Hey, I'm in medical school in the U.S. I'm thinking about going into PM&R. My stuttering is mild/intermittent, but I've definitely stuttered while talking to patients, during rounds, and making consult calls. First of all, continue being proactive to work on your stuttering - one resource I value is a free pdf book that's published by the stuttering foundations called "Self therapy for the stutterer" found here: http://www.stutteringhelp.org/free-e-books. Of course, getting professional help is optimal. Second, I find that the way I react to my stuttering makes a big difference. When I stutter, I comment as an aside that I have a stutter, and without expressing shame (although I often feel it) I keep on going. That way, I keep the focus where it should be, diffuse any awkwardness felt by the patient, colleague, and maintain a display of confidence. Confidence (as long as it's not completely undue) is valued by both patients and professionals (especially on consult calls) and this is one way in which to react to your own stuttering that maintains an air of confidence by externalizing the problem (I *have* a sutter) and queuing their (non)reaction, by having an indifference to your stutter. As I implied, I view no reaction as a good reaction - and I have found that to be mostly the case among my student peers and attendings, and the majority of my patients. I don't always stutter, so some of my peers have noticed and asked about it, but in a neutral way. I sometimes have patients that comment that I shouldn't be so nervous, because they share a common misunderstanding that stutterers are more nervous than others (studies show that they're not, beyond nervousness concerning the stuttering itself). I think making a short comment about it, like I described above, tends to help with this misconception efficiently. Maybe one advantage to stuttering is that it can help you learn to empathize with patients who have disabilities. For example, while listening to people speak eloquently or forcefully, I am sometimes struck with a tinge of envy that I cannot be as fluent as they are. In this way, my minor disability alters how I view the world around me and see my disability as a barrier to functioning as others do. Through this, I can better imagine how those in wheelchairs view a set of stairs or how those with PEG tubes view a plate of food. I think this insight has contributed to my interest in a specialty that focuses on those with disabilities! I don't see ID or tropical medicine as being especially heavy on the talking, but you may feel differently. Keep in mind that, at least in the U.S., there are many physicians with very thick accents that make them hard for patients to understand, but that doesn't seem to limit their careers, that I know of, though I wonder if it harms communication efficacy, even more than stuttering might. In the end, it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to choose your specialty with your speech disorder in mind, if that would lead to more satisfaction or more efficacy. Feel free to PM with any questions. Keep on working on your speech technique and be comfortable acknowledging and discussing the stutter that you have!