Specialty

[nonya]

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Hello all,

How does one get awarded a Medical Specialty? Do you have to have to pass test to apply to one, or can you enroll into the specialty?? I was thinking dermatology or radiology.

Thanks!

 

[kronickm]

Hello all,

How does one get awarded a Medical Specialty? Do you have to have to pass test to apply to one, or can you enroll into the specialty?? I was thinking dermatology or radiology.

Thanks!

It is kind of a long process. Some specialties, like derm or radiology, you have to match into out of med school. I won't explain the match here but you can find info on it elsewhere. Those two specialties in particular are very competitive and you have to have good grades/extra curriculars and great USMLE scores, so yes you have to take a test in a sense.

Some other specialties are "gotten" through fellowships after an internal medicine or surgery residency for example. These fellowships are also competitive with some tougher to get into than others.

 

[Instatewaiter]

I was thinking dermatology or radiology.

Thanks!

ha

I am sure a lot of people were thinking derm or rads before med school.

 

[Law2Doc]

It is kind of a long process. Some specialties, like derm or radiology, you have to match into out of med school. I won't explain the match here but you can find info on it elsewhere. Those two specialties in particular are very competitive and you have to have good grades/extra curriculars and great USMLE scores, so yes you have to take a test in a sense.

Some other specialties are "gotten" through fellowships after an internal medicine or surgery residency for example. These fellowships are also competitive with some tougher to get into than others.

Just bear in mind that some things that were important in undergrad and not as important in med school. ECs for instance -- the only one that is going to have much impact for residencies is research. Basically residencies will focus on Step 1 score and clinical year evaluations/grades. The basic science grades and non-research ECs are so far down the list that they rarely come into play. However good basic science year grades tend to mean you are better prepared for Step 1.

I wouldn't focus much on specialties as a premed. The vast majority of folks change their mind at least once during med school, and you will often learn during rotations that something you thought was cool really isn't, and something you thought you wouldn't like is kind of fun. So go to med school with an open mind. Bear in mind that for something like derm, because it is so competitive (there aren't a lot of spots, it's high pay and cushy hours, so lots of people want it) your board scores and grades can shut you out of the running long before the match. So I probably wouldn't recommend going into medicine if you can only see yourself doing this. So too rads. It's great to have lofty targets, but most folks end up in the patient contact intensive specialties (because that is where the bulk of the spots are), so if that doesn't appeal to you, you actually may want to think long and hard about med school. Only 5% can be in the top 5%. Nobody bets on those odds.

 

[MichiganEMTInt]

Just bear in mind that some things that were important in undergrad and not as important in med school. ECs for instance -- the only one that is going to have much impact for residencies is research. Basically residencies will focus on Step 1 score and clinical year evaluations/grades. The basic science grades and non-research ECs are so far down the list that they rarely come into play. However good basic science year grades tend to mean you are better prepared for Step 1.

I wouldn't focus much on specialties as a premed. The vast majority of folks change their mind at least once during med school, and you will often learn during rotations that something you thought was cool really isn't, and something you thought you wouldn't like is kind of fun. So go to med school with an open mind. Bear in mind that for something like derm, because it is so competitive (there aren't a lot of spots, it's high pay and cushy hours, so lots of people want it) your board scores and grades can shut you out of the running long before the match. So I probably wouldn't recommend going into medicine if you can only see yourself doing this. So too rads. It's great to have lofty targets, but most folks end up in the patient contact intensive specialties (because that is where the bulk of the spots are), so if that doesn't appeal to you, you actually may want to think long and hard about med school. Only 5% can be in the top 5%. Nobody bets on those odds.

Law2doc is completely right. A pre-med is just that...pre-med. You aren't in medical school yet and you have to worry about undergrad before you can worry about graduate stuff. Do as well as you can now. Many friends of mine (now MS1's) highly discourage answering the "why do you want to be a doctor" question at interviews with a specialty-oriented response. Medical adcoms are likely to question your motivation for pursuing medicine if it is already associated with a specific specialty.

A girl I know is convinced she will one day be a "cardiothoracic trauma plastics surgeon". This doesn't exist. You could go do 30 fellowships and try to be one but going into your interview with this narrow mindedness will only result in something bad.

I am not a medical student yet. However I do know one thing - after all the hundreds and hundreds of hours I have spent working in hospitals, as an EMT, in many specialties, I still do not know what it will be like working in those specialties as a physician. You can't get a feel for it until (at the earliest) your rotations.

Ask yourself where your motivation for going into medicine is coming from. If it is "being a neurosurgeon" because of Greys or something, you might want to either reconsider medicine or think of a more convincing answer! Good luck!