Why is endocrinology so poorly represented here?

[seeking1]

Hey all,

I've been on this forum for years, posted stuff, had wonderful discussions and flame wars, and learned a lot overall. PM101 is a go-to resource that I really enjoy and a great community.

However, recently I tried looking up specific info on endocrinology as a medical specialty, and to my surprise I found there was little to no information here! :eek: I tried combing the "Resources on specialties" section and found effectively nothing.

I'm posting this thread in "General Premed Discussions" to open the floor for further discussion and consideration of developing resources on endocrinology. I guess this thread can also serve as a place to discuss what other specialties we may be ignoring and how we can improve PM101 by including those specialties (i.e. sports med).

Anyways, I look forward to the discussion and any thoughts members of the PM101 community might have. Have a great day!

Thanks,
seeking1

[Brainz]

well tbh, the search function on vbulletin software sucks.

[Birdy]

Endo is a subspecialty of internal medicine and is itself divided into areas of expertise such as diabetes and thyroid disorders. Because it is a subspecialty and not a specialty in of itself you don't apply to it directly through CARMs, you apply to IM, finish your residency, then start endo. As for why it is not represented on PM101, my money is on 1) because it is so far down the line and most people are concerned with getting into undergrad and then CARMs 2) it is not a very big subspecialty 3) it isn't very sexy (no Greys anatomy style show) 4) hormones are boring.

Having completing endo block I can tell you that I wouldn't consider it as a specialty if they made >1 mil a year and got to wear Hawaiian shirts to rounds!

BORING!

I completely disagree. Endo is one of my favourite subjects! Reproductive endocrinology in particular. It's fascinating stuff, and you get to do such amazing things. I know it's not the kind of making babies most people in their twenties are most interested in, but it's pretty damn cool. My exposure to endo is as a patient (PCOS) and even then only the one specialty of it, so I've obviously not experienced a wide range of the clinical aspects of it, but RE is fascinating stuff to read about.

[Alfredsson]

Endocrinology is my favorite from what I've learnt in high school and undergrad.

If I were to become a doctor, that would be my speciality (or sub-speciality). I find it so interesting, and as the person above said, reproductive endocrinology is really cool.

[blizzah]

Because endo in the clinic basically means insulin, insulin and more insulin.

[obi]

personally the only endocrinologist i know is a d-bag :rolleyes:

[Clever]

personally the only endocrinologist i know is a d-bag :rolleyes:

Probably because he gets made fun of for choosing a chick specialty

[thebouque]

It's a small subspecialty of internal medicine or pediatrics (a bit bigger than allery/immunology though), comparable to rheumatology.

[MathewsMD]

Compared to other specialties in most medical students' eyes, endocrinology is not one of the more glamorous fields to specialize in.

[seeking1]

None of the above-posted statements are reasons why we should not detail endocrinology further here, though. Same with rheumatology. Or infectious diseases. Or sleep medicine. Or sports medicine.

[rmorelan]

None of the above-posted statements are reasons why we should not detail endocrinology further here, though. Same with rheumatology. Or infectious diseases. Or sleep medicine. Or sports medicine.

absolutely not - good careers actually, worth talking about. Trouble probably is as premeds it is too far in the future for most and as med students even those are things we specialize in the middle of residency. Probably not a lot of people on the board really know those fields all that well I guess.

[Lactic Folly]

Reproductive endocrinology in particular.

Just to mention, the REI people I've met have ob/gyn backgrounds..

[Birdy]

Just to mention, the REI people I've met have ob/gyn backgrounds..

That is true of the ones I have met too.

[NLengr]

Urology or obs gyne in my experience too (depending on sex of the patient).

Rheum is pretty sweet if you like it. Relaxed. Very light call. Still jobs around.

