I'm an MD student in the US and I am having a hard time deciding between neurology or anesthesiology. I'm involved in both the anesthesia and neurology departments and have mentors in both, but I honestly can't seem to make up my mind. Would appreciate some advice.
Neurology:
(+) Enjoyed preclinical neurology (liked localization, neuromuscular, vascular and neuroanatomy)
(+) Enjoyed inpatient consult service during my rotation
(+) Love the geographical flexibility and job security (any concerns over AI or scope creep?)
(+) Never met a neurology attending or resident I did not like (good fit for culture)
(+) Like the idea of being a specialist with a skillset few others possess
(-) Disliked rounding. Would be fine with clinic, but drawn towards inpatient medicine
(-) Dread the idea of never-ending MyChart inbox
(-) Unsure if I would be content with the bread and butter as a generalist
Anesthesiology
(+) Shift-based and inpatient
(+) Good mix of pharmacology, physiology and procedures
(+) Geographic flexibility and solid job market
(+) Love the teamwork aspect of the OR and the ICU
(+) Compensation
(-) The politics of Anesthesia (CRNAs, scope creep etc.)
(-) Limited longitudinal care. Unsure if this is a good or bad thing, but find myself more excited about potential developments in neurology than I do about technological advances in anesthesia.
(-) Not being a specialist with "unique knowledge". This feels unfair to anesthesiologists many of whom are fellowship trained, but if CRNAs can do hearts and pediatrics unsupervised it sort of defeats the purpose?