2 answers
Tomas
Student
Ankeny, Iowa
1
Question
Asked
366 views
I am wanting to go into the medical field, how long I have until I have to choose a specialty and what are some ways I can decide?
As of right now I am between orthopedics and pediatrics. But I am still not sure that it is what I want to pursue, any tips?
Login to comment
2 answers
Hwal Lee
DMSc, PA-C
275
Answers
Albany, New York
Updated
Hwal’s Answer
Tomas,
Assuming you're in high school or a freshman in college, you have several years to decide your specialty. I'm a primary care internal medicine PA in my 5th year of practice. Although I knew before I started PA school that I wanted to practice primary care medicine, many of my classmates weren't sure about their specialty choices, and even those who initially thought they already knew what specialty they wanted to go into ended up changing their minds. So, not only do you have so many years to make that specialty decision, your training will help you reach that decision. Put another way, the decision will come to you, not the other way around. With that out of the way, I would encourage you to try your best to enjoy the process. By this, I mean the process of applying to schools you're interest in, showing off your accomplishments during interviews, the didactic education, cadaver lab, clinical skills lab, clinical rotations... all of it.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.
Good luck!
Hwal
Assuming you're in high school or a freshman in college, you have several years to decide your specialty. I'm a primary care internal medicine PA in my 5th year of practice. Although I knew before I started PA school that I wanted to practice primary care medicine, many of my classmates weren't sure about their specialty choices, and even those who initially thought they already knew what specialty they wanted to go into ended up changing their minds. So, not only do you have so many years to make that specialty decision, your training will help you reach that decision. Put another way, the decision will come to you, not the other way around. With that out of the way, I would encourage you to try your best to enjoy the process. By this, I mean the process of applying to schools you're interest in, showing off your accomplishments during interviews, the didactic education, cadaver lab, clinical skills lab, clinical rotations... all of it.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.
Good luck!
Hwal
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach
1085
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Tomas,
If you study medicine in the US, you first need to earn a bachelors (4 years) in any field and complete a list of pre-requisite courses before you can even apply to medical school. You also need to take the MCAT and gain medical experience.
In medical school, the first 2 years are mostly classroom work. During the last 2 years, you'll do clinical rotations and get to know seversl specialties.
You specialize only during your residency. So, you'll have at least 6-7 years to get some more information and experiences under your belt before you need to seriously consider specialties. Chances are, that by the time you do your rotations you have fallen in love with a specialty anyway. You also need to match into a tesidency, so maybe you'll get your second choice.
Some considerations when chosing a specialty: your preference!, length of residency, cost of setting up a practice, preferred lifestyle (work/life balance), location where you want to practice, salary.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
If you study medicine in the US, you first need to earn a bachelors (4 years) in any field and complete a list of pre-requisite courses before you can even apply to medical school. You also need to take the MCAT and gain medical experience.
In medical school, the first 2 years are mostly classroom work. During the last 2 years, you'll do clinical rotations and get to know seversl specialties.
You specialize only during your residency. So, you'll have at least 6-7 years to get some more information and experiences under your belt before you need to seriously consider specialties. Chances are, that by the time you do your rotations you have fallen in love with a specialty anyway. You also need to match into a tesidency, so maybe you'll get your second choice.
Some considerations when chosing a specialty: your preference!, length of residency, cost of setting up a practice, preferred lifestyle (work/life balance), location where you want to practice, salary.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP