M1 here trying to decide whether to go into derm or anesthesia. want a good lifestyle and compensation but hate the idea of working nights and weekends. i view medicine as more of a job. like fast-paced outpatient which draws me to derm. honestly the only thing i'm worried about with derm is the competetiveness. would y'all recommend shooting for derm or is it too hard? maybe dual apply?
sounds like you want an outpatient specialty... there is PM&R, Psych, and Fam Med. probably more too.
Derm vs. anesthesia is basically choosing between being a sunscreen sorcerer or a professional chair-recliner who monitors beeps for a living.
Derm gives you that fast-paced outpatient life, but only in the sense that patients sprint into clinic convinced their mosquito bite is melanoma.
Anesthesia is chill until suddenly it isn’t and you’re staring at a 3 a.m. airway like it’s a cryptid in the woods.
Meanwhile derm residents are sleeping peacefully, dreaming of moisturizers that cost more than rent.
You want lifestyle? Derm is the final evolution of lifestyle Pokémon.
But the entry requirements are Step scores forged in the fires of Mordor and a CV longer than the CVS receipt of someone with seasonal allergies.
Anesthesia pays well, but so do careers where you don’t get called at ungodly hours because a surgeon wants “just one more case.”
Derm, on the other hand, closes at 4 p.m. sharp because no one gets a rash emergency at midnight.
Dual applying derm and anesthesia is like saying “I want to be a pastry chef OR a firefighter.”
Both cool, but no one is expecting that combo and you’ll confuse literally everyone including yourself.
PM&R actually has decent lifestyle too, especially if you vibe with rehab gyms and people asking if you lift.
Psych lets you go home early after talking about everyone’s childhood trauma while your own quietly festers.
Family med is outpatient life in its purest, rawest form.
But the hours depend entirely on whether your clinic is managed by competent humans or gremlins fueled by expired energy drinks.
Honestly, nothing is too hard if you’re willing to brute-force study until your brain starts buffering mid-sentence.
But also nothing is worth sacrificing your future Saturdays for if you don’t absolutely have to.
Shoot for derm if it calls to you, because the worst they can say is no and the best they can say is “welcome to the SPF cult.”
And if not, anesthesia will always welcome you with open arms and slightly droopy eyelids.
Just pick whichever one makes you least likely to cry into your badge photo.
And remember: in the end, all you really want is zero nights, zero weekends, and a paycheck that whispers “you made the right choice.”" with "does henry ford interview all rotators? Trying to see if it's a uconn situation with courtesy interviews..."
... have you shadowed either...
shadowed both. anesthesia was 95% doing nothing, 5% doing minimally invasive procedures with I like. shadowed derm and thought the daily practice was more my style. however since i don't know anything about derm it was less interesting in a sense since i was literally watching someone think. i don't think i'll get a sense of what derm is like until residency for that reason. with that being said i shadowed MOHs and absolutely loved it.
As someone who is not yet a resident, I find derm to be the most fascinating specialty! There are so many cool and unique presentations and endless amounts to learn about each one! If you don't feel genuinely interested in the specialty, you probably shouldn't apply just for the lifestyle alone.
not saying i am not interested in the specialty, i'm saying i don't know enough about derm to really decide if the pathology/treatment is interesting. wondering if i should start racking up pubs and presentations and stuff so if i do decide to go derm i can make that shift easier
try to talk to derm residents/attendings. No offense but med students just can't get the most accurate sene of what it feels like to practice derm so wouldn't have the best perspective to help you decide. Also this spreadsheet is biased since everyone here wants derm lol
thank you, will do that
prep for derm match than switch to gas if you want. Its def harder going other way around >Shadowing anesthesia feels like watching a calm wizard guard a beeping cauldron, 95% serenity and 5% poking things with needles, which is admittedly pretty fun.
Derm shadowing felt more your vibe, even if it was basically watching someone silently think for eight hours like a dermatologic Sherlock Holmes.
And yeah, MOHs is basically derm’s boss fight and it makes sense you loved it, tiny scalpels and big satisfaction.
Someone else dropping in like “Derm is the coolest specialty ever, endless rashes, endless mysteries,” which is true if you’re into that dermatologic Pokémon card collecting energy.
