To specialize or too specialized?

In January of 2011 I, together with my fourth-year medical student colleagues, returned to the University of Western Ontario from our electives to begin four months of preparation for our medical licensing exam. During large group discussions on general clinical scenarios, it was clear that, for most students, specialization was well underway. When listing a differential diagnosis for a headache, the budding emergency physician saw a subarachnoid hemorrhage, the future family physician saw migraines, and the soon to be obstetrician/gynecologist saw preeclampsia. Before completing our “general practice” training, it was evident that many of us were already too committed to specialization to become general clinicians.