Is it worth it to give up MD general medicine for MD emergency medicine at AIIMS Rishikesh? I am interested in both.
Posted On - Nov 16, 2021That depends on what you value most in a career. Both MD General Medicine and MD Emergency Medicine are highly respected and challenging specializations, each with its own unique strengths and weaknesses.
General Medicine is a broad field that covers the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of medical conditions. For this, you need to have a strong base in medical science, along with excellent diagnostic and problem-solving skills.
MD Emergency Medicine, on the other hand, focuses on the immediate diagnosis and treatment of acute and life-threatening medical conditions, such as trauma, heart attacks, and stroke. For this, you need quick thinking, excellent clinical skills, and the ability to work well under pressure. Personally, I feel that you should have knowledge of both emergency and non-emergency situations because each and every disease has the complications that make it an emergency. However, academically you wouldn't get the recognition of a full-fledged medicine specialist. You can not opt for Superspeciality courses other than critical care.
In Medicine, your branch preference matters more than the institution. It is so because Engineering and MBA graduates are able to switch their domain, doctors have to stick to their specialty.
It is suggested that you continue with MD general medicine rather than opting for MD emergency medicine at AIIMS Rishikesh. Here are some reasons why:
- Independent Practice (entrepreneurship), which is also possible with emergency medicine, if you have enough financial resources to come up with an ICU setup.
- Super-specialization in areas such as gastroenterology, endocrinology, neurology, cardiology, rheumatology, and even critical care (emergency medicine).
- Unlike emergency medicine, general medicine is a well-developed branch whereas emergency medicine is still in its very beginning in India.
- Other specialties such as anesthesia, pulmonary medicine, several diploma courses from unrecognized institutes such as Medvarsity, ISCCM Courses, Master in Emergency Medicine (MEM), etc. compete for emergency physicians posts.
- Most of the critical care HODs are MD general medicine and DM critical care or FNB critical care.
The only reason to join MD emergency medicine is if you want to practice emergency medicine without dedicating extra time after MD.
