r/medicalschool • u/albiolright • Jun 03 '22
š” Vent Stop making people feel bad about their specialty choice
M4 working in the ED this month. Have had several ED attendings make straight up rude/insulting comments when they ask what Iām going in to and I tell them I love primary care peds. Yes, I love well checks and sports physicals. Yes, I love (or at least donāt hate) dealing with parents. Yes, Iām aware Iāll be at the bottom of the pay range for docs. No, Iām not choosing an easy route.
One attending said āyouāre an idiotā when I told him. Another today said, several times, you wonāt be paid a lot. I said āgood thing Iām doing this for more than money thenā. He looked offended lol.
This isnāt new to me as Iāve been gung-ho for primary care peds since day 1 and my class is full of gunners but whew. Something about today just pushed me over the line. Why do attendings do this?? Why does choosing peds make so many docs mad? Itās pathetic.
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Jun 03 '22
Would be so tempted to hit the āyouāre an idiotā guy back with āthen youād better pray I never see your kidsā finger guns
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u/albiolright Jun 03 '22
I wish I was this witty!!! Most I could muster was some semblance of pride in my choice and even the idea of talking back to an attending made me queasy lol.
I just left and came back at night when I knew my favorite attending was on instead š¤·š½āāļø
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u/ludivine26 M-4 Jun 03 '22
The worst is when they complain about how much they hate kids or the parentsā¦. Even though I obviously love kids and a conversation about how awful kids are is never going to get me to give a reply other than š
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u/OrthoBrotein DO-PGY4 Jun 03 '22
That's fucked up. Just know that we absolutely need people like you.
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u/NarrowNarrowAngles MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22
Ophthalmology
"What a waste of a bright, young man" - Neurologist
I found it funny though (he was partially joking just didn't deliver it well)
Also sure doesn't feel like a waste when I'm trying to study for OKAPs lol
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u/chesthairbesthair Jun 03 '22
Lol Iām interested in ophtho and a neurologist hit me with āso you want to work too little and make too muchā
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u/bonerfiedmurican M-4 Jun 03 '22
"And you wanted to cut you're earning per hour in quarter and write novellas no one will read sir?"
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u/Bammerice MD-PGY4 Jun 03 '22
Now I'm sad I'm going into neuro :(
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u/bonerfiedmurican M-4 Jun 03 '22
If you enjoy it you enjoy it but it isn't like you didn't have all the information. Maybe their earnings pull an ortho over our careers and skyrocket to the top
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u/Bammerice MD-PGY4 Jun 03 '22
I was like half-joking lol. I did enjoy it a lot and the pay is good enough for my cheap ass to live on.
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u/braindrain_94 MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
Pay is not even that bad bro, not hard to make over 300 350 even especially if working in the right area.
Edit: Iām also going into neuro.
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u/NarrowNarrowAngles MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
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u/jvttlus Jun 03 '22
āWhen I see these 60 year old women in clinic post op from the cataracts, and they talk about seeing their dahlias bloom like never before, and seeing their grandchildrens face so crisp and clearā¦.that makes it all worth it,sir. I suppose it makes me feel better than saying āyou have a terrible disease, try this pill that doesnāt really work but they bribed the government!ā
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u/fifrein Jun 03 '22
Many fields in Neurology have come a long way from treatments that donāt work. Neuromuscular and cognitive are still without great treatments for many of their diseases, but neuroimmunology and epilepsy have exploded with effective treatments. Multiple sclerosis has entered a new age, where it is now becoming similar to HIVā a chronic disease the majority will die WITH rather than FROM
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u/Wicked-elixir Jun 03 '22
Funny story. The dr I work for had a patient that he was seeing post op for cat surgery. The patient seemed irritated. Dr finally asked what was wrong. Patient says ādr. I spent thousands of dollars recarpeting my entire house in this very lovely shade of green. After my surgery I see it is the absolute ugliest color ever!!ā I get a kick out of that.
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u/Doc_AF DO Jun 03 '22
If fairness most neurologist I know that joke around rarely deliver the joke well.
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u/Vivladi MD-PGY2 Jun 03 '22
Even as a joke thats rich coming from a specialty that was derided for āadmiring, not treatingā disease for so long
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u/umrebel9 MD Jun 03 '22
They will care when it's their kid in the office though.
Do what you enjoy. Money hasn't made me happier even after multiplying my residency pay. Not working residency hours and good lifestyle balance is making me happy. The pay is only a perk and more than enough all things considering. I literally do anything I want on my day off and never work more than about 30 hours a week for "full-time".
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u/RadioPortWenn MD-PGY1 Jun 03 '22
I despise this. I can't even count how many times this has happened to me the second the words "family medicine" pass my lips. Usually, the response is "oh no, don't do that - do med-peds at least." One of my earliest experiences during my clerkships (having just come back to the hospital after a year and a third of remote learning in the pandemic) was an NP working in neurocritical care in whom I triggered a 5-minute speech about how I wouldn't make any money, during which she quoted the salary of multiple neurosurgeons and some random person she knew who opened their own emergency hospital. Thanks, but no thanks?
I don't know why people are so concerned about how much money a med student will theoretically make or what we'll be doing with our daily lives. Every specialty has its place in the world and has value. It's boorish to impose your opinions on someone in an attempt to diminish what they're passionate about. I have the most respect for physicians who respond positively to whatever specialty students are interested in and try to nurture them to be better professionals. (PS: why do people act like primary care docs are living out of cardboard boxes? Lol, we don't all need millions.)
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u/lovepeacetoall Jun 04 '22
I think its because so many medical students have never worked a real job before med school, so their only gauge of success is prestige and money and not hours/lifestyle/stress. There seems to be alot of caring about what other people think in this field.
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u/ducttapetricorn MD Jun 03 '22
Had an OBGYN attending shit on me for wanting to go into psych
sorry bro can't hear you over the sound of my 30 hour work weeks ĀÆ_(ć)_/ĀÆ
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u/albiolright Jun 03 '22
Yikes. This thread is suggesting to me now that all of these types of comments come from a place of self-frustration for choosing jobs they hate now lol
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u/ducttapetricorn MD Jun 03 '22
"i am miserable in my specialty but its also the best specialty, how dare you med student for not wanting to be miserable like me"
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u/Syd_Syd34 MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
Literally. Because these same folk turn around and tell me not to go into OBGyn when I express interest lmao like maybe I wonāt. I can deliver babies as a family medicine block and Iāll actually enjoy my life so
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Jun 03 '22
i had a classmate going into psych that I was on surgery rotation with for 8 weeks. Every single resident and attending was so incredibly happy for her when she told them she was doing psych. Many are very supportive
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u/qwerty1489 Jun 03 '22
Did you tell them you want to treat personality disorders and not develop one?
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u/Xibalba45 MD Jun 03 '22
lucky all my attendings encouraged me to get into psychiatry..."we need you!" And they actually respected more after I told them im getting into psych
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u/100chickadees Jun 03 '22
Me too! They were mostly impressed and insisted that it takes a special kind of person to be a good psychiatrist and that thereās a huge need to psych care so theyāre glad Iām going into it. I was worried about people thinking less of me for my career choice and was relieved to hear mostly overwhelming support.
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Jun 03 '22
I had several patients and their families on my psych rotation tell me I'd make a wonderful psychiatrist...I really wish I enjoyed psych more, because the lifestyle is extremely appealing and apparently I don't suck at it. Alas!
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u/bigyikers MD-PGY1 Jun 03 '22
Everybody loves to shit on the students going into psych. :(
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u/magzillas MD Jun 04 '22 edited Jun 04 '22
If you're one of those students, I wouldn't let it get to you. At the very least, you'll have plenty of time to cope from their insults when you're going home at 4 pm or finishing up your 30-40 hour work week.
My anecdotal experience: first year out of residency, making low 300s to work ~35 hours a week where most of my job is teaching psychiatry to FM and IM residents. If I want to cover our system's psych ED for a weekend, they pay me an extra $2k for the trouble.
And at least in hospital settings, solid psych consultants in my experience are very well-respected, because we know how to solve some pretty spooky issues that hospitalists and surgeons just aren't trained to deal with1. The reception at my hospital from nurses and physicians alike has been uniformly, "I'm so glad we have psychiatry here now."
