Hello ppl..
Today as I open my blog/comments I was astonished to see that I have A question from one of my reader :O , Oh boy !!!
I'll do my best to reply and hope this will help you .QUESTION : My name is Taj. Let me just start off by saying I am 100% sure that I am going into the medical field. There's no backing down on my part. I am a highschool junior getting ready to start applying to schools next year and my first choice is the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, a 7yr BS/MD program (not sure if you heard of it). Also any advice you can give on surviving pre-med and medical school I will gladly take :)
I am really interested in anesthesiology and cardiology so my question is really for YOU I wanted to know how and when did you juggle and decide when to get Marry,have kids and also what do you love about your career and why and how you decided to be an anesthesiologist ? Thanx in Advance !
I am really interested in anesthesiology and cardiology so my question is really for YOU I wanted to know how and when did you juggle and decide when to get Marry,have kids and also what do you love about your career and why and how you decided to be an anesthesiologist ? Thanx in Advance !
My Answer:Thanks so much for your questions! I think first of all that it important to keep an open mind going into medical school. You get exposed to so many new things, and there are whole fields of medicine that you never contemplated before that you end up learning about. Anesthesia, in fact, was something I thought nothing about and never did a lick of in medical school. I looked into anesthesia just before I was about to start my CR fact is that you have to pick a specialty based on limited information (you can't see everything by fall of your 3rd year) and a significant number of people end up switching.
Within that spectrum, anesthesia definitely falls into my nonworking brain . I thought about ENT and OB,and then decided to go with anesthesia!! I love that I'll be the one who gets to push the drugs- I'll think it, I'll give it, I'll see the results- no waiting for a nurse to fill the written order.
I also do not think that the assumption is correct that anesthesiologists are somehow antisocial. I love that I have to establish rapport very quickly with people who are at a very stressful time in their lives- about to head into the OR for a surgery. I'll get to work with kids, parents, laboring women, awake women having C-sections. Some of the anesthesiologists I know are rather extroverted. But I do like that a portion of my patients do go to sleep, after I have talked to them. I also think that I'll enjoy lots of small procedures like intubations, invasive lines, epidurals, nerve blocks, echocardiography. They are not curative but they are hands-on. It would not be enough for a surgeon, but they'll be fun for me. I also love that I'll get to take care of one patient at a time. No worrying about all the other patients on my service and I'll get to know them literally inside out. I'll know every drop that has gone in and out. I won't have to juggle daily hematorits in my head for 12 patients over 10 days.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that anesthesia will allow me to separate work and family life a little more easily. When I'll leave the hospital, I'll pretty much leave work at work- no worrying about this or that patient- they are no longer my direct responsibility. That psychological freedom works well for me. All that being said, it's not for everyone. Sitting in a room charting vitals on an easy case gets boring for anyone. I think that there are so many intangibles that cause one to pick a specialty- when you rotate as a medical student and meet attendings and residents whom you enjoy and feel comfortable with, you end up wanting to be like them.
I think it's so great that you're starting to ask such good questions. Just remember to stay open-minded. You might end up at a place you'd never have imagined when you started.
All The Best.
