Making medical career choices

The changes to postgraduate medical training will mean competitive entry to specialist training on completion of foundation training. Foundation training will provide a wide experience of a range of specialties but important career choice decisions will have to be made in the F2 year. It is essential that all doctors are trained to manage their own careers and make correct career choices.

Career Management skills

In the Oxford Deanery all foundation trainees will be offered a place on a Career Management Skills workshop organized by their Foundation Training Programme Director.

The workshop will take delegates through the key stages of career management.
These stages are outlined here as they are a good start for anyone making important career decisions.

• Understand yourself – make a list of your strengths and areas you still need to work on
                           o What is most important to you about your work
                           o What are you good at? What are you less good at?
                                                  What feedback have you had?
                                                   What are your attributes, abilities and personal qualities
                            o What motivates you at work? What demotivates you?

• Features of your ideal work situation. Develop a description after asking yourself  a range of questions such as:
                           o Do you like to work on your own or in a team?
                           o Do you like variety or routine?
                           o Do you like doing practical procedures? Are you good at them?
                           o How do you enjoy emergencies? Pressure?
                           o How do you cope with uncertainty or patients in distress?
                           o How do your personal circumstances affect your career choice?
                           o How much money do you want?  Will you undertake private practice?

• Matching career options to ideal
                              o Look at specialty descriptions on this website, college websites or look at So You Want to be a Brain Surgeon? by Chris   Ward/Simon Eccles, Oxford University Press (2005) ISBN 0 19 263096 2. This book contains a description of the best and worst aspects of each specialty plus other essential information.
                              o Does your specialty choice match your ideal?  If there are some aspects you feel uneasy about, why not discuss with someone in the specialty. The names of the Oxford Deanery Specialty Adviser are under each specialty on this website.

• Action plan
This should include plans for finding out further information. If you cannot decide between two specialties, seek advice from your Foundation Training Programme Director or Clinical Tutor.
It can be helpful to list the positive and negative aspects of each choice.
Some people have real dilemmas or may have to adjust their career plans because of personal circumstances or illness. If you feel this is you – why not apply to the Career Development Unit for individual career guidance on cdu@oxford-pgmde.co.uk.

If you've tried to work through these stages but feel you need more direction, ask your Postgraduate Centre library for access to the online medical specialty career choice tool Sci 45 (or the new version, Sci 95). That might be a good way of getting started. 

Online tool