How to Choose a Medical Specialty, Fifth Edition

[WildWing]

The Student Doctor Network is pleased to announce the publication of How to Choose a Medical Specialty, by Anita Taylor, and the launch of the free companion application on SDN!

About the Book
How to Choose a Medical Specialty, Fifth Edition is the latest edition of the seminal reference for premedical and medical students. This guide details every specialty and sub-specialty approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties, as well as emerging specialties. It includes personal insights from practitioners and questionnaires to allow students to identify the specialties that will suit them best. Also details the full range of clinical and non-clinical practice options, explains how to apply to medical and osteopathic residency programs, what to do if you don't match, and additional residency options.

You can purchase How To Choose A Medical Specialty: Fifth Edition via Amazon to further support SDN and its educational mission.

How to Choose a Medical Specialty Application
Learn more about each specialty and take the assessment quiz to find out which specialties best match your values and personalityHow to Choose a Medical Specialty on SDN! This quiz, based on the book, is available FREE for SDN members.

Book Raffle
To celebrate the launch, SDN will be giving away five copies of the new fifth edition of the book. To enter, check out the application and take the assessment quiz. Post your results here and let us know if they match your personality!

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[Doctor Strange]

83% match for pediatrics...

Interesting. I don't know how I feel about that. It's certainly a path I've considered, but dealing with parents seems like such a drag.

 

[CoxMD]

Internal Medicine Pulmonary Disease 73%
Emergency Medicine 72%
Thoracic Surgery 71%

Sent from my Nexus 10

 

[Guero]

Internal Medicine Pulmonary Disease 73%
Emergency Medicine 72%
Thoracic Surgery 71%

Sent from my Nexus 10

My top 10 are as follows, a bit unexpected but seem like they make sense:


Plastic Surgery - 97% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 95% Personality Match
Surgery - General 94% Personality Match
Ophthalmology 94% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 94% Personality Match
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 91% Personality Match
Neurology 91% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Nephrology 90% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 89% Personality Match
Obstetrics and Gynecology 89% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Public Health and General 88% Personality Match

 

[apumic]

#1 was preventive medicine, which is something I'd like to do on the side but not as my main specialty (73% match).

My actual #1 is EM according to both experience and the AAMC's assessment (at an 80% certainty). On your survey I got a 66% on EM. OB/Gyn also came up high, which (along with Uro) was the first specialty I rejected from consideration. I simply have 0 interest in that part of the body or that kind of work.

 

[Guero]

#1 was preventive medicine, which is something I'd like to do on the side but not as my main specialty (73% match).

My actual #1 is EM according to both experience and the AAMC's assessment (at an 80% certainty). On your survey I got a 66% on EM. OB/Gyn also came up high, which (along with Uro) was the first specialty I rejected from consideration. I simply have 0 interest in that part of the body or that kind of work.

+1 with OB/GYN and the fact that EM, something I've been highly considering, wasn't even near my top 10. But the fact that I have such high matches makes me really ponder pursuing plastics via a GS route...

 

[Orchid723]

84% PM&R
81% Pediatrics

PM&R surprised me, but I'm definitely shooting for Peds. 😉

 

[BabyDoc86]

83% Peds! YAY! 🙂

 

[Goobs]

84% Derm haha I guess I enjoy my time off.

 

[Akr]

My #1 was colorectal surgery?! What I'm really looking into now (neurosurgery) ranked way down at 64%. This was overall very different than other specialty questionnaires I've done, but there's always some questions I've never thought about and don't really know how to answer. So we'll see, maybe later on I'll figure it out and get different results on this thing. I would like to know what makes me such a supposedly close match for colorectal surgery though 😛 That was one of my least favorite parts of anatomy lab...

 

[Ravizzle]

The Student Doctor Network is pleased to announce the publication of How to Choose a Medical Specialty, by Anita Taylor, and the launch of the free companion application on SDN!

About the Book
How to Choose a Medical Specialty, Fifth Edition is the latest edition of the seminal reference for premedical and medical students. This guide details every specialty and sub-specialty approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties, as well as emerging specialties. It includes personal insights from practitioners and questionnaires to allow students to identify the specialties that will suit them best. Also details the full range of clinical and non-clinical practice options, explains how to apply to medical and osteopathic residency programs, what to do if you don't match, and additional residency options.