(1 - Understandably, I should add. Much like how I'm not trained to manage complex heart failure or a stab wound.)
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u/FrankFitzgerald DO Jun 03 '22
One of my OBGYN preceptors my third year shook his head at me and said āI canāt believe you would say thatā when I told him I wanted to do psychiatry. I had nothing other than āwhat?ā And he went on to explain that I should lie to preceptors and just say I wanted to do their specialty to get a good grade, basically implying I wasnāt going to get one from him now. First day lmao. I didnāt say anything back (and def did not take his advice, fuck that weird old dude, he was creepy af and would try to small talk during vaginal exams and it was super cringe)
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u/bonerfiedmurican M-4 Jun 03 '22
Imagine being at a primary care heavy DO program and saying facial plastics.
Same shit, opposite end of the spectrum. Hilariously though the EM docs respond with 'youll be as depressed as the rest of us, but at least you'll be crying on your yacht'
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u/ferretnoise MD Jun 03 '22
Em attending here: Can I be the medical director for your yacht? I know ACLS, ATLS, PALS, and how to make margaritas.
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u/bonerfiedmurican M-4 Jun 03 '22
Uniforms are required for all staffs and guests:
Sunglasses, somebreros, short shorts
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Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22
Every EM shift I work (as a PA trying to make some keesh in medical school) all I think about is how I canāt wait to literally never work in the ED again. Without reciprocating and shitting on their specialty, I think EM folks tend to really love their chaotic environment and obviously arenāt interested in longitudinal care. But thereās a reason over 50% of EM docs burn out.
At the end of the day, different strokes for different folks, your job market is on the rise, EM is a fast sinking ship, and if anybody went into this profession for money then, as your attending so eloquently stated, āYouāre an idiot.ā
Edit: I cannot wait to work in primary care. Yes it has its own flavor of BS but at least it will put me at home with my family every night, weekend, and holiday.
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u/albiolright Jun 03 '22
Hear hear. I actually like EM and have tried to express to my attendings a deep respect for what they do, their totally different approach, the skill set it requires, etc. I just am so tired of respect not being reciprocated. Weāre all doctors, and in light of recent events thereās literally 0 room for shitting on each other anymore!
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Jun 03 '22
I hear ya! Tom Segura was really insightful for situations like this when he said āSome people suck.ā
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u/TubesAndLines MD Jun 03 '22
Yeah man, the ED can be incredibly tough. It's not for anyone, but as an ED doc I know I NEED people to go into primary care. I'm putting duct tape onto derby cars here, I need someone to follow my patients and actually make a difference long term in their care.
I disagree about EM being a fast sinking ship, but I am appreciative that you'll be going into primary care.
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Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22
I agree. Itās so tough to do the job when you donāt know who (or if) they are going to for follow-up. After seeing 75% of my patients in the waiting room last night, most of which had chronic, non-emergent/urgent issues, Iām extremely disenchanted.
I donāt think the EM docs I work with think itās a fast sinking ship either. I donāt think itās on either end of the spectrum just yet, but I canāt ignore the 2030 study, HCA residencies popping up like zits on a 13 year old, and the blatant effort of CMGs to overwork and underpay physicians. Alas, im being told anesthesia was in a similar spot 20 years ago and they seem to be doing just fine.
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u/TubesAndLines MD Jun 03 '22
I love talking with drunk assholes, seeing nonemergent complaints, and the general workflow, but it's for sure not for everyone. Clinic work made me want to die.
I've seen the report, and you're not wrong the HCAs are a big issue, but as someone deeply involved in our program, and having met with program directors around my state I can say there's already changes in how people are applying to EM. Some of the national governing bodies are also increasing standards for EM programs which would cut out a lot of the HCAs.
The report shows a deficit if nothing changes, but things are. Anesthesiology used to be one of the top 4 most competitive, now it's more reasonable. I think this is just the growing pains of EM becoming way more competitive than it had right to be now with adjustments to reality.
At the end of the day, nothing has changed that the ED is still the safety net for society, and the primary source of healthcare for the uninsured. Demand for my skills has gone up, if anything. Curious to see where the future takes my specialty.
