Speciality test...Do you trust them?

[drivesmecraazee]

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So I took this medical speciality test made by the University of Virginia (I think🙄...not so sure) and it said, I took it just for kicks cuz Im a MSII so still have plenty of time to decide. The test said my speciality was radiology with a 47 score, followed by pathology and urology by a 45, I tought taking this test was pointless, since I wasn't even thinking about rads (path seemed ok but still not so interested and uro seemed pretty cool to me), but I started thinking about it and rads seems like a pretty good fit for me, since I love problem solving and have strong observational skills, I dont enjoy technology tough, I've taken the test a few more times more consciously and rads is still the number 1...now I think this test might tell the truth, maybe the final answer isn't the one you want and expect, but it's definetly true, of course at the end It's the person who decides based on experience, but still, this test ask some key-word questions that say a lot about oneself.

Excuse my english if it has a few mistakes, it's not my first language.

Thanks for your answers.

 

[Law2Doc]

So I took this medical speciality test made by the University of Virginia (I think🙄...not so sure) and it said, I took it just for kicks cuz Im a MSII so still have plenty of time to decide. The test said my speciality was radiology with a 47 score, followed by pathology and urology by a 45, I tought taking this test was pointless, since I wasn't even thinking about rads (path seemed ok but still not so interested and uro seemed pretty cool to me), but I started thinking about it and rads seems like a pretty good fit for me, since I love problem solving and have strong observational skills, I dont enjoy technology tough, I've taken the test a few more times more consciously and rads is still the number 1...now I think this test might tell the truth, maybe the final answer isn't the one you want and expect, but it's definetly true, of course at the end It's the person who decides based on experience, but still, this test ask some key-word questions that say a lot about oneself.

Excuse my english if it has a few mistakes, it's not my first language.

Thanks for your answers.

These tests are a waste of time. Wording of the questions and how you interpret them (especially important if english isn't your first language) can lead you to certain results on these tests, and it is impossible to capture one's personality and interests based on prewritten questions. Being interested in problem solving and having good observational skills are of value in virtually EVERY medical specialty, so I sure wouldn't let that be the driving force to send you one way or another. In fact, I think there are other specialties that involve more of the problem solving than rads, which tends to merely identify the problems.

See what you actually ENJOY or dislike in your core third year rotations. Then I would suggest taking an elective in early 4th year and seeing if you even like radiology. The only way to know if you have any interest in a specialty is to find a way to see it up close. These tests are fine to give you directions for further research, but wastes of time as anything else.

 

[diosa428]

A lot of these tests are worthless, especially if you're not doing your clinical rotations yet, because how would you know if you like doing procedures or whatever until you've actually done some? How do you know how much you value having time off? Trust me, it's easy to say "oh, I don't care how much I work", but when you are pushing 80+ hour weeks, you might rethink that. I guess you could do the U.Virginia one, but the Buffalo one will definitely give you skewed results.

And once you've done your clinical rotations, you can actually purposely get the test to give you the specialty you want, because you'll prob know the answer to the questions re: that specialty.

 

[Anka]

I just took the UVa test. A lot of those questions are things you won't know a priori. In particular, who is going to say "I don't like long term relationships with people" unless they the algorithm to tell them a certain thing? A more accurate question would be "I don't like long term relationships with patients," and even then, it's iffy. It also appears to play of certain steriotypes, e.g. surgeons don't like to do research... but academic surgery is a real option. That said, I'm glad I wound up with the specialty I just matched into as #1.

Anka

 

[vtucci]

I took both the UVA and Buffalo tests and had ER as #1 and Pulm/Critical Care as #2 and Nephrology as #3 on both tests.

Like all standardized tests, there is a margin for error. However, I plan to enter Emergency medicine and have considered doing a fellowship in critical care. I think there may be something to these tests if your results are the same on multiple tests.

 

[Mayhem]

I think they're all a crock. When I was pre-clin and excited to the point of orgasm about internal medicine* they told me i'd be best suited for occupational health then path then radiology. At the start of 4th year when I would rather have been castrated than do IM, they're telling me to do Cardio, Gastro and Derm. WTH?

At no point did any surgical specialty come up in the top 5. Guess i'll be making a huge mistake with my life then because I know I'm doing a surgical specialty. About the only thing they got right is my white-hot hatred of Obstetrics.

Maybe i'll give it another go to see what they say now.

*I know weird but true

 

[Law2Doc]

Maybe i'll give it another go to see what they say now.

The smart money is on OB. 😀

 

[Mayhem]

The smart money is on OB. 😀

That would have been hilarious but:

Accoring to UVA:

thoracic surgery

pathology

dermatology

nephrology

occupational med

At least there's some surgery this time, a dying surgical specialty that i'm not particularly fond of, but surgery all the same. You'll notice that occupational medicine (the bane of my existence) is still in the top 5. Some of the questions we're a bit silly too like...“I tend to want a good outcome.” Seriously? Which specialty has all the patient-hating nihilists?

