A specialty in medicine is a branch of medical science. After completing medical school, physicians or surgeons usually further their medical education in a specific specialty of medicine by completing a multiple year residency. Medical practitioners who engage in a medical specialty are known as medical specialists.
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In this table, as in many healthcare arenas, medical specialties are organized into the following groups:
| Specialty | Code | Group | Subspecialties | Focus | Salary (USD)[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anesthesia | AN, PAN | Surgery[2] | Pediatrics, Pain management, Intensive Care, Critical Care, Ob/gyn, Cardiac Surgery, Trauma Care, Pre and Post Operative Assessment and Care, Generalist (covers all the sub-specialities) | Anesthesia: Airway management in emergent and elective surgical procedures, keep patients stable during the controlled trauma of surgery, expertise of the application of pharmacology and physiology to dull sensation or awareness | 344,691 |
| Cardiology | Medicine | Disease of the cardiovascular system. The field is commonly divided into subdisciplines dealing with congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology. | 370,295 | ||
| Cardiovascular surgery | Surgery | The heart and major blood vessels of the chest. | 460,000 | ||
| Clinical laboratory sciences | Diagnostic |
|
Application of diagnostic techniques in medical laboratories such as assays, microscope analysis. | 160,300 [3] | |
| Clinical Neurophysiology | Diagnostic |
|
The physiology or function of the central and peripheral nervous systems. These kinds of tests can be divided into recordings of: (1) spontaneous or continuously running electrical activity, or (2) stimulus evoked responses. | ||
| Dermatology | D, DS | Medicine | Dermatopathology, Mohs Surgery | Skin and its appendages (hair, nails, sweat glands etc). | 316,473 |
| Emergency medicine | EM | Medicine | Palliative medicine, medical toxicology, pediatric emergency medicine, sports medicine, undersea and hyperbaric medicine | The initial management of emergent medical conditions, often in hospital emergency departments or the field. | 255,530 |
| Endocrinology | Medicine | The endocrine system (i.e. endocrine glands and hormones) and its diseases, including diabetes and thyroid diseases. | 212,281 [4] | ||
| Family Medicine | FM | Medicine |
|
Continuing, comprehensive health care for the individual and family, integrating the biological, clinical and behavioral sciences to treat patients of all ages, sexes, organ systems, and diseases. | 161,200 |
| Gastroenterology | GI | Medicine | The alimentary tract. | 395,162 | |
| General surgery | GS | Surgery | Cosmetic surgery, Trauma surgery, Colorectal surgery | Traditionally, it was surgery of the skin, endocrine glands, and abdomen (and, sometimes, the mammary glands). In some countries, it is still deemed a prerequisite training prior to progression to training in certain subspecialties, but lately has evolved into its own subspecialty. | 327,902 |
| Geriatrics | IMG | Medicine[2] | Elderly patients. | 177,392 | |
| Hematology | Medicine | The blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases. Hematology is grouped with oncology in the US, but not in the UK. | 283,000 | ||
| Hepatology | Medicine | The liver and biliary tract, usually a part of gastroenterology. | |||
| Infectious disease | ID | Medicine | Diseases caused by biological agents. | 168,000 | |
| Intensive care medicine | Medicine | Life support and management of critically ill patients, often in an ICU. | 273,520 | ||
| Maxillofacial surgery | Maxfacs, OMFS | Surgery | Craniofacial surgery, Head and neck, facial cosmetic surgery, Craniomaxillofacial trauma | Disease of the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. | |
| Nephrology | Medicine | Kidney disease. | |||
| Neurology | N | Medicine |
|
Diseases involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems | 236,500 |
| Neurosurgery | NS | Surgery | Disease of the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and spinal column. | 460,000 | |
| Obstetrics and gynecology | OB/GYN | Surgery[2] |
|
Female reproductive organs, pregnancy, and childbirth. | 299,620 [6] |
| Oncology | ON | Medicine |
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Cancer and other malignant diseases, often grouped with hematology. | 371,218 |
| Ophthalmology | OPH | Surgery | Diseases of the visual pathways, including the eyes, brain, etc. | 295,510 | |
| Orthopedic surgery | ORS | Surgery | hand surgery, surgical sports medicine, adult reconstruction, spine surgery, foot and ankle, musculoskeletal oncology, orthopaedic trauma surgery, paediatric orthopedic surgery | Injury and disease of the musculoskeletal system. | 436,481 |
| Otolaryngology, or ENT | ORL, ENT | Surgery | Head and neck, facial cosmetic surgery, Neurotology, Laryngology | Treatment of ear, nose, and throat disorders. The term head and neck surgery defines a closely related specialty which is concerned mainly with the surgical management of cancer of the same anatomical structures. | 397,399 |
| Palliative care | PLM | Medicine | A relatively modern branch of clinical medicine that deals with pain and symptom relief and emotional support in patients with terminal illnesses including cancer and heart failure. | ||
