Exploring Medical Specialties

"What type of doctor do you want to be?" is something I've been asked so many times, and something I answered pretty differently fairly often.  I got asked this a lot while I was an undergrad and definitely a lot at my medical school interviews.

While I'm just starting medical school soon, I've had some clinical experience (about 10 months, not a whole lot) and I wanted to really explore medical specialties and see where I could potentially be my happiest.

So remember, I'm not a post-residency fellow, a licensed physician, or even a third year medical student.  However, I'd like to do some early soul-searching and do the second half of my deciding in medical school.

Among the things I'm considering are (in no particular order):

-Emergency Medicine
-Pediatrics with a subspecialty in cardiology, oncology, or neurology
-Internal medicine with a subspecialty in cardiology, oncology, or nephrology
-Anesthesiology
-Neurology
-Dermatology
-Pathology
-Radiology
-Ophthalmology
-Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

I've had enough clinical experience to make some really basic observations: in pediatric medicine, it seems like much of the pathology isn't the patient's fault.  For example: a 6 year old patient hasn't been smoking a pack a day for 40 years along with abusing alcohol and other dangerous drugs.  I've seen a lot of neuropathy and renal disease in adults secondary to type II diabetes, and things like hyperlipidemia, strokes, and hypertension caused by leading an unhealthy lifestyle for many years (but being able to prevent it).

There's something I've always enjoyed when I've shadowed pediatricians, I think it's the personality of the doctors and residents, and also how kids just seem to be fun patients (when they're reasonably okay in terms of health).  A lot of things I've seen in adult patients are a lack of adherence to medication regimens, not visiting a doctor and letting conditions progress (ex: a patient who waited almost 20 years to get a condition evaluated, because they said they hated doctors).  I've been told to stay away from pediatric neurology on grounds that it's very complicated, but I'd like to find something in medicine that isn't very complicated, hah.

I can't wait to get more clinical experience and learn more about each field.  I think it'll be tough but also really exciting, not to mention humbling, I bet.


Til next, readers.