When I Grow Up...

I can't count the number of times I've been asked, "So what kind of doctor do you want to be?" My trite response is "A good one," but I do wonder where I will find my medical niche. I used to think that it was Family Medicine all the way, but a few experiences I've had in the past days made me question my determination.

I was watching a resident perform a tracheostomy procedure last week and I realized that I felt...impatient. Heretofore, I've watched procedures and simply thanked the powers above that I wasn't the one in the hot seat--the one with the responsibility on their shoulders. This time, however, I felt as though I wanted to get my hands dirty, that I could do as good of a job or even better than the resident. A small revelation, perhaps, but still one of note.

This made me think: I'm a doer, not a watcher. I like to take action, to learn in a hands-on way. And I'd like to do procedures in my practice. There are really wonderful things about FM, but procedure-driven practice is not one of them, not unless you're in a rural area where you're actually an ER doc and pediatrician as much as you're a family doc. So maybe laid-back Family isn't for me, after all...we'll have to see.