tl;dr – One of the main reasons i'm considering Trauma surgery as a speciality (compared to the others listed below; GP, Interventional radiology, and Radio-oncology) is my own Ego even with all the negatives…is that healthy?
Hello everybody,
I've been thinking about which residency i'm gonna dive into for some time now, and i'm divided between these few:
-Trauma Surgery (thus, General surgery first)
-Interventional Radiology
– GP
-Radio-oncology and therapy
I know, how can the difference be so huge between my 4 choices. Well, here comes my question; I have always loved the unexpected cases and patient population of Trauma surgery, as well as the type of Acute surgeries that need to be done that aren't per se repetitive as say, Cardiosurgery. It's a fast, exciting, and full of adrenaline. In general, I'm good under pressure, while on the other hand, I get really bored, very quickly, when i'm on Internal medicine rounds or ANY other type of surgery. Now here's the thing, with all the "positives" of Trauma surgery, in my country, the doctor-patient ratio is around 1:800. This is incredibly stunning. I sat down with a head of trauma in one of the hospitals i'm interested in, and basically in a nutshell, 85% of my life will be spent in the hospital which directly contradicts with one other thing that i would like to keep in balance in my life, Family. I can't think of how i will be able to spend 12 hours a day in a hospital, let alone 85% of my time, when i have kids, and even though it is such a big deal to me, i feel that my ego is so strong in this matter (Hard speciality, basically a God of surgery, that more or less saves the day in a disaster…) that it's clouding my judgment to the point where i'm just LOST, in a sense that i'm thinking about all the major things i will be doing as a Trauma surgeon, all the possible research in Trauma, etc…. I dont know what to do, what to think, and how to approach this.
I have done my thesis in interventional radiology and i enjoyed it (minimal patient contact, interventional approaches, multiple things that need to be done, so also not boring), I have also been a month at a GP's office, and also liked how chilled it is, meaning that it is on your own terms, no hospital bullshit, your own office, and your own opening times (plus, they get paid so much in my country). Finally Radio-oncology, similar to Interventional radiology in terms of office exposure (unlike internal medicine or surgery) as well as all the possible future advancements in this field.
In all these 3 specialities, you can open your own practice (money here is also a factor, as in my country, this will lead to a huge increase in earnings) while with Trauma surgery, you are just limited to the hospital, and that is it (so is your salary).
In my country, hospital salaries aren't as high as in the US, so for example, a Trauma surgery, with all the time spent at the hospital, won't make more than $4000-4500 a month. GP on the other hand (Private practice), at least $8000 a month all the way to $15000.
Thank you for your time
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