Whether you’ve always dreamt of being a doctor or the passion has hit recently, the medical field is vast. Even in your specialty, there’s likely a subspecialty focus. These areas can make choosing your specific career path a little challenging.
Unless you’re determined to go in a particular direction, it’s wise to research your options before starting med school. This decision will affect your future, and it’s one of the most important choices you’ll make in your lifetime. Sure, you can apply for dual enrollment or change your specialty at the last second, but both of those paths give you extra work.
Instead of adding to the workload you’ll already have, take some time to research your options. There could be an easier, but still ideal for you, path out there. For instance, do you know the difference between a CRNA and an anesthesiologist? They’re quite similar, and you may decide that you’re content being a CRNA instead of taking the extra years to become an anesthesiologist.
Before you enroll in med school, follow these tips to choose your specialty as a medical student as carefully as you’ll treat your patients in the future.
1. Think About How Much You Want to Work
This is a crucial part of your overall professional and personal happiness. Certain medical specialties lend themselves to more flexibility than others.
Take a general practitioner, for instance. They can open their own office and set regular 9-5 style hours, hire nurse practitioners to do much of the patient care, and rotate emergencies. But a cardiologist or emergency room physician often finds themselves on-call or rushing to save the day in intensive situations.
Flexibility includes more than schedule, though. How well does your specialty allow you to make parallel moves? Can you work anywhere, or are you limited to a hospital or an office environment? Consider an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in various areas. That person has more job potential than someone with the same title but a limited specialty, such as rotator cuff repair.
If all goes well, you’ll be in healthcare until you retire. Choose wisely, and choose a specialty that allows flexibility in what you do and where you work.
2. Gauge Your Interest Level
There are two main reasons people choose their career paths in life: money and passion. Those who follow the money often find themselves burnt out and depressed. But when you follow something you’re interested in and love to do, the money will come as a side benefit.
Be careful not to follow in someone else’s footsteps because it’s what you’re used to or the only thing you know. Research your options and try to intern or observe various types of specialties. You might find that what you thought you wanted to do was comfortable, but what you’re passionate about is something new.
When you’re in healthcare and burnt out, you can cause serious damage to yourself and others. Doctors who find themselves miserable in their careers are often unhappy with their lives and turn to drugs and alcohol.
Make your career about making a difference and enjoying every day, not about bringing in the most money possible.
3. Consider Your Abilities
We are all better at certain things than others. Having areas you have to work hard in doesn’t make you weak. But if you’re struggling to learn a particular field of healthcare practice and you continue to struggle, it may be time to choose a new specialty that you’re better suited for.
Let’s look at psychiatry. There are almost endless subspecialties in this field that provide a niche for various doctors. Are you focused on forensic psychiatry but struggling to master it when your talents could be better spent with pediatric, LGBTQ+, or PTSD patients?
You might be able to stay on the road to the destination you’ve planned while traveling it in an alternate route that you had originally intended.
4. Evaluate the Salary Versus Your Goals
Finally, it’s time to look into the factor many people put first, but we suggest it last. What is the salary expectation for the specialty you’ve narrowed your choices down to? Is it in line with your future goals?
Remember that this projected salary will depend on things like geographic location, competition in the area, and insurance reimbursement.
Still, you should have a general idea of what you’ll expect to bring in. Will that help you reach your initial goals of paying off any student loans, getting independent quickly, or starting/raising your family?
Your long-term goals will change as you get settled into your career and begin making more money, but your initial pay needs to be aligned with your fledgling graduate targets.
Conclusion
Healthcare is always changing, and the advantages and disadvantages of your specialty will vary over time. But when you’re passionate about what you do, you can continue enjoying the career you’ve worked so hard for until you retire.
