What does it say you should do?

PhysiologyRocks

Probably a pile of rubbish, but I thought it was fun. It's quick and painless, at least.

It told me to do thoracic surgery.

What did it tell others to do?

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

EDIT: Could probably go in bizarre and amusing links, but then nobody could answer my question, which would be terribly sad for all involved.

ZorbaTehZ

Rank|Specialty|Score
1|Neurology|49
2|Pathology|46
3|Allergy & Immunology|45

Cue all the anti-social pathologist jokes... although ironically I do find it a fascinating speciality.

I think I got asked about 5 times whether I was a "thinker" or a "doer", test is a bit odd methinks.

PhysiologyRocks

Those are supposed to be there, but I can't remember why. We did one like it in college, but I don't think it was for this purpose.

At the moment, thoracic surgery would probably be what I'm most interested in, but it's most likely just a coincidence.

mardybumbum

Results

Pretty accurate.
Im really interested in neurology and radiology.
Im pretty spooked that they were my top two. :eek:

PhysiologyRocks

mardybumbum wrote: »

Results

Pretty accurate.
Im really interested in neurology and radiology.
Im pretty spooked that they were my top two. :eek:

Just re-looked at mine, thoracic, then general. Yesterday, my granny's friend asked me what I'm interested in most at this early stage, and that's what I said.

Also :eek:.

tallaght01

Rank Specialty
1 pediatrics
2 occupational med
3 radiology
4 psychiatry
5 preventive med

Seeing as both my jobs have made it into my top 5, I have to say it's not bad.

PhysiologyRocks

tallaght01 wrote: »

Rank Specialty
1 pediatrics
2 occupational med
3 radiology
4 psychiatry
5 preventive med

Seeing as both my jobs have made it into my top 5, I have to say it's not bad.

I hope it's not bad! If it were right, that'd be all my childhood dreams realised!

A Neurotic

"I tend to want a good outcome."

Losing faith here.

EDIT:

1 physical med & rehabilitation
2 pediatrics
3 neurosurgery
4 dermatology
5 allergy & immunology

PhysiologyRocks

A Neurotic wrote: »

"I tend to want a good outcome."

Losing faith here.

Keep going, this is fun!

charlieroot

1 thoracic surgery 50
2 obstetrics/gynecology 50
3 nephrology 50
4 hematology 50

First one I think I'd definitely find interesting.
The others.... Obs/gyn.... I mean wtf?

tallaght01

PhysiologyRocks wrote: »

At the moment, thoracic surgery would probably be what I'm most interested in,

mardybumbum wrote: »

Im really interested in neurology and radiology.

This will make interesting reading for you two a few years after graduation.

It reminds me of a story I've recounted here a good few times. But on day 1 of med school at my uni they asked us for a show of hands for who wants to be a GP, and for who wants to do A+E.

On that first day, about 60% of the class wanted to do A+E, and about 3 people wanted to be GPs.

On the last day of med school, they asked the same question (they do this every year and note the results). About 50% wanted to be a GP, and a handful few wanted to do A+E.

charlieroot

I've seen a similar thing in my class. Early on (the first few months) most people were interested in thoracic surgery / oncology / A&E etc... the "sexy/exciting/glamourous" specialities. I can think of only 2/60 who mentioned GP. In fact I got the distinct impression that the majority of people seemed to look down at GPs as if they were in fact inferior doctors for some reason.

Over the past two years, more people have started thinking about GP, people are starting to realise (myself included) that the physiology/pathology/pharmacology you're thought in relation to a specialty do not reflect the realities of working in that specialty. They're merely the salad that garnishes the steak (if you'll excuse a crappy metaphor). Also have to mention that medical dramas have a lot to answer for in this regard - whether people actively believe or just subconsciously pick up on how actors portray doctors in different specialities it certainly impacts strongly on people's impression of those career paths.

ZYX

The question is, are people giving true answers or answers that fit with the speciality they want to do? It might be more interesting to ask someone who knows you well to fill it in for you. For example you might regard yourself as a good listener. Others may not.

PeterMC

I got:

1 aerospace med 42
2 psychiatry 41
3 nuclear med 41
4 physical med & rehabilitation 40
5 preventive med 40

I'm not really sure what 3 and 4 even are...!!

Of my top five - have only ever considered one of them (preventive med)...but I'm sure time will tell!

Chunky Monkey

Did this about two years ago and got physical med and rehab. Gonna try again see if it comes up the same.

Chunky Monkey

Okay physical med and rehab were down in rank 26. Got ortho surgery, preventative med and occy med for my top three. Didn't know the answer to quite a few of those though and would not have thought of going into anything like those

PhysiologyRocks

tallaght01 wrote: »

This will make interesting reading for you two a few years after graduation.

It reminds me of a story I've recounted here a good few times. But on day 1 of med school at my uni they asked us for a show of hands for who wants to be a GP, and for who wants to do A+E.

On that first day, about 60% of the class wanted to do A+E, and about 3 people wanted to be GPs.

On the last day of med school, they asked the same question (they do this every year and note the results). About 50% wanted to be a GP, and a handful few wanted to do A+E.

They're always doing that kind of thing to us! Still, not at all near final year, but it changes a lot.

The ones I like are the ones I've seen a bit of in real life, so the more I see could change things.

I still like how it gives me the ones I'd love to do!:)

Carsinian Thau

Rank Specialty Score
1 neurology 45
2 gastroenterology 45
3 endocrinology 44
4 allergy & immunology 44
5 pathology 44
6 nuclear med 43
7 rheumatology 42
8 plastic surgery 42
9 physical med & rehabilitation 42
10 ophthalmology 42
11 general surgery 41
12 urology 41
13 cardiology 41
14 infectious disease 40
15 dermatology 40
16 occupational med 40
17 radiology 40
18 neurosurgery 40
19 psychiatry 39
20 thoracic surgery 39
21 pulmonology 39
22 nephrology 38
23 general internal med 38
24 colon & rectal surgery 38
25 anesthesiology 38
26 hematology 38
27 preventive med 38
28 otolaryngology 38
29 orthopaedic surgery 38
30 emergency med 37
31 radiation oncology 36
32 aerospace med 36
33 family practice 34
34 med oncology 33
35 pediatrics 33
36 obstetrics/gynecology 32


Interesting that the last 4 are the ones I'd prefer to avoid if I could. Also, my non favourites Psych and Emergency Med came low too.

So it looks fairly accurate in that regard.

Piste

1 dermatology 46
2 allergy & immunology 42
3 gastroenterology 42
4 urology 42
5 psychiatry 42




Lol dermatology. I think I scored highly o that because I kept clicking 5 for "interests outside of medicine" ans 1 for "happy to work long hours". I like the idea of immunology and psychiatry though.

The test really didn't need to be 130 questions long, there was an awful lot of repetition.

PhysiologyRocks

ZYX wrote: »

The question is, are people giving true answers or answers that fit with the speciality they want to do? It might be more interesting to ask someone who knows you well to fill it in for you. For example you might regard yourself as a good listener. Others may not.

I thought this, too, and would love to have someone do it for me, but I don't think my mammy would be best pleased if I asked!

Some of the questions are about what you like, and much easier to gauge for yourself. I mean, my mum/friend Shane could tell whether or not I like gadgets, but not how much.

I could be very wrong here, so let me know, but I've heard somewhere that some of these tests are largely about self-perception as opposed to fact.

All that said, I really wouldn't know what to tick in order to fit in with what interests me.

allsaintssue

1.Pathology
2.General Surgery



My sister wants to do Pathology...I'd like to think I'm a little more people orientated..general surgery, yes!

JSK 252

Rank Specialty Score
1 general surgery 45
2 nuclear med 43
3 hematology 41
4 plastic surgery 41
5 allergy & immunology 41
6 ophthalmology 40
7 urology 40
8 endocrinology 40
9 gastroenterology 38
10 neurosurgery 38
11 pathology 38
12 infectious disease 38
13 obstetrics/gynecology 37
14 pediatrics 37
15 orthopaedic surgery 37
16 radiology 37
17 neurology 37
18 nephrology 37
19 emergency med 37
20 colon & rectal surgery 37
21 cardiology 36
22 rheumatology 36
23 med oncology 35
24 general internal med 35
25 anesthesiology 35
26 dermatology 35
27 otolaryngology 35
28 radiation oncology 35
29 thoracic surgery 34
30 pulmonology 34
31 physical med & rehabilitation 32
32 occupational med 31
33 aerospace med 31
34 psychiatry 31
35 family practice 31
36 preventive med 27

Intersting to see immunology and hematology were in my top 5 as they were in my top 5 career choices when i did the pathfinder career test in school on the computer. I had like 97% pharmacy and 97% immunology.

