- Joined
- Aug 8, 2017
- Messages
- 812
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Hey guys,
I’m truly suffering between trying to pick between the two to the point that I’m afraid I won’t even get an application in on time from how much I’ve procrastinated on my decision.
OBGYN
Pros:
- I love the surgeries.
- I love that I can do surgery without being responsible for super sick patients as opposed to gen surg
- I like that clinic is *usually* quick visits with happy, healthy women
- Minimal management of chronic disease
- Bringing life into the world is pretty cool
- There for big, life changing family moments
- Income -> not that money is everything but I know I’ll get to pay my loans back
- Enjoy both clinic and surgery/hospital environment
- In-office procedures
- Immediate gratification for a lot of things
Cons:
- Probably very hard to own my own clinic
- Call hours can be rough
- Difficult work-life balance
- Lawsuits can be rough
- High stress level in comparison
Other thoughts:
I enjoy the quick visits and surgical aspects more than the delivery part. If I could do all benign gyn / surgery, I would. But I do enjoy the whole specialty - just some parts more than others. Very unknown in terms of what my life would really be like (see below for explanation).
Family Medicine
Pros:
- Can own my own clinic
- Make my own hours
- Build my clinic and schedule the way I see fit
- Can coach HS football
- Be at all of my future kids events and support them
- Build solid relationships with continuity of care
- Low stress specialty in comparison
- Minimal lawsuits and low malpractice insurance
- I know what my life can really be like
Cons:
- Can never set foot in an OR again
- Lower income -> stress about paying back loans
- Management of chronic disease
- Many complex, unhappy, unhealthy patients
- A lot of clerical work
- No immediate gratification
Other thoughts:
I like family medicine for what it offers me outside of medicine. Before medical school, I was a scribe that worked at a family medicine clinic / urgent care, and I LOVED it. I also have an MBA, and my plan was to always go FM and then open a similar clinic to the one I came from so that I could do and get both clinic and business aspects. I don’t really want to do FM w/ OB because it’s not the OB part of OBGYN that I’m in love with. If I could do FM with hysterectomies, I’d pick this specialty 11 times out of 10.
I like both specialties for far different reasons; I’d probably be more fulfilled in my career as an OBGYN, but there’s something pretty nice about knowing what my life would be like (clinic wise and family wise) as an FM and be more fulfilled in my life outside of medicine. I like surgery, but will I still like it at 50, who knows???
Any advice, wisdom, thoughts, comments, or opinions from a different perspective / eyes is greatly appreciated.
I’m truly suffering between trying to pick between the two to the point that I’m afraid I won’t even get an application in on time from how much I’ve procrastinated on my decision.
OBGYN
Pros:
- I love the surgeries.
- I love that I can do surgery without being responsible for super sick patients as opposed to gen surg
- I like that clinic is *usually* quick visits with happy, healthy women
- Minimal management of chronic disease
- Bringing life into the world is pretty cool
- There for big, life changing family moments
- Income -> not that money is everything but I know I’ll get to pay my loans back
- Enjoy both clinic and surgery/hospital environment
- In-office procedures
- Immediate gratification for a lot of things
Cons:
- Probably very hard to own my own clinic
- Call hours can be rough
- Difficult work-life balance
- Lawsuits can be rough
- High stress level in comparison
Other thoughts:
I enjoy the quick visits and surgical aspects more than the delivery part. If I could do all benign gyn / surgery, I would. But I do enjoy the whole specialty - just some parts more than others. Very unknown in terms of what my life would really be like (see below for explanation).
Family Medicine
Pros:
- Can own my own clinic
- Make my own hours
- Build my clinic and schedule the way I see fit
- Can coach HS football
- Be at all of my future kids events and support them
- Build solid relationships with continuity of care
- Low stress specialty in comparison
- Minimal lawsuits and low malpractice insurance
- I know what my life can really be like
Cons:
- Can never set foot in an OR again
- Lower income -> stress about paying back loans
- Management of chronic disease
- Many complex, unhappy, unhealthy patients
- A lot of clerical work
- No immediate gratification
Other thoughts:
I like family medicine for what it offers me outside of medicine. Before medical school, I was a scribe that worked at a family medicine clinic / urgent care, and I LOVED it. I also have an MBA, and my plan was to always go FM and then open a similar clinic to the one I came from so that I could do and get both clinic and business aspects. I don’t really want to do FM w/ OB because it’s not the OB part of OBGYN that I’m in love with. If I could do FM with hysterectomies, I’d pick this specialty 11 times out of 10.
I like both specialties for far different reasons; I’d probably be more fulfilled in my career as an OBGYN, but there’s something pretty nice about knowing what my life would be like (clinic wise and family wise) as an FM and be more fulfilled in my life outside of medicine. I like surgery, but will I still like it at 50, who knows???
Any advice, wisdom, thoughts, comments, or opinions from a different perspective / eyes is greatly appreciated.