Medical Specialist

Description and Responsibilities

Medical specialists provide a range of medical services, including diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. They work with people of all ages to prevent and cure illnesses. To this end, medical specialists examine patients, have tests or analyses performed where needed, make a diagnosis, prescribe drugs or treatments, and provide specialization-specific advice to maintain, improve or restore health.

There are 54 medical specialities. They include:

• Medicine: anesthesiology, cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, medical genetics, geriatrics, hematology, allergy and clinical immunology, internal medicine, emergency medicine, nephrology, neurology, medical oncology, pediatrics, physical medicine, pulmonology, psychiatry, rheumatology
• Surgery: cardiac surgery, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, urology
• Radiology: nuclear medicine, diagnostic radiology, radiation oncology
• Laboratory: anatomical pathology, medical biochemistry, medical microbiology, and infectious diseases

Education and Training Requirements

Medical specialists hold a medical degree and have completed internships, as well 4 to 6 years of residency in their elected speciality. Specialities offered vary according to medical schools and may include graduate and postdoctoral studies.

Graduate degrees in specialized studies are offered in the following medical schools:

• Faculté de médecine de l’Université de Montréal (in French only)
• Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé de l’Université de Sherbrooke (in French only)
• Faculté de médecine de l’Université Laval (in French only)
• Faculté de médecine de l’Université McGill 

Required Interests, Skills and Personality Type

• Must be a good communicator and listener
• Must be curious and logical
• Must be responsible and organized
• Must enjoy physical work and handling (medical) instruments
• Must enjoy working in a team with colleagues and other professionals
• Must have good summarizing and analytical skills
• Must love contact with the public

Personality Type (RIASEC)

ISA

• I - Prefers studying, understanding and solving problems
• S - Prefers to be in contact with people and to help them
• A - Prefers completing creative tasks

Work Environment

Medical specialists mainly work in hospitals (in French only).

Useful Links

• Association des conseils des médecins, dentistes et pharmaciens du Québec (ACMDPQ)  (in French only)
• Collège des médecins du Québec  (in French only)
• Fédération des médecins résidents du Québec  (in French only)
• Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec 
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada  (in French only)
• Specialist Physicians – Emploi-Québec