[muse87]

yeah, mostly complex diabetes, but diabetes isn't always easy to manage… but it's the bread n butter neways, great lifestyle too! n some have some gim obligations for part of the year from the 2 i know, but not much. endo itself is uber interesting, but the most interesting things aren't common in practice to the person who said they liked endo material… i saw a neuro specialist who only saw headache patients, conversely i saw an optho who did neuro-optho (im assuming thats an optho subspecialty) there's a lot of quirky subspecialties out there for sure… on an aside the neuro-optho was insanely smart, n the exam i got was really interesting, maybe very detective like like ur describing (birdy) endo… i hadn't even heard of the specialty til i was referred n i thought it looked pretty cool, so def worth checking out esoteric stuff, u might find a jewel in the rough... a lot of the weirder sub-specs r in states… they even have programs where psychs are eligible to go into sub-spec in sleep med or pain management, which seems counterintuitive, but with mental health n addiction being major concerns in chronic pain patients (there's lots of ppl who see psychs after terrible accidents leave them in awful pain, ptsd, addiction issues with the treatment, one consult laison guy even assessed a woman for bariatric surgery after weight gain from accident n chronic pain kept her in bed for a year) but im guessing most of those spots still go to anesthesia ppl, with maybe neuro, respirologists, gim getting most of the sleep spots. i remember shadowing infectious disease n thinking it cud be cool, but not my thing. one centre i worked at in undergrad had a sleep study clinic, n it seemed pretty chill and cush.
Because endo in the clinic basically means insulin, insulin and more insulin.

[muse87]

hehe, i love psycho-pharmacological biochemistry, but in real life practice of psych it's a ****load of trial n error, some ppl with severe adhd respond to lower dose snri's or buproprion, even though it's counter intuitive theoretically for something so for lack of a better word crappy to work so well, while they might not respond at all to desoxyn... why does citalopram make one anxiety patient manic after high dose effexor did nothing n had little withdrawal... both work, but for diff ppl n with extremely different side effects that sometimes counter known biology, why do some neuro patients have more cognitive dysfunction on lamotrigine than topiminirate… who the hell knows in clinical practice, even though i can tell u bout all the biology ur never really surprised at weird reactions because everyone is wired uniquely n there r so many interactive non-medical variables that a lot of certainty becomes an art almost… i just met a girl today who had thyroid problem she said he gp managed completely, even tho i thought she wud have surely seen endo since it was rather intense… but ****, some gp's r insanely good or know a lot about certain fields… my psych has internal background from other country n diagnoses all sorts of somatic stuff IM people have missed, diagnoses tons of sleep apnea (via sleep studies after history), has found several instances of cancer or metabolic problems causing psych issues even tho they'd been worked up n someone thought a prob was psych related n didn't order imaging… she diagnosed an esoteric neuro problem i already had empirical treatment for (treatment works, just dont know wtf is wrong with u, but who cares) after i saw crap loads of specialists… manages the diabetes from few patients on antipsychs, specializes in objective assessment of learning disabilities (dyslexia, adhd etc. beyond just patient discussion i.e interpreting neuropsych stuff)… n to juxtapose all the medical stuff psychs usually don't do, expert in multiple therapy modalities, has a huge chunk of borderline n ptsd n addictions which requires intense therapeutic knowledge… yet almost now schizophrenic patients in the persons practice… a lot of ppl's bread n butter... other docs just wear a sweater to work and hand out ssri's and antipsychs in 10 minute check ups… if u stay within a safe scope of practice there's tons of diversity even within the same specialty… lots of gp's make their practice very geri focussed, my old gp knew a ton of sports med n diagnosed n referred me to physio when another gp said i was fine… same specialty, totally diff practice, inner city gp… wow, totally different practice than working in the suburbs, the dude manages methadone patients… not many docs do here, but when all u see is inner city n homeless, well u sort of learn on the job n kinda become the expert in ur weird niche… so u can be creative with any practice, espec fam med... if u think outside the box and if u stay within ur limits of knowledge where ur not endangering people… there's even a psychotherapy 3rd years for gp's im sure no one's heard of even though it's similar to say getting addition em year to work in peripheral/rural er's… think outside of the box n u'll find the coolest things, hehe, i'll always remember this gp who did vasectomies once a week, he was really into it… idunno how he even got the training or how that works, but he loved it
Endocrinology is my favorite from what I've learnt in high school and undergrad.

If I were to become a doctor, that would be my speciality (or sub-speciality). I find it so interesting, and as the person above said, reproductive endocrinology is really cool.

