Choosing a Medical Specialty

This is a link for an aptitude test that medical students can do to see which residency, or specialty, their personalities are most inclined to:

http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/specialties/

I found this link posted on a few other doctor-spouse websites last week (and the various results of their spouses tests). I remember my husband doing one during his third year of medical school when he was determining which specialty to chose. In the end, he did end up choosing a specialty that had been in the top five recommended specialties to fit his personality well.

It is interesting to see the results of the test, but so many other factors come into play when choosing a specialty. Medical school is wonderful at exposing students to a multiple of specialties and associated experiences, but sometimes personalities of attending physicians or other residents overshadow the actual experience.

Something like this aptitude test initiates the process of choosing a specialty more than anything. Hopefully, it allows for a personal, objective view of what medical specialty someone will be good at and enjoy. Good luck to all those out there trying to decide what to specialize in right now. It was not an easy decision for my husband.