3rd year and letting go of long term dreams

[QuaerensIntelle]

I am about halfway through third year of medical school, and I'm struggling with picking a specialty. I was wondering if anyone was having a similar experience. I came into medical school with this expectation of doing surgery, and infact, I do really like surgery/the OR. I've always liked building things/working with my hands.

However, more and more I find myself leaning away from it and towards medicine (which I loved-to the point of actually being depressed when it was over). I'm sure that this was largely related to team makeup, but nevertheless, I definitely like medicine.

Do any of you feel like you are giving up on your "dream"? Have you deviated wildly from your original thoughts about what you wanted to do?

Appreciate the input.

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[Asp]

I am about halfway through third year of medical school, and I'm struggling with picking a specialty. I was wondering if anyone was having a similar experience. I came into medical school with this expectation of doing surgery, and infact, I do really like surgery/the OR. I've always liked building things/working with my hands.

However, more and more I find myself leaning away from it and towards medicine (which I loved-to the point of actually being depressed when it was over). I'm sure that this was largely related to team makeup, but nevertheless, I definitely like medicine.

Do any of you feel like you are giving up on your "dream"? Have you deviated wildly from your original thoughts about what you wanted to do?

Appreciate the input.

Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine not being in the OR for the rest of your life. Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine being happy doing anything else.

Don't do surgery.

 

[Phyozo]

Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine not being in the OR for the rest of your life. Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine being happy doing anything else.

Don't do surgery.

And as a correlation: Do medicine

=)

 

[officedepot]

.

 

[iA-MD2013]

Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine not being in the OR for the rest of your life. Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine being happy doing anything else.

Don't do surgery.

 

[Rollo]

I echo the sentiment that if you can picture yourself doing something else besides surgery and being happy, then go and do that, and don't do surgery.

And I had dreams of being a hotshot doctor who saves lives on a daily basis while working part-time on weekends as a firefighter, again continuing the trend of saving lives on a daily basis.

But then reality hit and I realized that I'm just struggling to stay afloat throughout this crazy whirlwind of a mess that I threw myself into that we call medicine.

 

[penguin24]

Don't pick a specialty based on how you liked your medical school rotation, or b/c you like doing the work. Instead, pick the lifestyle you want to live, and choose a specialty that will give you that lifestyle. Choosing to do medicine b/c you had the time of your life on your Medicine rotation as an M3 is suicidal.

 

[Rollo]

Don't pick a specialty based on how you liked your medical school rotation, or b/c you like doing the work. Instead, pick the lifestyle you want to live, and choose a specialty that will give you that lifestyle. Choosing to do medicine b/c you had the time of your life on your Medicine rotation as an M3 is suicidal.

This makes no sense. What if you hate the specialty despite an amazing lifestyle?

 

[tiedyeddog]

Don't pick a specialty based on how you liked your medical school rotation, or b/c you like doing the work. Instead, pick the lifestyle you want to live, and choose a specialty that will give you that lifestyle. Choosing to do medicine b/c you had the time of your life on your Medicine rotation as an M3 is suicidal.

What if you don't care about lifestyle?

 

[Cinclus]

Don't pick a specialty based on how you liked your medical school rotation, or b/c you like doing the work. Instead, pick the lifestyle you want to live, and choose a specialty that will give you that lifestyle. Choosing to do medicine b/c you had the time of your life on your Medicine rotation as an M3 is suicidal.

If I hated my lifestyle specialty, I'd probably be spending a significant part of my higher-than-average amounts of free time dreading the next time I had to work.

 

[gravitywave]

This makes no sense. What if you hate the specialty despite an amazing lifestyle?

in this profession, "lifestyle" considerations include the nature of your work

 

[penguin24]

This makes no sense. What if you hate the specialty despite an amazing lifestyle?

Think about it this way. Let's say the OP enjoys operating. Then somebody like you would say, "Geez, surgery would be heaven". However, a couple years into practice you have a wife and kids and are working 70 hours/week, and never have time to see your family. Then you're going to realize that you hate your life even though you are doing what you originally enjoyed as a medical student.

There's more to happiness than job description. And I would argue that having more free time is a good thing, no matter what you're doing. If lifestyle isn't important to you, well I guess you wouldn't need to take that into consideration, but it sure is important to lots of people.

I'm just trying to give the OP a different perspective. Too many people jump on the bandwagon about 'doing what you enjoy, and damn money or time off', but that stuff is important too.

