To ask if you were a doctor (assuming you're not already)...

[TheTitOfTheIceberg]

...what would your speciality be?

I'd be torn between gynaecology to help the maximum number of women that I could (not least because we've been second class in so many areas of healthcare over the years) or endocrinology because it sounds fascinating and based on what little I know of it, it seems to be linked to so many other issues - it feels like we're still scratching the surface of what we know about hormones and their impact on various conditions.

(This is a very random musing - I have no medical connections at all, other than as a patient!)

I'm a 'real' doctor of biochemistry.... but if you mean physician it would have to be psychiatry as it fascinates me!

My brother is an anaesthetist - hard work at times, iITU consultant too which is hard work as they're very unwell - think the most difficult bit though is the lack of staffing rather than the work itself

Great question!

I would love to be a good, motivated doctor in geriatrics, because I've been shocked by how burned out and bad doctors in that area can be (including someone who gave my grandmother a diagnosis of inoperable metastatic brain cancer without once looking at her or addressing her, and when I asked could we have a moment for her to process this before deciding on her options, asked 'why?').

But then, I can also see how you would become burned out.

Realistically, though, I think would like to do geriatric nursing, and the pay is what put me off. I think I might be ok at that (no disrespect to all the nurses on this thread laughing their heads off at someone with no training thinking they could do this job!). I love the idea of doing the jobs I've seen people do. I'd definitely hate to be a surgeon though. I can't imagine enjoying the stress or the risks. Kudos to those who do that!

Haematology saved my life so that would be my choice

Trainee GP here. Wanted to be every specialty at some time or another at Med school, and at some points none appealed! But I came to accept in my final years that actually really I love a bit of every specialty and that having a family and going part time was the most important thing for me.

If you take work life balance out of the equation I think Paeds would be up there, the big no no's are anaesthetics (v academic but dull to me), surgery (poor dexterity) and pathology (I'm an awful scientist!)

Cardiology or trauma.

My three year old wants to become an ear doctor because she has persistent ear infections and they are very painful.
She quote seriously told me that nothing should hurt like this 💔

Dyson with death oh thank you, gave me a much-needed laugh this morning!

Ooh ooh, allergologist. I find molecular allergology fascinating, all them proteins and the exact molecule that people are allergic to. Not many of them about, either, so I would be raking in the patients

GPs have to be psychiatrists, behaviourists, detectives AND have a knowledge of all the potions and pills around and what goes with what. If they weren't so horribly put upon and blamed for all the ills of society and made to work such long hours, that would be ideal

I'm working towards retraining in medicine as a mature student and am really fascinated by infectious disease, tropical medicine (either of these would bring a little bit of my current experience into play) or sexual health/ GUM.

I can see GP training happening and being really interesting though as I love variety and problem solving plus the work life balance seems a bit better than hospital medicine.

This is all if I actually get in!! 🤞🏻

I would be House.

I'm a miserable, unsociable bitch anyway so my training is half done already!

Neurology or end of life medicine

I’d be a plastic surgery surgeon. I would quite enjoy cutting skin off from somewhere else and placing it on another place to give a smooth finish.

I’d also like to be a fertility doctor, helping women with fertility and miscarriages. I’d be quite good at this.

Controversial as it is I firmly believe that if we had better true care for people who were terminally ill and dealt with the thorny question of "easing their path" into death we would actually improve the lives of a huge number of people.

Most pathologists don’t cut dead people up, they spend their days looking at slides of diseased tissues. Not much patient contact though. End of life/palliative care is mostly nurses these days.

Orthopaedics, I like to fix things. I hate talking to people though so I could never actually work in healthcare.
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Presuming that is what they would want, @SpiderPlant38.

I think psychiatry because it's interesting and doesn't involve so much physical contact with patients!

But I think endocrine is also a good one - it's complex and therefore interesting but you can usually "fix" people and it really changes people's quality of life to have thyroid/diabetes problems under control.

I'm a miserable, unsociable bitch anyway so my training is half done already!

I've just had a quick look at a list of specialities and am suddenly fascinated with the idea of public health and looking at health at a population level. I think that would be fascinating, helping to reduce health inequality and thinking about behavioural change. And presumably fewer chances of being abused/peed on/putting your hand on something that goes squelch.

I actually am an ophthalmologist

Eye trauma is not bandaged up- but you have juniors (trainees and specialty drs) who mostly deal with the emergency stuff so you rarely get called overnight unless you are in a busy tertiary unit (literally like Moorfields) and dealing with a complex globe rupture that needs prepping for the morning emergency list.

Believe it or not in eyes with have sub specialities! The most busy are the vitreoretinal surgeons dealing with detachments. Overall it’s a great specialty that is not really covered at Med School.

Pros: Lots of multidisciplinary work, mixture of surgery (cataracts) and clinics which really makes a difference to people’s lives, lighter oncalls which improves at consultant level generally, great private practice.

Negatives: very very competitive because of above, have to often relocate far from home for training, difficult post grad exams, expensive courses, a lot of work brought home for research.

It’s a mixed bag.

I'm a geriatrician. If I had my time again I'd be an anaesthetist (I'm married to one).
They seem to be much more militant about being paid for the time that they work, and they don't have ongoing responsibility for the patient, so they don't get called when they're not on duty for tricky decisions about their patients.
Also better private work.

My brother is a paediatric nephrologist. How's that for specialising in specialising! I used to date a guy whose brother was an orthopedic surgeon, specialising in knees! Lol

I think most consultants actually have a specialism within the specialism, but they just say 'I'm one of the doctors here'.

a lot of work brought home for research

NB: If Mortgages offers you a snack from her fridge, say no...

TheTitOfTheIceberg Hahahaha. It could be a bit like the fatball scenario....

AIBU - My DH ate an eye, claiming he thought it was a gobstopper left over from halloween.

Allied professional here - at the age of 42 I finally decided what I want to do when I grow up and am planning to train as an occupational therapist.

GP. Because of the variety.

Real world would like to get into practice management- disillusioned ex city lawyer here.