Soul searching - Deciding which medical specialty to pursue
You've finished your internship and the time has come to choose a specialty. There is a test on the Student Doctor Network - http://schools.studentdoctor.net/selector which might help you make this assessment. There are also books, one of them is How to Choose a Medical Specialty, by Anita Taylor, available on Amazon (isn't everything)....but you probably have an idea already. Taylor's book provides some practical information about the specialties...lifestyles, current and future supply and demand of the different specialties, salaries, etc. A piece of valuable advice Taylor offers is that you should not feel railroaded into choosing a specialty...there are other things you can do for a year while you decide, such as research, observations and working somewhere as a general doctor.
Obviously your future specialty choice is not written in stone. There may have been two or three rotations you loved during your internship year. I can safely advise you not to limit yourself to one specialty for your applications, if this is the case. Then, when you obtain interviews, you could gain a clearer picture on where you'd fit in the best.
I could go over some of the characteristics which are desirable to have for the doctors in each specialty, but I would be preaching to the choir, as the saying goes. Listen to your heart and try to see yourself in that field. Visualize yourself practicing daily in a specialty, then consider another few, until you discover the one which seems the most fitting with your character and abilities.
We hope to hear from you soon if you need help constructing your personal statement and/or CV.
Elizabeth