 

[boggvir]

Lifestyle only matters if you don't hate the the majority of your waking hours when you're at work. Many of us can had a 9-5 job and your 'lifestyle' could be great but your life could suck. Whether you're dermatology of neurosurgery, your work life is going to take up a significant amount of your waking hours, the last thing you want is to hate that.

 

[Wednesday]

Who cares what your dream was when you didn't know what any of these fields actually entailed? Your dream got you to medical school, now that you have a much better idea of what day to day tasks as one of those types of doctors are like, you can make a more informed decision. The lifestyle thing comes into play when you start to think about being 50 and getting up in the middle of the night to do an emergency c-section (or lap-chole). At that point it's not glorious anymore, it's just work. While I agree that picking a specialty based on one team during your core rotation, is a bad idea, there is something to be said for finding "your people." Medicine docs and surgeons are VERY different types of people, for the most part. They THINK differently and have very different problems to solve (and different tools to do it) within the world of medicine. They therefore approach problems differently. Do you like to sit in the cafeteria and discuss the "differential diagnosis" for hours or would you rather pick a problem from a very short list of diagnoses and then get the scalpel out? Can you take care of the internal organs from lab results alone or do you need to hold those organs in your hand at some point during the care of the patient? When the patient develops post-op complications, do you cringe and wait for the surgical problem to be resolved so you can transfer them to medicine or are you happily challenged by out of control sugars? These are basic questions and should give you an idea of which direction to head. If you like medical problems and surgery equally, you might consider ob/gyn or urology, which deal with both sides. Figuring out what you like, is one of the reasons for the clinical years (although not the most important one, IMHO). Try to honestly answer these questions for yourself. If you let your ego lead, you'll likely either be transferring or miserable in a few years. Good luck!

 

[K31]

What if you don't care about lifestyle?

You will in 20 years.

 

[tiedyeddog]

You will in 20 years.

I think this is person dependent.

 

[sirenomelia]

Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine not being in the OR for the rest of your life. Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine being happy doing anything else.

Don't do surgery.

This is the correct answer.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine not being in the OR for the rest of your life. Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine being happy doing anything else.

Don't do surgery.

This is exactly what I learned the first day of MSIII.

 

[2012mdc]

I am about halfway through third year of medical school, and I'm struggling with picking a specialty. I was wondering if anyone was having a similar experience. I came into medical school with this expectation of doing surgery, and infact, I do really like surgery/the OR. I've always liked building things/working with my hands.

However, more and more I find myself leaning away from it and towards medicine (which I loved-to the point of actually being depressed when it was over). I'm sure that this was largely related to team makeup, but nevertheless, I definitely like medicine.

Do any of you feel like you are giving up on your "dream"? Have you deviated wildly from your original thoughts about what you wanted to do?

Appreciate the input.

What else did you like about medicine besides your team makeup?

If you really like Surgery/OR why are you leaning away from it? What don't you like about Surgery?

I don't believe there is a perfect specialty for anyone, there will always be something one doesn't like about their specialty. IMO one should figure out what things they must have in a specialty and what things they absolutely detest. Maximize the former and minimize the latter. Easier said than done though

 

[theshellyb]

Who cares what your dream was when you didn't know what any of these fields actually entailed?

THIS.

Changing your mind != giving up on your dream. Your dream has simply changed. Make sure you do what will make you happy 20 years down the road; don't do ANY specialty because of guilt about giving up something you didn't know about completely when you decided to pursue it. No one will be disappointed in you for becoming some other kind of doctor. Having guilt or shame about changing your mind is misguided- you've learned more information about the field and about yourself, it's dumb not to use that new information accordingly.

 

[username456789]

I think this is person dependent.

You're right, some people wise up even sooner than that.

 

[copes]

Don't pick a specialty based on how you liked your medical school rotation, or b/c you like doing the work. Instead, pick the lifestyle you want to live, and choose a specialty that will give you that lifestyle.

This makes sense to me as a 3rd year.

Medicine -> hospitalist seems pretty sweet though. If OP enjoyed rotation, then why not?

 

[bleeker10]

in this profession, "lifestyle" considerations include the nature of your work

Exactly. Part of my "lifestyle" choice is to not have an outpatient only practice where I'm seeing patients in the office everyday. I would go insane and probably die of monotony. I also want a lifestyle where I'm operating a couple days a week. There are other lifestyle choices I want, such as traveling the world and doing a golf trip to the UK, or getting my pilot's license, or playing hockey til I can't physically skate anymore. Will I have to make concessions because of my career? Of course and I realize in order to fulfill my future plans, I need to work and make the money to do them. Will I miss some of my (future) kids' childhood because of work? Sure and I have come to terms with that. But there are ways to avoid that becoming a recurring issue. Remember that if you are PP, you can make your own schedule or modify things how you want. You may sacrifice potential earnings, but you have to decide what is ultimately important.