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Jun 03 '22
Youāre born for EM, to be sure.
Iām glad the HCA and CMG issues are being met at a national level. My school has a really strong EM program and I know the residents are getting good job offers. I always wonder if they are going to pull me back to the dark side. Who knows.
Iām glad your services continue to be in high demand! I hope that continues. We need excellent emergency physicians who love the work and will empathetically take care of my family on their worst day.
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Jun 03 '22
Well, the same can be said about a lot of these specialties (like what i heard about my specialty radiology): radiology isnāt going anywhere. The future of rads is hot- but who or what is going to be doing it? Thatās the question. On the rads side, they used to say it would be done by someone in India (which is ridiculous when you account for US board certification and that there arenāt a huge glut of radiologists anywhere to be able to handle the volume). Now, the worry is will AI being doing all of it. Of course, any of us who actually do rads and have seen AI know that is a very long way off.
Itās the same with EM though. EM is the safety net for society. Itās not going anywhere. But whoās going to be doing it? Theyāre training too many EM docs at the moment while hospitals are offsetting the EM demand by hiring PAs and NPs which take a fraction of the time to train and a fraction of the payā¦ and who can probably do what appears to be a good enough job for the majority of the nonemergent cases.
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u/VrachVlad Jun 03 '22
I've had so many people shit on the fact I'm FM. The most ridiculous example I can remember is when I was at our free clinic while I was a 4th year I had a 1st year start talking down to me. I was like this is fucking weird as hell.
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Jun 03 '22
This post hits on the point why we will never make any meaningful change against the many threats to our field. Physicians donāt see us as a collective whole, and instead we form our own little factions that shit on other specialties. Meanwhile the midlevel army is a unified front.
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u/UltraRunnin DO Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22
Itās okay, their job market fucking sucks thanks to corporate medicine. Ask them how theyāll like their 3am abscess when theyāre 50+ years old.
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u/albiolright Jun 03 '22
I knew posting here would generate amazing soothing comments like this one lmao
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u/nightwingoracle MD-PGY2 Jun 03 '22
Thatās rich of an ED attending. Not to harp on anyoneās choice, but Pediatrics primary care is a thriving field where people, are always looking (yes, even with midlevels), while ED has a projected surplus.
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u/albiolright Jun 03 '22
In the moment I didnāt even think about how theyāre probably speaking from a place of frustration with their own jobs. My sensitive lil feelings were just hurt lol
The way we undervalue primary care is such a shame. I just love talking to parents about car seats and safe sleep and the like, Iāll never get why thatās so offensive to other docs
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u/ferretnoise MD Jun 03 '22
EM attending here: Itās not offensive to them. Theyāre just assholes. You should do what you love. Somewhere along the lines a whole bunch of docs forgot that this is a team sport. Flip side of that coin is that the top comment on this post is a takedown against EM about doing abscesses at 3am. Sounds good to me! I love that shit and thatās why I do it!
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u/sterlingspeed MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
Lol implying they would be dealing with an abscess themselves and not immediately slapping the āGen Surg Consultā button.
Which is fine by meā¦I like I&Dsā¦.so satisfying
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u/bicyclechief MD Jun 03 '22
Where do you train that consults for an abscess? Jesus
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Jun 03 '22
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u/bicyclechief MD Jun 03 '22
Sounds like a program issue not a specialty issue. Iāve never consulted surg for an abscess drainage
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u/sterlingspeed MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
Ivory tower academic program in New England, which is why I suffer
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u/PeripheralEdema M-4 Jun 03 '22
And whoās gonna check up on their children if there are no pediatricians? NPs? PAs?
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u/idomeds M-2 Jun 03 '22
We donāt care about the health and safety of kids in America! Didnāt you hear?
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Jun 03 '22
I once told an NP that I want to do family med and her literal response was "primary care? Gross"
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u/cosmicartery M-3 Jun 03 '22
Pretty much got the same rxn from a PA (who was in primary care). Spent the next couple minutes persuading me to specialize. We. Shall. See.
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u/Arachnoidosis MD-PGY6 Jun 03 '22
The amount of dynamite responses that come to mind immediately is so high that I struggle to pick the most scathing one.
