﻿How to choose a medical specialty? This question concerns aspiring physicians
in all stages of their education, including premeds, first year med students, and especially
those students who are preparing to apply to residency programs. Luckily, in this video,
we have identified key information that you must know to make the right decision for you,
your lifestyle, and your goals! Hi! My name is Chris and I’m an admissions
associate here at BeMo. Before we get started, be sure to subscribe on whatever social media channel
you’re watching this from now, so you don’t miss any of our upcoming videos. If you would like us
to help you get into your top-choice residency program, visit bemo residency application.com
to schedule your free initial consultation. As a quick tip, check out the time stamps in the
description of this video to navigate to specific sections of the video that you are interested in.
Here’s what we are going to cover: 1. How to Choose a Medical Specialty:
General Practitioner vs Specialist 2. How to Choose a Medical Specialty: DO vs MD
3. Top 5 Tips for How to Choose a Medical Specialty
4. And we’ll have a bonus tip in the conclusion By the way we're giving away $50 Amazon gift cards
every week to best comments and questions - comment below for a chance to win. We know
the secret to writing a stellar medical school personal statement - I'll reveal it closer to the
end of the video, so keep watching to find out. So, let’s get started!
How to Choose a Medical Specialty: General Practitioner vs Specialist
Let’s take a moment to consider the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a General Practitioner
and compare them to the advantages and disadvantages of being a Specialist.
General Practitioner General practitioners cover
a wide range of health care needs. The types of ailments general practitioners address and the
services they provide require a substantial breadth of expertise. Of course, given the
necessary breadth of general practitioners’ knowledge, the depth of their knowledge
about each medical specialty is not as great as that of specialists in each respective area.
Still, general practitioners must be knowledgeable about most medical specialties and stay current
on advancements in medical research and treatments within all the medical specialties.
While keeping up with developments in such a broad field is indeed a great responsibility,
the nature of the general practitioner role also means that each day presents a new challenge.
General practitioners never know the sort of cases they will see in a given day,
which can be exciting to some physicians and overwhelming to others.
Unlike many specialists, general practitioners often provide longitudinal care for their
patients. This sort of continuity of care necessitates additional expertise in approaches
like preventative medicine and managing chronic diseases. Due to the long-term nature of their
work, general practitioners tend to form stronger bonds with their patients. Further,
as the first point of contact for many patients, general practitioners frequently refer patients
to necessary specialists and play a significant role in coordinating the various members of an
individual patient’s care team. These residency programs generally range from 2 to 3 years.
Specialist Like general practitioners, specialists also
accrue a broad understanding of medicine and its various specific disciplines in medical school.
Unlike general practitioners, however, specialists pursue very in-depth knowledge
about one particular area of medicine. Although specialists do possess broad medical knowledge,
staying up-to-date in all of the sundry specializations may not be a top priority
because specialists’ responsibilities require a very profound understanding of their field and
every current issue, treatment development, and technique within it. Oftentimes, specialists
pick up where the depth of general practitioners’ expertise in that particular specialization ends,
but this also means that specialists rely on general practitioners to holistically
assess a patient first before referring the patient to the appropriate specialist.
These residency programs generally range from three to six years of training,
with most specific specialties occupying the latter half of that range.
DO vs MD Before taking a look
at our tips for choosing a medical specialty, it’s worth addressing any potential differences between
the specialty options available to DOs vs MDs. Both MDs and DOs can and do pursue all available
specialties. Osteopathic physicians tend to get a reputation for going into primary care because a
large portion of them do, but a large portion of allopathic physicians enter primary care as well.
The sheer number of allopathic physicians means more MDs are present in the various medical
specialties, but DOs also possess the option to specialize, despite their smaller ranks.
Still, the most competitive residency programs frequently end up admitting more
allopathic MDs than osteopathic DOs simply because of their admission requirements.
The bottom line is this: MDs and DOs both possess the ability to specialize in any discipline,
provided they have the required experience, grades, and scores,
and references, to be admitted. Top 5 Tips for How To Choose a Medical Specialty
Ok, now it’s time to dive into choosing a specialty! Here are our top 5 pieces
of advice that will help guide you as you reflect on your options and ultimately choose
the right medical specialty for you. Tip #1: Reflect on your interests
Upon first glance, this tip may seem obvious and not worthy of discussion. Yet, you’d be surprised
at how often it is neglected! Many medical students are unable to ignore the persistent
(and usually unsolicited!) advice coming from family, friends, and peers, to the detriment of
advocating for their true interests and passions. Alternatively, some medical students select
their specialty of choice by speculating about which specialty offers the greatest potential
for a match. Even a near-guaranteed match is not a guarantee for success
or professional fulfillment. Also, remember that the medical specialty you pursue will be highly
influential in shaping your future. Your future, not the future of your family, friends, or peers.
