Choosing a Medical Specialty

By MV, senior level BS/MD admissions counselor

Choosing a medical specialty is often a very difficult and overwhelming decision but it is one of the most important decisions you will make in medical school. In this blog we will go over the various factors involved in making this choice and what you can do at each stage of your career to learn more about the various specialties. For more information and answers to any additional questions can be found by contacting us: contact@theperfectmed.com or call 617-398-PREP [617-398-7737]. Call or email us today for your free 30-minute consultation!

High School

High school is a great time to start shadowing and begin getting exposure to what life as a physician looks like. As a high school student, your options for shadowing certain medical specialists might be limited, but a great place to start can be with your own family doctors and pediatricians. Asking these physicians about their day-to-day responsibilities, or even about their medical training, can be a great way to start getting a feel for what their specialties are like. Although there aren’t any specific criteria for the number of medical specialists you need to shadow for BS/MD programs, we encourage students to pursue a couple different shadowing experiences.

Undergrad / Pre-clinical medical school years (Medical School First and Second Years)

This is the best time to learn as much as you can about each specialty and keep an open mind. You can do this by shadowing various physicians at your university affiliated hospital, attending student interest group events, attending grand rounds and medical conferences, getting involved in clinical research, and conducting informational interviews with faculty or mentors in specialties are you interested in. Additionally, reading books such as The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty by Brian S. Freeman, MD can help you gain further insight.

Medical School Third Year – Clinical Rotations

This year you will get the opportunity to rotate through all 8 of the major specialties in medicine: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Neurology, Psychiatry, Radiology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology. This year is critical in understanding what your preferences are. Asking your attendings questions about what they like/dislike about their specialty and what they wish they had known are encouraged. Also try to get an understanding of the “culture” of each specialty and if you can see yourself fitting in and enjoying the daily tasks.

Medical School Fourth Year

End of the third year or early fourth year is when you should decide which specialty you are going to apply into. You can gain more information by doing sub-internships and electives in your field of choice. Some factors to take into consideration while choosing your specialty is: how competitive you are for the specialty (this can be assessed by average USMLE Step 1 scores, see this blog); work/life balance of the specialty; patient population you will work with; type of work you will do (procedure vs. non-procedure); and earning potential (list of average salaries by specialty). You can find a more in-depth overview of each specialty at this link.

Also feel free to check out the AMA’s resources to learn more about various specialties, linked here: AMA resource page.

My decision to pursue anesthesiology

I wanted to work directly with patients and loved being in the OR and performing procedures. However, the work-life balance and long hours of standing necessary in a surgical specialty was not right for me. Ultimately anesthesiology presented with a great combination of a procedure oriented specialty in the OR where I could work on a large variety in cases and with a diverse patient population. Further, I would be able to have a bit more control over my working hours in the future as an attending.

If you are a high school student interested in applying to BS/MD programs, The Perfect Med team is here to help. Please reach out to learn more about our services or any other questions you may have!