Overview

The first medical specialty selection guide written by residents for students! Provides an inside look at the issues surrounding medical specialty selection, blending first-hand knowledge with useful facts and statistics, such as salary information, employment data, and match statistics. Focuses on all the major specialties and features firsthand portrayals of each by current residents. Also includes a guide to personality characteristics that are predominate with practitioners of each specialty.

“A terrific mixture of objective information as well as factual data make this book an easy, informative, and interesting read.”
--Review from a 4th year Medical Student

Table of contents

Part I: Planning Your Medical Career
Chapter 1. Choosing a Specialty: The Most Difficult Decision of Your Career
Chapter 2. The Specialization of Medicine
Chapter 3. Ten Factors to Consider in Specialty Selection
Chapter 4. Personality Assessment: Are You My Type?
Chapter 5. Finding the Perfect Specialty
Chapter 6. Special Considerations for Women
Chapter 7. Combined Residency Programs
Chapter 8. Options for the Undecided Medical Student
Chapter 9. Applying for Residency: An Overview of the Match Process
Chapter 10. Love and Medicine: The Couples Match
Chapter 11. Top Secret! The Ultimate Guide to a Successful Match
Chapter 12. Your Medical Career Beyond Residency
Part II: Specialty Profiles
Chapter 13. Anesthesiology
Chapter 14. Dermatology
Chapter 15. Emergency Medicine
Chapter 16. Family Practice
Chapter 17. General Surgery
Chapter 18. Internal Medicine
Chapter 19. Neurology
Chapter 20. Neurosurgery
Chapter 21. Obstetrics and Gynecology
Chapter 22. Ophthalmology
Chapter 23. Orthopaedic Surgery
Chapter 24. Otolaryngology
Chapter 25. Pathology
Chapter 26. Pediatrics
Chapter 27. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Chapter 28. Plastic Surgery
Chapter 29. Psychiatry
Chapter 30. Radiation Oncology
Chapter 31. Radiology
Chapter 32. Urology

Biographical note

Brian S. Freeman, University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

Back cover copy

ATTENTION MEDICAL STUDENTS:
DON’T CHOOSE YOUR SPECIALTY WITHOUT READING THIS BOOK!

Finally! Someone who conquered the obstacle course himself writes the essential book to help you answer the most urgent question of your career — what specialty? Brian Freeman knows the anxiety of that all-important choice. He knows what information you need to choose the specialty that’s just right for you and that will make all you’ve invested in medical school --- and all that you will invest in your residency training — pay off.

AVOID AGONIZING UNCERTAINTY AND THE WRONG CHOICE
Dr. Freeman’s The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty delivers a user-friendly, anxiety-calming mix of real-life answers—insights from his own personal experiences, candid reports from current residents in each specialty, and a wealth of hard-dug research. The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty brings you—
*All the information the author—a recent medical school graduate—wishes he had when choosing his specialty
*“Vital Signs,” detailing each specialty’s average salary, type of practice, hours worked per week, job satisfaction rankings, match statistics, and much more
*Detailed reports “from the trenches” on the excitement, challenges, and rhythm of their lives from current residents in the twenty major medical specialties
*“The Inside Scoop,” exposing specialties’ lifestyle realities, training requirements, and predominant personality types
*Answers to the question: “Does personality really matter?”
*Specialty-specific tips to enhance your chances for acceptance in your chosen field
*What to do if you still can’t decide
*Bonus— a complete Internet resources guide, advice for women and couples, and much more

THE PERFECT GUIDE FOR BEFORE, DURING, AND END OF MEDICAL SCHOOL