And remember why you want to be a doctor, not your mother, father, aunts, and uncles.
Take some time to truly reflect on your clinical interests. Which topics ignited your passion to
know more throughout medical school? Was there a particular rotation in which you not only thrived,
but enjoyed? The decision is yours, but it is not one to be taken lightly.
Invest time and effort into your reflection so that you can make the wisest decision possible.
Tip #2: Keep an open mind Whether you entered medical school with
a particular specialty in mind or not, chances are you will change your mind at some point.
Remember that changing your mind is normal, and even encouraged as you develop and learn more
about what each specialty entails and what your priorities are. In fact, the American Association
of Medical Colleges (AAMC) indicated in their report on residents that just 26.1% of medical
school students reported interest in the same specialty field at the end of medical school as
they did when entering medical school. That means 3 out of every 4 students change their minds! So,
as you delve into different specialties through coursework, conversations with professors,
and clinical rotations, try to keep an open mind. The specialties that end up
appealing to you may surprise you! Tip #3: Forget about prestige
After the blood, sweat, and tears spent getting into medical school, covering how much medical
school costs, and the effort required to succeed in your chosen program, many students feel they
should aim for the most prestigious specialization available, but this may not be the wisest route.
While prestige can be tempting in that it offers a certain level of recognition for one’s efforts and
abilities, it is neither the key to success nor insurance for professional satisfaction
and fulfillment. Selecting a specialty requires a great deal of thought and
in-depth reflection about your strengths and what your greatest weaknesses are.
It can be easy to get carried away with imagining a dream life for ourselves in
which we disregard important factors like work-life balance in exchange for a level of
perceived prestige that we think will ultimately make us happier once we “make it.” In reality,
if you don’t enjoy the process of getting to the point where you think you’ve made it, chances are
that prestige won’t result in happiness either. Tip #4: Think about the day-to-day
As you survey the specialties available to you after graduating medical school,
don’t be led astray by particularly fascinating, but rare cases you’ve encountered in textbooks or
clinical rotations. Part of why such cases are fascinating is precisely because they are rare!
Remember that no matter how intriguing the case of such a patient might be,
it is not likely that you would encounter that same level of stimulation every day.
It is wise to think about the day-to-day responsibilities of your chosen specialty,
as those tasks and procedures better reflect what the majority of your career will look like.
Can you picture yourself taking on those responsibilities each day without tiring of them?
Do you see yourself doing those procedures happily day in and day out? Granted,
you will never know for sure until you actually do those things every day, but
you can avoid the significant disappointment that will inevitably accompany a choice based
on an attraction to the extreme cases within a given specialty.
Tip #5: Determine how involved you want to be with your patients
Although patient-centered care is the norm in most healthcare systems,
there are still variations in degree of patient interaction among medical specialties. Take,
for instance, a radiologist. Yes, many specialists in radiology do consult with patients, but a
great deal of their time is also spent reviewing images like X-rays and ultrasounds. Radiologists
are often members of a full care team and relay their interpretation of images to other physicians
who are in charge of delivering results to the patient and crafting appropriate treatment plans.
On the other hand, a specialist in family medicine is highly involved with his or her patients. Not
only do family medicine doctors see more patients on a day-to-day basis,
but they also tend to follow patients throughout the course of their lives,
which involves building and sustaining strong and trusting relationships with patients.
The degree to which you desire to interact with patients on a daily basis comes down
to personal preference, and you must be honest with yourself about how involved with patients
you would like to be. Conclusion: Bonus Tip
I’ve mentioned this tip already, but it bears repeating because it is crucial to
making a wise choice. Be honest with yourself about what you want out of a residency program
and future specialization, as well as which skills you bring to the table. If dissecting
cadavers in med school made you squeamish, you have to be truthful to yourself about this when
considering a surgical specialization. Being honest with yourself comes into
play when assessing the strength of your application as well.
The strength of your application is determined by several factors, including the quality of your
application materials, your residency personal statement, your licensing exam scores, and your
letters of recommendation. Knowing whether you are a competitive applicant requires a certain
degree of self-awareness and being realistic about the level of competition for a given specialty.
Check out our blog for more tips for how to choose a medical specialty. I have included a link in the
description of this video so you can find the blog easily. If you would like us to help you
match to your dream residency program, visit bemoresidencyapplication.com to schedule your
free initial consultation . Hopefully you enjoyed the video so please subscribe, like and leave a
comment. If you have any questions about choosing your medical specialty that I didn’t cover in this
video, let me know in the comment section and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Don’t
forget that we're giving away $50 Amazon gift cards every week to best comments and questions -
comment below for a chance to win. Thanks so much for watching this video, see you next time.