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Specialty planning

Choose a medical specialty with the officially approved Red Book method

This interactive selector brings years of specialty-choice research from Anita D. Taylor's classic How to Choose a Medical Specialty into a guided planning tool.

Compare your interests, personality, lifestyle preferences, and career goals against medical specialty profiles built from decades of research and experience, now in its 6th edition.

How to Choose a Medical Specialty, Sixth Edition book cover Available through Amazon

Since 1986, the Red Book has been a trusted guide, now in its sixth edition.

Available through Amazon

You found your specialty, now plan the rest of your path.

From specialty exploration to school discovery, interview preparation, and debt planning, all part of the SDN Schools Database.

Learn About and Compare Different Specialties

Explore detailed information about medical specialties, including training requirements, lifestyle factors, and career outlooks.

Aerospace Medicine Specialty

Aerospace Medicine

Aerospace medicine is a preventive medicine subspecialty focused on the health, safety and...
Allergy and Immunology Specialty

Allergy and Immunology

Allergists/immunologists diagnose and treat patients who have asthma, allergic and immunologic...
Anesthesiology Specialty

Anesthesiology

Anesthesiologists are physicians who perform a variety of activities: manage procedures for...
Cardiology Specialty

Cardiology

Cardiologists diagnose and treat defects and diseases of the cardiovascular system, including the...
Colon and Rectal Surgery Specialty

Colon and Rectal Surgery

This specialty was called proctology (derived from the Greek word proktos, meaning anus) until 1961...
Dermatology Specialty

Dermatology

Dermatology deals with the medical aspects (and sometimes surgical treatment) of skin disorders and...
Emergency Medicine Specialty

Emergency Medicine

The emergency medicine physician is defined by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)...
Endocrinology and Metabolism Specialty

Endocrinology and Metabolism

Physicians who specialize in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism deal with the diagnosis and...
Family Medicine Specialty

Family Medicine

Formerly called "family practice," family medicine was recognized in 1969 as the twentieth medical...
Gastroenterology Specialty

Gastroenterology

Gastroenterologists deal with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders related to the...
Hematology Specialty

Hematology

Hematology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of blood, bone marrow, lymph glands,...
Infectious Diseases Specialty

Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases physicians deal with the diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases in...
Internal Medicine Specialty

Internal Medicine

A general internist specializes in the prevention, detection and treatment of illnesses in adults...
Interventional Radiology Specialty

Interventional Radiology

In 2012 the American Board of Medical Specialties approved interventional radiology (IR), also...
Medical Genetics Specialty

Medical Genetics

Approved as a clinical specialty in 1993, medical genetics has evolved over the past 40 years from...
Medical Oncology Specialty

Medical Oncology

Medical oncology is a subspecialty of internal medicine focused on the diagnosis and treatment of...
Nephrology Specialty

Nephrology

Nephrology is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of renal (kidney) and urinary system...
Neurological Surgery Specialty

Neurological Surgery

Neurological surgery is concerned with the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems and...
Neurology Specialty

Neurology

The neurologist is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the nervous system -...
Nuclear Medicine Specialty

Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine physicians use radioactive molecules and atoms in the diagnosis and treatment of...
Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialty

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Two separate fields, obstetrics and gynecology, are combined to provide health care to women. The...
Occupational Medicine Specialty

Occupational Medicine

Occupational medicine focuses on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries and illnesses...
Ophthalmology Specialty

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is concerned with the structure, function, diseases, and abnormalities of the eye....
Orthopedic Surgery Specialty

Orthopedic Surgery

Orthopedic (or traditionally, orthopaedic) surgeons seek to restore normal function to a deformed,...
Otolaryngology Specialty

Otolaryngology

Otolaryngology is no longer confined to the areas of ear, nose, and throat. It has become a...
Pathology Specialty

Pathology

Pathology is the branch of medicine concerned with the cause, manifestation, diagnosis, and outcome...
Pediatrics Specialty

Pediatrics

Pediatrics is concerned with the physical, mental, and emotional health of young people from birth...
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialty

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

The physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation - the "physiatrist" - is...
Plastic Surgery Specialty

Plastic Surgery

Most plastic surgeons do not concentrate solely on cosmetic surgery. Their work involves the repair...
Psychiatry Specialty

Psychiatry

Psychiatrists are concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional...
Public Health Specialty

Public Health

Public health and general preventive medicine focuses on promoting health and preventing disease,...
Pulmonary Disease Specialty

Pulmonary Disease

Pulmonologists, or chest physicians as they are sometimes called, diagnose and treat diseases of...
Radiation Oncology Specialty

Radiation Oncology

Radiation oncology is a clinical specialty focused on the treatment of cancer and certain...
Radiology - Diagnostic Specialty

Radiology - Diagnostic

The diagnostic radiologist is concerned with the application of x-rays and other forms of radiant...
Rheumatology Specialty

Rheumatology

Rheumatologists diagnose and treat acute and chronic rheumatic diseases and musculoskeletal...
Surgery - General Specialty

Surgery - General

General surgery is the basic discipline from which other surgical subspecialties have emerged....
Thoracic Surgery Specialty

Thoracic Surgery

Thoracic surgery (also called "cardiothoracic surgery" and "cardiovascular and thoracic surgery")...
Urology Specialty

Urology

Urology is a surgical subspecialty concerned with the medical and surgical treatment of disorders...

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose a medical specialty?

Choosing a medical specialty involves evaluating your interests, personality, lifestyle preferences, and career goals. Our survey uses Anita Taylor's research-based methodology to match these factors with specialty characteristics.

What factors matter most in specialty selection?

Key factors include work-life balance, patient interaction preferences, procedural vs. cognitive work, training length, income potential, and personal interests in specific medical areas.

How accurate is the specialty survey?

Our survey is based on validated research by Dr. Anita Taylor and has been used by 100,000s of students since 1986. While it provides excellent guidance, we recommend using results alongside mentorship, shadowing, and rotation experiences.