Upcoming Surgical Care clerkship

I'm heading into my Surgical Care clerkship tomorrow with excitement and some nerves. Given how much I've talked with my classmates and other medical student friends about the surgery rotation, even specifically at Exempla St. Joseph Hospital (affectionately called St. Joe's) where I'll be working, I don't expect too many surprises.

I know that the surgery sub-culture is much more steeped in hierarchy and tradition than other areas of medicine. I know that I will be sleep-deprived. I know that I will be hungry. I know that my feet will hurt from long hours of standing in the OR.

But on the bright side:

The surgery program at St. Joe's is known for being relatively relaxed compared to other hospitals. My friend who just finished surgery at St. Joe's told me that the hours are for the most part around 12-14 per day, which is about what I was putting in on my Medicine rotation. St. Joe's is also well-known for feeding its medical students: free breakfast most mornings, plus a meal card for call nights. And I finally broke down and got a pair of Danskos to take care of my feet (thanks, Mom and Dad!).

So, at this point, is surgery still a possible career choice? Yes, with reservation. I want to experience the surgery clerkship before making up my mind one way or another. Throughout the clerkship, I will be asking myself these three questions:

• Do I absolutely love being in the OR? If the main source of happiness in my life is not being in the OR, then I shouldn't do surgery.
• Can I see myself happy doing this (or a surgical sub-specialty) when I'm 60 years old? An attending during my Medicine rotation told me that answering no to this question convinced her to choose internal medicine over surgery.
• Can I see myself happy in any specialty other than surgery? If so, I will be much happier doing that than surgery. I've heard this advice from numerous surgery residents.

Regardless of whether surgery turns out to be the right path for me, these 8 weeks will for sure be interesting.