What if you really have no idea what specialty you are interested in? I suspect that many people change their minds while in school anyway! Is it better to have some clue--even if it is a a guess? How about a range of specialties?
The 'what speciality' question
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I think it is good to get a general idea of what you want to do, but keep an open mind while in medical school. Know that you can change your mind when you get to experience it.ladybug1 said:
Here are some sites that are helpful.
http://medinfo.ufl.edu/year3/rtprograms.pdf
http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/specialties/
http://www.ama-assn.org/vapp/freida/spcindx/0,,TR,00.html
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/12969.html
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You don't have to have it nailed down to a specific organ or anything, but you should have an idea of what you want to do. What docs did you shadow and what turned you on or off about those specialties? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What draws you to medicine?
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ladybug1 said:
Last year, I was told by the Dean of Admissions at Vandy that you had better have an answer to the specialty question, as it shows that you have thought it out. I was also told that it is fine to say that you are not sure (as who realistically can be), but to stress which areas you are interested in and why.
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I think it would be a good idea to at least be able to characterize your interest as broadly as medicine vs. surgery vs. something like radiology/pathology.
You certainly don't need to be able to say that you want to be a particular subspecialty, but could see an interviewer at least wanting to know that the applicant has some plans beyong just being a "doctor." There's a big difference between Trauma Surgery, Diagnostic Radiology, and Pediactric Endocrinology.
It also might be a good idea to do some research into the fields if you're going to say you're interested in EM or Surgery, or else your interviewer might just think you've watched too much TV
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You certainly don't need to be able to say that you want to be a particular subspecialty, but could see an interviewer at least wanting to know that the applicant has some plans beyong just being a "doctor." There's a big difference between Trauma Surgery, Diagnostic Radiology, and Pediactric Endocrinology.
It also might be a good idea to do some research into the fields if you're going to say you're interested in EM or Surgery, or else your interviewer might just think you've watched too much TV
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i told my student interviewer at one of the schools that i was interested in neurosurgery. she laughed and said "no, really." so there might not be a right answer to this question, but it appears, at least in my case, that there was a wrong one.
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etf said:
I still haven't quite figured it out yet, but this is my list so far.
1. Orthopaedic Surgery
2. ENT
3. Urology
4. EM
I think.
Oh also since your name is lady bug I am assuming you are a girl. Womensurgeons.org is a good website. You can order a free book on residency and a free dvd. I also ordered a dvd that follows three famous women surgeons for 30 dollars.
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etf said:
Had you shadowed any neurosurgeons? Just curious.
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