I’m a surgeon.

Surgical specialities aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. It’s too complex and nuanced. There are certain subspecialties that could Have issues in the future, like bariatrics. I expect medication to eventually take that over. Or maybe specialities that are only cancer, medications may ultimately be able to treat all cancer but we are really far from that. Cardiac surgery is moving more and more to minimally invasive cardiology interventions.

Of course it’s difficult to predict the future of medicine.

I say surgical over medical because if AI is gonna take over something first, it’ll be medical decision making. Taking over physical actions of a surgeon is much more difficult. Before y’all come at me, I’m not saying it’s more difficult to be a surgeon, I’m saying the computer has to take on the ability to visualize (we often do stuff blindly just by feel) and make precise movements that are required in surgery which are not in the more decision making medical specialities.

There is no concern of mine at all of mid-levels creeping into taking over surgical specialities. It’s far too difficult. Our current problem is that surgeons aren’t being adequately trained even after 5 years of residency

I think this is a valid question for r/futurology

A significant proportion of the medical profession relies on diagnostics and pattern recognition (eg medical imaging scans).

These can already be done better today with AI and will ultimately reduce our reliance on highly paid humans.

That means - like coding - many of the skills we teach at HE level will become redundant in a generation.

What will survive - and be needed more in future - are the medic’s human skills eg bedside manner, empathy, care, treatment monitoring.

Anything medical is what I'd imagine to be the last thing future technologies would be able to replace.

Unless we end up in a world like I Robot where we have near sentient human like robots, the medical industry will likely remain unaffected in our lifetimes.

If you've been following this subreddit, you would've seen a number of posts on gene therapy or similar. So I would look into that if I were in the same position as you:

Medical Genetics: This is a specialized field that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of genetic diseases. Medical geneticists work with patients and families to identify genetic conditions and develop treatment plans, including gene therapy.

Oncology: Gene therapy is becoming an increasingly important tool in the treatment of cancer. As an oncologist, you would be involved in diagnosing and treating patients with cancer and could also be involved in clinical trials of gene therapy for cancer.

Immunology: Gene therapy is also being explored as a potential treatment for immune disorders such as primary immunodeficiency diseases. As an immunologist, you would be involved in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions and could also be involved in the development and implementation of gene therapy for these diseases.

Hematology: Gene therapy is being investigated as a potential treatment for a variety of hematological disorders, including sickle cell disease and hemophilia. As a hematologist, you would be involved in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions and could also be involved in the development and implementation of gene therapy for these diseases.

Neurology: Gene therapy is also being explored as a potential treatment for a variety of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease and spinal muscular atrophy. As a neurologist, you would be involved in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions and could also be involved in the development and implementation of gene therapy for these diseases.

Radiology is a carriage return away from being replaced by AI

Biotech R&D — there's still many thousands of diseases that have yet to be 100% cured and while a nice dent might be made, that number will not be going to zero in the next 50-100 years. And even when it eventually does, there will always be enhance-based biotech research beyond that. Also, there's pretty decent upward mobility in Biotech and, when you're eventually ready to start your own company in the second half of your career (or earlier, if you have exceptional go'getitude), fundraising is pretty straightforward compared to other industries — product market fit, founder personality, marketing costs — none of it matters, they really only want to see your preclinical data (and depending on the investor, maybe the total addressable market). Even new companies going after relatively small orphan diseases get funded with good data, knowing they can charge more for these therapies to offset the smaller population, and that insurance companies will bare the cost.

Technically a lot of the job a doctor does is basically fixing plumbing inside a human so I suppose they will do just fine :)

Gerontology. Aging boomers mean no shortage of clients.

Radiology, non-invasive treatments will only keep increasing.

If you’re in the U.S., this might be helpful for you. You have to scroll down a bit (on mobile at least) before it shows you the projections for specific types of practitioners. If it doesn’t have what you’re looking for, maybe it has something that can point you in the right direction.

Edit: didn’t mean to include all that text in the link but too lazy to fix it.

The only thing that's "future proof" is a trained mind. Develop the skills to teach yourself and never stop learning

Dermatology? People always want to look good. They don’t want skin cancer, either.

I don't know about medicine. Just ML and some of the software they use in research. They are asking in the next twenty years. This gives current technology that beats doctors approximately seven to fifteen year window in the United States for approval in treatment. But some of that may never make it.

Edit: thirty years. I apparently forgot how to read.

You are incorrect

Are you suggesting this medical student explore plumbing in medical facilities?

Palliative care or gerontology. People will age, get sick, be in pain.

Anything involving forming a human connection with the patient will be indefinitely indispensable. Anything reliant on technology will change faster and less predictably.

In America, unfortunately there is every reason to believe that treating gunshot wounds will remain a high-demand specialty.

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Might want to look at that again. I'm saying they're pretty much all future proof.

Non-answer

Surgical specialties aren't going anywhere as long as humans are made of meat that occasionally needs repairing. Bedside nursing is also key. Technicians who acquire imaging aren't going anywhere - no one is going to let a robot roam the hallways, taking x-rays of things autonomously.

Then no matter how algorithmic the first or second line medical treatment is, you're going to have patients that the guidelines don't fit neatly and need adjustment and you need people to clearly explain and convince patients of the treatment plan.

At a higher level you need people with the requisite knowledge to understand if scientific studies that show us who should get what diagnostics or therapeutics are reliable, applicable, cost effective, worth including in overarching guidelines.

I don't know why you're asking this sub. You should probably go look at the subreddits more qualified. That said, people are going to be dying over the next 100 years for almost every reason. You'll have work basically no matter what you do. The main thing that's going to happen is your tools are going to improve. Find an area of medicine you think is interesting and go for it. If that's difficult, then go for research.