Medical Specialty Poll Results

My poll recently ended, and the question was ---- "What is the most important factor in choosing a medical specialty?" Personal interest was the leading factor pulling two-thirds of the votes. The remaining one-third of the votes chose lifestyle as the leading factor. There was 1 outlier that chose money - thank you for your honesty.

I found these results interesting because I have only heard 2 things from current practicing physicians - choose what you enjoy or choose the most lucrative field you can. I haven't ever been told to choose the field with the best lifestyle.

While many fields can be tailored to meet any lifestyle, I can definitely understand why this is such an important factor. I think medicine is the only field where someone can work 60 hours in residency and say that it wasn't a bad week. I often talk to my high school friends, and they all seem to be "living" more than I am. For the record, I still wouldn't choose any other profession.

I will probably try to find some sort of happy medium between personal interest and lifestyle. I think it will be easier for me because I seem to enjoy more fields than I dislike.

For those that aren't in their clinical years of medical school yet, keep your mind open to everything. When you actually get to experience the every-day feel of a specialty, it is often times much different than you thought.