Before we get into what factors to consider, it’s first important that you know that this decision does not need to be made now. You’re already ahead of most students your age as you know the most basic information about different specialties.

You will have more than enough time in medical school and even in residency to find the specialty that interests you the most. Throughout your education process, you will change your mind. You might even change your mind halfway through your fellowship. And that’s okay. You’re still young now, there is no pressure to know exactly what specialty you want to focus on as a doctor. I know it’s scary to not know what’s awaiting you, but you still have a long way ahead of you. This decision is not to be made lightly; it will affect your everyday life and your entire career.

Again, there is no need to make this decision until you reach the end of medical school. However, it is good to know how you would make this decision.

So- here we go.

Tips and tricks

1. Ask yourself- what am I interested in?
   • When reading, or even learning, about the different specialties, think to yourself which one sparked your interest? What could you consider doing for the rest of your medical career?
   • One of the most important things is to not listen to anyone else. Your judgment might be clouded by advice from your family, friends, or even professors.
   • This is why it’s vital that you think for yourself about what specialty interests you the most and what you could see yourself doing for the rest of your career.
   • Do not take this decision lightly, take a lot of time to reflect on what you’re interested in and passionate about. Because if you end up in a specialty you don’t love, you will get burned out fast and end up being miserable. You can change specialty further down the road, but it’s very tough on you.
   • So make sure your decision reflects your interests.
2. Keep an open mind:
   • When you go into medical school, you will probably already have some idea of what you’d like to specialize in.
   • Although this is normal, it’s extremely important you keep an open mind during your studies.
   • Don’t dismiss any specialties until you’ve finished medical school and it’s time to make your decision
   • Your interest, aspirations, and maybe even your personality will have changed from the beginning to the end of your education
   • During medical school, you’ll probably have been motivated by different specialties and things you’ve observed.
   • Changing your mind is completely normal and, therefore, it’s extremely important for you to keep an open mind throughout your studies.
   • Fun fact: according to the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) indicates that only 26.1% of medical students are interested in the same specialty at the end of med school as they did in the beginning. That’s only 3 out of 4 students!
3. Consider your duties and responsibilities
   • As we learned, different specialties come with different obligations
   • When making your decision about what specialty to choose, think about your day-to-day life. What does it include?
   • If you’re fascinated by extreme cases in different specialties, do remember that your everyday life won’t be like that.
   • You need to be interested in even the most mundane parts of your specialty, otherwise, it won’t take long until you begin to second-guess yourself.
   • You can avoid the significant disappointment that will inevitably accompany a choice based on an attraction to the extreme cases within a given specialty.
   • So consider your day-to-day life. Is that something you could see yourself doing for the rest of your medical career?
4. Work-life balance
   • Many medical students don’t believe it would ever be a contributing factor in their decision
   • However, work-life balance will become increasingly important, the older you become
   • Especially if you want a family, your choice of specialty can have a huge impact on the time you’ll be able to spend at home.
   • It’s easy to simply correlate challenging or unpredictable work hours with higher rates of burnout, but there’s more to it than that. On average, surgical specialties have much more challenging hours than non-surgical specialties, but the burnout rates are not necessarily higher in surgical specialties.
   • Therefore, yes, think about your interests but still consider the work-life balance that you want to have.
   • Is it more important that you work shorter hours or that you have a lower chance of burnout?
   • As a doctor, your main priority will always be your work, that’s something you cannot control. What you can control, however, is to what extent your work becomes your life.
5. Self-awareness
   • Be honest with yourself, regarding your skill set.
   • If you know you’re not made for fast-paced jobs or quick decision-making, don’t consider specialties like that solely out of pride.
   • Just because you set your mind to something, does not mean that you’re suited for it.
   • For instance, if dissecting cadavers in med school made you squeamish, you have to be truthful to yourself about that factor when considering a surgical career.
   • Not everyone is suited for every specialty, and that’s alright.
   • The most important thing is that you’re truthful with yourself, about both your skills as well as your qualifications.
   • If you lack certain grades or qualifications, don’t let ambition get in the way of being accepted to residencies. Yes, it’s important you have goals but be realistic as well. If you’re not qualified for a specific school or residency, ensure you’ve applied to a safety one as well.
6. Get clinical experience
   • Even if think you’re sure about your decision, it’s always a good idea to have significant work experience.
   • You might think you love internal medicine, however, after spending a few weeks on that rotation, you find out you find the day-to-day life extremely boring.
   • Oftentimes, these clinical experiences within different specialties can help you determine the specialties in which you aren’t interested,
   • This is also important because to make a decision, you need to know what you do not like as well.
   • Before “pulling the trigger” and locking in your decision, ensure you’ve spent sufficient time doing work experience.
   • This could include shadowing experienced doctors, attending lectures, conducting research, and sitting down with doctors, to ask any questions you might have.
   • This exposure gives you an understanding of what you will expect.
   • If you enjoy your time, it’s another way to reassure yourself that you’ve made the right choice. If you hate it, well then you know you should reconsider.

Additional resources:

There are various online quizzes that give you an initial impression of what specialty might be best suited for you. Now, I’m not guaranteeing that these quizzes are in any way accurate, but they might be helpful if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I’ve included some links below, but a quick google search will give you many more as well:

• https://www.themedicportal.com/quizzes/medical-specialty-quiz/
• https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=what-type-of-a-medical-specialist-are-you_1
• https://passion4medoffical.wixsite.com/website/the-clinic

There is also a book you could read, called “How to Choose a Medical Specialty” written by Anita D. Taylor. This book goes into more depth about making this choice, and it is definitely worth reading.

Summary

Choosing a medical specialty is something that a lot of aspiring doctors struggle with. And it is definitely not a decision to be made lightly. There are a number of things you will need to consider when the time is here. But you really have no reason to worry about any of this now. If you’re still in high school, having even the most basic knowledge is a great advantage.

It’s a good thing if you are thinking about this already, but do not stress. Everything will become clearer once you go through medical school and experience these specialties first-hand.