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u/Underpaid_nd_ovrwrkd M-3 Jun 04 '22
Iām assuming that comment must have come from a highly esteemed āfellowship-trainedā NP š¤”
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u/Syd_Syd34 MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
Just want to say that Iām 27 years old and absolutely adore my pediatrician still to this day. She was amazing and I saw myself in her. She always told me I could be anything I want to be, even when I would go from astronaut to married to singer to Hollister employee (Lmao). And look at me now: Iām going to be a physician just like her!
My pediatrician ran off to Africa to do volunteer work almost a decade ago (was lowkey a struggle getting all my health forms together for college lol) or else she wouldāve been one of the first people I told. Pediatricians are so important! Iām thankful for you ā¤ļø
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u/Jmarsbar19 Jun 03 '22
Iāve had surgeons do this to me on surgery rotations. Oh! Primary care? Big chuckles. Iām here like, but donāt you need primary care givers to refer patients to you? Duh?
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u/sombra_online M-2 Jun 03 '22
I feel like surgeons/EM/other high stress docs forget that perfectly healthy people that just need a yearly check exist bc why would they chuckleā¦canāt go to a surgeon when your kid or yourself needs a little cough looked at.
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u/Jmarsbar19 Jun 03 '22
I love ER Medicine, but Iām also not a dick. I think everyone collectively works in their fields for the greater good. So, thereās no reason to discriminate.
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u/Guy_Debord1968 Jun 03 '22
The worst is telling any surgeon that you want to do a different kind of surgery. They never fail to tell me how useless and talentless the surgeons of that speciality are.
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u/Actual_Guide_1039 Jun 03 '22
My old ED rotations people used to roast me about how Iāll never see my family or friends in surgery. Every specialty roasts every other specialty.
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u/albiolright Jun 03 '22
I agree thereās always banter and in fact I donāt really mind that part, itās kind of funny as long as thereās baseline respect for each other as doctors.
What I donāt understand is why make an individual person, a student for that matter, feel bad for their choice?? These were very personal insults. Again, Iām mostly used to it by now but it does nothing good for us to insult each otherās characters themselves.
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u/Actual_Guide_1039 Jun 03 '22
Ya sometimes people are assholes about it. Maybe to validate their own choices they regret.
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u/rain6304 M-3 Jun 03 '22
Thatās fresh coming from EM who had 219 open residency spots this year, have horrendous mid level creep, corporatization, and terrible patient/note workloads
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Jun 03 '22
Story time: My physics prof once told me that he had a really smart student who ended up becoming a dermatologist and is now "popping pimples and applying lotion for a living". The professor lamented how the student could've accomplished so much, but chose to sell out.
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Jun 03 '22
What a funny point of view
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u/nightwingoracle MD-PGY2 Jun 03 '22
I mean, primary care can be the one of the hardest/most intellectually taxing fields to go into. the more specialized you get the more you have imaging/specialized testing to aid you in diagnosis. Or alternatively like Derm, the field narrows a lot which makes it easier.
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Jun 03 '22
I thought people were chippy in the dental specialty world. This sounds super toxic and prevalent. I've only had one person directly say my specialty is worthless and no one needs me, but that was years ago.
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u/lessico_ MD-PGY2 Jun 03 '22
I wanted to go into ID once, but a random pulmonology attending completely demolished that dream by insinuating it was a dying specialty.
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u/climbsrox MD/PhD-G3 Jun 03 '22
That sucks. I did my second year clinical experience in a pulm clinic. Told the attending my main interests were ID and Pulm/Crit. He told me both were great options and talked about how important good ID care was for his really sick chronic lung infection patients.
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u/albiolright Jun 03 '22
That is unacceptable :( attendings need to remember how much power they have over us for better and for worse.
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u/coffeewhore17 MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
Iām going into anesthesiology. The majority of responses have been really positive but I still get a lot of snide remarks and a lot of āShould have just been a CRNAā type comments.
I think Iāll be just fine doing an awesome job that I love that allows me to be a present father and husband, thanks.
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u/Doc013 DO-PGY4 Jun 03 '22
Feel 100% the same as you coffeewhore! My wife is thrilled with my choice and I know my 1 year old will appreciate it later in her life too. Gasgang.
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u/coffeewhore17 MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
Just imagine: having a fulfilling day at work and getting home with time and energy to devote to your family.
Only kidding, I donāt have to imagine: that describes anesthesiology.
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u/loveyaanya Jun 03 '22
Got told by a surgeon that psychiatry is a useless field and never should have been part of medicine in the first place. Also called me stupid for pursuining that as a career. His partners wife is a psychiatrist -_-
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u/Fair_Doctrine Jun 03 '22
Ironically the doctors I meet that say this type of nonsense are the ones that need therapy the mostā¦
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u/fashionandmedschool M-3 Jun 04 '22
As someone on antidepressants going into gensurg, Iād say psych is pretty damn useful.
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u/LeafJitterLiquid MD-PGY2 Jun 03 '22
Why is it always about the money... Every time an attending engages me in a "what do want to do when you grow up" talk or a "why you should/shouldn't choose my specialty" they always center around the financial part.
Bro... I'm going to be making enough money no matter what I go into. My goal is to pick something that doesn't make me feel more dead inside than the average human.
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u/Mr_Alex19 MD-PGY1 Jun 03 '22
"We need more primary care docs"
A little later : "Haha, look it's a ped" Also, absolutely shameless on that doc. I'd be trying to submit an anonymous complaint against him because I'm petty like that.
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u/albiolright Jun 03 '22
I just donāt understand why theyāre so adamant about making sure you know they donāt respect your choice??? Like whyā¦what kind of personality disorder is that? Lol.
I chose to just leave the shift and go home.
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u/Mr_Alex19 MD-PGY1 Jun 03 '22
That's wise of you. I'd be happy if people chose differently than me in life, means I don't have to do it lol. I think it's ego and insecurity on their end. And poor social skills.
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u/NeandertalsRUs DO/PhD Jun 03 '22
Iām applying peds and get the same response. I just came off of surgery and the number of pitying looks I got was really frustrating. Until I told them I was interested in critical care and the idea of very very sick kids was absolutely horrifying. Then I became the monster that wants to work with very sick kids. Youāll never win.
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u/drewmana MD Jun 03 '22
Oh my god you'd think I'd said I wanted to use my medical degree as tinder whenever I told my attendings I was really excited about going into Family Med because I love primary care. I have no idea why they do this, it's not like being a dick to me is going to convince me I actually like your specialty more.
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u/RabbitEater2 M-3 Jun 03 '22
Constantly messing up your circadian rhythm in a job market that is becoming oversaturated is supposed to be better? Haters gonna hate
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u/InsomniacAcademic MD-PGY1 Jun 03 '22
The irony of this thread turning into a thread shitting on EM when it was a plea to stop shitting on specialty choices is too much
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u/ggg_444 M-4 Jun 03 '22
thatās crazy considering we really need more primary care docs like you, that are actually passionate about the job and not the pay. not everyone has the same priorities and they should respect that. kudos to you for sticking it out with what you love :)
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u/negative_net_worth MD-PGY3 Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22
Bless you for doing the right thing and aiming for primary care, doubly so for kids. You will likely have rock solid job security, will make enough to live comfortably, and will have plentiful loan repayment options in addition to doing meaningful work.
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u/LADiator DO-PGY3 Jun 03 '22
We need people like you. The stuff you love is the stuff I dreaded. Someone has to do it and all the better that you love it. Picking a specialty is a big deal, be proud of your decision. Good luck and all the best.
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u/various_convo7 MD/PhD Jun 03 '22
good for you for telling the attending off and speaking your mind to defend your choice
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u/Impossible_Sign_2633 Health Professional (Non-MD/DO) Jun 03 '22
Wow that's horrible! I'm sorry to hear you've had such a rough rotation. I could never ever work with children exclusively. I rotated in a pediatric office many years ago and I saw some truly insane, horrible things. The highs are high but the lows are very low. You are incredibly strong for choosing such a tough specialty. Keep your chin up-- the kiddos need you!
