I'm just going to tell people that I'm a flight attendant

Let me preface this post with: I know not everyone knows how the process works to become a practicing physician in Canada, but sometimes I think that people just don't get it. Even with multiple, repeated explanation.

It is frustrating when my friends and people I meet constantly ask me when I know what I'm going to specialize in. First of all, I decided on my specialty one and a half years ago when I finished school, and I am "specializing" in family medicine. These people know that I'm in a family medicine program too. It's like I'm doing a two-year residency in family medicine (as if that's not long enough), but according to them I still have to specialize in something. It makes me feel like they think family doctors don't do anything.

Also, I explain to them that we do all of these rotations and we can study whatever we want for certain rotations to brush up on things, as long as they are related to family medicine. For example, dermatology. You see tons of skin problems in the family doctor's office. So, this month I'm doing a placement at a dermatologist's office. Someone I know (who I've explained this all to before) asked me if it means that I'm studying to become a dermatologist. I said, no.....and then she asked me, well then why do you have to do a rotation in it if you're not going to become one? And I said, well so we can treat common skin disorders in the family doctor's office. She said, oh, so is that what you want to do? Specialize in dermatology?

And it still surprises me that some people don't know what a 'family doctor' is. A guy asked me if that meant 'pediatrician'.