What kind of doctor do you want to be? And why?

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Veterinarian :thumbup: Specializing in zoo veterinary medicine would be my first choice, but I am interested in large animal (particularly equine) as well. I'm keeping my options open. I also recognize that this is all subject to change by the time I graduate from vet school, ha.
 
Cephal0pod said:
Veterinarian :thumbup: Specializing in zoo veterinary medicine would be my first choice, but I am interested in large animal (particularly equine) as well. I'm keeping my options open. I also recognize that this is all subject to change by the time I graduate from vet school, ha.
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I love having classes with pre-vet students.. They are so much more interested in the material we cover.
 
Cephal0pod said:
Veterinarian :thumbup: Specializing in zoo veterinary medicine would be my first choice, but I am interested in large animal (particularly equine) as well. I'm keeping my options open. I also recognize that this is all subject to change by the time I graduate from vet school, ha.
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:woot: Woo! Good for you for recognizing that you gotta keep your options open. If you haven't already, shadowing/volunteering will open you up to all the crazy sides of vet med...you gotta love all the options!:woot:
 
Wow so many surgeons <333 XDXD
I want to become a Neurosurgeon, my second choice is cardiosurgeon, third is general, and last is Emergency doctor.
Why neuro: most intresting, work with the brain and spine, the brain is the most intresting part of the body to me, challenging, basically you get all the bells and whistles of a general surgeon plus you work on the brain (b/c general residency comes first, 5 yrs.) you get to help people with anneyurisms, I love anything that has to do with surgery, I will be the next Cristina Yang...but better XD lol and just anything about the brain is just awe inspiring to me and you get a nice pay too.
 
When I grow up, I wanna be a flying doctor.
 
Eternalangel said:
Wow so many surgeons <333 XDXD
I want to become a Neurosurgeon, my second choice is cardiosurgeon, third is general, and last is Emergency doctor.
Why neuro: most intresting, work with the brain and spine, the brain is the most intresting part of the body to me, challenging, basically you get all the bells and whistles of a general surgeon plus you work on the brain (b/c general residency comes first, 5 yrs.) you get to help people with anneyurisms, I love anything that has to do with surgery, I will be the next Cristina Yang...but better XD lol and just anything about the brain is just awe inspiring to me and you get a nice pay too.
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Actually, this is incorrect.

During your fourth year of medical school, you apply DIRECTLY to Neurosurgery residency programs through ERAS. Residency is usually blocked out like this: 1 year of a general surgery internship and 5-6 more years of Neurosurgery + Research. So, you're partially correct in that you will be helping people with general surgical pathologies, but this only goes on for one year.

It would probably suck if you had to do five years of general surgery residency before moving on to Neurosurgery. It also wouldn't make sense because Neurosurgery is a HIGHLY specialized field, and the pathologies you see in NS are worlds away from General Surgery. Well, at least that's how I rationalized it when I found out you apply directly to Neurosurgery. :p

As for cardiothoracic surgery, you DO have to complete a General Surgery residency first (meaning you would apply for a cardiothoracic fellowship once you've completed your initial general surgery training).

You may want to take a look at this: http://www.neurosurgerywins.org/career/SYWTBANS.pdf

It's a pretty useful read.
 
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I just want to look this cool...
50335_4698014169_5061_n.jpg
 
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Pharmacy looks the most appealing. I can still be in medicine and have a solid job by the time I'm 30.

Also, I love chemistry and biology. x)
 
Gigantron said:
Actually, this is incorrect.

During your fourth year of medical school, you apply DIRECTLY to Neurosurgery residency programs through ERAS. Residency is usually blocked out like this: 1 year of a general surgery internship and 5-6 more years of Neurosurgery + Research. So, you're partially correct in that you will be helping people with general surgical pathologies, but this only goes on for one year.

It would probably suck if you had to do five years of general surgery residency before moving on to Neurosurgery. It also wouldn't make sense because Neurosurgery is a HIGHLY specialized field, and the pathologies you see in NS are worlds away from General Surgery. Well, at least that's how I rationalized it when I found out you apply directly to Neurosurgery. :p

As for cardiothoracic surgery, you DO have to complete a General Surgery residency first (meaning you would apply for a cardiothoracic fellowship once you've completed your initial general surgery training).

You may want to take a look at this: http://www.neurosurgerywins.org/career/SYWTBANS.pdf

It's a pretty useful read.
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This is incorrect. During your internship year as a PGY-1 (1st year) it's split up into blocks, for example at Hopkins you spend 6 months on general surgery (includes GI, plastics, vascular, ICU, trauma and peds) and 6 months on clinical neuroscience (neurology in patient/consults, neuroradiology, nccu, neuro-optho). Obviously this breakdown will differ from program to program slightly. And as an intern on these services you're basically going to be the bitch, getting very little OR time and doing scut work--so no saving the world yet. After internship year you may have 5-6 years left depending on the program, and research is in-folded in this (i.e. 6 years means 2 years of research). So in conclusion residencies can be 6-7 years, including 1 to 2 years of research incorporated.
 
Emergency Medicine!!
In ninth grade i was playing football, my friends' leg was smashed between helmets, he had a compound fracture and he knee was blown. that year i quit football and started AP science and math courses while volunteering at our regional hospital. i never want to see someone on the ground and not be able to help.
 
