"Why Did You Choose Emergency Medicine"
In many ways, Emergency medicine guys need to know everything about almost every specialty - coz' time is scare when a patient shows up in the ER and all ages from the cradle to the walking stick need to be cared for immediately. It remains one of the pretty competitive specialties for the lifestyle, which might seem weird at first - but not when you know that Emergency Medicine docs work ONLY emergencies for 8-hour shifts at a time. This is contrast to other medicine specialties like Internal medicine or Family medicine guys who need to know their patients in and out, follow them up and cover emergencies too at times, which Emergency Medicine guys can forget everything once they leave the ER ;-). Having said that - Emergency medicine guys like the fast life, the action, the variety and the immense satisfaction of saving dying patients. Emergency Medicine offers exactly that. Regular medicine and the research is too slow-paced and yawn-evoking for them :-)So reflect a bit on what some of these practicing Emergency Medicine docs have to say, and formulate your answers based on what appeals to you the most :-)
1. "As I completed my medical degree, I realized that academia and the slow pace of research was not for me. I also enjoyed working with and aiding people. I liked to deal with a variety of problems and solve them quickly and thus I decided on emergency medicine. In a single day you might reduce a shoulder dislocation, repair a child’s facial laceration, treat respiratory failure, deliver a baby, or save someone’s life from a heart attack/arrhythmia. The variety of problems and patients keep things interesting and making the correct diagnosis can be quite challenging."
Source: Dr. Michael Torrest
2. "I love the opportunity to see many different patients every day. I feel that my specialty provides me the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives and health. I enjoy being able to rapidly diagnose and treat all sorts of emergency conditions. Often, when I am not able to come to a definite diagnosis, I am able to at least rule out the presence of an emergency condition and address my patient’s worries. I am able to also work closely with my colleagues in other specialties to help me come to a diagnosis or treatment plan when it may not be completed in a single emergency visit.:
Source: Dr. Lisa Keenly
3. "It has always fascinated me to watch emergency medicine doctors work. That's why I chose emergency medicine. There is no time to get bored. It's always busy. You have to multi-task, and you get to take care of acutely ill patients. It's all about teamwork. It constantly reminds me of my years playing baseball at Texas State University."
Source: Dr. Stephen Paulson (Resident and US Airforce member)
4. "Here in Atlanta, I would like to meet a regular guy to hang out with. I am a bit tired of getting hit on by Prisoners, Suicide patients and alcoholics.... I'm mean it's nice the attention and all, but I can't take my work home with me that's why I CHOSE Emergency Medicine"
Source : "Ebony : MySpace Profile" : LOL
5. "Coz in an Emergency - negotiating my fees is much easier and in fact fun"
- Just Kidding !
Emergency Joke:
" A man comes into the Emergency Room and yells, "My wife’s going To have her baby in the cab!" I grabbed my stuff, rushed out to the cab, Lifted the lady’s dress, and began to take off her underwear. Suddenly I noticed that there were several cabs, and I was in the wrong one"
- Dr. Mark MacDonald
Also Read:
- Emergency Medicine Salaries in USA
- Introduction to Clinical Emergency Medicine
Search keywords to this article:
- emergency medicine residency interview questions"
- "how to answer when asked about emergency medicine as a specialty"
Labels: Emergency Medicine
|
|
Share on Facebook |
|
|







Comments on ""Why Did You Choose Emergency Medicine""
-
superdoc said ... (October 5, 2007 5:13 AM) :
-
Digitaldoc, MD said ... (October 5, 2007 5:21 AM) :
-
Debjit said ... (October 5, 2007 10:12 PM) :
-
Anonymous said ... (July 31, 2008 6:23 AM) :
-
superdoc said ... (November 15, 2008 1:00 PM) :
Post Your Comment !This is awesome stuff dude, dunno how many IMGs will find it useful, coz very few, and I mean very few apply for EM, but it certainly gave me some good ideas for my PS, thanks :-)
You are absolutely correct - coz this is a sign that I am trying to gain some AMG audience too ;-)
Wish you good luck superdoc :D
hello....digitaldoc...i am an IMG from INDIA..i am very much keen to get residency in Emergency Medicine..i am going in 2010 match..so i have time...i will give step 3...try to do some externship....is there any oppertunity to do externship in emergency medicine??? if yes then where?...last of all .. can u suggest some points which give me some extra edge to get the residency in EM..plzzz...thanking u..
Having been residency trained and board certified and practised for 7 years, I advise you to be very careful before you commit to EM. There is no "exit stategy" when you are too tired of EM or burned out from constant stress. No way to reduce your practice stress level except to give it all up and work in an urgent care center somewhere. No EM doc that I am aware of has survived this specialty beyond an age of 50 and the rates of alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, PTSD are staggering--to the point that most insurers won't sell you a specialty-specific disability policy anymore. What looks great at 30 (no call, big bucks, short shifts) doesn't look so good at 45 or 50. Furthermore, the lack of autonomy and professional independence makes this a job where you are easily replaced at the whim of an administrator, making your life a constant series of 2 or 3 year stints; it's very hard to have a normal life under these circumstances. Bottom line: you get paid a lot because most doctors refuse to do this kind of work...there is no free lunch.
this is in response to the comment made by "anonymous":
I'm just in the beginning of my residency training, hence might not be the best person to tackle your comments, but honestly, I have seen a lot of doctors well past 50 not just surviving, but happily thriving in this field. All those horror stories about "burn-outs" and breakdowns are utter BS, simply because those are people who got into the specialty just seeing the fun side (the money, glamor, lifestyle blah blah..) of it, they were never committed to the work and hence suffered. If one is really devoted to this specialty, then you will enjoy this throughout your life like no one else.
Amen