Why I DIDN'T... Emergency Medicine

Emergency medicine is an awesome specialty. There is a lot of variety, it's fast-paced, you clock in and clock out, you don't take a lot of work home with you -- the list goes on. That being said, it wasn't for me. Choosing a specialty is one of the most important decisions you make during medical school and everyone has their own personal reasons for choosing what they do. Here's what I liked about emergency medicine, what I didn't like, and why I ultimately chose to specialize in plastic surgery instead.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction
00:46 - What I Liked About Emergency Medicine
05:01 - What I Didn't Like About Emergency Medicine
08:29 - Final Thoughts

LINKS FROM VIDEO:

#emergencymedicine #medicalschool #whyididnt
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Disclaimer: Content of this video is my opinion and does not constitute medical advice. The content and associated links provide general information for general educational purposes only. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Kevin Jubbal, M.D. will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death. May include affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you).

[joshmcgoo]

Starting EM residency in July at a level 1 trauma/stroke/Peds/etc center. STOKED

[Abujoudofkush]

EM doctors are meticulous about what matters now. Non acute doctors often don't understand how to approach a problem with the same level of prioritisation and get annoyed that EM didn't cover a completely non life threatening differential.

[eltayebabdeladteem]

I think " why i didn't choose general surgery " is really going to be a great episode

[khalilahd.]

I really liked the appeal of emergency medicine initially however after shadowing an EM doctor I found that it was a bit too much for me. Thanks for sharing your perspective I definitely relate to some of your reservations with the specialty 😅

[oliverallen]

I’m a Wildland FF/EMT now. I was in medical school and left during covid. My intention is to go back. I’ve done shift work my whole life, and EM docs are still in that paradigm at a much higher level.

[bahzingapunk]

your videos, be it on med school insiders or here, are so strangely and uniquely motivating. i just passed all of my exams and i didnt feel like all that studying was worth the 10 minutes of joy i had after passing my exams, but these videos give me something to look forward to. thank you very much dr. jubbal.

[Mark_Ocain]

EM is the best training for general practice. Young Docs learn so much in the ED. The downside is the workload and stress when you're on. You need to be able to switch off when your shift is done.

[faiza]

Love this "why I didn't" series! It's very illuminating to hear about your experiences and honest personal perspective on pros/ cons of different specialties. We all have different pros/ cons, some of your pros were my cons and vice versa. Really informative stuff regardless. Keep it up. Can you do psychiatry, neurology, internal med?

[markmccormack]

Having worked in large hospitals the past 4 years, respiratory techs are the unsung heroes of the ER when it comes to saving lives. Also saving lives are the cardiologist and their team of cardiology fellows, nurses and technicians who perform cardiac catheterizations. Lots of people saved by these folks as long as the patient arrives still alive on the ambo.

[firedrago]

This was an extremely well made and superrr helpful video for me personally. Everything from the editing to the content, was very well made. So thank you so much!

[Mahmoud-irnt]

Prior to getting my EMT license in 2018, I thought EM was the most thrilling specialty, but after gaining experience, I knew it's at the bottom of my list for 2 reasons: 1) the bread and butter, as mentioned in the video, is why EMTs and medics burnout. 2) I didn't realize that the purpose of an ED is to just stabilize a pt and package them to the next unit, where their actual problems are solved.

[DevonRd]

Unfortunately, now a days, EM physicians take hours of work home (notes/billing) thanks to most hospital administrators. On top of ever increasing patient volumes, decreasing hospital resources, reduced nurse staffing, and an exceptionally ill populace thanks to large gaps in health care coverage and most people not having access to a "living wage" - there is no "clock in/clock out" to speak of. All of the above, including at times abuse from other specialities, is why the burn out rate is so high. The ED is a catch all for all the holes in the American Health Care System, the dark underbelly that shows where our true values lie as a country.

[musiqal]

I like EM. I went into medical school with EM as a goal. But, after going through EM clinical rotations, I still worry that, long term, I could burn out. And I don't want to do that years later. So to this day, I'm still in between EM and Family Medicine.

[DrBilly]

Best career advice I ever got: "Avoid the jobs where you have to deal with the general public."

[Mjln]

Unfortunately I had four ER visits earlier this year -- all of them hours long and three resulting in admission. During at least three of those I heard the staff having to deal with an abusive patient. The abusive patients appeared to be homeless and likely both mentally disturbed and suffering from addiction. I felt very sorry for the staff having to deal with them.

[EdwardsNH]

"You go in, you punch out, and you're done". Not at all true. You go in, you get zero breaks for 12 hours (if, by some miracle, you get out on time), then you go home and catch up on all the charts that you had zero time to do while you were getting yelled at by angry patients that had to wait 2+ hours to see you.

Also, the constantly changing from days to mid, to night shift is hell on your mental and physical health.

My ex is in EM, and the reason she's my ex is she was ALWAYS miserable. And as you can tell... I knew exactly why

[gggusc]

There is a ton of anxiety that comes through the door masquerading as TIAs, ACSs, etc...

[lonewolf]

Its the only specialty I see myself doing. I don't want paper work in FM and I don't want to be in a 6 year residency for surgery specialities.

[Polina-Tali]

this is a good playlist and by any means it is not useless🙂

[taahaadamji]

Why I didn’t psychiatry and anesthesiology are the ones I’m really looking forward to!