You can purchase How To Choose A Medical Specialty: Fifth Edition via Amazon to further support SDN and its educational mission.

How to Choose a Medical Specialty Application
Learn more about each specialty and take the assessment quiz to find out which specialties best match your values and personalityHow to Choose a Medical Specialty on SDN! This quiz, based on the book, is available FREE for SDN members.

Book Raffle
To celebrate the launch, SDN will be giving away five copies of the new fifth edition of the book. To enter, check out the application and take the assessment quiz. Post your results here and let us know if they match your personality!

Funny, my interests were EM, IM or some IM subspecialty and those are really well represented on here. IDK how peds or surgery got up there, not really interested in either. I don't know much about what PM&R entails.


Emergency Medicine 91% Personality Match
Pediatrics 87% Personality Match
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 85% Personality Match
Dermatology 85% Personality Match
Neurological Surgery 84% Personality Match
Thoracic Surgery 83% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 83% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Nephrology 82% Personality Match
Obstetrics and Gynecology 82% Personality Match
Internal Medicine 82% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases 81% Personality Match
Radiology - Diagnostic 81% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 81% Personality Match
Urology 80% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 80% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 79% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 79% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Public Health and General 79% Personality Match
Pathology 79% Personality Match
Orthopaedic Surgery 79% Personality Match
Family Medicine 79% Personality Match
Psychiatry 78% Personality Match
Plastic Surgery 78% Personality Match
Colon and Rectal Surgery 78% Personality Match
Anesthesiology 78% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 77% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 77% Personality Match
Ophthalmology 77% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 76% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Medical Oncology 76% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Rheumatology 75% Personality Match
Medical Genetics 75% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Cardiology 74% Personality Match
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 74% Personality Match
Surgery - General 69% Personality Match
Nuclear Medicine 69% Personality Match
Neurology 69% Personality Match

 

[CsHead]

Interesting... more subs covered in this quiz


Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 73%
Dermatology 72%
Anesthesiology 72%
Emergency Medicine 71%

 

[Dreadblood]

I had not considered PMR and Psych very strongly, based on my initial understanding of the fields. However, this definitely gives something to consider.

The IM connection is something I had predicted, and I am very interested to explore the subspecialty matches more.

Thanks for the great quiz.

---
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 83% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 82% Personality Match
Psychiatry 81% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Rheumatology 80% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 80% Personality Match
Pediatrics 80% Personality Match
Internal Medicine 79% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Medical Oncology 78% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 77% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 77% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Nephrology 75% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases 75% Personality Match
Medical Genetics 75% Personality Match
Family Medicine 74% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Public Health and General 73% Personality Match
Plastic Surgery 73% Personality Match
Neurology 73% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 72% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 72% Personality Match

 

[absolutdokta]

83% match for pediatrics...

Interesting. I don't know how I feel about that. It's certainly a path I've considered, but dealing with parents seems like such a drag.

definitely the hardest part

 

[p30doc]

Radiology - Diagnostic 81% Personality Match
Emergency Medicine 78% Personality Match
Pathology 77% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 76% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 76% Personality Match
Dermatology 76% Personality Match
Anesthesiology 75% Personality Match👍

Rads was my original love before 3rd year.

 

[mimelim]

Out of curiosity, why is there a Thoracic, but no Vascular Surgery? Heck of a lot more Vascular programs than Thoracic. Heck of a lot more Vascular Surgerons than Thoracic.

 

[mimelim]

I'm not sure really how to interpret this, seems like I match everything...

Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases 99% Personality Match
Obstetrics and Gynecology 97% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 96% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 96% Personality Match
Nuclear Medicine 96% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 95% Personality Match
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 95% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Nephrology 94% Personality Match
Thoracic Surgery 94% Personality Match
Neurological Surgery 94% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Cardiology 93% Personality Match
Surgery - General 93% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Public Health and General 92% Personality Match
Pathology 92% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 92% Personality Match
Orthopaedic Surgery 91% Personality Match
Family Medicine 91% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 90% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 90% Personality Match
Medical Genetics 90% Personality Match
Plastic Surgery 89% Personality Match
Urology 88% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 87% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Medical Oncology 86% Personality Match
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 84% Personality Match
Colon and Rectal Surgery 83% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Rheumatology 82% Personality Match
Neurology 82% Personality Match
Ophthalmology 80% Personality Match
Internal Medicine 80% Personality Match
Radiology - Diagnostic 79% Personality Match
Emergency Medicine 79% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 78% Personality Match
Psychiatry 78% Personality Match
Dermatology 74% Personality Match
Anesthesiology 73% Personality Match
Pediatrics 72% Personality Match

