HELP!! My DH can't decide on a speciality!!!!

Hello everyone! I need help with my spouse! He won't make up his mind as far as specialties. Last check we had it down to Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine. Now we have added Anesthesiology back into the pick (was a strong favorite for a while to the point that he got letters of recs from attendings). Please tell me that others have done this. The other spouses I talk locally are no help! All of their spouses either knew what they wanted to do since birth or they are kind of choices have been minimized by various factors (not leaving the area, poor grades/ scores, or path of least resistance was the mentality).

Please HELP!

Benny's mom

[MarissaNicole]

What does he LOVE doing? What can he see himself doing for the next 30+ years day in and day out?

Do you have any gut feelings as to what his personality is suited for? Also is there an area/location that you want to end up in?

Check out this specialty thread and perhaps it will be helpful.

I don't have much first hand advice on any of those specialties but there are others here that will. Good luck!

[Deebs]

From the Emergency docs we know, choosing between EM and Anesthesia is probably the most common dilemma I've heard. I think the bright side of your DH's indecision is that he must like various aspects of medicine a lot. Hopefully, that will keep him from burning out in the long run, regardless of his decision.

[ladymoreta]

What year is he? During the 3rd and 4th year of medical school, he'll be able to do rotations in different specialties, and that will give him a better idea of whether he likes them. He really won't need to choose before the start of 4th year, when he starts applying for residency programs. DH wasn't really sure about his until he actually did an anesthesiology rotation.

It's kind of frowned upon, but he could apply for residency for more than one specialty, then see which program he gets a better impression of during the interviews. I would just recommend that he not apply for more than one specialty per program, as the word is more likely to get around.

[medpedspouse]

Please tell me that others have done this.

Yes, other's have. I would say that about 75-80% of the med students either do not know or change their minds multiple times. Out of the rest, some (a small minority) still do not know what do after completing a residency program.

It is a tough decision. You not only have to consider what you like or dislike to do, but also lifestyle, earning potential, how many years of training you are willing to saddle yourself to name a few. Faculty can be a great source if they objectively share this type of information. Unfortunately, some have had selective amnesia and only remember the good stuff (or they are so ancient that things are no longer the same) - maybe their spouses are better resources.

You always have us ...we will be more than happy to share the good, the bad and the ugly.

Been there!
DH didn't decide between EM and FM until he had interviewed in each.

[moonlight]

I have a friend that wanted to do family medicine but didn't want three years of boring clinic work followed by 30 years of working in boring clinics. He found a FM residency program that was very heavily trauma focused, unopposed residency, and (don't faint!) FM attendings and FM residents were doing simple surgeries at this hospital. It fit his need for action and desire to stick with FM. I also have another friend that her husband didn't match this year to OBGYN. He had to scramble into a FM program. During his phone interview he was told they wanted to hire him because of his desire for OB work. At this particular hospital there wasn't an OB resident program. The program director wanted residents that have a desire to succeed in the OB department. This friend of mine is now tickled pink he only has three years during residency, lots of OB work/training, and less call for his family to deal with.

Overall, I'd say don't shut any door to one specialty based on a preconceived idea of how that specialty plays out day to day. Have him do his best to research individual programs, as best he can.

All I have to say is, if he decides to go ObGyn, have his kneecaps broken....just kidding
Be sure to account for the call schedules for each...trust me..

RB

what do you mean? He is still considering ob/Gyn a lot more these days. His deans conference is in a couple days and that will be it as far as making a decision and sticking with it at least through residency. I can only pray he doesn't change specialties after all this.

[JC76]

My husband was also stuck between EM and Anesthesia. I tried to encourage him to focus on what type of medicine he thought would still interest him 20 years from now, rather than focusing on the salary potential, job prospects, etc. He ended up going with EM because he loves procedures, loves his patient contact and the EM schedule/hours appeal to him. I think he would definitely say today that he believes he made the right choice, but he's very well aware that he needs to think about the long-term future from day one. He's pretty sure he will burn out before he's ready to retire, so he's trying to lay grounds for a back-up plan.

what do you mean? He is still considering ob/Gyn a lot more these days. His deans conference is in a couple days and that will be it as far as making a decision and sticking with it at least through residency. I can only pray he doesn't change specialties after all this.

OBGYN has proven to be the most expensive, most time consuming, most litigious, and most ungrateful specialty imaginable. My spouse saves lives and brings new lives into the world every day, gets paid as little as possible by insurers, pays the most ridiculous premiums for MP insurance, spends her days dealing with paperwork, spends her nights on call. But she is committed...

More than happy to supply details..shoot me a pvt message...

RB

[Vishenka69]

Has your DH done all the rotations yet? Which ones did he feel the most comfortable with? If you have any anesthesia questions let me know.