{"id":491,"date":"2018-01-25T15:53:43","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T15:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/?page_id=491"},"modified":"2023-03-08T14:03:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T20:03:22","slug":"selecting-a-specialty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/students\/rotations\/selecting-a-specialty\/","title":{"rendered":"Selecting a Specialty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Choosing a specialty as a med student is one of the biggest decisions of your career. Rotations present the ideal opportunity to explore your interests and nail down your top specialties. Above all, keep an open mind. Your initial dream might be to practice internal medicine, but you may discover during a pediatric rotation that you have a knack for getting squirming toddlers to sit still while checking their ears. For this reason, former students recommend waiting until the last day of each rotation to decide whether you think that specialty is a fit for you. Here are more tips for narrowing your options before selecting a specialty:<\/p>\n<h3>Ask the experts<\/h3>\n<p>During your rotations, ask specialists on the floor what they like and dislike about their fields. You can start the conversation by asking:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What level of patient care does their specialty entail? For example, patients in the ICU would require a higher level of care compared to a woman who gave birth without any complications.<\/li>\n<li>How often do they work overnight and how often are they on call?<\/li>\n<li>Ask specialists how they balance work-life demands. DO <a href=\"http:\/\/thedo.osteopathic.org\/2017\/10\/is-anesthesiology-right-for-you\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">anesthesiologists<\/a>, for instance, typically work 12-hour days plus they\u2019re on in-house call for 24-hour shifts. However, their intense work schedule is balanced by a generous amount of personal time off.<\/li>\n<li>What are the physical and mental capacities required to meet the demands of the job?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Narrow the field<\/h3>\n<p>As you\u2019re exploring possible specialties, you may also want to check out one of these resources to help narrow the field.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Isersons-Getting-into-Residency-Students\/dp\/1883620309\/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1508440780&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=Iserson+Guide+to+getting+a+residency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Iserson\u2019s Guide to Getting a Residency<\/a> for a step-by-step guide to selecting a medical specialty.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thedo.osteopathic.org\/2017\/09\/quiz-whats-ideal-medical-specialty-personality\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The DO\u2019s Choosing a Specialty quiz<\/a> for an entertaining way to determine which specialty might be the right fit for your personality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Choosing a specialty as a med student is one of the biggest decisions of your career. Rotations present the ideal opportunity to explore your interests and nail down your top specialties. Above all, keep an open mind. Your initial dream might be to practice internal medicine, but you may discover during a pediatric rotation that &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/students\/rotations\/selecting-a-specialty\/\" class=\"readmore\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6647,"parent":456,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.4 (Yoast SEO v21.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Choosing a Medical Specialty | American Osteopathic Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Choosing a specialty as a med student is one of the biggest decisions of your career. 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