cc fellowship...there's nothing idealistic about that. i'm in this because i love medicine. money is a perk, not my main goal. i realize that this is not the most popular opinion, but that's how i feel. you ought to have lived in a third world country to realize how much we actually have in america, you sick money-addicted perverts.

Somehow this thread has gotten twisted into a money debate. The OP never said anything about money, rather he/she was asking for advice on what to do when you realize you really don't like any specialties (at least any of the ones you actually get exposure to in 3rd year). I can definitely relate, as I am coming up on 4th year and am clueless as to what to do. There were certain things I liked about each rotation so far, but I can't really envision doing any of them for the rest of my life. Anyway, I am still holding out hope for EM which I will do early in 4th year.

 

[miamidc]

So you're asking what specialties are right for a slackass loser, right? Anesthesiology and psychiatry (loserology itself) are perfect for those miserable, spiritually void miscreants who don't wish to do anything challenging or meaningful with their lives.



On second thoughts, most of the oddballs who go into loserology (psych) seem to do so in order to find out what it is that's wrong with them. You seem to know that already so the logical choice for you would be gas.

Gas for losers??? That has to be the biggest crock of **** I have EVER heard. Gas folks have got to be the coolest guys in any hospital you work at, laid back, joke around, don't take medicine to be the end all be all, have time outside to do other things, great job, cool procedures, great pay, no rounding, no clinic, punch in punch out. Just by going into this field you have realized that their is more to do than slave away. I may be biased but I think the biggest loser are IM guys, they just suck all around, nerdy, etc,etc. Good luck

 

[8744]

...I may be biased but I think the biggest loser are IM guys, they just suck all around...

No, they don't suck. IM is the backbone of medicine and those little maternity fornicators are smart, especially here at Duke.

But they do get hosed in their residency. Man, i'm just doing a little five week medicine rotation and I know if I had to do this for three years I'd probably strip naked and go screaming into the Bayou.

 

[mmmmdonuts]

Gas folks have got to be the coolest guys in any hospital you work at, laid back, joke around, don't take medicine to be the end all be all, have time outside to do other things, great job, cool procedures, great pay, no rounding, no clinic, punch in punch out.

usually people are laid back and joke around most when their job isnt critical. also it seems like you really miss being in a frat or something

 

[miamidc]

usually people are laid back and joke around most when their job isnt critical. also it seems like you really miss being in a frat or something

IT just so happens that it IS a very critical job, i.e. critical care measured in sec and min, as opposed to days and weeks. But allows for one to take up other things in life. Lighten up dude, have a jelly donut, and don't take yourself or life to seriously, or u WILL be miserable. Sorry to crack on the IM dudes, just a generalization, there are a few down ones. I think the reason you can be laid back and still do critical things at work as Gas men do has more to do with the culture of the specialty, and self selection than anything else. U didnt select yourself to have this life, you selected whatever the hell you did, prob IM sounds like. Enjoy

 

[mmmmdonuts]

IT just so happens that it IS a very critical job, i.e. critical care measured in sec

dont blink or its all over and back to reading magazines right?

 

[miamidc]

dont blink or its all over and back to reading magazines right?

98% chillaxin, 2% terror. Believe me, when the **** hits the fan in the OR and the pulse ox hits 78, bp in the sh*tter, and pt decompensating in front of your eyes, who is your best friend in the whole wide world? You guessed it. Your magazine reading, day trading, joke telling friendly Anesthesiologist. then back to reading. We serve are purpose well.

 

[mmmmdonuts]

2% terror.

you missed a decimal point there champ

Believe me, when the **** hits the fan in the OR and the pulse ox hits 78, bp in the sh*tter, and pt decompensating in front of your eyes, who is your best friend in the whole wide world?

if youre there? im going to say pathology

 

[miamidc]

you missed a decimal point there champ



if youre there? im going to say pathology

now i will just laugh have a jelly donut and go sleep with my girl good night friend

 

[mmmmdonuts]

now i will just laugh have a jelly donut and go sleep with my girl good night friend

sounds like you have a case going right now

 

[alansda]

I'm reminded of a quote from the show House :

House: "Treating illnesses is why we became doctors. Treating patients is what makes most doctors miserable."

 

[Leukocyte]

All of us went to medical school because:

-We enjoy helping people in need and
-We like PRACTICAL-Human Oriented biology

Now, the first two years of med school are usually well tolerated by all since it is just basic science and similar to what we did in undergrad. Third year is a whole different beast. It is only in the 3rd year that we get a taste of REAL LIFE medicine, and all the ROMANTICISED ideas of medicine (ER, Gross Anatomy, Scrubs, House MD, General Hospital, Doggie Howser.........) are desipated by harsh reality. This is when "the disapointments" kick in.

Yes, like everything else, medicine HAS AN UGLY SIDE......often MORE UGLY than other professions simply because medicine DIRECTLY involves three very IMPORTANT aspects including;

-HUMAN HEALTH
-MONEY (THE SECOND IMPORTANT THING IN THE UNIVERSE, AFTER HEALTH)
-FREEDOM

The UGLINESS of medicine comes from:

-Frustrated/abusive patients
-Overworked medical staff
-Demanding and authoratative hospital administrators
-Overpowering Insurance agencies
-High risk of malpractice lawsuits
-Rude/Overworked/Scared/"non-free" (restricted) Attendings
-and on.....and on........and on.......

So I do not blame people, who after seeing this "CRAP" of medicine, do want to be involved with it. Unfortunately, this "crap" is unavoidable if you are a practicing physician, however you can MINIMIZE your exposure to it. You can do that by choosing a "non-clinical" speciality, or a speciality that has minimal patient contact....

Path, Rads, PM&R, Rads Onc........to name a few.

Good Luck.

 

[Hard24Get]

All of us went to medical school because:
The UGLINESS of medicine comes from:

-Frustrated/abusive patients
-Overworked medical staff
-Demanding and authoratative hospital administrators
-Overpowering Insurance agencies
-High risk of malpractice lawsuits
-Rude/Overworked/Scared/"non-free" (restricted) Attendings
-and on.....and on........and on.......

I'm not buying it. Were there really that many idiots watching ER when they decided to apply to medicine instead of looking at the facts above which everyone knows are out there before starting rotations? Patients are often scared out of their mind, cut them a break. They have to live their lives the way they are forever, and I'm supposed to feel sorry for you because you have to find kindness in your heart for them for 15 minutes? The admin issues suck but we're working on it. If you want to help, go into hospital admin and change the system (but not if you don't give a crap), because going into a certain specialty only cuts out #1 (and poorly).....

This is good though, because I can learn where the bad attitude people are coming from. I still just can't believe there are so many of you...

 

[Leukocyte]

Patients are often scared out of their mind, cut them a break. They have to live their lives the way they are forever, coming from.

Not all "patients" are "frustrated and abusive", but it is the few that stick in our minds and make our job a little harder.

And "patients" does not only refer to the cancer patient on the vent, it includes the families, the drunkard on Ativan, the psyc. patient who tells us F*** You instead of Thank You, and off course, the whole emergency department scene (burn-out rate is very high amongst EM docs).

Patients also includes ourselves....we are human too. I once was a "cardiac patient" and a potential "cancer patient". Although I will never know if I gave my Docs a hard time, I would not be surprized if I did. Assuming "the sick role" changes peoples' attitudes, and somehow gives them "rights" that "normal people" do not dare excersice. We, as physicians, have to deal with this issue....and that makes our job a little bit more difficult, or if you will, a little more "ugly".

Just my 0.00002 cents.

 

[stephend7799]

I'm not buying it. Were there really that many idiots watching ER when they decided to apply to medicine instead of looking at the facts above which everyone knows are out there before starting rotations? Patients are often scared out of their mind, cut them a break. They have to live their lives the way they are forever, and I'm supposed to feel sorry for you because you have to find kindness in your heart for them for 15 minutes? The admin issues suck but we're working on it. If you want to help, go into hospital admin and change the system (but not if you don't give a crap), because going into a certain specialty only cuts out #1 (and poorly).....

This is good though, because I can learn where the bad attitude people are coming from. I still just can't believe there are so many of you...

I will venture to say that you are either early on in you medical career ( 1st or 2ndyear ) or did not even get accepted yet.. am i right?

 

[macrocyte]

Dear White Zin,

i had come to a similar conclusion as yourself during 4th year. Medicine is a big illusion (full of $hit). what you have to realize now is that it is too late (unless you have little debt). AND it will only get worse (regardless of specialty). Residency will suck (period). You have to cut your losses and move on. There are plenty of posts (helpful in my opinion) about your choices. What you have to ask yourself is will specialty X in private pracitce make me happy (or atleast can i do this for a while) so that i can pay back my loans in a reasonable amount of time and have plenty of time off to spend with my family. Remember, there is a silver lining to medicine (after residency). You just have to make it past residency in one of those lifestyle oriented fields. ROAD specialties, Path, PM&R, rad onc, etc. I am about to enter my third year of anesthesiology residency. This was my decision. There have been few days where i questioned my career choice and there have been many more days where i was very happy with my choice. Residency can be unusally cruel and demanding. But if you persevere you can make your own schedule once you graduate. So my recommendation to you would be to ask yourself can i put up with the bull$hit in specialty X?

The nice thing about path is you don't have to wait to finish residency to get the good lifestyle. There's no intern year, and there is never any "real" call for residency or for private practice afterward .

 

[bigtimesmally]

I'm not buying it. Were there really that many idiots watching ER when they decided to apply to medicine instead of looking at the facts above which everyone knows are out there before starting rotations? Patients are often scared out of their mind, cut them a break. They have to live their lives the way they are forever, and I'm supposed to feel sorry for you because you have to find kindness in your heart for them for 15 minutes? The admin issues suck but we're working on it. If you want to help, go into hospital admin and change the system (but not if you don't give a crap), because going into a certain specialty only cuts out #1 (and poorly).....

This is good though, because I can learn where the bad attitude people are coming from. I still just can't believe there are so many of you...

Oh, there are a lot of us, trust me. I see it in the eyes of the clinicians. You know what it's called...fatigue. Not the kind that comes from digging a ditch, or building a house, or chopping wood. It's the kind that involves emotional well being, which is why medicine is so hard. It is emotinally draining.

 

[macrocyte]

Oh, there are a lot of us, trust me. I see it in the eyes of the clinicians. You know what it's called...fatigue. Not the kind that comes from digging a ditch, or building a house, or chopping wood. It's the kind that involves emotional well being, which is why medicine is so hard. It is emotinally draining.

I agree with you. The biggest dissapointment for me during MS-3 was seeing the looks in the eyes of the medicine residents (my first core rotation). They looked tired and unhappy. Then seeing the unhappy attendings. When I was in undergrad the med students all seemed so vibrant and happy. They were learning and their future was bright, so naturally I looked forward to becoming a med student. As a medstudent, I really enjoyed MS-1 and 2, even though it was hard work, but I see the people at the next stage ahead of me (residends and attendings) are so unhappy, and I think to myself "why am I working so hard to become like them- unhappy". After this I paid more attention to how happy residents and attending were in each field. From the rotations that I did, the happiest attendings seemed to be Path, Rads, and Gas. I tried to figure out which one of those fields fit best for me, and chose one. I'm happy with my choice. The funny thing is that almost all of my good friends from med school are in one of these three fields.

 

[8744]

Oh, there are a lot of us, trust me. I see it in the eyes of the clinicians. You know what it's called...fatigue. Not the kind that comes from digging a ditch, or building a house, or chopping wood. It's the kind that involves emotional well being, which is why medicine is so hard. It is emotinally draining.

It is not emotionally draining in the slightest. It's the hours that suck, at least during residency. If I could be guaranteed a good night's (or day's)sleep and two or three weekends off a month I'd have no complaints.

I think you all need to avoid getting so emotionally attached to your patients. Most of them actually have pretty uneventful hospital courses. The ones who are going to die circle the drain and die despite your best efforts and the ones who can live are going to improve under the onslaught of medical science and their own will to live. There are very few cases where the end, good or bad, comes as a suprise. There's just not that much drama. Of course you will feel bad talking to the family of someone who is not going to make it but, perhaps unfortunately, most physicians can compartmentalize work and private life so unless you get paged in the night or want to research your patient's case my sense is that nobody really thinks about work once they go home.

You will find that when you are post-call, it is the physical fatigue that wears you out and you will be more than happy to sign out and not think about your patients until you come back in the next day.

 

[8744]

I agree with you. The biggest dissapointment for me during MS-3 was seeing the looks in the eyes of the medicine residents (my first core rotation). They looked tired and unhappy.

Well, why should they be happy? The eighty hour work week is better than the unlimited hour work week but it's still 80 hours. It's also not as if the 80 hours are filled with life-or-death decisions or intricate exercises of medical judgement. Most of the time is spent wrestling oftentimes pointless and always redundant paperwork.

No two ways around it. Residency training is a grind, especially intern year, and you can quicly lose your enthusiasm if your expectations are unreasonable. Fortunately third and fourth year serve to temper your expectations so residency is not such a shock.

 

[bigtimesmally]

It is not emotionally draining in the slightest. It's the hours that suck, at least during residency. If I could be guaranteed a good night's (or day's)sleep and two or three weekends off a month I'd have no complaints.

I think you all need to avoid getting so emotionally attached to your patients. Most of them actually have pretty uneventful hospital courses. The ones who are going to die circle the drain and die despite your best efforts and the ones who can live are going to improve under the onslaught of medical science and their own will to live. There are very few cases where the end, good or bad, comes as a suprise. There's just not that much drama. Of course you will feel bad talking to the family of someone who is not going to make it but, perhaps unfortunately, most physicians can compartmentalize work and private life so unless you get paged in the night or want to research your patient's case my sense is that nobody really thinks about work once they go home.

You will find that when you are post-call, it is the physical fatigue that wears you out and you will be more than happy to sign out and not think about your patients until you come back in the next day.

I wasn't talking about patient care. I was talking about things like malpractice, malignant personalities as colleagues, covering your ass all the time, having patients that are pain in the ass, repaying large student loans...ect.
Those are emotionally draining.

Residency isn't emotionally draining? REALLY? Okay, maybe we're all wrong then. Wait, were'nt you the one that changed residencies, whining all the time that you had made a mistake and blah blah. Wanted to go to EM? Didn't the emotional strain of family life have something to do with that or am I wrong here?

To say it's not emotionally draining at all is completely a LIE. You make a grand statment just to contradict something I said.

 

[8744]

I wasn't talking about patient care. I was talking about things like malpractice, malignant personalities as colleagues, covering your ass all the time, having patients that are pain in the ass, repaying large student loans...ect.
Those are emotionally draining.

Residency isn't emotionally draining? REALLY? Okay, maybe we're all wrong then. Wait, were'nt you the one that changed residencies, whining all the time that you had made a mistake and blah blah. Wanted to go to EM? Didn't the emotional strain of family life have something to do with that or am I wrong here?

To say it's not emotionally draining at all is completely a LIE. You make a grand statment just to contradict something I said.

I repeat it's not emotionally draining in the slightest. I don't like my former specialty. I like my new one. (Matched into Emergency Medicine, baby! Starting in July!) It's as simple as that. They are both, after all, just jobs. Haven't you ever had a job you didn't like? I have had a few but I can't see how they drained me of anything but my desire to continue working at them.

