Anyone having anxiety about their choice of specialty. As it gets closer to match time, I often find myself sayg, "Did I make the right choice? Am I going to end up switching specialties?" Is it just me?
Anxiety about choice
- Thread starter pez
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You wouldn't be human if you didn't second-guess your choice of specialty a little bit.
Many people struggle between several specialities, and finally land in one. Most are happy, some are not. Some of the unhappy ones switch later. That's definately doable.
Give your specialty a chance for at least a year before you make any decisions.
Many people struggle between several specialities, and finally land in one. Most are happy, some are not. Some of the unhappy ones switch later. That's definately doable.
Give your specialty a chance for at least a year before you make any decisions.
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Agree with above post . . .
Throw into the mix all these decisions about geographical location, competitiveness of program/specialty, etc. - - - I agree with you that these aren't easy choices! I know for a fact a lot of classmates who struggled with specialty choice up until it was time to turn in the application.
You are only locked into a 1-year contract with the Match at the program that you match in. I have seen for myself many residents at my home hospital either switch location or even switch specialties. It is not an uncommon thing to happen - I am not trying to say you should be thinking about this now, I am just saying there are "outs" if you find yourself in that situation.
Anyway, as the above poster said, I think it's normal - I would even go so far as to say that those who are 100% sure are in the minority. Give it some time in your new home. You may second-guess no matter where you go or what you do. I hope you will get what you want.
Good luck!
Throw into the mix all these decisions about geographical location, competitiveness of program/specialty, etc. - - - I agree with you that these aren't easy choices! I know for a fact a lot of classmates who struggled with specialty choice up until it was time to turn in the application.
You are only locked into a 1-year contract with the Match at the program that you match in. I have seen for myself many residents at my home hospital either switch location or even switch specialties. It is not an uncommon thing to happen - I am not trying to say you should be thinking about this now, I am just saying there are "outs" if you find yourself in that situation.
Anyway, as the above poster said, I think it's normal - I would even go so far as to say that those who are 100% sure are in the minority. Give it some time in your new home. You may second-guess no matter where you go or what you do. I hope you will get what you want.
Good luck!
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Yeah, I too began doubting my specialty choice within the last few weeks and went through the same soul-searching that led me to make my original decision. I think this is very normal--I mean, realistically we only have a few months to decide on a specialty to begin with! Not much time when you consider that this decision affects the rest of your life (or at least 1 year of it). And if you're someone like me who can barely plan ahead to next month, then that complicates things even more. Deciding on a specialty last summer/fall was easily one of the most, if not THE most, stressful things I've ever done. I am certainly not one of those people who entered med school knowing I HAD to do OB, surgery, ER, whatever.
But I was told on a rotation this year that up to 30% of residents change specialty after they start residency (don't know where this stat came from, but I believe it from what I've seen.) So it's very doable, and if you're going into a primary care specialty or surgery to begin with, you can apply that as a transitional/prelim year toward another specialty. You're only committed to a program for 1 year. So go with your original specialty for now and see what happens--as you continue training, you'll learn more about yourself and your goals, and you'll know if you're in the right place (that's my attitude anyway).
Good luck!
But I was told on a rotation this year that up to 30% of residents change specialty after they start residency (don't know where this stat came from, but I believe it from what I've seen.) So it's very doable, and if you're going into a primary care specialty or surgery to begin with, you can apply that as a transitional/prelim year toward another specialty. You're only committed to a program for 1 year. So go with your original specialty for now and see what happens--as you continue training, you'll learn more about yourself and your goals, and you'll know if you're in the right place (that's my attitude anyway).
Good luck!
thanks for your help. I don't understand how people know before they go to med school that they want to be a pediatric endocrinologist or an interventional radiologist. They way I've structured my application leaves some room for switching if I want to.
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You must know what specialty you want to do by july first of your fourth year at the latest, or all is lost. Furthermore, this decision is irrevocable, and a bitter lifetime of suffering and shame awaits those who choose unwisely...
Just kidding!😀 IMHO, it would be nice to do a rotating internship like in the old days, just to have some more exposure to various fields, and to taste medicine outside of the academic womb before having to decide. But I guess people just don't want to waste one more year. Another thing I've noticed is that a lot of my teachers did some time in the army before they found out what they wanted to do, and they seem pretty happy. It seems like most people's careers tend to develop over time, and I didn't like having a gun put to my head and being forced to decide.
Just kidding!😀 IMHO, it would be nice to do a rotating internship like in the old days, just to have some more exposure to various fields, and to taste medicine outside of the academic womb before having to decide. But I guess people just don't want to waste one more year. Another thing I've noticed is that a lot of my teachers did some time in the army before they found out what they wanted to do, and they seem pretty happy. It seems like most people's careers tend to develop over time, and I didn't like having a gun put to my head and being forced to decide.
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Yeah, I agree that the traditional rotating internship should still exist. My dad had to do that (just like all other docs) back in the '70's, and he feels it took off a lot of the pressure to decide on a specialty during 4th year.
The specialty I chose is family...how about you guys?
The specialty I chose is family...how about you guys?
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I don't know how people decide, I think a lot of it is on a gut feeling. I took a year off between years 2-3 of med school and did a fellowship in anatomic pathology. Thus, for an entire year I acted as a pathology resident. It still took about 3-4 months for me to become familiar enough with pathology to be certain that it was what I wanted to do. Otherwise, I may have just fallen back on IM because I just assumed that was what I wanted to do. Obviously I don't suggest doing a full year in a specialty to decide if that is what you want to do, but spend as much time as you can in the environment, because it is very difficult to understand what it will actually be like until you live it. If I had to decide on OB/GYN based on my 6 week experience, that would be very tough.
I have seen people in my class change their minds a lot, up until the fall of 4th year when you sort of have to decide. I don't know what the numbers are, but there is a certain percentage of people who change fields after experiencing part of their intern year.
THere are always those who are convinced that they will end up in a certain field (usually it is highly specialized, like pediatric endocrinology or whatever). To be sure, some of these folks do indeed have tunnel vision and end up doing that, but a larger percentage probably change their minds a few times before finally settling on a choice.
Personally, I have not second guessed my specialty (pathology) of choice since about midway through my third year, after I gave myself enough clinical blocks to know if I could pass up doing IM. No doubts now, but a lot of this is probably due to the amount of time I have spent in my field already.
I have seen people in my class change their minds a lot, up until the fall of 4th year when you sort of have to decide. I don't know what the numbers are, but there is a certain percentage of people who change fields after experiencing part of their intern year.
THere are always those who are convinced that they will end up in a certain field (usually it is highly specialized, like pediatric endocrinology or whatever). To be sure, some of these folks do indeed have tunnel vision and end up doing that, but a larger percentage probably change their minds a few times before finally settling on a choice.
Personally, I have not second guessed my specialty (pathology) of choice since about midway through my third year, after I gave myself enough clinical blocks to know if I could pass up doing IM. No doubts now, but a lot of this is probably due to the amount of time I have spent in my field already.
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I know somebody who changed careers 3 times before entering med school (3 different professional/grad schools not actually working at any of them). After med school he changed residencies 3 times and finally finished after 9 years of residency. Now he is like almost 40 years old and starting his first real job ever- with a huge amount of debt.