and lifestyle.

But there are several more often overlooked qualities that make up an important component

in your long term happiness and career satisfaction.

Here is what you shouldn't overlook when considering a specialty as a medical student

and future physician.

Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.

First, you don't need to know what specialty you're going into until the second half

of medical school.

I thought I wanted to be a pediatric gastroenterologist throughout college, but I didn't have any

experience shadowing one.

I was just a gastroenterology patient myself, having been diagnosed with Crohn's colitis

at the age of 18.

During the summer after my first year of medical school, I finally got exposure to the field

from a provider perspective through clinical research in pediatric endoscopy.

At that point, I quickly realized it wasn't for me.

Luckily, I had an inkling that surgery would be a better fit, but I never stepped foot

in the operating room until my third year, when I quickly fell in love with plastic surgery.

That being said, it would be strange to work tirelessly through your premed and medical

school years, wanting to become a doctor, without some idea of the type of physician

you're aspiring to be.

After all, the life of a neurosurgeon is much different than the life of a family medicine

physician, and it's unlikely that both are equally appealing to you.

In my previous video on How to Choose a Specialty, we touched on key areas you should focus on.

By watching that video in conjunction with this, you'll have a comprehensive understanding

of the various factors you should consider.

When you're young, you feel like you'll live forever.

I knew medicine was going to be a long grind with delayed gratification, but I wasn't

afraid of hard work.

I had already grinded hard for 4 years of college without issue, so what's another

4 years of medical school plus 3-7 years of residency?

If you've ever ran a marathon or rode a century on your bike, you understand the first

half isn't really an issue.

It's in the second half that you're truly tested.

The same thing applies here with medical training.

No matter how much I or any other physician tells you how rigorous medical training will

be, you won't truly understand it until you get there.

Some thrive in it and welcome the challenge.

Others prefer to have a semblance of a life, and that's totally ok.

At the beginning of medical school, you and your classmates will be wide eyed and hopeful,

eagerly awaiting what lays ahead.

But after a few years of slogging away, the importance of lifestyle and more manageable

training will become front and center.

Your friend who was all about orthopedic surgery first year may be applying to family medicine

or anesthesia instead.

And there's no shame in that.

After medical school, your training isn't over.

The shortest residencies are 3 years in duration, including internal medicine and pediatrics.

Many are 4 years, such as emergency medicine and anesthesiology.

Surgical specialties are usually longer, with orthopedic surgery, urology, and general surgery

at 5 years.

The longest in duration are plastic surgery at 6 and neurosurgery at 7.

Some other fields require fellowship.

For example, gastroenterology and cardiology tack on 3 years of fellowship training after

completing 3 years of internal medicine residency, for a total of 6 years of additional training

after medical school.

If you want to subspecialize surgically, there's usually a 1 or 2 year fellowship tacked onto

the end of your already lengthy surgical training.

Sit down and do the math.

If you imagine yourself having kids and a family by the time you're 30, but you also

want to be a neurosurgeon subspecializing in neuro-oncology requiring a 2 year fellowship,

the soonest you'll be done is 33.

That is, assuming you graduate college at 22 and go straight to medical school without

taking any time off.

If you're like the average medical school matriculant and start medical school at the

age of 24, after taking a year or two off from college, you'll be 35.

And to match into something competitive like neurosurgery, many medical students also take

a research year to make their application more competitive for residency, which brings

us to 36.

You may be the type of person who that doesn't phase, and that's great.

You probably have excellent work ethic and don't mind delayed gratification.

But most people don't like the idea of being in rigorous training until their mid 30's,

especially while their friends and peers are happily living their lives.

Tying in with the timeline in training is how rigorous your specialty will be — both

during medical school and in residency.

If you want to get into dermatology or plastic surgery, by far the two most competitive specialties,

you'll have to work harder than your classmates in medical school and truly excel, performing

at the top of your class to be a serious candidate.

And while in residency, understand that most surgical specialties will be incredibly challenging

and rigorous, often pushing 80 or more hours per week.

It's not uncommon for surgical specialties to violate the 80 hour work week restrictions

mandated by the ACGME.

Non-surgical specialties are less likely to push you to this extreme, and if they do,

it's usually for much shorter bouts — maybe one or two months in a year.

If you choose something like anesthesiology, on the other hand, you can expect to work

50-60 hours during your residency.

Or if you go with family medicine, 9-5 hours are more the norm, even in residency.

Keep in mind that your hours as an attending, after finishing residency, are also highly

variable, with surgeons working longer hours on average.

It's human nature to care about how people treat you – do patients respect you or resent

you?

How about your colleagues?

For each person, this can vary in importance, and for each specialty, you'll find this

highly variable as well.

For example, if you work in the emergency department, you'll come across hostile patients

more frequently than the average pediatrician.

But if you don't like crying kids, pediatrics probably isn't for you anyway.

As an aesthetic plastic surgeon you'll likely come across your fair share of entitled and

difficult patients who are impossible to please.

Maybe anesthesiology is a better fit, as you'll be putting patients to sleep and won't have

to deal with much of that.

But as an anesthesiologist, you'll be second in command in the operating room, as it's

the surgeon's domain.

Surgeons and anesthesiologists are working on the same team as colleagues, but anesthesiologists

sometimes find themselves on the receiving end of a surgeon's bad day.

You don't see it the other way around.

There are some secondary and tertiary considerations to also keep in mind.

How is your specialty practice affected by the economy and national healthcare changes?

For example, aesthetic plastic surgery won't thrive during large downturns in the economy,

as most people have less discretionary spending and are unable to justify cosmetic procedures.

However, if reimbursement through insurance decreases, reconstructive plastic surgeons

can always fall back to an aesthetic cash based practice and be relatively unaffected.

On the other hand, an emergency medicine physician's work is relatively unchanged, regardless of

what's going on in the economy.

People have emergencies and need medical treatment whether bull or bear market.

But if reimbursement changes, there isn't much that they can do about it.

And while this shouldn't be a focus, particularly this early in your career, consider what type

of practice you're drawn to.

For some specialties, private practice is becoming less feasible, and working as an

employee at a larger hospital or medical group is more common.

If you're unsure what type of doctor you want to be, that's totally normal, but now

is the time to give this some thought.

The earlier you have clarity, the better.

Shadowing physicians is less feasible now with the state of the world.

In the meantime, check out our So You Want to Be series, where we highlight individual

specialties within medicine, doing a deep dive to help you determine if it would be

a good fit for you.

And regardless of what you choose, it always benefits you to keep your options open, in

case you decide to pursue something competitive like orthopedic surgery.

At Med School Insiders, we specialize in helping students maximize their potential and be the

most competitive candidates possible.

Visit MedSchoolInsiders.com to learn more.

Thank you all so much for watching.

Check out my last video on choosing a specialty, and if you haven't already, go through our

So You Want to Be playlist to learn more about individual specialties.

Much love, and I'll see you guys in that next one.