it's snowing in madison. there was an accident at the corner of west wash and regent, thereby allowing me no passage to my home. so i had to take the long way around, which took FO-EVA since everyone was terrified of the snow so they drove 2mph.
i think i have seasonal affective disorder or something.
so anyway. i've been feeling particularly anxious about this whole undiscovered-love-for-ophthalmology thing. ths interest i've had in peds hem/onc has stemmed largely from the ordeal my cousin went through, and the noble view i had of the entire field. however, the pediatrics rotation at UW was absolutely miserable, and if i didn't have that streak of nobility driving me, i think i would have straight up hated it. but it was that look to the endpoint that kept me going and convinced me that even though the rotation blew ass, it would still be AWESOME to go into the field.
but with ophtho, i was excited about it right away, enjoyed it immensely, and actually found it FUN. here's the rub: peds is one of the EASIEST fields to go into. it competes with family practice for the slot of the easiest residency to match into, with the most lenient requirements. that's what i'm talking about.
ophtho is on the tougher side. granted, it's no radiation oncology or orthopedic surgery or diagnostic radiology or neurosurgery or anything, but it is pretty selective. i am not groomed for this sort of thing. i do not have the accolades. enthusiasm, i have. research credentials and published articles, i do not. guess what counts for more?
i guess we'll find out.
this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 9:44 PM | 4 Comments
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4 Comments:
Well there's still time to try & get some research & you could always study your butt off for Step 2. But surrrryusly Ophtho is way tougher to match into than I think is waranted AND I predict it'd get collosally boring after a couple years. Oncology, on the other hand, is fascinating, and I think that it's going to blow-the-eff-up during our careers. The human Genome Project & much other valuable, though less lauded, work has greatly increased our understanding of genes thus increasing our understanding of cancer. So now we know, and knowing is half the battle.
The important POINT IS:
Ophtho is early-match. You could apply to it & if you don't match in January then you could just apply to Peds, which doesn't match until March. This would be a really big pain in the ass & would prolly cost you an extra grand or two, but it is a possibility.
SORRY TO COMPLICATE THINGS
dropped by 
The Metaphysician on 19 January, 2005 11:11 [*]
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But really you should just decide to do Emergency Madicine - that's what all the cool kids are doing.
dropped by The Metaphysician on 19 January, 2005 11:11 [*]
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I told my dad what you were going into and the first words out were: "tell him not to go into pediatrics! he'll be miserable." He also said the same thing about danimal's idea of going into internal medicine. I think my dad is a man of broken dreams.
dropped by lol. ror. on 19 January, 2005 11:48 [*]
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ELO: your dad's not the only asian doctor dad that's convinced i'll be miserable in peds, let alone peds hem/onc.
medmayne: ophtho COULD get boring, it's true. the problem is, at this point and at this hospital, i have enjoyed ophtho and have been bored by peds.
granted, i have a 2 week clerkship in the peds hem/onc clinic coming up in a few weeks, so i guess that should help clear the air. i also plan on doing a 4th yr clerkship in ophtho. just to make sure i see everything.
on top of all this, my half-week in neuroradiology is pretty damn cool as well, but i don't have enough lifetimes to pile up the credentials to get into that field.
dropped by dr. j on 19 January, 2005 21:29 [*]
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drop some science: