<p>BDM, I think you're last statement should come with some qualifiers...</p>
<p>The interest in certain specialties waxes and wanes in a very cyclical fashion. Anesthesia is pretty hot right now, but certainly wasn't 10 years ago. The late 80's on into the mid 90's (up to about '98) had such a push to develop primary care doctors, that the number of people hoping to be specialists was noticably lower than it is today - and right now the number of people hoping to be specialists is up. </p>
<p>So there are areas of medicine that develop a glut, but over time, the highs and lows cancel each other out.</p>
<p>The other thing that is important to consider is location. There are many areas in which OB/GYN's are very rare, and others where they are like Starbucks. The regional differences are largely due to malpractice climate and sometimes just simple desirability of location (Las Vegas vs rural Kansas). So it's also possible to areas in which is it is difficult to earn a living for certain specialties. Again, there is a cyclical nature to hot places to live and with the high interest in malpractice reform there is some alleviation on the way that may level the field.</p>
<p>Just some things to think about.</p>