In the fall of 1989, all graduates of a 30-year-old medical college were surveyed by questionnaire concerning their motivations for their original selections of specialties, motivations for changing their specialties when such changes had occurred, and factors involved in their current choices of specialties. The 723 respondents were grouped by specialty response into one of three groups (primary care plus medicine and pediatrics subspecialties; surgery; or controllable lifestyle), and responses were statistically analyzed. The most important factors influencing initial specialty selection were perceived match of personality and specialty; technology and methodology characteristic of the specialty; and time for family activities, in that order. The ratings of the 175 respondents who stated that they had changed specialties indicated that time for avocational pursuits and time for family activities were the most important reasons for change. The reasons for selecting a different specialty varied. This study's findings suggest that a student's likelihood of making an inappropriate specialty choice may be reduced by a broad undergraduate medical education with realistic experiences in clinical activity. Students' lack of awareness of the lifestyle of a particular specailty may be a significant factor in the flow of physicians from noncontrollable lifestyle specialty areas. Those who counsel medical students need to be aware of the increasing importance of controllable lifestyle features, changing attitudes, faculty role-modeling, and mentors as strong influences on students' choices of specialties.
