I entered medical school wanting to be a surgeon. Quickly during my surgical rotation I realized that a surgeons lifestyle would not suit me and my life goals. I know other people who always knew what they wanted to do and stuck to that. However if you are someone who is not sure what specialty to pick, this article is for you. I share 5 tips that helped me pick my specialty. Hope it is helpful to you!
- Focus on your strengths: We all have our strengths and weaknesses. For some people cardiology makes sense naturally. For others it might be working with their hands and fine motor skills. I knew i was good at critical thinking and internal medicine made sense to me naturally. I did well on my internal medicine rotations. I was able to come up with a well thought out assessment and plan. I was also good at bedside procedures. These aspects were very satisfying and garnered my strengths. I did not have the stamina to stand in the OR for long hours and knew i would not want an extremely prolonged grueling surgical training. But that is exactly what someone else might be good at. So always play by your strengths!
- Specialties with part time options: Consider specialties with part time options. I always knew i wanted children. While i was in medical school i always payed attention to specialties which drew more women with similar life goals as me. I noticed that a lot of primary care doctors and sub specialists in internal medicine could work a part time job. I however did not see this as much in surgical fields. Not saying it does not exist. Some women may not want a part time job and that is completely okay. I knew i wanted that for myself. So look around you and explore specialties where you have flexibility for part time options during more demanding seasons of life like pregnancy, postpartum etc.
- Supply and Demand: It is always smart to pick a specialty if there is high demand and low supply. This might vary based on location. More urban areas might have a lot of specialists as it is a desirable location. You might be better off choosing a primary care based specialty like IM, pediatrics and general OBGYN. If you are in a rural area, specialists might be hard to come by and you might be in great demand. So based on where you see yourself settling down, choose a specialty wisely.
- Fits with your life vision: I always knew i wanted a job which was both outpatient and inpatient based. This gives me a balance and i am able to use different skill sets regularly. I work 10 days a month doing both clinic and inpatient. I spend the rest of my time with family, i exercise, i cook and work on other passions such as blogging. Your life vision might be different. Your specialty of choice has to fit into your vision, not the other way around.
- Has longevity, minimize burnout: Every year studies come out indicating which specialties have the most burnout. This is a complicated topic and thus it is hard to provide an accurate list of worst to best specialties in terms of burnout. However, you can design any specialty to fit your life. For example, now inpatient services are moving away from 14 day blocks to 7 on /7 off or 4 on / 3 off blocks. Recent studies have shown that even among those who work the same amount of days in a month, those that have frequent days off experience less burnout. Primary care and pediatric practices offer part time options were you work 3 day a week and have 4 days off. You might not have these options if you were to setup a private practice as the overhead might necessitate you to work 5 days a week. Consider these aspects while choosing a specialty.
