Surgery or Internal Medicine (Gastroenterology) more competitive?

[shreypete]

Which is more competitive?

Also what are the pros and cons (vor- und nach-teile) of Surgery training? Gastroenterology?

Which specialties are paid the highest?

[*milkakuh*]

Does it not depend on personal interests and skills choosing internal medicine or surgery? This two subjects areas are so different that I cannot imagine that it is just about salary...

[shreypete]

Definitely. But pay is something I just be concerned about too. I'm one of the rare breed of students who loved Internal Medicine and Surgery in med school and honored both those rotations. So I do want to look at all the factors that will hopefully help me make the right decision in the future.

May be I just need to do an internship or something in these fields to figure out what I truly love.

[LasseReinböng]

General surgery is one of the least competitive specialties in Germany. Internal medicine is more competitve, but compared to other specialties like Dermatology, Ophthalmology or Pediatrics, it's still quite easy to get a residency spot.

Generally speaking, specialties which are tied to working in the hospital forever are not very popular in Germany ( due to life style, work conditions and salary ).

[shreypete]

Hey LassReinböng, thanks for your reply :)

Regarding internal medicine though, don't subspecialties of Internal Medicine like Cardiology, Gastroenterology have a lot of invasive procedures in those fields? And that means they are not necessarily tied to working in the hospital too?

Also in Germany at present, they're offering some training spots in hospitals in rural areas. How good are some of these hospitals? Does one get adequate training? And if one wants to get into a decent to good hospital as a foreigner, what must he/she do to get in?

[konstantin]

And if one wants to get into a decent to good hospital as a foreigner, what must he/she do to get in?

Learn german and apply. Yes! -- it is that simple.

[shreypete]

Oh yes, jetzt lerne ich schon. I'm only at B1 level so I want to get to C1 level before I can start applying. Of course I'm trying to go to the US as that's my first choice but Germany will be the next choice.

[LasseReinböng]

Learn german and apply. Yes! -- it is that simple.

I'll second that. Also, in case of general surgery, you don't necessarily need to resort to provincial hospitals as a foreigner. Larger cities are definitely possible

[shreypete]

I'll second that. Also, in case of general surgery, you don't necessarily need to resort to provincial hospitals as a foreigner. Larger cities are definitely possible

And if I may ask, what is the quality of provincial hospitals in general? Do they have all the technology like the bigger hospitals in cities or towns do? I heard once that the is a huge variance in the quality (equipment, mentors, training time, exposure to fewer cases etc).

[LasseReinböng]

And if I may ask, what is the quality of provincial hospitals in general? Do they have all the technology like the bigger hospitals in cities or towns do? I heard once that the is a huge variance in the quality (equipment, mentors, training time, exposure to fewer cases etc).

You can certainly get a good medical education in rural areas / smaller hospitals. You should also know that many physicians in Germany switch jobs during residency, so you can always try to apply for a job at a larger hospital with some experience under your belt.

[shreypete]

Thank you. I think that's great that people can switch different hospitals like that. That would be almost unheard of in the U.S.