Back in
the days, you either had to be a doctor or an engineer and once you decide to
go to medical school, you get away with most things at home because your
parents begin to see you as the golden child and after graduation, it becomes
even better. Before you say anything you have already been introduced by your
proud parents as the DOCTOR. When you begin to practise as a doctor, you become
less proud of yourself because others see the gold in the profession which you
do not, simply because no one told you all you have to deal with as you
progress in your career. Not only does it get difficult as you go further there
is always the confusion on what specialty to settle for. Famous American
neurosurgeon and politician BEN CARSON probably got it right in the first
instance even when he was told to drop out of medical school in his first year because he wasn't doing well but he held on and chose a path that got
him to this point today.
There are
few things to consider before choosing a specialty. Ambition alone isn't enough
in choosing a specialty, it’s a combination of several things. Some of which
are:
- Personality: According
to the royal college of physicians, in their 17th July 2015 post on how to
choose a medical specialty, they said when choosing a specialty, it’s
important to take into consideration who you are: your personality, likes
and dislikes, abilities, interests, ambitions, aptitudes, limitations and
task-management skills. Are you a hands-on practical person, or do you
like to think about detail and solve complex problems? Can you deal with
uncertainty and complex/busy situations, or do you prefer a more ordered
approach with time to think? Many of the medical specialties require a
mixture of attributes because of the varied and variable nature of work as
a physician.
- Length of
training: This
is absolutely important. Consider how many years you need to put in before
going into it so you don't leave half way because you cannot
continue and you end up having lost years. Know all that is required
before you begin. Some training require at least 8 years in some countries and others less.
- Rewards: The reward
of your job is your pay check at the end of the month including patient
satisfaction. Consider what you will earn as a consultant in which ever
field you decide to go, would it sustain you and your family? Think of responsibilities
as well. I always say to people doctors aren’t particularly rich people
anyway so make a wise choice.
- Family: Would it
give you enough time for your family? We have always known doctors to be
away from home most times especially at night, but there are some
specialties which give you a reasonable amount of time to spend with your
family. Psychiatry, dermatology etc are good examples.
- The task: Are you up
for the task? Some people have gone blindly into a path and gotten lost in
the process simply because they didn't anticipate all they had to deal
with. You have to know what it entails and basically figure out if you are
competent enough to give it a try.
- Flexibility: So you may not always get it right at first attempt. Let’s say for instance you are far gone in your specialty training and you decide you don’t want that path anymore, what are the possibilities of completing in another specialty. Some specialties give you the opportunity to branch out and others are willing to accept you half way. In the U.K they refer to specialists who have trained in another field but now work in a different one as associate specialists. Do your research to see how flexible your choice is.
Few
things that didn’t make it to the list are things like stress. Can you manage
stress or you burn out easily, are you a people person or you rather sit quiet
and do your job, Radiology would be an option in this case. I will talk
about different specialties and give your ideas on what to expect from each one
in the next post.
Comment
yes in the comment box below if this post was useful to you and if you want to
see the next post on each specialties.
Cheers
Mute.
4 comments
Absolutely YES!
ReplyDeleteGreat, next post on doctors lounge would be all about each specialty. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers.
DeleteWell said
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Delete