The medical doctor profession is a difficult career choice, albeit a well-respected one, sought after, and with good paychecks. However, most opt for this line as a resolve to serve the community and uplift the pain of the patients through their knowledge, dedication, and skill as doctors. If a person has a flair for life sciences and is dedicated to putting in long hours in preparing and later working as a doctor, then this professional choice arguably is worth the commitment.
Every med school student has to opt for specialization in their residency years. Depending on what specialization or subspecialization one opts for and gets enrolled in, their future career circumambulates around it. Emergency medicine just like other specializations like cardiology, dermatology, urology and the like is a specialization.
It deals with the stem of a medical discipline that prepares doctors to attend to patients who are brought into emergency care. Here the patients might have suffered an injury or a trauma related to stroke, accident, or any mishap that results in physical and mental stress. Doctors trained in emergency medicine are critical thinkers who make objective decisions to resuscitate patients to a state of equilibrium. Emergency Medicine Course Online is available for residency medical students.
Emergency medicine: Is this the right specialization for you?
The choice of specialization is a tough decision unless one has been objective about their medical career choice from the start. If one has not been able to make up their mind through med school about the exact specialization that will excite them, then before choosing emergency medicine, one has to check the following boxes:
- Core clinical skills
Emergency medicine is a high-pressure job and needs the ER room staff to be ready to encounter any challenge head-on. There is no time to refer or second your judgment and you have to critically think on your feet to bring the patient back to a homeostasis state. To think critically, ER doctors have to be proficient, current, and relevant in their core clinical skills and they must spend time reviewing and learning their concepts over and over so that they can recall the procedure when they are challenged for time.
- Psychological Framework
Not everyone passing out from med school is prepared to take on high-pressure jobs that will keep them on their feet for hours at stretch. Few like surgery but only when they have some time on hand to prepare for it, Others may like fields like therapy or disease management branches like the dentist, general physician, or dermatologist. So, if you are a person who likes to attend varied patient cases and is good at handling pressure, emergency medicine can be a good career choice as an elective for specialization
Emergency medicine: How does it help your career?
Whenever one is choosing a specialization, then there is some incentive that will motivate them to take up the field and stick to it. These incentives can be in terms of the learning curve, exposure, time management, and future career prospects. One man’s meat is another man’s poison and it is no different in your choice of elective. So if you pick up emergency medicine only because your good friend ended up here, then the preface of choosing the specialization is wrong. Here are a few reasons that can interest a person looking to take up emergency medicine:
- Diversity
An ER doctor does not know what comes through the doors when their shift starts. They come across a variety of cases in terms of physical, social, mental, or surgical ailments. An emergency doctor gets to learn more from a shift than any other specialization because of the nature of their job. The challenges these cases offer are interesting and at the same time test the capabilities of a doctor and help them build these skills to the point of adroitness.
- Flexible shifts
An emergency room of a hospital or small trauma unit operates 24/7. So the staff of the ER room including doctors has preset shifts and fixed week-offs. Most hospitals pay extra for choosing night shifts and non-weekend off days. What may seem like a negative point, mostly works in favor of emergency medicine doctors who are trying to manage their personal life. Non-weekend off allows them time to finish personal work when the rest of the regular errands can be run.
- Relocation possibilities
Unlike other specializations, emergency doctors do not build a referral practice. They are in demand because of the various reasons that create a shortage of qualified EM doctors in the country. So relocating to another region will not pose a threat of losing the referred patients of a location. Whenever an EM wants to explore and move to another region, it is possible to get into a position in a nearby healthcare facility.
- Ability to adapt
After initial years, an emergency medicine doctor can ease out of critical situations with ease. They can adapt quickly and in a better way than any other doctor with a different specialization. They have more interesting case studies related to which makes EP doctors the first choice of reference whenever there are any research-related healthcare studies.
- Fellowships
Emergency doctors can undertake many fellowships and certification courses that will help them further their careers as medical consultants in pharma corporations or move to academia. They are the preferred choice because of their enriched experience and diverse exposure to different patients’ ailments and cases.
Conclusion:
Emergency medicine was not a preferred choice for many med school students in the past because of the high pressure that can create early burnout. But if closely examined, what appears as a disadvantage in EM is a blessing for those who want to maintain a healthy work-life balance as a doctor. Since EM doctors are always in demand and well paid, there will never be any lack of job prospects for an efficient doctor. If you are a keen learner and can manage stress, then emergency medicine is a good career option.