Like I said, it's the hours. One of the advantages of EM (at least after intern year) is that the hours are both predictable and much less than most other residencies.

Maybe we have a different definition of "emotionally draining." Quit scaring the new kids.

 

[bigtimesmally]

I repeat it's not emotionally draining in the slightest. I don't like my former specialty. I like my new one. (Matched into Emergency Medicine, baby! Starting in July!) It's as simple as that. They are both, after all, just jobs. Haven't you ever had a job you didn't like? I have had a few but I can't see how they drained me of anything but my desire to continue working at them.

Like I said, it's the hours. One of the advantages of EM (at least after intern year) is that the hours are both predictable and much less than most other residencies.

Maybe we have a different definition of "emotionally draining." Quit scaring the new kids.

Yeah right? Who has a blog on line about residency hours and it's detrimetal effects on people? You, not me. Don't be a hypocrite. You have said way more than many on this site about the hardship of residency. If anybody is scaring people, it's you. But, you're telling the truth. And, for the most part, I agree with you. But, many would say that medicine is emotionally taxing and if you're not one of them, then all the better for you.

 

[8744]

Yeah right? Who has a blog on line about residency hours and it's detrimetal effects on people? You, not me. Don't be a hypocrite. You have said way more than many on this site about the hardship of residency. If anybody is scaring people, it's you. But, you're telling the truth. And, for the most part, I agree with you. But, many would say that medicine is emotionally taxing and if you're not one of them, then all the better for you.

Whoa. The hours do suck. Isn't that clear? Going without sleep isn't the same thing as being emotionally drained. Going without sleep just sucks because for whatever reason people need sleep. It's a biological thing. Being emotionally drained to me implies that you have some kind of emotional investment in your hospital, your school, or your co-workers. I had an emotional investment to the Marine Corps but my current residency is just a job with hours that suck.

I never said residency wasn't hard. But I also don't believe I've ever said that it's going to kick your ass emotionally. In fact, the funny thing about residency is how worked up people get over what really should just be a job which, except for the fact that many view it as a cult, could have decent hours and better pay. (As I point out in my blog which I thank you for reading.)

Again, maybe I don't understand what you mean by emotionally draining. I certainly never come home distraught no matter what I see at work. (I bet the only people who do are pediatricians dealing with very sick children which I have not done so far.) I believe that if you took a poll the number one complaint about residency is the hours.

 

[DarksideAllstar]

so i would say path (pts are dead); anything else would be costly to you (i.e. lawsuits) or costly for the pt (i.e. their life).

I love this sterotype. 95% of what we do involves living patients. Frozen sections (in which we give a prelim diagnosis during surgery) help surgeons manage care intraoperatively, interpreting kidney biopsies for transplant patients when the clinical team suspects rejection, and making sure the margins are free of tumor on mastectomy specimens--these are just a few of the ways that pathologists contribute to patient care, most of which could have very drastic effects on patients care (chemo/no chemo; more immunosuppression/less immunosuppression, etc). Without us, most clinicians would be clueless as to how or with what to treat a patient. And yes, we do have less direct patient care responsibilities than other specialties, but we also have to deal with clinicians on a day in day out basis--so yes you do have to like working with people. I still think its comical that the sterotype of the pathologist spending all his time in the morgue is alive and kicking.

To address the OPs original question...
I too became extremely frustrated with direct patient care during my third year of medical school. I found that clinical medicine was playing "social worker" more than 50% of the time, which I thought was a terrible waste of time. So, I was attracted to specialties that had less of this (path, rads, and gas), and here I am. I wish you the best in finding something that will work for you.

PS- I hate the morgue.

 

[Obedeli]

I will venture to say that you are either early on in you medical career ( 1st or 2ndyear ) or did not even get accepted yet.. am i right?