| Pathology | PTH | Diagnostic | Understanding disease through examination of molecules, cells, tissues and organs. The term encompasses both the medical specialty which uses tissues and body fluids to obtain clinically useful information, as well as the related scientific study of disease processes. | 247,506 | |
| Pediatrics | PD | Medicine | Children. Like Internal medicine, pediatrics has many subspecialities for specific age ranges, organ systems, disease classes, and sites of care delivery. Most subspecialities of adult medicine have a pediatric equivalent such as pediatric cardiology, pediatric endocrinology, pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric hematology, pediatric oncology, pediatric ophthalmology, and neonatology. | deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents (from newborn to age 16-21, depending on the country). | 185,913[7] |
| Pediatric surgery | Surgery | Treats a wide variety of thoracic and abdominal (and sometimes urologic) diseases of childhood. | 400,591 | ||
| Physical medicine and rehabilitation | PM&R | Medicine | (or physiatry) is concerned with functional improvement after injury, illness, or congenital disorders. | 236,500 | |
| Plastic surgery | PS | Surgery | Cosmetic surgery, Burn, Microsurgery, Hand surgery, Craniofacial surgery | Elective cosmetic surgery as well as reconstructive surgery after traumatic or operative mutilation. | 349,499 [8] |
| Proctology | PRO | Medicine | (or Colorectal Surgery) Treats disease in the rectum, anus, and colon. | ||
| Psychiatry | P | Medicine |
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The bio-psycho-social study of the etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cognitive, perceptual, emotional and behavioral disorders. Related non-medical fields include psychotherapy and clinical psychology. | 200,871 |
| Pulmonology | Medicine | The lungs and respiratory system. Pulmonology is generally considered a branch of internal medicine, although it is closely related to intensive care medicine when dealing with patients requiring mechanical ventilation. | 265,907 | ||
| Radiology | R, DR | Diagnostic |
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The use of radiation in medical imaging and diagnosis. X-rays, etc. | 440,004 |
| Rheumatology | RHU | Medicine | Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases of the joints and other organ systems, such as arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. | 219,411 | |
| Surgical oncology | SO | Surgery | Curative and palliative surgical approaches to cancer treatment. | ||
| Thoracic surgery | TS | Surgery | Surgery of the organs of the thoracic cavity: the heart, lungs, and great vessels. | 376,000 [9] | |
| Transplant surgery | TTS | Surgery | Transplantation of organs from one body to another. | ||
| Trauma surgery | TRS | Surgery | Surgical treatment of traumatic injury. | 352,971 | |
| Urology | U | Surgery | Urinary tracts of males and females, and the male reproductive system. It is often practiced together with andrology ("men's health"). | 365,999 | |
| Vascular surgery | VS | Surgery | The peripheral blood vessels, i.e. those outside of the chest (usually operated on by cardiovascular surgeons) and of the central nervous system (treated by neurosurgery). | 365,882 |
The mean annual salary of a medical specialist is $175,011[10] in the US, and $272,000 [10] for surgeons. However, because of commodity inflation, increasing negligent costs, steep price rise of rental, the annual salary range of a medical specialist varies and is not rising as fast as other professional pay.
Specialty training in Australia and New Zealand is overseen by the specialty colleges:
Specialty training in Canada is overseen by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Specialty training in India is overseen by the Medical Council of India which is responsible for recognition of post graduate training and by the National Board of Examinations. and education of Ayurveda in overseen by Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), the council conducts u.g and p.g courses all over India, while Central Council of Homoeopathy does the same in the field of Homeopathy.
There are three agencies or organizations in the United States which collectively oversee physician board certification of MD and DO (osteopathic) physicians in the 26 approved medical specialties recognized in the United States. These organizations are the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the American Medical Association; the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (AOABOS) and the American Osteopathic Association; the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) and the American Association of Physician Specialists. Each of these agencies and their associated national medical organization functions as its various specialty academies, colleges and societies.
| Certifying Board | National Organization | Physician Type |
|---|---|---|
| ABMS | AMA | MD and DO |
| AOA-BOS | AOA | DO Only |
| ABPS | AAPS | MD and DO |
All boards of certification now require that medical practitioners demonstrate, by examination, continuing mastery of the core knowledge and skills for a chosen specialty. Recertification varies by particular specialty between every seven and every ten years.
In the U.S. Army, the term "medical specialist" refers to occupational therapists, physical therapists, dietitians and physician assistants, also known as allied health professionals. Also included in the term "medical specialist", but not in the term "allied health professional" are EMT/combat medics.
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