Welcome to Sci59.

Sci59 Online is a 130-item psychometric instrument that has been designed by a rigorous and validated process (Gale, R and Grant, J. (2002). Sci45: the development of a specialty choice inventory. Medical Education. 2002 Jul; 36 (7) 659-66). The items are expressed both positively and negatively, to avoid bias.

The questions discriminate powerfully between specialties and represent the survivors from a list of nearly 400 questions that were tested as part of the development process. Your answers  provide a profile of your current  skills and aspirations. The results are clustered into 12 dimensions of attributes that tend to co-vary.

This personal profile is matched against the profiles of the average consultant or principal in all specialties to assess the quality of fit to each one. The programme matches the skills and attributes needed for the normal end point in career development and not the next training position.

The output of Sci59 Online acts as a guide to the individual. It lists the career choices that provide a reasonable match to your personal profile and, importantly, those that have a very poor degree of match. This is only a guide and a stimulus to further investigation into potentially suitable career choices.

Both individuals and specialties are subject to change and development. There are no right answers and no benefits from manipulating the outcome; it is much better to be honest with yourself so that the output is more useful to your career choices.

Who should use Sci59?

Sci59  is aimed at people in the formative years of medical training. Some have suggested that this means anyone from the middle of medical school to the end of training. Towards the end of training, the programme can only really confirm a career choice, for most, or help those having to consider changing specialty.

Foundation 1 or 2 doctors and other newer trainees in specialties are the main target group. Medical students may well benefit, too, from observing which specialties best fit their preferences and attributes as they develop throughout their course. It may stimulate students to consider career goals they have not thought suited them.

Consultants, we have noticed, find it interesting to check their own career choice but we did not design Sci59  to help the consultant population, unless particular doubts or difficulties are being experienced.

We trust that Sci59  will serve your needs. It can only guide your career choices; it cannot make them for you. You will need to do some research and to listen to other viewpoints before you can make a firm decision. We are confident that the product has been well designed and tested. We are always keen, however, to learn about any difficulties you encounter in using the system or in interpreting the output. There is a facility for you to email your comments or concerns.

Sci59 is a validated psychometric instrument for careers guidance. It is designed especially to help in the selection of an appropriate medical specialty.

It matches an individual's personal and professional characteristics and aspirations to appropriate specialty choices. Sci59 can be used to help individuals at any level of training to reflect on or make their own choices, for career counselling or to assist selection panels to focus their interviewing strategies.

Please login to create and view your surveys; further options are available under the MySci menu.