Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 10/22/2009

Question
In your opinion, do you think that anesthesiology is becoming more popular in terms of education? I've read so many questions from students of all ages hoping to become an anesthesiologist. I'm a senior in high school, and I, too, want to study anesthesiology but only because I've heard that there are not that many specialists in the country. What other specialty jobs are out there that have less competition? (I'm not sure if I'm making myself clear; sorry!)

Answer
There really is no specialty in medicine that is not competitive. Probably the least competitive ones are also the ones that pay the least. That would be Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, but you never want to choose a specialty based on what you can get into. You want to do something that you enjoy because you will be doing it the rest of your life.

Ronald Levy, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston