Academic and Career Advising
Intro Heading link
Choosing a specialty that is right for you can be daunting, especially with the ever changing world of medicine. It is impossible to predict the future of many specialties but personal preferences on what type of patient population you wish to serve and in what setting you wish to practice will probably not change significantly with time. During your third year of medical school you may begin to get a sense of what specialty is right for you. In the fourth year you will take electives toward your career interest. By putting some thought and effort now into what you want to do in your future career as a physician, you can begin to position yourself to prepare for residency.
One valuable resource available to you in making the right choice is the Careers in Medicine (CiM) website. It is designed to maximize your decision making process. The CiM website contains step-by-step, detailed information and interactive tools to help you work through the specialty choice process. Feel free to contact AAMC Careers in Medicine Liaison, Dr. Claudia Boucher – Berry at claudiab@uic.edu if you have questions about CiM.
Please keep in mind that there are no easy answers that will tell you what specialty is right for you. It is important to seek the advice of your OSA LEAD, Physician House Advisor and Deans to bounce ideas off, give you feedback or to give you a reality check if you are considering a competitive specialty.