How Others Decided

How I chose my specialty: Dr. Malika Fair (emergency medicine)

Malika Fair, MD, MPH, FACEP, senior director for health equity partnerships and programs at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., describes what attracted her to emergency medicine.

How I chose my specialty: Dr. Atul Grover (internal medicine)

Atul Grover, MD, PhD, executive director of the AAMC Research and Action Institute at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., describes what attracted him to internal medicine and offers specialty choice advice.

How I chose my specialty: Dr. Keith Horvath (cardiothoracic surgery)

Keith Horvath, MD, senior director of clinical transformation at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., describes what attracted him to cardiothoracic surgery and shares insights for current medical students.

How I chose my specialty: Dr. Janis Orlowski (nephrology)

Janis Orlowski, MD, MACP, chief health care officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., describes her circuitous journey to her specialty choice (nephrology), and assuages specialty choice fears and anxiety.

How I chose my specialty: Dr. Alison Whelan (internal medicine)

Alison J. Whelan, MD, chief academic officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., describes her start as an undifferentiated medical student and shares her approach for finding the specialty that best fits.