I wonder do they have a similar thing for pharmacy?

drzhivago

Not sure of the relevance of the numbers but closish

Thoracic and occupational the only two in top 10 I didnt really want to do

Obs and gobs behind them as well


Rank Specialty Score
1 orthopaedic surgery 48
2 thoracic surgery 47
3 neurosurgery 47
4 emergency med 47
5 cardiology 46
6 pulmonology 46
7 nephrology 46
8 general surgery 46
9 occupational med 46
10 obstetrics/gynecology 46
11 preventive med 45
12 aerospace med 45
13 plastic surgery 45
14 infectious disease 45
15 allergy & immunology 44
16 urology 44
17 pathology 44
18 nuclear med 44
19 family practice 44
20 otolaryngology 43
21 radiology 42
22 radiation oncology 42
23 dermatology 42
24 endocrinology 42
25 gastroenterology 41
26 rheumatology 41
27 colon & rectal surgery 41
28 physical med & rehabilitation 41
29 neurology 41
30 anesthesiology 40
31 hematology 40
32 med oncology 39
33 ophthalmology 39
34 psychiatry 39
35 pediatrics 38
36 general internal med 38

GradMed

Rank Specialty Score
1 rheumatology 46
2 nuclear med 45
3 med oncology 45
4 physical med & rehabilitation 45
5 pediatrics 45
6 hematology 44
7 family practice 43
8 pathology 43
9 radiation oncology 43
10 obstetrics/gynecology 42
11 occupational med 42
12 pulmonology 42
13 nephrology 42
14 colon & rectal surgery 41
15 anesthesiology 41
16 neurosurgery 41
17 plastic surgery 41
18 orthopaedic surgery 40
19 infectious disease 40
20 neurology 40
21 gastroenterology 40
22 dermatology 40
23 otolaryngology 39
24 general surgery 39
25 psychiatry 38
26 preventive med 38
27 ophthalmology 38
28 general internal med 38
29 allergy & immunology 38
30 endocrinology 37
31 cardiology 37
32 radiology 37
33 thoracic surgery 36
34 aerospace med 35
35 urology 34
36 emergency med 31

bythewoods

My top ten are:

Rank Specialty Score
1 aerospace med 46
2 psychiatry 45
3 med oncology 45
4 hematology 45
5 rheumatology 43
6 nephrology 43
7 general internal med 42
8 physical med & rehabilitation 42
9 pediatrics 41
10 neurology 41


Honestly, I thought I got a few odd results. Like, aerospace Medicine? WTF, I had to google that. What an odd field to specialise in!
"specialized branch of medical science concerned with those medical problems encountered in human flight in the atmosphere (aviation medicine) and beyond the atmosphere (space medicine)."

However, psychiatry's a field I'd definitely be very much interested in (And it always ranks highly in Aptitude exams for me!). As is Oncology.
We'll see in 6 years when I'm finished my degree

Bluebell55

The top three I got were
Preventative Medicine
Endocrinology
General Internal medicine

To be honest can't really see myself doing any of my top three.
My top three I would expect for myself would be:
Emergency Medicine (number 10)
Family Practice (number 12)
Obs and Gynae (number 25)

Maybe I should reconsider my career plans.... just cos the test said so

wireless101

1 dermatology 42
2 pediatrics 41
3 radiology 40
4 psychiatry 39
5 neurology 39
6 general internal med 39
7 nephrology 38
8 nuclear med 38
9 urology 38
10 endocrinology 37
11 allergy & immunology 37
12 anesthesiology 36
13 hematology 36
14 ophthalmology 36
15 physical med & rehabilitation 36
16 preventive med 36
17 occupational med 36
18 aerospace med 36
19 neurosurgery 36
20 rheumatology 36
21 gastroenterology 35
22 infectious disease 35
23 emergency med 35
24 radiation oncology 35
25 cardiology 34
26 med oncology 34
27 pathology 34
28 otolaryngology 34
29 orthopaedic surgery 33
30 plastic surgery 33
31 general surgery 33
32 obstetrics/gynecology 33
33 colon & rectal surgery 33
34 thoracic surgery 32
35 pulmonology 31
36 family practice 31

Definitely have an interest in psychiatry and neurology.

Jessibelle

1)Neurosurgery 46
2)thoracic surgery 45
3)Pathology 45
4)general surgery 43
5)orthopaedic surgery 43
6)plastic surgery 41
7)emergency med 40

I guess I'm gonna be a surgeon so

Dr Galen

1 med oncology 49
2 emergency med 48
3 preventive med 48
4 pediatrics 48
5 orthopaedic surgery 48

serious mix up there from me, but I have to say i loved working in A&E and would still be something I'd really think of going back to, and I really enjoy ortho now.So not too far out. Was never a fan of the medical side of things though.

ZYX

PhysiologyRocks wrote: »

.

I could be very wrong here, so let me know, but I've heard somewhere that some of these tests are largely about self-perception as opposed to fact.

All that said, I really wouldn't know what to tick in order to fit in with what interests me.

