If you’re off to college and dreaming of becoming a doctor, you’ll have to think about medical school at the onset.
One thing medical students should consider is their specialty.
Below, we explain the highest- and lowest-risk specialties in the US and why it’s something medical students must consider when choosing a specialty.
Why Risk Matters in Medical Professions
If you’re interested in attending medical school and becoming a doctor, you’ll likely have to choose a specialty at some point, which you should consider throughout your schooling. When choosing their specialty, students should consider the risk of malpractice litigation.
While most doctors face malpractice litigation at some point in their careers, certain specialists are more frequently targeted than others. The risk classifications for malpractice insurance fall into three categories for the highest- and lowest-risk specialties in the US: preferred risk (lower than average), standard risk, and impaired risk (more than average). If you choose a specialty with impaired risk, you open yourself up to a much higher risk of malpractice litigation.
Highest-Risk Healthcare Specialties
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Obstetrics/gynecology is an excellent specialty for those who want to help with women’s reproductive health and pregnancy-related care. Unfortunately, OB/GYNs are regularly one of the most targeted doctors in malpractice litigation yearly, with almost half of OB/GYNs experiencing at least one lawsuit before age 55.
Many factors make OB/GYNs more frequent targets, but often, they have nothing to do with skill or education. Childbirth is an intensely emotional experience, often the biggest moment of people’s lives, and parents are quick to blame their OB/GYN if anything goes wrong. Unfortunately, roughly three percent of all childbirths in the US feature some major congenital disability through no fault of the OB/GYN or parent. But even when that’s the case, parents will blame OB/GYNs for the defect.
General Surgeon
Another medical profession that’s considered an impaired risk is general surgery. Again, much of the risk associated with the profession has nothing to do with the skill or expertise of the doctors involved—it’s just the nature of the profession.
Surgery is often the last course of treatment when medicinal treatment has failed, which means a surgeon’s patients are inherently riskier than typical patients. And if a medical procedure of last resort fails, the patient or their relatives may seek damages from the surgeon. Although most malpractice claims against surgeons fail, they’re still frequent targets for litigation anytime a surgery isn’t successful.
Lowest-Risk Healthcare Specialties
While some specialties are classified as impaired risk, others fall under preferred risk and are rarely targets of malpractice litigation. Here are some specialties that fall under this category:
- Family practice
- Psychiatry
- Allergists/immunologists
- Oncologists
The reasons these specialties are rarely targeted vary. Generally, however, these specialties have lesser stakes for their patients. So if a mistake occurs, it’s not a life or death situation, and the damages aren’t nearly as harmful.
If you’re considering a specialty for when you become a doctor someday, you should consider the inherent risk of the profession and the likelihood of targeted litigation. If you want to pursue a career as an OB/GYN or general surgeon, you must enter knowing the risks.
end of post … please share it!
| envato.com |
FOR DORM: closet organization
Comments