So technically I’m a little behind the game in this Ortho stuff because I have no medical school research experience. People say that you can count the research you did in college for residency, but the smart ones know that for a competitive residency you need to get yourself on a project in medical school quick. So since I went on a mission trip last summer instead of doing research (which I don’t regret at all), I realized I need to make up for my lack of research. So every Tuesday, the LLU Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery has a Basic Science Lab where they either do hands on stuff like drilling screws into expensive styrofoam bones or where they present their current research projects. Today was the day that they were presenting their current research projects and throwing out ideas for future research projects.
So I decided to attend this conference. I was pretty nervous because 1) I honestly don’t think I’m smart enough to get into Ortho 2) All the ortho attendings and residents were going to be there and I didn’t know them all that well 3) Some of my classmates who have been attending these conferences since last year will finally see that I”m gunning for ortho too. So I walked in and people were kind of just chilling around talking and eating food that a Orthopedic Supply company had brought in. I greeted the residency director that I had shadowed last week and just stood a around a little trying to find my place. I saw another 2nd year medical student sitting down so I starting chatting with her for a little. After that I chatted with some 3rd year medical students but I was generally a little too nervous to walk up to a resident or attending that I didn’t know. Then I guess I got lucky…one of the older attendings that specializes in Sports Injuries decided to sit right between me and the other 2nd year. So I got to talk with him a little about iPhones, and how bad AT&T’s reception was, etc.
The research presentations started and I sat back to listen to what an Orthopedic resident had to learn during their 5 years and throughout their career. Many of the projects I listened to basically dealt with them drilling pins/screws into expensive synthetic bones, applying serious pressure by some machine that can measure the tension on the screws and the bone, and then seeing how the various angles that they screwed the pins in would affect the strength of their joint. I know that I am certainly oversimplifying what I saw, but that is the general gist I got. As I listened to the presentations I couldn’t help but feel like I was back in my college General Physics class. Orthopedic surgery deals with alot of physics like angles, tension, work load, etc. I didn’t mind physics in college, but I really hated it on the MCAT and some of that disdain started to creep up again when I was listening to the projects. So I heard all the projects, smoozed a little after that with some residents and attendings, and went home.
I was actually pretty happy that I went to this basic science meeting because it helped me to realize that Orthopedic Surgery is probably not the best fit for me. Yes the two surgeries that I saw last week were the coolest thing ever, but at this basic science conference I realized that the bones and joints actually don’t interest me very much at all. And I was trying to force myself, but I just couldn’t get excited about all the angles, and joint reconstructions, and tensions, etc. that made my classmates that are interested in ortho giddy. I had been so scared I wouldn’t be smart enough to get into ortho that I overlooked the fact that I could actually not like it very much at all. Also, I don’t feel like the field fits my personality much; my personality is such that I love to be really busy doing a variety of things at the same time. Orthopedic Surgeons really stick to their game and don’t seem to venture into the abdomen much; they really are masters of the skeleton which is good, but I like the other areas of the body too. Some say ER is good for me, but I definitely love the OR more than that, and it really seems to me that General Surgery gives me that variety, especially if I’m in a rural area or on the mission field. What I did is actually advised by a lot of medical students; if you are really interested in a certain specialty, you should make it a point to read a couple of journals and research articles in your field. If you find that subject matter dry and boring then that should send up a red flag, because as a resident you will have to be reading these journals to keep up with the rapidly changing field and this continues into your future practice also. So yeah, the ortho residents were great, and the attendings were super nice and supportive but I realized that I couldn’t get passionate about orthopedic surgery and bones and tendons, which is alright, because everyone can’t be passionate about the same specialty.
So when I got home I decided to look online at LLU General Surgery department to see when they were having their Basic Science Conference. Their conference starts at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning so I am going to sit in on that and see how it goes.
Funny how things turn out, right? lol