Making decisions

Abstract

Chapter 53 outlines the importance of early career decisions at medical school and career destinations. Choosing a specialty is a preoccupation of every medical student: keeping an open mind while experiencing what is on offer is important, and yet some early career decisions can focus the CV towards a career goal. This chapter offers advice on how to manage this decision-making process and where to find out more information. In particular, the selection of base hospital, student-selected components, medical elective, intercalated degree, project option/research placement, and entry for prizes are examples of choices facing each medical student for which advice is offered. Career decision tools are available which may help an individual to understand their working preferences/styles and how these may map to a given specialty. An approach to considering personality traits and job traits is outlined which may assist with decision-making. Choosing a career is an exciting process and one that you will justify to many medical students, friends, and colleagues in the future. A plethora of helpful resources are listed at the end of this chapter to help you in making this important decision.