November 2024: Physician Specialties

November 2024 Curriculum

Introduction

According to the AAMC, there are over 160 specialties and subspecialties in medicine in the U.S. Yes, you read that correctly! Not only is internal medicine a specialty, but there are subspecialties for internal medicine in pediatrics, emergency medicine, cardiovascular disease…the list goes on. However, the 30 most common types of physicians can be found here.

Clearly, we have a lot of specialties to learn about and to choose from. Therefore, as high school students, you have time to decide what you want to specialize in. However, HSAFP is encouraging you to start exploring now!

This month, we will learn about different physician specialties, and you will ideally understand more about what you are interested in as a future healthcare professional. We suggest every member read through the sources above to familiarize yourself with different specialties and to try to keep an open mind during this learning process.

Tasks for All Members

Please read all of the directions before completing the following tasks:

1. All of your chapter members will take the “HSAFP Medical Specialty Quiz.” This also can be found on the HSAFP official website!
   
2. All individuals will then post their specialty results (a screenshot is easiest!) under the HSAFP Management specialty quiz post on Connect. Chapter officers will want to set a deadline for chapter members to complete this post.
   
3. After this task is complete, members can either discuss their results during an HSAFP meeting or on the Connect post itself (whatever makes the most sense for your chapter).
   
   Here are some guiding questions that all/some of the chapter officers should ask other members during the quiz discussion with your chapter:

• Secretaries should take minutes on the answers!
• First, ask for a few members to share their experiences with the quiz.
• Do members agree with the results they received? Why or why not?
• What did your members like about the quiz? What did your members not like about the quiz?
• What were the top three most common specialties according to the ones shared on the discussion board?
• What skills will you need for your top three specialties?
• What specialties do you still want to learn about?
  

4. The final part of our curriculum this month will involve learning more about specialties.
   
   After your chapter completes the quiz and has a quiz discussion, your chapter will have two options:
   

1. Option 1: Invite a local or online speaker (preferably a physician, practicing or retired) to discuss their medical specialty in November/December
   
   OR
   
2. Option 2: Choose 1–2 pre-recorded shadowing videos to watch with your chapter during another November/December meeting

Option 1

Suggestions for a Chapter Officer Inviting a Speaker:

• Start with people your chapter or teacher advisor knows–family and friends! You will want to ask one physician who will be able to volunteer 30 minutes to 45 minutes of their time to speak at an HSAFP live meeting or online chapter meeting.
  
• If you have some choices on who to invite, choose to reach out to someone with a specialty that many members are interested in (chapter officers, either look at the quiz results or take a vote on Connect).
   
• Determine the best way to reach this healthcare professional. You might call them and ask. Alternatively, you could e-mail them with something like this:

Dear Dr. [Name],

I hope you are well! My name is [your name], the [chapter officer role] of the [your high school’s name] chapter of the High School Alliance of Future Physicians (HSAFP). This month, we are learning about different physician specialties, and we are currently organizing a free event to educate our chapter about [their specialty], and we would be honored if you could join us as a speaker.

If you are available and interested, please let us set up a meeting to discuss the details further, including your availability and any topics you would like to cover.

Sincerely,

[Chapter Officer’s Name]

• After sending the e-mail above, if you don’t hear back within one week, you will want to either e-mail the physician again or reach out to another physician.
  
• If you cannot find anyone and want to invite a speaker, please reach out to Dr. Weiss on Pioneer or Connect!

Questions that you can provide this live/online speaker:

• Please explain your journey to medicine (high school, college, medical school, residency, and practice).
• What does a typical day for you look like?
• Who do you work with (physician assistants, nurses, etc.)? How do they assist you?
• What is your favorite aspect of your specialty? How is it different from other specialties?
• Any other questions your chapter comes up with!

Option 2: Questions Chapter officers can talk about with members after watching the shadowing video(s):

• Shadowing video choices are located here
• Chapter officers must create at least three questions that are dissimilar from the ones below. Chapter officers will need to watch the videos beforehand to create specific questions.

This question-creation activity will improve teaching, leadership, and communication skills, which medical schools value!

• What are the reasons why this speaker chose or is passionate about their specialty?
• What does a day in the life of this speaker look like?
• Any other questions members come up with!
  

Premed Competencies

The AAMC guiding competencies for November’s HSAFP National event:

• Science: Understanding the psychological, sociocultural, and biological factors on health
• Professional: Adaptability and open-mindedness
• Professional: Teamwork
• Thinking and Reasoning: Written and Oral Communication