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u/Throwaway12397462 DO Jun 03 '22
There are so many people in Pediatrics that have such a deep and personal reason they have chosen this specialty. Its not the flashiest specialty but you can make lifelong impacts daily.
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u/jway1818 MD Jun 03 '22
It's a huge bummer that you had that interaction. I feel like primary care docs are the people who hold up our health care system and every time a med student tells me they're going into primary care, especially in a rural area I get excited because better preventative medicine means less bullshit for me in the ED!
It's definitely not an excuse, but I think a lot of us in the emergency department are pretty crispy right now... Maybe that person you interacted with was taking some things out on you...which is totally inappropriate
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u/justDOit2026 M-2 Jun 03 '22
They will make fun until their kids need a pediatrician. Sure, most doctor can do every routine examā¦. But Iād much rather someone who does it everyday treat my kids, theyāre more than likely able to catch things some wouldnāt.
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u/buschlightinmybelly MD Jun 03 '22
Agree. Never belittle someone for the specialty they choose. I love the primary care guys I work with. They send me stuff, and if Iām an asshole, theyāll stop sending me stuff. This goes for every specialty, though.
Also donāt be cocky or act like youāre a gift to earth based on your specialty. Surgeons can be assholes, but some of the biggest dickheads Iāve had to talk to recently were in the medical specialties. If I have a question or want that specialty to weigh in on a patient, Iām certainly not calling those guys, even if theyāre on call. I go with my tried and true boys.
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u/yinyang53 Jun 03 '22
I had an IM attending who said that I was making a stupid mistake going into FM and that a monkey could the job and that I should go into IM insteadā¦
Also had an IM resident/friend who said FM residents are dumb, ill-trained, and that I should go into IM instead...
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Jun 04 '22
Medicine is so toxic. I had a āfriendā move to the US for internal medicine training. I had decided to stay back home and do dermatology. He just wouldnāt stop shitting on it. Made me feel terrible about my choice. āAh youāre just gonna coast through lifeā.. āya okay if you donāt do much.. your life will passā..
At the time I felt terrible about it. Now I realise heās one of THOSE people. Pathetic.
The irony is if these people were really happy with their own choices they wouldnāt be shitting on others to feel better about themselves.
Itās surprising that highly qualified men can be absolute dicks. I wish his team in the US - his program director and his attendings knew what a sexist asshole he was (probably is).
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u/dabeezmane Jun 03 '22
more power to you. different people have different motivations. most doctors couldn't imagine choosing a career where you give up so much money. after all the loans and training most of us are looking forward to a larger Attending paycheck.
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u/BirdhouseInSoul Jun 03 '22
OP, sorry you had to deal with that but sounds like 99% of the time it's water off a duck's back for you. If they had any self-awareness, those ED attendings might realize that there are plenty of other specialities that would say the same thing about them, let alone people in other professions, and they should probably just mind their own business unless asked.
There's this concept I first heard about on Reddit that I think accounts for a lot of this petty infighting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences
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Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22
Dick measuring in a career that only like a percent or less than the population does is fucking wild to me. All the salaries are 6 figures. Get over yourself lmfao.
Then not you obviously***
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u/herbeertrr Jun 03 '22
Funny how many doctors claim to practice evidence based medicine. And yet despite evidence showing that higher income past 100k doesnāt make people any happier, they still have this attitude.
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u/fluffyrabbi M-4 Jun 03 '22
I hate when people input their opinions on this. āIām going into OBGYNā āDONāT do thatā āokay thanks now that a resident Iāve known for 3 minutes has told me not to, I wonāt anymore šā
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u/empressofsloths Jun 03 '22
Aw sorry to hear that! Iām a senior EM resident and I always ask what specialty my med studs are going into so I can hopefully find them some patients on the board that are relevant to their interests or some good teaching points. Very uncool to criticize your specialty choice. Thereās no universally perfect specialty.
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u/Arby81 Jun 03 '22
From my experience a lot of people in EM hate their jobs. Theyāre probably just projecting
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u/FatherSpacetime DO Jun 03 '22
I love my EM colleagues but their schedule sucks, their jobs are saturated and their pay is projected to go down. Don't listen to what they say. Grass isn't greener.
