Day 149: Brief musing on specialties

Today’s inane image of the day:

This was the sky’s “Good Morning” today — this photo was taken from a study room in O’Dowd [I highly recommend these rooms early in the morning… so peaceful to watch the sun rise].

For our PRISM session next week, each of us is required to complete the 150 question MSPI-R assessment on the Careers in Medicine website. Not surprisingly, the speciality it said I was most compatible with was OB/GYN. Huh, you ask? Haven’t you been raving about interest in anesthesiology, radiation oncology and cancer genetics? Why did you know you would get OB/GYN [beside the fact that the survey asked predictable questions]?

Well, first and foremost, I really enjoy working with the female population [which is probably why I was so involved in the Society of Women Engineers and now the American Medical Women’s Association]. Women indeed have different needs and I find it fascinating how distinct males and females react to problems or emotional expression. I love the connection and the firsthand understanding. And babies are absolutely magical.

But, I don’t know if I really want to dedicate the rest of my life to women’s reproductive health. Maybe after my clerkship I’ll change my mind. Or maybe it’ll push me more toward breast cancers. Or maybe I’ll be back here exactly where I started [hopefully not that last one!].

Bah! It stresses me out not to have a more concrete idea of where I want to and hope to be after medical school.

Day 15: Where to go, where to go

Today’s inane image of the day:

We use this fun device for most of our classes — it’s a part of the “active learning” part of our curriculum. For the most part, I think it does do its job of making sure we understand the material.

Just to keep you coming back, I’ve been promised guest posts from some of my inaugural-classmates… assuming I can squeeze one out of someone!

I’ve been meaning to write an entry about this for a while, but I’ve found other things to be easier to discuss and thus left it for a special day. Apparently, the day has come: let’s talk about specialties. Yes, yes, yes, I’m barely in my third week of my M1 year and I’m already concerned about what I want to be doing after four years?

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