[muse87]

i had clinical skills with a rheum first year, we got to see his patients a few times n it seemed pretty cool, def improve quality of patients lives and the guy was always enthusiastic/excited about practice beyond belief… plus it has the ever important i get to see my future wife occasionally factor packed in!

None of the above-posted statements are reasons why we should not detail endocrinology further here, though. Same with rheumatology. Or infectious diseases. Or sleep medicine. Or sports medicine.

[ArchEnemy]

Lisa Cuddy from House is an Endocrinologist :p

[Madz25]

I completely disagree. Endo is one of my favourite subjects! Reproductive endocrinology in particular. It's fascinating stuff, and you get to do such amazing things. I know it's not the kind of making babies most people in their twenties are most interested in, but it's pretty damn cool. My exposure to endo is as a patient (PCOS) and even then only the one specialty of it, so I've obviously not experienced a wide range of the clinical aspects of it, but RE is fascinating stuff to read about.

People above have already mentioned that people that do RE are not "endocrinologists" and are usually from ob/gyn background.

Endocrinology is my favorite from what I've learnt in high school and undergrad.

If I were to become a doctor, that would be my speciality (or sub-speciality). I find it so interesting, and as the person above said, reproductive endocrinology is really cool.

In theory - yes, very interesting. In practice......not so much. It's mostly diabetes and thyroid with a sprinkling of other disorders.

[JPWilson92]

Lisa Cuddy from House is an Endocrinologist :p

Boom, sexy specialty.

[thebouque]

Wasn't Cuddy always wrong?

Tell that to her taut stomach

[doctorbetty]

Endo is a subspecialty of internal medicine and is itself divided into areas of expertise such as diabetes and thyroid disorders. Because it is a subspecialty and not a specialty in of itself you don't apply to it directly through CARMs, you apply to IM, finish your residency, then start endo. As for why it is not represented on PM101, my money is on 1) because it is so far down the line and most people are concerned with getting into undergrad and then CARMs 2) it is not a very big subspecialty 3) it isn't very sexy (no Greys anatomy style show) 4) hormones are boring.

Having completing endo block I can tell you that I wouldn't consider it as a specialty if they made >1 mil a year and got to wear Hawaiian shirts to rounds!

BORING!

I also completely disagree... Aren't hormones what make everything function? Hormones have an impact on gene expression and are by no means boring!

[thebouque]

I also completely disagree... Aren't hormones what make everything function? Hormones have an impact on gene expression and are by no means boring!

I don't know if you're a medical student yet but you'll quickly realize that there's a huge gap between theory and practice. Some people might be interested in the biology of hormones but are turned off by the endless diabetes follow ups and insulin adjustments. Also someone who's more technical will hate endocrinology, different strokes for different folks. Most people who used to be fascinated by the nervous system totally hate clinical neurology (very long physical exams, limited treatment options) etc. Endocrinology and neurology are both fascinating, but keep in mind:
1) theory about an organ system =/= clinical practice
2) Different strokes for different folks

Why isn't endo more popular on this forum? As mentioned above, it's a small subspecialty of internal medicine. Also keep in mind that, surprisingly, most people aren't very scientifically inclined in medicine and don't find that the control of gene expression is fascinating.

[japlanet]

I've been interested in endo for a while and since my BF was diagnosed with T1DM last year it's pretty much solidified. I could do insulin pump clinics and insulin dose adjustments all day, to me it's like this awesome strategy game with great pay-offs (happier, healthier patients who are so proud of their numbers).

That said it can get repetitive for some and I'm sure boring. General endo is diabetes, diabetes, diabetes, with the occasional cool pituitary, thyroid or bone disorder thrown it. I think it's awesome but I'm just as glad not everyone agrees with me - more jobs for me!

[thebouque]

I could do insulin pump clinics and insulin dose adjustments all day, to me it's like this awesome strategy game with great pay-offs (happier, healthier patients who are so proud of their numbers).


Congratulations to you, and sorry for your bf of course. This is exactly why you should do endo, because you like the bread and better reality of the specialty. Being fascinated by how hormones act on genes expression is not enough.