When on earth am I going to find out what Kind of Physician I want to be

[IzzyMD09]

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I know its early...right! I mean I am a first year, and I do have several interests, but a lot of people in my class are so gung-ho about what they want to do already, and I feel that there is a level of clarity that can be achieved by knowing your goals.

Any advice?

If there is one of those tests I can do to see what kind of doctor I would enjoy being the most feel free to send it my way!

Thanks

Iz 🙂

 

[deleted87716]

If there is one of those tests I can do to see what kind of doctor I would enjoy being the most feel free to send it my way!

Here you go: Medical Specialty Aptitude Test

 

[IzzyMD09]

Here you go: Medical Specialty Aptitude Test

how legit is this thing, the results were very scattered, and the test seemed to repeat a lot of the same questions, my number 1 said emergency medicine and then my last one said neurology

 

[cdql]

It's meant to be a helpful tool and not a 100% accurate thing.

My advice would be to do as well as you possibly can so that you leave the door open for all possibilities. Most people have an idea of what they want to do when they enter med school but it's going to (or should) change hundreds of times especially during 3rd year.

The one advantage of being definitively sure that a certain field is right for you is to be able to start research in that field.

For instance, if you like emergency medicine from the very start, you could make contacts with the emergency med department, perhaps get a summer research project from them, etc... etc...

That being said, if you are an outstanding student, you should have your pick of most specialties!

 

[Methyldopa]

a lot of people in my class are so gung-ho about what they want to do already

Most people change their minds in the end. I was gung-ho about one field and ended up in an entirely different one. So don't worry about it now, just go through the process of med school and something will click for you.

Good luck. 👍

 

[DW3843]

here's another one:

http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/RESIDENT/CareerCounseling/interior.htm? self-assessment.htm

similar to the UVA test
Obviously these tests are not crystal balls, but I thought my results seemed fairly legit. The 10 or 15 at the top of the list were all things that I like, and the 5 or 10 at the bottom were things I already know to steer clear of.

 

[jschwartz]

Here you go: Medical Specialty Aptitude Test

Hmm... my chosen specialty ranked 11th 😱
Derm was #3
Seems one of us (me or the test maker) is slightly off the mark on that one -- hope it's not me 😳

 

[8744]

I know its early...right! I mean I am a first year, and I do have several interests, but a lot of people in my class are so gung-ho about what they want to do already, and I feel that there is a level of clarity that can be achieved by knowing your goals.

Any advice?

If there is one of those tests I can do to see what kind of doctor I would enjoy being the most feel free to send it my way!

Thanks

Iz 🙂

PM me. I don't want to start a flame war.

 

[skypilot]

First years at my school all want to be Surgeons! By third year it has completely changed.

 

[Wednesday]

Don't worry. Most of those people who are "100% sure" will have changed their minds by the time you guys match. I think the most important thing is to keep your mind and options open. I ran into a few first-years this year who said things like "I don't need to really do well in my classes because I'm going into family practice". Such a bad idea!!! You should strive to do the best, without killing yourself, that you can do. If you're interested in research or in matching at a big name place (some people are just into names) do some research. It doesn't matter what field it's in, you can always do a smaller project in your field later. Personally it took me until I got through third year to find out what I loved to do, shadowing didn't help much because it didn't give me the day-after-day experience. In clinicals you get to spend a lot of time with the type of people who go into each field and the types of problems you work with on a daily basis and you can see if you like them or not.

Bottom line is just relax and keep your mind open and you'll find something. Definitely don't spend valuable energy worrying too much about it.

 

[IzzyMD09]

here's another one:

http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/RESIDENT/CareerCounseling/interior.htm? self-assessment.htm

similar to the UVA test
Obviously these tests are not crystal balls, but I thought my results seemed fairly legit. The 10 or 15 at the top of the list were all things that I like, and the 5 or 10 at the bottom were things I already know to steer clear of.

Hey thanks I did that one twice, and I really liked it because it was a straight up personality test, that wasnt the same question 5 times over and over, It really was great because it put the different priorities I want to have when I am a practicing physician in order, and just for safety I did the same test twice and got sort of similar answers. And the ones I had most in common with are truly fields I could see myself interested in.

So thanks

Izzy

 

[cdql]

I agree...very nice program!

I got exactly what I was expecting to!

 

[McDoctor]

Some factors going into your decision may carry more weight than others as you progress through school. You may desire a field like surgery with narrow range of expertise and alot of technical skills, but lifestyle choices may play a bigger role if you have a family for instance. What felt exciting and new in my first year felt like any other job by 4th year and internship and in the end lifestyle considerations had the biggest impact for me.

 

[mtDNA]

Well, here is a funny thing about the Medical Specialty Aptitude Test. I have taken it twice now, but with a long period of time in between (over a year). When I saw what it ranked as my #1 this time around, I immediately remembered that it was the same as last time! (the specialty by the way was hematology).
I realize it is just an online test, and I am not taking it too seriously (the specialty I want the most right now was ranked near the bottom both times: ER). Still, I think it is kind of interesting that it has been so consistent. Kind of makes me want to check out hematology.

 

[orientedtoself]

"The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty" by Brian Freeman is a good overview of the different fields that you can read at any time. Don't feel like you need to choose a specialty as a first year. You just need to be motivated to become a doctor.

 

[fourthyearmed]

You won't know until after 3rd year and some people don't even know then!

 

[Gregg]

Cool, I did that test and my sole reason for going to med school was #1! And the 2 fellowships I would love to do are #2 and #10, but pragmatism makes me lean towards #10.
So, here I come emergency medicine!

 

[Arctic Char]

the weird thing about this kind of activity is that it highlites something pretty sobering about the med school process as a whole. its that despite the fact that we should be "adults" and know what we want in life, in many cases we are constantly learning and growing and our minds change day to day. we're still "kids" in that respect, still asking each other "what do you want to be when you grow up?" something no one outside of medicne could realy understand. now, i am perfectly aware that there are people who's minds were solid from the MCAT to the MD on what they wanted. I thought i was one of these people, but now, in still pre-clinical years, i find myself for the first time seriously shopping around, considering what kind of life is best for me and my myriad of ambitions (in and out of medicine). i am, however, a very patient person, and know that the time to make a decision is a long way away (temporally, and mentally), and that the best decision right now is to stay interested in anything and everything, relax about the future, get good enough marks and scores to keep my options open, and enjoy every minute in between.

 

[Obedeli]

how legit is this thing, the results were very scattered, and the test seemed to repeat a lot of the same questions, my number 1 said emergency medicine and then my last one said neurology

It worked for me. It's weird. I don't know how it works but 4 years later, here I am in my #1.