But they rightly pointed out that if you don’t actually find the content fascinating, you shouldn’t pick it just because derm people leave work at 3 p.m. spiritually.
You aren’t uninterested, you just don’t know enough yet to decide if staring at biopsies and chronic hives is your forever jam.
And now you’re wondering if you should start grinding pubs and posters like you’re farming experience points for the Derm Final Boss.
Then someone reminds you that med students have the clinical perspective accuracy of a potato and you really need to talk to actual derm residents or attendings.
Also the spreadsheet is biased because everyone on it wants derm like it’s Beyoncé tickets.
You respond politely like “Thanks, will do,” but internally you’re already imagining cold emailing 40 dermatologists.
And of course someone drops the chaotic classic: prep like you’re going derm, then switch to anesthesia later if you want, because apparently going from gas to derm is like trying to evolve a Pokémon with the wrong stone.
Ngl OP I think you need to do a lot more soul searching and real life data gathering. Feel free to start doing derm research to hedge but picking a specialty solely for lifestyle and pay is not a recipe for career satisfaction. though totally fair if lifestyle/pay are one factor of many. You will naturally be more "competitive" if you like what you do (even in med school). > tbh this is why i picked derm though. Sometimes for some of us having the right amount of interest in it (more than other options doesn't need to be a passion) in combo with lifestyle and pay is, in fact, a recipe for career satisfaction. well.....i haven't matched obvs but hopefully it's so
totally, that's why I qualified my statement with "solely" above!
POOP
shadowed both. anesthesia was 95% doing nothing, 5% doing minimally invasive procedures with I like. shadowed derm and thought the daily practice was more my style. however since i don't know anything about derm it was less interesting in a sense since i was literally watching someone think. i don't think i'll get a sense of what derm is like until residency for that reason. with that being said i shadowed MOHs and absolutely loved it.
As someone who is not yet a resident, I find derm to be the most fascinating specialty! There are so many cool and unique presentations and endless amounts to learn about each one! If you don't feel genuinely interested in the specialty, you probably shouldn't apply just for the lifestyle alone.
not saying i am not interested in the specialty, i'm saying i don't know enough about derm to really decide if the pathology/treatment is interesting. wondering if i should start racking up pubs and presentations and stuff so if i do decide to go derm i can make that shift easier
try to talk to derm residents/attendings. No offense but med students just can't get the most accurate sene of what it feels like to practice derm so wouldn't have the best perspective to help you decide. Also this spreadsheet is biased since everyone here wants derm lol
thank you, will do that
prep for derm match than switch to gas if you want. Its def harder going other way around >Shadowing anesthesia feels like watching a calm wizard guard a beeping cauldron, 95% serenity and 5% poking things with needles, which is admittedly pretty fun.
Derm shadowing felt more your vibe, even if it was basically watching someone silently think for eight hours like a dermatologic Sherlock Holmes.
And yeah, MOHs is basically derm’s boss fight and it makes sense you loved it, tiny scalpels and big satisfaction.
Someone else dropping in like “Derm is the coolest specialty ever, endless rashes, endless mysteries,” which is true if you’re into that dermatologic Pokémon card collecting energy.
But they rightly pointed out that if you don’t actually find the content fascinating, you shouldn’t pick it just because derm people leave work at 3 p.m. spiritually.
You aren’t uninterested, you just don’t know enough yet to decide if staring at biopsies and chronic hives is your forever jam.
And now you’re wondering if you should start grinding pubs and posters like you’re farming experience points for the Derm Final Boss.
Then someone reminds you that med students have the clinical perspective accuracy of a potato and you really need to talk to actual derm residents or attendings.
Also the spreadsheet is biased because everyone on it wants derm like it’s Beyoncé tickets.
You respond politely like “Thanks, will do,” but internally you’re already imagining cold emailing 40 dermatologists.
And of course someone drops the chaotic classic: prep like you’re going derm, then switch to anesthesia later if you want, because apparently going from gas to derm is like trying to evolve a Pokémon with the wrong stone.
totally, that's why I qualified my statement with "solely" above!