Sci59 is an online assessment tool for doctors or medical students. Once your student or trainee has answered all 130 questions, he/she will be provided with a report which states which out of fifty-nine specialties or sub-specialties he or she will be most suited to. In addition it will provide a list of the specialties the student/trainee is least suited to. The assessment report also provides a list of 12 career-related dimensions.

These are some of the instructions that we give trainees on this website about interpreting the results:

Interpreting your results – some dos and don’ts

Do regard the results as a list of suggested options that might be interesting to explore further. To date, there is no published research to demonstrate that using Sci59 helps respondents to make robust career decisions.  

Do look at the suggested specialty options to see if you can discern any patterns. Are there more surgical or medical options, or an equal balance of both? What about the community versus hospital distinction? Or specialties that treat the whole patient versus those that specialise in a part of the patient’s body e.g. opthamology or urology? If you discern any patterns, look through the list of specialties to see other related disciplines that might be worth exploring further. For example, if two lab-based options are on your list, you might want to look at all the other lab-based specialties to see if they may also be of interest.

Do take a second look at your scores on the 12 dimensions alongside those of other self-assessment tools you have completed. Remember, your scores on these scales actually reflect how you responded to other items (in addition to the items linked to the scale name). But it might be useful for you to see how your results on these scales tally with your other self-assessment exercises, to see if some clear patterns seem to be emerging. The 12 dimensions were derived statistically, so although they’ve been assigned names and contain items that appear conceptually linked, the items don’t necessarily intuitively fit together so do exercise some caution when interpreting your scores in relation to these 12 dimensions.

Don’t  interpret your Sci59 results as a definitive list of career options from which you should choose your final career (and don’t necessarily exclude all the options in the ‘least fit’ category). This tool is intended to be indicative, not prescriptive.

Don’t use your Sci59 results in isolation. A comprehensive review of the literature on the link between interests and medical specialty choice demonstrated there is no simple way of matching a particular interest type to a particular medical specialty (Borges et al., 2004). Although this review didn’t include Sci59, it’s likely the same general principle holds true when considering this career planning tool. Some deanery-based studies of Sci59, presented at medical education conferences, have cautioned against over-reliance on the results (Goodyear et al., 2007).

How can my student/trainee access Sci59?

There is a cost implication for using the tool, however Sci59 is freely available to members of the BMA. For information on how to access Sci59 go to:

http://www.bma.org.uk/careers/careers_service/sci59psychometrictesting.jsp.

Otherwise some medical schools, NHS Trusts and deaneries may have paid for additional licences so it is worth finding this out.