Lifestyle is such a broad term and has a different meaning to everyone. It's up to you to decide what the meaning is and make career choices based on it. We can't tell you the best career for you or what to go/not go into. We can only offer advice and suggestions.

 

[QuaerensIntelle]

What else did you like about medicine besides your team makeup?

If you really like Surgery/OR why are you leaning away from it? What don't you like about Surgery?

I don't believe there is a perfect specialty for anyone, there will always be something one doesn't like about their specialty. IMO one should figure out what things they must have in a specialty and what things they absolutely detest. Maximize the former and minimize the latter. Easier said than done though

Hey all, thanks for the responses. I don't want this to become a "help me pick a specialty" thread (b/c I envision people are sick of that)-though I love the advice. I was more looking for camraderie in the emotional backlash of picking a specialty/changing your mind. This is probably crazy, but sometimes I feel like nobody else is stressing about this as much as me.

 

[2012mdc]

Hey all, thanks for the responses. I don't want this to become a "help me pick a specialty" thread (b/c I envision people are sick of that)-though I love the advice. I was more looking for camraderie in the emotional backlash of picking a specialty/changing your mind. This is probably crazy, but sometimes I feel like nobody else is stressing about this as much as me.

Lol you are far from the only one. I have classmates applying to 2 specialties bc they still haven't decided. I considered ortho, ENT, Uro, derm, rad onc, EM, and IM before I decided on rads

 

[copes]

Lol you are far from the only one. I have classmates applying to 2 specialties bc they still haven't decided. I considered ortho, ENT, Uro, derm, rad onc, EM, and IM before I decided on rads

No, you are not the only one. I shadowed some surgeons after first year and really thought I was going to be a surgeon. I still think surgery is awesome but I think I would be happier down the line if I went into another field. So I do understand what you mean by letting go of dreams. It is hard and I have not completely let go yet.

 

[DrBowtie]

No, you are not the only one. I shadowed some surgeons after first year and really thought I was going to be a surgeon. I still think surgery is awesome but I think I would be happier down the line if I went into another field. So I do understand what you mean by letting go of dreams. It is hard and I have not completely let go yet.

Shadowing is great and all, but as a 3rd year, you get to see behind the curtain so to speak. You see people post call, you start to see the mundane (by the 5th lap chole you're bored watching), you get to know their tattered personal lives etc.

 

[copes]

Shadowing is great and all, but as a 3rd year, you get to see behind the curtain so to speak. You see people post call, you start to see the mundane (by the 5th lap chole you're bored watching), you get to know their tattered personal lives etc.

Yeah I agree with most of that. Except that most of the residents and attendings on this surgical service had significant others. Some residents even had children. How they managed to have time for work and family is beyond me.

 

[chiz2kul]

Lol you are far from the only one. I have classmates applying to 2 specialties bc they still haven't decided. I considered ortho, ENT, Uro, derm, rad onc, EM, and IM before I decided on rads

i see what you did there

 

[PSurg530]

Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine not being in the OR for the rest of your life. Don't do surgery unless you cannot imagine being happy doing anything else.

Don't do surgery.

I came into medical school thinking I would do Neuro. I kept hearing the above quote over and over during third year, and I believed it, and it kept me away from even considering surgery. When I came to the end of third year, I had settled on Peds Neuro. When I started 4th year, I realized that Neuro did not offer enough definitive treatment options for me to feel fulfilled, so I settled on and applied for Peds, figuring that I could find something within Peds that would do it for me.

Long story short, I did some rotations 4th year that made me realize that Peds or even a procedural subspecialty wouldn't be enough for me, and I took a year off and applied for General Surgery.

It was definitely hard for me to give up Neuro since it was the part of biology that I thought was the most interesting. I realized that the day-to-day of actually being a Neurologist wouldn't make me happy. Then when it came down to taking an extra year, and choosing a much longer residency/fellowship course, I definitely struggled with it. In the end, I figured residency is temporary, and it will suck sometimes for everyone. You just have to figure out what will make you happy as a career, and then do the residency that fits with that, recognizing that it will be hard, but it will be over someday.

What I'm trying to say is:
1) It's okay to change your mind, I did it several times and I think that finally my decision is based on a lot of insight because I really had to think about all the options. And I chose surgery despite what everyone says. We'll see if this was wise, I think it was.

