Choosing a Specialty

Career Advising

Medical school, sometimes referred to as Undergraduate Medical Education, prepares you through coursework and clinical experiences to become a physician. During medical school, you will explore future career and specialty options and by the end of the Clerkship phase, most students have chosen a specialty area and will begin applying for residency training. Applicants are “matched” to residency programs, though the Match process. Residency training, or Graduate Medical Education, begins after medical school and is where resident physicians receive supervised, hands-on training. Residency training prepares you for board-eligibility in a specific specialty.

List of medical specialties and sub-specialties, as well as general information can be found in the following:

AAMC Careers in Medicine – Specialty Profiles

AMA FRIEDA – Specialty Guide

American Board of Medical Specialties – Specialty and Subspecialty Certificates

Additional specialty specific information can be found below.

2024 Report on Residents Executive Summary | AAMC

Learn more about the University of Maryland Medical Center residency programs by specialty.

Anesthesiology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS
Specialty Advisor: Stephanie Kahntroff, MD

Child Neurology
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS

Dermatology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS
Specialty Advisor: Marcia Driscoll, MD, PharmD
Additional Contact Information: James Evans (Program Coordinator)

Emergency Medicine
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS
Specialty Advisor: Ryan Spangler, MD
Additional Contact Information: Sarah Dubbs, MD (Program Director)

Emergency Medicine/Pediatrics
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
OSA Advisor: Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Jennifer Guyther, MD

Family Medicine
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Katherine Jacobson, MD

Internal Medicine
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: John Allen, MD
Specialty Advisor: Susan Wolfsthal, MD

Internal Medicine/Emergency Medicine
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS
Specialty Advisor: Kami Hu, MD

Internal Medicine/Pediatrics
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: John Allen, MD
Specialty Advisor: Katelyn Donahue, MD

Neurology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Beth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Melissa Motta, MD, MPH

Neurological Surgery
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Marissa Flaherty, MD
Specialty Advisor: Charles Sansur, MD; Jacob Cherian, MD
Additional Contact Information: Sophie White (Academic Services Coordinator)

Obstetrics & Gynecology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS
Specialty Advisor: Kiranpreet Chawla, MD
Additional Contact Information: Kerry Allen (Academic Coordinator)

Ophthalmology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Marissa Flaherty, MD
Specialty Advisor: Moran Roni Levin, MD

Orthopeadic Surgery
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS
Specialty Advisor: Frank Henn, MD; Natalie Danna, MD
Additional Contact Information: Vikky Norton (Residency Coordinator)

Otolaryngology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS
Specialty Advisor: Elizabeth Gaurdiani, MD

Pathology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Olga Ioffe, MD

Pediatrics
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Rebecca Carter, MD

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: John Allen, MD
Specialty Advisor: Idris Amin, MD

Plastic Surgery – Integrated
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Sheri Slezak, MD

Preventive Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Kerri Thom, MD, MS
Specialty Advisor: Wendy Lane, MD, MPH

Psychiatry
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Marissa Flaherty, MD
Specialty Advisor: Melissa Lavoie, MD

Radiation Oncology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Marissa Flaherty, MD
Specialty Advisor: Sarah McAvoy, MD

Radiology – Diagnostic
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Marissa Flaherty, MD
Specialty Advisor: Rhydwana Hossain, MD

Radiology – Interventional/Integrated
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Marissa Flaherty, MD
Specialty Advisor: Rhydwana Hossain, MD

Surgery – General
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Christina Paluskievicz, MD

Thoracic Surgery
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Shelby Stewart, MD

Urology
University of Maryland Medical Center Residency Program
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Marissa Flaherty, MD
Specialty Advisor: Minaj Siddiqi, MD

Vascular Surgery
AAMC Specialty Profile
OSA Advisor: Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Specialty Advisor: Michael Lilly, MD

Where Our Students Match

A medical degree provides many opportunities for clinical and alternative medical careers including public health and policy, preventive medicine, occupational and environmental medicine, biomedical and pharmaceutical research, healthcare administration, business and industry, communications and more.

Information and resources to help you explore alternative medical careers:

AAMC – What Can I Do with My Degree?

AAMC – The Value of Medical Licensure and Board Certification

NEJM Career Center – Outside the Fold: Exploring Nonclinical Work Opportunities for Physicians

Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians

The OSA Insider Podcast series on Alternative Medical Careers

Episode 104: All About Preventive Medicine

Episode 95: A Current MS4’s Brave Career Path

Episode 90: The 4th Year Student Who Decided Against a Clinical Residency

Episode 83: Nontraditional Career Paths and Entrepreneurship with Dr. Maurice Reed

Episode 80: Being a County Health Officer in a Pandemic

Explore concurrent degree options students can pursue during the MD Training