How to choose specialty? NEET-PG, Medical Post Graduation, Career after MBBS

Every medical graduate needs to go through different entrance examinations followed by interview or counselling processes to secure a medical post-graduation seat. The qualifications may be varied with MD, MS, DNB, MMED, MRCP, MRCS, or Fellowships or Board certificates as per the country, institute and specializations. But at the end of every academic tenure or qualification, you get a certificate to practice in a particular medical specialty, which will define your future career path in the healthcare industry. 

Different Aspects to Evaluate while choosing specialty

PERSONALITY

Every medical student must figure out his personality, meaning what kind of medical nature he or she belongs to.

Medical: People who are more comfortable with medical specialties. They don't like surgery or trauma cases. 

Surgical: Surgery is the most exciting part for people who like to operate. On a lighter mode, we can say they can't sit in an OPD room the entire day. 

Paediatric: Such people are very comfortable with children for interaction and counselling. They are the ideal person for the paediatric speciality.

Cold Personality: People who do not like emergency/ trauma work prefer cold or planned work the most. For them, the speciality examples are Dermatology, Radiology, Pathology, Ophthalmology, Urology, Cosmetic Surgery, Medical Oncology, and Surgical Oncology. 

Aggressive Personality: Such people like emergency work, comfortable with long or odd working hours schedules. They can't sit in a consulting room all day. Specialty examples include Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, Trauma Surgery, Orthopaedics, Neurosurgery, and Obstetrics. 

AREA OF INTEREST

While choosing a specialty, you MUST know your area of interest. You can find your area of interest by considering the below-mentioned points; 

1. Identify your passion: It may develop out of curiosity while studying medicine, the subject which you like the most. You love to read and explore that specialty as a part of your curiosity. 
2. Get Inspiration: Any doctor in your friends & family, maybe your family doctor, who inspires you to be like him. 
3. The subject you enjoy most: While studying medicine, the subject which always excites you and you enjoy every time you read its book that engages you. 
4. You should Love to Research: The specialty or subject which you love to research throughout your life that's the ideal specialty you should choose. 

FINANCIAL ASPECT

1. Choose a post-graduation seat as per your Course Fee Budget 
2. Family Financial Conditions make you compelled to start earning as early as choosing a specialty where you can start practicing or get a hospital job quickly. 
3. Look at the Investment Part: If you want to start your private practice, how much investment will be required? It should be aligned with your financial resources,hence choose the specialty accordingly. 
4. Financially Sound: If you have a good financial background, you can explore overseas fellowship/ observership, and get good clinical exposure. You should choose a specialty in which such options are more available. 

PRACTICAL APPROACH

1. Available options on your merits: If you have very few options, then forget about the other factors discussed here, you have to choose either one of them or prepare for next year's exam. 
2. After multiple entrance exam attempts, NOT able to crack: Look for fellowship options after MBBS or medical graduation, there is always a way. 
3. Working Professionals: You can choose Fellowship, Observership, and Training courses related to your medical practice experience, and identify your subspecialty. 

Concept of Subspecialty Medical Practice

Every basic medical specialty has grown and matured to a stage where sub-specialization requirements have been observed in the Urban Medical Practice scenario in recent years. For example, Orthopaedic professionals are now choosing subspecialties like Joint Replacement, Spine Surgery, Hand Surgery, Arthroscopic Surgery, Foot & Ankle Surgery, Paediatric Orthopaedics, and Orthopaedic Oncology. Of course, such subspecialty choices are made after completing a medical post-graduation in a particular specialty. But it is now recommended for every resident doctor to start thinking in this direction of choosing his area of interest, in a particular subspecialty during their postgraduate residency period, which will help them to go to the next level of their medical career. To pursue such subspecialty, the most common root is Fellowship. 

Explore Subspecialty Fellowship Options:

Explore Subspecialty Fellowship Options: 

Fellowship after Pediatrics 

Fellowship after Radiology 

Fellowship after General Surgery 

Fellowship after MBBS 

Fellowship after Orthopedics 

Fellowship after ENT Surgery 

Fellowship after Gynecology 

Fellowships in Critical Care Medicine 

Fellowship after Pathology 

Fellowship after Ophthalmology 

Fellowship after Anesthesiology 

Medical PG Entrance Exams in different countries:

1. INDIA: NEET-PG (National National Eligibility cum Entrance Test), ffrom 2024 onwards, will be replaced by NExT (National Exit Test).
2. UNITED KINGDOM: PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board)
3. USA: USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination)
4. CANADA: MCCQE (Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination)
5. AUSTRALIA: UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test)

FAQs

Which medical PG course is best after MBBS? 

The best 5 medical PG courses after MBBS: 

a). Doctor of Medicine (MD) 

b). Master of Surgery (MS) 

c). Doctor of Medicine in Pediatrics (MD Pediatrics) 

d). Doctor of Medicine in Anesthesiology (MD Anesthesiology) 

e). Master of Public Health (MPH) 

Assess your interests and values, research the different options, evaluate your strengths, look at the demand and training requirements and lastly consider financial implication. 
 

Which field is best for specialization after MBBS? 

After MBBS, you can go for MD specializations or MS specialization or you can opt for Fellowships in Diabetology, Clinical Care Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Gynecology, Anesthesiology, etc. 

What is the highest paid MD specialty in India? 

The Highest paid MD specialty in India is Cardiology, Nephrology, Anesthesiology, Urology, and Orthopedic.