2) People will tell you all kinds of things about other specialties. Take what they say with a grain of salt, as they have not actually experienced those specialties first hand.

3) Some surgery residents will tell you not to do surgery unless it's the only thing you could ever be happy doing. I would still take this with perhaps a smaller grain of salt because they are going through the worst of it. If you really want to know, talk to attendings, figure out how they balance everything. Then decide for yourself if it's something you want to do.

Good luck!

 

[FIREitUP]

I came into medical school thinking I would do Neuro. I kept hearing the above quote over and over during third year, and I believed it, and it kept me away from even considering surgery. When I came to the end of third year, I had settled on Peds Neuro. When I started 4th year, I realized that Neuro did not offer enough definitive treatment options for me to feel fulfilled, so I settled on and applied for Peds, figuring that I could find something within Peds that would do it for me.

Long story short, I did some rotations 4th year that made me realize that Peds or even a procedural subspecialty wouldn't be enough for me, and I took a year off and applied for General Surgery.

It was definitely hard for me to give up Neuro since it was the part of biology that I thought was the most interesting. I realized that the day-to-day of actually being a Neurologist wouldn't make me happy. Then when it came down to taking an extra year, and choosing a much longer residency/fellowship course, I definitely struggled with it. In the end, I figured residency is temporary, and it will suck sometimes for everyone. You just have to figure out what will make you happy as a career, and then do the residency that fits with that, recognizing that it will be hard, but it will be over someday.

What I'm trying to say is:
1) It's okay to change your mind, I did it several times and I think that finally my decision is based on a lot of insight because I really had to think about all the options. And I chose surgery despite what everyone says. We'll see if this was wise, I think it was.

2) People will tell you all kinds of things about other specialties. Take what they say with a grain of salt, as they have not actually experienced those specialties first hand.

3) Some surgery residents will tell you not to do surgery unless it's the only thing you could ever be happy doing. I would still take this with perhaps a smaller grain of salt because they are going through the worst of it. If you really want to know, talk to attendings, figure out how they balance everything. Then decide for yourself if it's something you want to do.

Good luck!

You mean to say you went into medical school not knowing that as a neurologist you basically just give people ****ty news about how you can't really help them and that you took you until 4th year to realize the aforementioned fact?

 

[PSurg530]

You mean to say you went into medical school not knowing that as a neurologist you basically just give people ****ty news about how you can't really help them and that you took you until 4th year to realize the aforementioned fact?

It must be so nice to know everything about a field as a second year med student...

There is plenty you can do for Neuro patients, and a lot of them do get better. Some don't, and that's true in any field. In the end, it just wasn't what I wanted to do for a living.

 

[FIREitUP]

It must be so nice to know everything about a field as a second year med student...

There is plenty you can do for Neuro patients, and a lot of them do get better. Some don't, and that's true in any field. In the end, it just wasn't what I wanted to do for a living.

lol i was just messing with you. Through medical school you learn a lot about yourself and the introspection oftentimes leads to changes in one's trajectory. But you gotta admit neurology is one of those field where a lot of things are so enigmatic that there really isn't much we can do for many patients.

 

[MedicalStudent9]

Don't pick a specialty based on how you liked your medical school rotation, or b/c you like doing the work. Instead, pick the lifestyle you want to live, and choose a specialty that will give you that lifestyle. Choosing to do medicine b/c you had the time of your life on your Medicine rotation as an M3 is suicidal.

Think about it this way. Let's say the OP enjoys operating. Then somebody like you would say, "Geez, surgery would be heaven". However, a couple years into practice you have a wife and kids and are working 70 hours/week, and never have time to see your family. Then you're going to realize that you hate your life even though you are doing what you originally enjoyed as a medical student.

There's more to happiness than job description. And I would argue that having more free time is a good thing, no matter what you're doing. If lifestyle isn't important to you, well I guess you wouldn't need to take that into consideration, but it sure is important to lots of people.

I'm just trying to give the OP a different perspective. Too many people jump on the bandwagon about 'doing what you enjoy, and damn money or time off', but that stuff is important too.

Great posts bro'dingalingdong.

 

[Dawkter]

THIS.

Changing your mind != giving up on your dream. Your dream has simply changed. Make sure you do what will make you happy 20 years down the road; don't do ANY specialty because of guilt about giving up something you didn't know about completely when you decided to pursue it. No one will be disappointed in you for becoming some other kind of doctor. Having guilt or shame about changing your mind is misguided- you've learned more information about the field and about yourself, it's dumb not to use that new information accordingly.

Double THIS. And for the record, third year makes you value lifestyle more than you could ever imagine.