Is it good or bad to talk about a specialty?

[AMEHigh]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm working on some secondaries and trying to figure out what route to take. I think it's been mentioned on here and other places that schools don't like you to talk about a speciality that you're interested in or plan to go into, but I thought I'd get some opinions.

I guess I would consider myself a nontraditional student. I was a psych major in undergrad, I've been out of school for 2 years and I currently work in mental health. I've had volunteer experiences with psychiatrists, I currently work with one now and my DO shadowing experience is with a psychiatrist.

So should I/would it be ok to mention psychiatry in my secondary apps? I feel like I have some experience to back this up with, but then again I don't want to seem closed minded to other specialties. Thoughts?

 

[Chocolate Bear]

Psych is often cited as one of the fringe primary care fields. It's especially underrepresented in rural areas. This makes it much more acceptable to talk about than neurosurgery, etc, as a future career. Also, you have some experience to back it up.

So, I think it would be fine/good to mention your interest in psych/mental health, while reflecting on your clinical/life experiences, but don't present it as the only possibility for you. After all, you haven't seen everything, and they like you to be open minded.

 

[MossPoh]

I'd generally avoid direct talk about specialities in things such as a personal statement. During an interview it doesn't matter as much. They know most will change their minds. I mentioned Radiology a bit, but it was because I've had about 2 years of research related to the field.

 

[saylorsdad]

I agree with above in that it could be good, but we need to remember that we haven't seen and worked in all of the specialties yet. so saying you're going to be a ______________ would be jumping the gun a bit. I am going into the interview cycle this year with the attitude of being a general practioner first. After I get in if I just fall in love with __________ I will consider it. But being a doctor is my first priority.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

I'd generally avoid direct talk about specialities in things such as a personal statement.

Agreed, but secondaries are a little different.

 

[RySerr21]

OP,

There is a huge difference between talking about a certain field that has sparked your interest and being close-minded with a "psychiatry or die" attitude.

In the former, you can talk about how your interest in medicine started with psychiatry, and how a lot of your experiences have been in psyciatry, BUT you can also stress how you are open to other medical field (maybe you have even had some expereinces in other fields). This definitely makes for an appealing candidate b/c it shows you have direction but are also open-minded.

With the latter, you seem close minded and unwilling to entertain the idea of other medical fields, which seems kind of ignorant since you realy havent experienced most of your options.


Throughout my personal statement and secondary applications, I had a consistent theme. I talked about how my interest in medicine STARTED with orthopedics and sports medicine, and i explained some significant expereinces in that field. I follwed that by saying "My interest in medicine has steadily grown over the years and i am also interested in such and such and this is what I have done in that field and why it has caught my interest."

Definitely talk about psychiatry if it has played a major role in your medical experience thus far, just don't come across like this guy...

 

[Chocolate Bear]

...chicken has bones. so...yes!
👍👍

 

[AMEHigh]

OP,

There is a huge difference between talking about a certain field that has sparked your interest and being close-minded with a "psychiatry or die" attitude.

In the former, you can talk about how your interest in medicine started with psychiatry, and how a lot of your experiences have been in psyciatry, BUT you can also stress how you are open to other medical field (maybe you have even had some expereinces in other fields). This definitely makes for an appealing candidate b/c it shows you have direction but are also open-minded.

With the latter, you seem close minded and unwilling to entertain the idea of other medical fields, which seems kind of ignorant since you realy havent experienced most of your options.


Throughout my personal statement and secondary applications, I had a consistent theme. I talked about how my interest in medicine STARTED with orthopedics and sports medicine, and i explained some significant expereinces in that field. I follwed that by saying "My interest in medicine has steadily grown over the years and i am also interested in such and such and this is what I have done in that field and why it has caught my interest."

Definitely talk about psychiatry if it has played a major role in your medical experience thus far, just don't come across like this guy...

Yeah I completely agree! I definitely don't think I'm coming off as closed minded, but I was sure if it was "forbidden" that I mention anything about my interest in psychiatry. I didn't talk about any of this in my personal statement, but want to be clear about my passion to become a physician in my secondaries. Thanks for your help!

 

[iluvmed&ba6eekh]

Definitely talk about psychiatry if it has played a major role in your medical experience thus far, just don't come across like this guy...

😆!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Anton Chigurh]

I chose not to mention my specialty of choice, surgery, because it has nothing to do with primary care. But as a previous poster mentioned, you probably wouldn't have a problem mentioning psych since it's considered one of the primary care specialties.

 

[iluvmed&ba6eekh]

sorry if this is a dumb question, but technically, exactly which specialties are considered to be primary care? i know there's family med, peds, ob/gyn, psych, any others? 😕

 

[Chocolate Bear]

sorry if this is a dumb question, but technically, exactly which specialties are considered to be primary care? i know there's family med, peds, ob/gyn, psych, any others? 😕

Internal medicine (general). Surgery is often seen as an important primary specialty, but Anton was right to be wary of mentioning it. Gerontology (elderly patients) is often grouped as PC, as well, though it's a fellowship after IM (there may be other routes).

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Your experiences have played a role in getting you where you are today, so definitely mention it. But to say that you're locked into psych, when it is the only experience you have with medicine, would be ******ed. And horse****.

 

[beachblonde]

Mentioning an interest in a specific field is fine. I would say that this is especially true when you have a lot of experience within a certain field.

Just be willing to acknowledge that you may change your mind down the road and you're open to other specialties.

Besides, nobody wants to be friends with the "chicken has bones, so yes" kid.

 

[iluvmed&ba6eekh]

Internal medicine (general). Surgery is often seen as an important primary specialty, but Anton was right to be wary of mentioning it. Gerontology (elderly patients) is often grouped as PC, as well, though it's a fellowship after IM (there may be other routes).

Does emergency med fall under primary care as well?

 

[Chocolate Bear]

Does emergency med fall under primary care as well?

Maybe once or twice I've seen it considered as such. It's kind of a fringe one, but closer to the non-PC side.

Keep in mind, my opinions on the matter are based on maybe 50 different sources that I've seen categorize things in a way we're discussing. So take it for what it's worth.

 

[Colbert]

No, primary care fields are generally considered family/general practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, and psych. It's an arbitrary designation in my opinion, and you could argue what exactly defines primary care, but if you're talking to osteopathic schools about primary care those are the fields that they are usually referring to.

 

[cliquesh]

a crap load of DOs go into EM. Just thought you might want to know if you are concerned about it.

 

[iluvmed&ba6eekh]

lol yea i know, actually all the DO's i met were emergency physicians.

I was just curious as to whether EM was included under the primary care umbrella, since I've heard it both ways.

 

[Kateb4]

I was just curious as to whether EM was included under the primary care umbrella, since I've heard it both ways.

I don't think that EM is considered Primary care. While they may see patients with the same problems, they are more accute in nature, and one would not generally say that their primary physician is the ER doc (I would hope not at least).

Primary care is generally described as a physician that a patient would see regularly and repeatedly for well care and for the initial evaluation of problems (may refer to specialists). The LECOM primary care pathway includes Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Peds and OB/Gyn in this category.

So... to the OP. I would mention your interest in psyc, it shows that you have a bit of advanced knowledge in a specific area. And, psych is really not generally a first pick for most people, so there may be a specific need in that area that you could fill. Like the others said, just make sure you keep an open mind because you never know what you will end up loving, and love it or not, you are going to have to do rotations in all sorts of things to get thru the clinical years.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

The LECOM primary care pathway includes Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Peds and OB/Gyn in this category.

According to Dr. James Moore, LECOM's Director of Recruiting, Gerontology is included in this list, too.