Following is a partial transcript of the video (note that errors are possible):
Pediatrics is just babysitting. Pathologists don’t talk to anyone. Ob/gyns only wear pink scrubs. Psychiatry is for doctors who want to fix their own problems. You’ve heard some version of these; maybe you’ve even repeated them. The misconceptions floating around about specialties shape which rotation students pursue, which specialties they apply to, and the careers they end up in. And because nobody corrects them, they just keep spreading. Dr. Jubal, medschoolinsiders.com. Let’s debunk the public perception myths and give it to you straight.
Let’s clear up some of the misconceptions about general surgery. First, some think that general surgery is the specialty for medical students who want to be surgeons but aren’t competitive enough to match into a more desirable surgical subspecialty like plastic surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, and so on. The truth is that general surgery has a great deal to offer that is unique from other surgical fields, and for that reason, attracts a large number of candidates.
Second, the challenging lifestyle aspects are often overstated, at least for when you’re a fully trained attending physician. Ultimately, your work-life balance comes down to the type of specialization within general surgery you pursue, in addition to the type of job you seek out. You have the ability to negotiate toward a true lifestyle specialty [or] something more stereotypically intense.
And while the common stereotype suggests radiologists are shy, socially awkward, don’t like talking to people, and just sit in a dark room all day, that’s far from the truth. Radiologists aren’t isolated and sitting by themselves in reading rooms. While not as high energy as the hospital floor or operating room, physicians regularly visit or call the reading rooms for assistance with their patients. And because radiology is a comparatively low-acuity field compared to other specialties, reading rooms are often laid-back and jovial in nature.
But radiologists’ work isn’t confined to just reading rooms. While most spend their time in reading rooms, they can also perform several procedures, ranging from life-saving procedures such as embolizing or ablating cancers with radiation-infused particles, to management-defining procedures such as taking a biopsy of a mass in deep areas of the body that no scalpel can safely reach.
While some think that psychiatrists go into the field because they subconsciously want to fix their own problems or that they’re highly eclectic and strange, this isn’t quite true. As a psychiatrist, you’ll have to be adept at relating to a wide range of individuals, and that also requires well-developed interpersonal skills. And while it has a useful handbook, psychiatry is much more than just memorizing DSM criteria and slapping on diagnoses to patients. Psychiatrists use the DSM as a guide, but they formulate patients more holistically than that. They’re looking at the psychological, socioeconomic, and physiologic causes of their symptoms as well, not just the symptoms themselves.
Some think that pediatrics isn’t that complicated and it’s just babysitting. That’s certainly not the case. And remember, kids actually have a unique physiology that requires careful attention and nuance. Acuity and sick kids are certainly a part of pediatrics, although it’s fair to say on average there’s a lower amount of acuity. If you think pediatrics only includes talking to children, think again. There’s a heavy family relationship-building component, and you’ll essentially work with at least two patients: the kid and their parents. Last, some think pediatrics is a women’s field. And while the majority are certainly women, it’s not as skewed as some other specialties. Approximately 70% of pediatricians are female.
One common misconception about oncology is that there is little to no hope for patients with advanced cancer. However, with the advent of new therapies as well as continued research and funding going into generating new therapies, oncology is an exciting and constantly evolving field. Patients are living longer, and there are dozens of new therapies coming out every single year that provide more options to cancer patients.
There are a few misconceptions we need to set straight about family medicine. First, some say that family medicine doctors don’t know much and are constantly sending referrals to specialists to handle what they can’t. The truth is that family medicine doctors are some of the best when it comes to handling common presenting concerns but need to know where their capabilities are and where to draw the line in seeking help from a specialist. They are often screening and finding conditions that allow for early intervention, like being the first person to find an arrhythmia and referring that patient to a cardiologist.
Additionally, family medicine doctors are the specialists of complexity — the quarterback of the patient’s healthcare needs. Because they have to know a little bit about everything, they can be the best to handle complex situations where a patient is receiving multiple treatments from multiple specialists, some of which may be conflicting. In line with this, family medicine docs are often well-suited at approaching each patient holistically and as an individual instead of as the sum of individual organs or chief complaints.
Last, most equate family medicine with outpatient primary care. While most family medicine doctors do practice in a clinical setting and see patients of all age ranges, there is more flexibility to the specialty, and you can narrow it down based on your particular interests, whether that’s being a hospitalist, obstetrician, or something else.
Watch the video above for more and visit Med School Insiders where this post originally appeared.