These tests can lead to false logic. Such as
1 I want to be a psychiatrist
2 Psychiatrists must be good listeners
3 So I must be a good listener.

Has anyone done the test a second time? It would be interesting to see if people get the same results a second time around.

PhysiologyRocks

ZYX wrote: »

These tests can lead to false logic. Such as
1 I want to be a psychiatrist
2 Psychiatrists must be good listeners
3 So I must be a good listener.

Has anyone done the test a second time? It would be interesting to see if people get the same results a second time around.

Yes! I did the test again and got the exact same thing.

Got my dad to do it for me, and I got gen. surgery first and then thoracic, but overall very similar.

I see what you mean about the false logic, though, and very much agree.

ergo

Hmm, interesting thread, here's my outcome: In my list i struck through the specialties I could never see myself doing - put in bold the ones I have enjoyed and would consider long term or am doing at the moment

- interesting that radiology came top as I specifically put that I don't enjoy doing the same thing repetitively ie. looking at Chest x-rays (I know, I know there's a lot more to radiology etc etc!)

Rank Specialty Score
1 radiology 43
2 ophthalmology 42
3 nuclear med 42
4 neurology 42
5 rheumatology 42
6 med oncology 42
7 dermatology 42
8 general internal med 41
9 pulmonology 41
10 otolaryngology 41
11 preventive med 41
12 psychiatry 40
13 general surgery 40
14 nephrology 40
15 hematology 40
16 anesthesiology 40
17 allergy & immunology 40
18 pathology 40
19 radiation oncology 39
20 family practice 39
21 emergency med 39
22 infectious disease 39
23 obstetrics/gynecology 39
24 occupational med 39
25 aerospace med 39
26 plastic surgery 39
27 thoracic surgery 38
28 gastroenterology 38
29 endocrinology 37
30 neurosurgery 37
31 orthopaedic surgery 37
32 pediatrics 36
33 urology 35
34 cardiology 35
35 colon & rectal surgery 35
36 physical med & rehabilitation 34

now the thing is, I have been put off by some of the specialties because I know how intensely ridiculously competitive they are to get into in Ireland and have completely not considered them because I know I would never get into them, no matter how hard I worked

or, if I got into the higher training programme I know there are no consultant jobs at the end of it in Ireland- have seen friends/colleagues forced to emigrate as no jobs here in their specialty of choice - so knowing the chances for career progress definitely influences career choice here

and another word of caution to med students - please do not use this list as your definitive and final career goal - one of the things I enjoyed working in most came bottom of my list!

I would also be curious to know how many duplicate questions did I give differing answers to...?!?

MedHead

Well here's what I got:
1 Hematology 43
2 Nephrology 42
3 Med oncology 42
4 Infectious disease 42
5 Psychiatry 42

Oncology, infectious disease and hematology are defitiely ones I'd consider, psych not so much...wonder where Ill actually end up? :rolleyes: Also a little suprised that general internal med was @ 12 as i would have expected it to be higher.

Boethius

Nuclear med, radiation oncology and radiology in my top three.
Pretty definitive....although I don't remember a question about liking to play with elements of the periodic table or similar?

and all the surgery ones down the bottom, bummer

Brods

Rank Specialty Score
1 pathology 44
2 gastroenterology 44
3 neurology 43
4 hematology 42
5 allergy & immunology 42
VV
35 family practice 32
36 emergency med 32

Only starting 3rd year so really know nothing about my speciality. at the mo don't wanna be a GP, considering A+E, bottom two... ?? Seems that allergy and immunology features high pretty commonly, is it a popular career?

tech77

ZorbaTehZ wrote: »

Rank|Specialty|Score
1|Neurology|49
2|Pathology|46
3|Allergy & Immunology|45

Cue all the anti-social pathologist jokes... although ironically I do find it a fascinating speciality.

I think I got asked about 5 times whether I was a "thinker" or a "doer", test is a bit odd methinks.

Those "do you enjoy making decisions" questions had me stumped.
Didn't know what to choose...

/gets coat.

tech77

A Neurotic wrote: »

"I tend to want a good outcome."

Losing faith here.

LOL
Noticed that as well.
(obviously they just mean can you put up with chronicity/incurable conditions- oncology, psych, gp etc).
Still kinda funny.

FWIW, top 10:
1
neurology 44
2
gastroenterology 44
3
pathology 42
4
radiology 40
5
plastic surgery 40
6
endocrinology 40
7
nuclear med 40
8
dermatology 40
9
allergy & immunology 40
10
colon & rectal surgery 38

Edit: Also doesn't having higher top ten scores mean you have a burning ambition to do these specialties over the others- ie you are clear in your head what you're good at.
Might be a useful test for eliciting this further.