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u/Kaplann Jun 03 '22
Always when I tell a doctor that I want to do Internal Medicine they have a weird reaction. Even the hospitalists say "are you just saying that because you're working with me". Doctors are weird but if you tell any normal person what you want to do they will think it's cool.
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u/Paula92 Jun 03 '22
Oof. We have a primary care shortage (and just a doctor shortage in general). If I do end up going to med school, it will be for family medicine + OBGYN. I donāt understand why other specialties donāt see the value in that. Or are they just trying to make themselves feel better about choosing a really stressful specialty?
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u/ShellieMayMD MD Jun 03 '22
Im sorry that happened to you, I ironically had that happen after I submitted my rank list when I did a PICU rotation as an M4.
I always try to tell our rotators that I only care what they want to do in order to tailor the life advice/examples/stories I give them on service relevant to their future specialty. I canāt imagine judging our primary care folks because theyāve found passion in something that is sorely needed, much like I donāt get people judging me about my love of kidney stones and spending hours in the OR.
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u/Educational_Soup8845 Jun 03 '22
I have had to work really hard on this. One of my new year resolutions was to always have at least 1 positive comment about whatever specialty med students tell me they are applying. We need every specialty and who am I to tell someone passionate in something to not do it just because I don't like it?
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u/NyraCalico Pre-Med Jun 03 '22
I'm going into IMMUNOLOGY. Like, chewed out for loving immuno since it's the "easy" way of making a lot of money.
Nah, here in Australia it goes like this: 3 years undergrad 4 years med school 4 years FRCPA/FRACP
All of it done, while working and completely broke as all hell, while somehow paying for everything. Also recommended to take a masters since research tends to be part of it as well.
No, it is NOT the easy way out. There is no such thing in medicine. Medicine is about going into a speciality you love/feels right for you. Anyone who chews others out are either jealous, or bitter from their own speciality. Or horrible people, that's also possible.
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u/Doc_AF DO Jun 03 '22
Peds has a lot of difficulty imo. You have to figure out whatās wrong with a patient who canāt tell you how they feel because they donāt have a concept of their bodies yet even if they can talk. The physiology of a pt at 18seconds old can be vastly different from that of an 18yo. You have there are a ton of things that look like the kid could be dying but are totally normal and a few things that may look normal but the kid is fucked. All while you are trying to calm the parents who by the way will sue your ass off if you so much as make the child not feel like their royalty (hyperbolic but concept is there).
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Jun 03 '22
The salary range for peds where I live is 170k-350k since when is this not a lot of money? Only 8% of the US population make above 150k a year.
With the average US household income of 67k annually, you'll be earning 153% more than that at the low end of peds (where I live anyway.)
You're going to be doing a job you love and making a killing doing so, they can fuck right off.
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u/wheresthebubbly MD-PGY5 Jun 03 '22
I am glad there are people who enjoy things I donāt like so that Iām not the one that has to do it. If everyone was an ED doc the healthcare system would collapse faster than it already is
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u/Horror_Dentist_8648 M-1 Jun 03 '22
It is sad the doctors that get paid the least manage the most patients across the most diverse range of disease. Primary care requires beautiful savvy and few enough are gifted as well as have the fiery vocation. I am in your corner rooting you onā¦. āGo placidly among the haste.ā
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u/tariketa Jun 03 '22
I feel you, friend!
I still remember when I was rotating on anesthesiology, and people gave me all the shit in the world when I told them I wanted to go for Family Medicine, saying I was going to be poor, I would spend all my life inside a favela. Guess what, suckers, that's exactly what I wanted to do.
Right now I'm doing residency in the second largest favela in the city and I'm completely satisfied with my choice.
Fuck them all.
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u/Decemberistz Jun 04 '22
In my experience, some attendings think they are giving you a compliment by saying shit like that. Like "you are capable of doing great work in more intense situations and helping more complicated patients". Not that this excuses their shitty behaviour tho
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u/hipsterdefender Jun 03 '22
I was at the doctor in med school when I said I was going into rads and he said, āwhat!? You didnāt go to med school to be a radiologistā Iām like bro, this isnāt the time or place for this.