 

[Donnie1310]

Pediatrics 69% Personality Match
Psychiatry 68% Personality Match
Dermatology 67% Personality Match
Internal Medicine 64% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Rheumatology 60% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 60% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 60% Personality Match
Medical Genetics 60% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 59% Personality Match
Radiology - Diagnostic 58% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 58% Personality Match
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 58% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 57% Personality Match


Guess my current top field is kinda low with my personality!

 

[NinjaBunny]

Reeeeally surprised with these outcomes but I guess it makes sense?

My actual tops at this moment are..

1) PM&R
2) PM (Occupational)
3) Neurology / Neurosurgery (tied)
4) Psychiatry / GS / EM (tied)

At least it got it right by putting Family Medicine at the bottom. xD

Thoracic Surgery 	83% Personality Match
Plastic Surgery 	80% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 	79% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 	78% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 	77% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 	76% Personality Match
Psychiatry 	76% Personality Match
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 	76% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Nephrology 	75% Personality Match
Radiology - Diagnostic 	75% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 	75% Personality Match
Medical Genetics 	75% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Rheumatology 	74% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Public Health and General 	74% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Cardiology 	73% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases 	72% Personality Match
Neurological Surgery 	72% Personality Match
Internal Medicine 	72% Personality Match
Dermatology 	72% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 	71% Personality Match
Pathology 	71% Personality Match
Nuclear Medicine 	71% Personality Match
Neurology 	71% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Medical Oncology 	70% Personality Match
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 	70% Personality Match
Ophthalmology 	70% Personality Match
Surgery - General 	69% Personality Match
Pediatrics 	69% Personality Match
Emergency Medicine 	69% Personality Match
Anesthesiology 	69% Personality Match
Urology 	68% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 	68% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 	67% Personality Match
Colon and Rectal Surgery 	65% Personality Match
Orthopaedic Surgery 	64% Personality Match
Obstetrics and Gynecology 	63% Personality Match
Family Medicine 	63% Personality Match

 

[CDI]

Top 2

Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 76%
Neurological Surgery 73% 😱

Bottom 2

Pediatrics 39%
Family Medicine 39%


I feel like I'd rather do FM or Peds than go into NS...maybe I'm missing something here.

 

[coldtse888]

family medicine is at the bottom of the list and I am very interested in pathology. i think the results match


Neurology 77% Personality Match
Plastic Surgery 74% Personality Match
Radiology - Diagnostic 71% Personality Match
Surgery - General 69% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 69% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 68% Personality Match
Pathology 67% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Rheumatology 64% Personality Match
Urology 64% Personality Match
Psychiatry 64% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 63% Personality Match
Colon and Rectal Surgery 63% Personality Match
Nuclear Medicine 61% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Cardiology 60% Personality Match
Ophthalmology 59% Personality Match
Dermatology 59% Personality Match
Anesthesiology 59% Personality Match
Thoracic Surgery 57% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Nephrology 56% Personality Match
Neurological Surgery 56% Personality Match
Medical Genetics 56% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 55% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases 55% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 55% Personality Match
Emergency Medicine 55% Personality Match
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 53% Personality Match
Orthopaedic Surgery 53% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 51% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Medical Oncology 50% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Public Health and General 50% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 50% Personality Match
Internal Medicine 50% Personality Match
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 47% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 47% Personality Match
Pediatrics 44% Personality Match
Obstetrics and Gynecology 33% Personality Match
Family Medicine 29% Personality Match

 

[Sabio23]

Glad to see I had radiology and opthalmology in my top 5. Surprised to get GI on my list though, its something I hadn't considered.

Dermatology 76% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 72% Personality Match
Radiology - Diagnostic 72% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 69% Personality Match
Ophthalmology 68% Personality Match

 

[Frazier]

Top matches:

Radiology
Radiation Oncology
Internal Medicine - Medical Oncology
Psychiatry

 

[futuredoctor10]

Really interesting to see this quiz results!

