ABSTRACT
After little more than a year of working post-qualification, UK doctors rapidly approach a crossroads where career decision-making is required. For those who are unsure which medical specialty to pursue, the array of choices and the pressure to choose can be difficult. The GMC currently recognises 65 specialties and 31 sub-specialties, something that creates both exciting opportunities and a sometimes wicked choosing problem. The chapter demonstrates how the general principles of Burnett and Evans’ Stanford ‘Life Design’ course can be applied to medical careers, before discussing how we can make sense of the myriad possible lives we could lead. Finally, it tackles the question some doctors consider of whether to leave medicine altogether, discussing sunk costs, opportunity costs and how we should weigh up the value of our present and future time.