According to Pathways/Buffalo:

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Dermatology
Gastroenterology
Radiation Oncology
Otolaryngology

Conclusion: Pathways is the better test. At least it's top 5 has one specialty i'm considering.

 

[drivesmecraazee]

I took the Pathways/Buffalo too, I think it's awful, like if I wasn't able to asnwer the questions, couldn't actually think of an answer for those question, besides that whole scale system doesn't allow you to give a definitive answer, it's very relative becuase maybe for me, answering with a 4 means Im very sure, some others might answer the same question with a 4.7 being as sure as I am.

 

[Blade28]

thoracic surgery
...
At least there's some surgery this time, a dying surgical specialty that i'm not particularly fond of, but surgery all the same.

😱 🙁

 

[t33sg1rl]

Well... I've taken the virginia test before and I had odd results in that family practice always ended up at the bottom of the list (I want to go into primary care). The Buffalo test ranked FP as my #2. I think for me, the Buffalo one was a lot better. It ranked all of the primary care/IM/Peds/subspecialties of IM&Peds in the first half, then surgical stuff, then at the very bottom, it correctly identified ER, Gas, Rads, and Path as specialties that I'd rather die than match into.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

A lot of these tests are worthless, especially if you're not doing your clinical rotations yet, because how would you know if you like doing procedures or whatever until you've actually done some? How do you know how much you value having time off? Trust me, it's easy to say "oh, I don't care how much I work", but when you are pushing 80+ hour weeks, you might rethink that. I guess you could do the U.Virginia one, but the Buffalo one will definitely give you skewed results.

And once you've done your clinical rotations, you can actually purposely get the test to give you the specialty you want, because you'll prob know the answer to the questions re: that specialty.

A great point and the essential problem with the tests.

I think another big issue with them is that I imagine that poeple try to game them to come out supporting their preconceived notions. Let's say someone likes the idea of doing surgery, they would probably be more likely to respond positively to a question like "I enjoy using my hands."

Vtucci mentioned that her list was Em, Pulm, Nephrology. That in an of itself shows another problem with the tests. Maybe, maybe you could convince me that there is some correlation between emergency and the CC aspects of pulmonary medicine. But then we get hit with Nephrology, the most cerebral, round-for-hours, long-term-patient-care field in Internal Medicine!

These tests are fun and may help you come up with some questions of your own for self-analysis but should not be taken too seriously.

 

[Mayhem]

😱 🙁

Even as I typed that sentence I knew you'd post something about it.

My planned reply: 😳 I'm a med student, we don't know anything.


PS: Do you have some sort of detector that let's you know when someone is talking about CT surgery?

 

[smq123]

PS: Do you have some sort of detector that let's you know when someone is talking about CT surgery?

Maybe it's a perk for being a moderator - they set off a Bat Signal whenever someone posts something about your area of expertise/interest. 😉

 

[Blade28]

Even as I typed that sentence I knew you'd post something about it.
...
PS: Do you have some sort of detector that let's you know when someone is talking about CT surgery?

Am I that transparent? 🙂

I don't have a detector, unfortunately. Something much more boring. I just skim any thread that interests me in certain forums (outside of the ones I moderate), including Pre-Allo, Allo and Clinical Rotations.

Maybe it's a perk for being a moderator - they set off a Bat Signal whenever someone posts something about your area of expertise/interest. 😉

Actually the perks that we get are classified, and we're forbidden to talk about them. 😉

 

[Ashers]

Am I that transparent? 🙂

I don't have a detector, unfortunately. Something much more boring. I just skim any thread that interests me in certain forums (outside of the ones I moderate), including Pre-Allo, Allo and Clinical Rotations.

haha. Yes, you are. 😉 I wondered how long it'd be for you to come and respond to that post. The CT surgery dept isn't doing to well at my school. They didn't match anyone for this year. Probably means there won't be any fellows if they lose the new one this year -- a possibility from the scuttlebutt.

As for these stupid specialty tests. I got a whole bunch of specialties I would rather not do medicine than do.

Buffalo:

Thoracic Surgery
Colon and Rectal Surgery
Anesthesiology
Vascular Surgery
Pediatric Surgery
Sports Medicine
Neurological Suregery [sic]
Gastroenterology
Plastic Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgery

Virginia:
1 obstetrics/gynecology 44
2 nuclear med 44
3 urology 43
4 orthopaedic surgery 42

I'm doing ortho. I did my surgery rotation in CT and Colorectal/Anal (aka Gutts and Butts gen surg service). And absolutely NO way I'd ever do OB/gyn. If I weren't to do ortho, I'd do anesthesia.

 

[Blade28]

haha. Yes, you are. 😉

🙁

🙂 I may be the most vocal proponent of CT Surg on SDN!

No! It's not a dying field! No, cardiologists aren't going to "cure" people with severe coronary or valvular disease. (But I'm also waiting for all those attendings in their 50s and 60s to retire in the next 10 years.)