Trauma Surgery, Peds Orthopedics, Surgical Oncology, Peds oncology.

But, this could all change...
 
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I was thinking about getting a ph.D in philosophy today, does that count?
 
I don't see why not, it's still a doctor, amirite?

I'm currently thinking veterinary or pharmacy, but don't quote me on it. xD
 
Conflagration said:
I don't see why not, it's still a doctor, amirite?

I'm currently thinking veterinary or pharmacy, but don't quote me on it. xD
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Both of them seem really interesting. Will be a tough choice to make.

Really don't know right now. I know that I want a healthcare/science career, but I'm just going to wait until college to see what works. Have dentist, veterinarian, pediatrician, physician assistant, and several other careers on the table.
 
Dermatologist or plastic surgery. I love skin. I prefer dermatology but my parents prefer plastic surgery. Anyway, dermatology is my first choice.
 
I want to be a cardiologist. It's my goal, you can say! :)
 
I really want to become a Veterinary Pathologist or Veterinary Pharmacologist. Both sound really interesting. I still have a long way to go though :)
 
I was looking into psych, neurology, and gen surg, but I recently discovered PM&R and I think it is an amazing specialty that few people are aware of. Lots of pt contact and strong continuity of care, attending to musculoskeletal and neurological problems as well as psychosocial issues. I won't decide until I try everything but I think I will find a career that makes me happy with so many great options on the table.
 
I wanna be an emergency physician. You deal with a variety of people and are constantly seeing new things. I am already an EMT student and I just did 1/2 of my mandated clinical hours for it in a Level One trauma ward so I an now really excited about it.
 
PeterC said:
I wanna be an emergency physician. You deal with a variety of people and are constantly seeing new things. I am already an EMT student and I just did 1/2 of my mandated clinical hours for it in a Level One trauma ward so I an now really excited about it.
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Are you in college taking med school pre-reqs? That's the road to being an ER doctor, which you can do while working part time as an EMT. Don't think you need to be a paramedic for several years before you begin the path towards med school. The jobs of a paramedic and ER doctor are quite different. You may already know all of this.
 
SitraAchra said:
Are you in college taking med school pre-reqs? That's the road to being an ER doctor, which you can do while working part time as an EMT. Don't think you need to be a paramedic for several years before you begin the path towards med school. The jobs of a paramedic and ER doctor are quite different. You may already know all of this.
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Nope, I am in high school. The reason why I am going for the EMT course is because it will be my first real immersion in emergency medicine and allows me to learn some other stuff along the way before I am in college and start premed.
 
Dr. Seuss.

I've considered three pathways:

1) Pediatrics -> Hematology/Oncology

2) Neurology -> Neuro-oncology

3) Pediatrics -> Hospice & Palliative Medicine

Anyone see a pattern?
 
Poetic Silence said:
Dr. Seuss.

I've considered three pathways:

1) Pediatrics -> Hematology/Oncology

2) Neurology -> Neuro-oncology

3) Pediatrics -> Hospice & Palliative Medicine

Anyone see a pattern?
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Ummm... :idea: They're all medically related!
 
Poetic Silence said:
Dr. Seuss.

I've considered three pathways:

1) Pediatrics -> Hematology/Oncology

2) Neurology -> Neuro-oncology

3) Pediatrics -> Hospice & Palliative Medicine

Anyone see a pattern?
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You either want to wrestle with soulcrushing despair or do a neuro-onc fellowship?
 
QuizzicalApe said:
You either want to wrestle with soulcrushing despair or do a neuro-onc fellowship?
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I was aiming more for "working with terminally ill children," but I suppose soulcrushing isn't too exaggerated.
 
Poetic Silence said:
I was aiming more for "working with terminally ill children," but I suppose soulcrushing isn't too exaggerated.
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I could see pediatric heme-onc for myself, despite not especially wanting to work with incredibly ill children. A huge swathe of the diseases are pretty treatable and/or curable. The large number of successes would help to guard against the blows of the smaller number of losses.

Hospice for kids, though? God bless you, Poetic Silence.

I'd be ready to jump off a bridge within a month.
 
PeterC said:
Nope, I am in high school. The reason why I am going for the EMT course is because it will be my first real immersion in emergency medicine and allows me to learn some other stuff along the way before I am in college and start premed.
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:thumbup:

EM Doc or trauma surgeon or cardiothoracic surgeon or CC doc/surgeon... I like surgery and I like trauma
 
EMTjunkie said:
:thumbup:

EM Doc or trauma surgeon or cardiothoracic surgeon or CC doc/surgeon... I like surgery and I like trauma
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One thing that puts me off about trauma surgery is the fact I will be 35 before I become an attending and a lot of doctors call it a "young mans game".
 
QuizzicalApe said:
I could see pediatric heme-onc for myself, despite not especially wanting to work with incredibly ill children. A huge swathe of the diseases are pretty treatable and/or curable. The large number of successes would help to guard against the blows of the smaller number of losses.

Hospice for kids, though? God bless you, Poetic Silence.

I'd be ready to jump off a bridge within a month.
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Thank you. :)

I believe a doctor's job is much more than just fixing boo-boos and making the sickness go away. Sometimes a doctor is called when living is no longer an option and helping a patient find peace before their departure from this realm is the last responsibility a physician can complete.
 
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