I'm currently an M3 who's trying to decide between DR (maybe IR) or EM.
I like having a broad base of knowledge across organ systems which I think are present in both fields. I like the procedures in EM and the skills that they learn. I feel like I would be more engaged in learning the material since it's more immediately relevant and I may need it at a moments notice instead of being able to look things up. I like having the ability to be calm and know how to take care of crises that may pop up whenever (or in an apocalypse). However, I'm afraid of burning out and transitioning to something else when I become 40 or 50 and the ED is too taxing physically. Also the rise of mid-levels and from online it seems like the salary of EM may take a big hit soon. I'm also not naturally an extrovert that can build patient rapport in a few seconds. I worry about getting infectious diseases (TB, lice, flu, needlesticks) and worry about lawsuits, seeing so many patients who may not be the best historians and dispoing. (what if you miss a PE or subdural??? what if you gave a med and patient went into anaphylaxis because they weren't verbal to tell you allergies???)
I like the stability of radiology, the amount of knowledge that they have. They also make a lot more money. In a less stressful job I could take the money and treat work like work, but find fulfillment in my time off. It's a career that I could continue into my 60s if I'm so inclined. After a certain point won't work just be work and I want to chill as much as possible? I just worry about the isolation of the reading room and that the brief interactions for an LP or upper GI series won't be patient-facing enough for me. Also afraid of AI making jobs more scarce.
I wanted to hear the thoughts of people who are in these fields already, if they would change what they chose.
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