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The decision to enter a medical specialty: timing and stability
Author(s) -
ZELDOW P. B.,
PRESTON R. C.,
DAUGHERTY S. R.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1992.tb00177.x
Subject(s) - specialty , medical education , orientation (vector space) , matching (statistics) , psychology , stability (learning theory) , medical school , class (philosophy) , family medicine , medicine , computer science , mathematics , pathology , geometry , machine learning , artificial intelligence
Summary. The timing and stability of the decision to enter a medical specialty were examined for one class of medical students. Students were asked to predict specialty choices for themselves on six occasions from orientation day in year 1 to January of the senior year. Choices were compared to actual National Residency Matching Programme results. Forty‐five per cent predicted their ultimate specialty choice at orientation, and 69% predicted their ultimate choice by the end of the second year. Specialty choices are made early, and are more stable and accurate than the previous literature has suggested. Variations in timing among the specialties are described, and implications for medical education are discussed.