 

[kingking]

this quite accurate... so sad that i'm too old for plastic surgery!
Plastic Surgery 81% Personality Match
Surgery - General 75% Personality Match
Neurology 73% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 73% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 72% Personality Match
Radiology - Diagnostic 71% Personality Match
Pathology 69% Personality Match
Urology 65% Personality Match
Nuclear Medicine 65% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Cardiology 64% Personality Match
Ophthalmology 62% Personality Match
Dermatology 62% Personality Match
Anesthesiology 62% Personality Match
Colon and Rectal Surgery 60% Personality Match
Emergency Medicine 59% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 58% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases 57% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 56% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 55% Personality Match
Neurological Surgery 55% Personality Match
Medical Genetics 55% Personality Match
Thoracic Surgery 54% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Rheumatology 53% Personality Match
Psychiatry 53% Personality Match
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 53% Personality Match
Orthopaedic Surgery 53% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Nephrology 52% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 44% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 43% Personality Match
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 43% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Medical Oncology 40% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Public Health and General 40% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 40% Personality Match
Pediatrics 35% Personality Match
Obstetrics and Gynecology 35% Personality Match
Internal Medicine 30% Personality Match
Family Medicine 15% Personality Match

 

[amine2086]

My top 10:
Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism
Medical Genetics
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease
Neurological Surgery
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Internal Medicine - Cardiology
Allergy and Immunology
Internal Medicine - Hematology

Always been interested in internal medicine but ID have never been on the top of the list.

The Student Doctor Network is pleased to announce the publication of How to Choose a Medical Specialty, by Anita Taylor, and the launch of the free companion application on SDN!

About the Book
How to Choose a Medical Specialty, Fifth Edition is the latest edition of the seminal reference for premedical and medical students. This guide details every specialty and sub-specialty approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties, as well as emerging specialties. It includes personal insights from practitioners and questionnaires to allow students to identify the specialties that will suit them best. Also details the full range of clinical and non-clinical practice options, explains how to apply to medical and osteopathic residency programs, what to do if you don't match, and additional residency options.

You can purchase How To Choose A Medical Specialty: Fifth Edition via Amazon to further support SDN and its educational mission.

How to Choose a Medical Specialty Application
Learn more about each specialty and take the assessment quiz to find out which specialties best match your values and personalityHow to Choose a Medical Specialty on SDN! This quiz, based on the book, is available FREE for SDN members.

Book Raffle
To celebrate the launch, SDN will be giving away five copies of the new fifth edition of the book. To enter, check out the application and take the assessment quiz. Post your results here and let us know if they match your personality!

 

[shadowfox87]

Radiology - Diagnostic 97% Personality Match
Neurology 96% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 93% Personality Match
Dermatology 92% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Disease 91% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 91% Personality Match
Urology 91% Personality Match
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 91% Personality Match
Ophthalmology 91% Personality Match
Neurological Surgery 91% Personality Match
Medical Genetics 91% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 91% Personality Match
Pathology 91% Personality Match
Nuclear Medicine 90% Personality Match
Plastic Surgery 88% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Cardiology 87% Personality Match
Surgery - General 86% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Rheumatology 85% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Nephrology 81% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases 81% Personality Match
Orthopaedic Surgery 81% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 80% Personality Match
Psychiatry 79% Personality Match
Emergency Medicine 79% Personality Match
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 77% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 75% Personality Match
Obstetrics and Gynecology 74% Personality Match
Internal Medicine 74% Personality Match
Colon and Rectal Surgery 74% Personality Match
Anesthesiology 74% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 72% Personality Match
Pediatrics 71% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Public Health and General 69% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 66% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Medical Oncology 58% Personality Match
Family Medicine 38% Personality Match

Haha, and my top 3 are above 90% yay.

 

[Camy99]

Not at all interested in my top 3...
Order:
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 85% Personality Match
Radiology - Diagnostic 82% Personality Match
Dermatology 82% Personality Match
Allergy and Immunology 80% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Aerospace 79% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 78% Personality Match
Pediatrics 78% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Hematology 77% Personality Match
Urology 77% Personality Match
Anesthesiology 77% Personality Match

 

[GlowInTheDark]

Radiology - Diagnostic 82% Personality Match
Urology 79% Personality Match
Preventative Medicine - Occupational 79% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology 78% Personality Match
Internal Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism 78% Personality Match
Radiology - Radiation Oncology 78% Personality Match
Pathology 78% Personality Match

Pretty dang good. All specialties that I have heavily considered.