I am in High School, and am seriously thinking about a career in medicine, I think I would either like to me a surgeon or an emergency medic, what are some ways to tell whether or not these would suit me, or if another would be right?
2007-09-06 17:15:15 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
There are certain temperments that suit each specialty that you must take into consideration. If you are one that does not like surprises and not having a set schedule in which your day will pan out then ER or surgery is not a good fit.These are unpredictable specialties. Their days can change in the time you get an unstable or tricky patient that walks in the door. If you like to know what your schedule will be and a predictable lifestyle tor a more laidback one then other specialties are better suited.It depends on what you can tolerate as well as how quick you think on your feet.
Things to do:
Read about what basic training involves for each specialty.
Volunteer at the hospital in those specific areas.
Find some surgeons or ER Drs in your town and ask if you can shadow with them. Call the ER and speak to the administrative assistants (or just go there in person) and tell genuinely what your aims are. See if you can speak to the Drs in person. They most likely will say yes. If a friend is in healthcare maybe they can help get your foot in the door. They do work on the weekends too so you can just see what a routine day is like. That is more important that just knowing how much they make and the glamorous parts of the job. It has to be a realistic idea of what that specialty is really about and the only way is to see it from a regular working day.
When you get in---ask intelligent questons about the training and lifestyle. Do your research, don't bother them during active patient care since you are not there to learn medicine just to see what their day entails, be enthusiastic and really show you are motivated and interested. Be punctual and be ready to pitch in to help them or office staff if needed.
You may find a mentor in all of this who can help guide you and maybe useful to you in the future (reccommendation letters, etc). Try different offices, try other specialities too. Nice to put on your college applications-shows interest in area of interest.
In college get your EMT certification and work as an EMT- will give you another aspect of Emergency Medicine. Good when applying for med school.
Good Luck! Medicine is a noble profession and requires a passion, perseverance and life long learning. Hope you find what suits you and how you suit the job.
2007-09-07 01:45:16 · answer #1 · answered by bj 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you can know until med school. You will rotate through various fields of medicine, and you will then figure out which one you like the best. Think about the life style that goes with it though. I liked cancer and leukemia medicine and ER medicine. I chose the wrong one (Cancer) to specialize in.
It was impossible to have a life in private practice. ER would have been a MUCH better choice - for me anyway. Good luck!
Right now just concentrate on getting goods grades. With a good GPA you can do anything you want.
2007-09-07 04:50:12 · answer #2 · answered by Spreedog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You probably need a lot of endurance while working for both career. As a surgeon, you need to be good with details and strong in human anatomy. Emergency medic, you need to be quick and a good risk taker. Anyhow, for both careers you have to like going through medical school. My advice is, go through medical school and let your perspective grow from there. And be open to any options cos you'll be surprise that you may wanna do sothing completely different like psychiatry or pathology. Good luck on your future career!
2007-09-07 00:45:55 · answer #3 · answered by Harry K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Once in medical school you will exposed to different forms of medicine and you will be in contact with many different doctors that specialize in different things. One specialty may catch your eye or pique your interest enough to pursue it. Also....even though you think you may one to be in a certain specialty throughout med school, you can change your mind and continue with your education after medical school in the field of the specialty you have choosen.
You can also find different medical sites online. You can Google medical fields or medical specialities and you will see many selections to research.
2007-09-09 17:07:29 · answer #4 · answered by lacrosselover 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you go to med school, you learn about a bunch of medical careers and do a little bit of study in all of them so you can find one you really like.
2007-09-07 00:23:05 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
when i was in medical school, one way i decided on what to specialized was after i had rotated in the different departments...
through the rotations to different departments,i was able to experience the pros and cons & this eventually led me to what i really wanted
2007-09-13 00:13:46 · answer #6 · answered by fairlady 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