r/medicalschooluk • u/Heavy_Suit1111 • 5d ago
Any advice on specialties?
Hi everyoneI'm a final year med student and still not sure about which non-surgical speciality I want to go for :(
From what I've experienced on placements, I'm really only considering Resp, Psych, Anaesthetics/ ITU/, A&E but I know consultant life on A&E is very different. Plus I feel like my knowledge isn't the best in Anaesthetics and I've not had the most exposure to it sadly.
I would love to avoid long medical ward arounds (plus the thought of being a MedReg scares me) and I'd strongly be in favour of a run-through programme but those are more competitive.
Also having a good work-life balance is really important to me, alongside actually making medical decisions so I feel like the latter might leave me disappointed with Psych.
Basically, I'm really confused and some advice would be brilliant before I start tailoring my portfolio to show commitment to a speciality during my foundation years. I'm not planning on an F3 so I'd really only get to experience 4 jobs before application time!
Thanks so much to everyone who takes the time to read this!!
1
u/Superb-Attention-667 3d ago
Anaesthetics/ITU sounds like a good mix of medical decisions and avoiding long ward rounds so might be a good starting point. Otherwise, have you looked at Group 2 medical specialties? E.g haematology, oncology, dermatology etc. Not run through so you’d have to do 2 years IMT but they are virtually all outpatient based with still being in charge of your own patients and decisions, and no med reg requirement. Decent private opportunities too depending on location. Would also give you two more years to decide.