BINGO!

 

[businessmd06]

I wasn't talking about patient care. I was talking about things like malpractice, malignant personalities as colleagues, covering your ass all the time, having patients that are pain in the ass, repaying large student loans...ect.
Those are emotionally draining.

As a non trad leaving the world of banking (who all residents and med students seem to think is the best field and they should all be doing it etc) I will say that you are going to have a ton of "malignant personalities" in the business world. Not only do you have to deal with stupid managers and CXO's if you are not one, you have to deal with stupid clients too. In the financial world you have to cover your ass too, as you can be sued if someone thinks you defrauded them, even if you did not. Patients are a pain in the ass, well clients that pay for your services in business are just as much a pain, except clients have your office phone number, and sometimes you cell if you are in business sales. This means you are accessible to them all the time. Just keep in mind that in any job even if you are #1 you are going to deal with **** work, **** clients, and **** costs of doing business. In the end you just need to decide if when you look back in 25 yrs that crap gave you some fullfillment, and maybe you did something meaningful in the world.

There is my 2 dollars inflation ya know!

 

[bigtimesmally]

As a non trad leaving the world of banking (who all residents and med students seem to think is the best field and they should all be doing it etc) I will say that you are going to have a ton of "malignant personalities" in the business world. Not only do you have to deal with stupid managers and CXO's if you are not one, you have to deal with stupid clients too. In the financial world you have to cover your ass too, as you can be sued if someone thinks you defrauded them, even if you did not. Patients are a pain in the ass, well clients that pay for your services in business are just as much a pain, except clients have your office phone number, and sometimes you cell if you are in business sales. This means you are accessible to them all the time. Just keep in mind that in any job even if you are #1 you are going to deal with **** work, **** clients, and **** costs of doing business. In the end you just need to decide if when you look back in 25 yrs that crap gave you some fullfillment, and maybe you did something meaningful in the world.

There is my 2 dollars inflation ya know!

I have to say that you are correct there. But, having come from the biotech sector myself, I can tell you that medicine is by far way more involved and stressful. You never know until you experience it.

Choosing the right specialty makes all the difference, though, so, if you decide to go medicine, choose wisely.

 

[Hard24Get]

"I will venture to say that you are either early on in you medical career ( 1st or 2ndyear ) or did not even get accepted yet.. am i right?"

BINGO!

Sorry to disappoint, but I am actually finishing up and I am doing an MD and PhD. Time to accept that some of us will actually enjoy our careers, not sufferering or embittered. Better luck next time choosing a career and in judging others.

 

[babylonsister]

sounds like you have a case going right now

hilarious

 

[JackBauERfan]

As a non trad leaving the world of banking (who all residents and med students seem to think is the best field and they should all be doing it etc) I will say that you are going to have a ton of "malignant personalities" in the business world. Not only do you have to deal with stupid managers and CXO's if you are not one, you have to deal with stupid clients too. In the financial world you have to cover your ass too, as you can be sued if someone thinks you defrauded them, even if you did not. Patients are a pain in the ass, well clients that pay for your services in business are just as much a pain, except clients have your office phone number, and sometimes you cell if you are in business sales. This means you are accessible to them all the time. Just keep in mind that in any job even if you are #1 you are going to deal with **** work, **** clients, and **** costs of doing business. In the end you just need to decide if when you look back in 25 yrs that crap gave you some fullfillment, and maybe you did something meaningful in the world.

There is my 2 dollars inflation ya know!

haha, not me, I have enjoyed medicine and would take it over banking EVERY DAY! Almost anything in medicine, except ob/gyn. I'm not a non trad, but did work with the family busines for a long time and always liked the science and being able to work ON people. I've read a few posts that you are referring to where MOST med students and residents are trying to make you stay in banking, but I'm one of those that say you should try medicine if you think you like it, just know that it is a long time, expect about 7-8 years from this point depending on what you pick.