“I don’t know if what I’m learning is enough or I’m wasting my time with unnecessary details.” It is not an isolated confession. It’s an answer that constantly returns in a survey of 605 resident doctors from over 55 specialties, conducted by the Grile-Specialitate.ro team between November 2025 and March 2026. And when you put the numbers together, the picture is more complex than just one frustration.
The results provide a surprisingly detailed picture of how young doctors in Romania prepare for the specialty exam—and the obstacles they face.
They don’t lack resources. But direction.
When asked what is the biggest difficulty in preparation, residents did not indicate a lack of materials or bibliography. The most common answer, with 29%, was “I don’t know what to prioritize in the subject.” This is followed by low retention of information — 21% feel they quickly forget what they’ve learned — lack of real time to study (20%) and difficulty keeping a steady pace (17%).
When asked what they lack most in order to progress, 32% indicated the need for a clear plan adapted to their level. In the long run – the most common answer in the entire survey. Other frequently mentioned needs: long-term motivation and discipline (16%), subject summaries (11%) and an external framework to maintain their consistency (9%).
Asked what would help them concretely in the next 2-3 months, residents asked for clear work structure by week (26%), grids (20%), subject summaries (17%) and guidance on what is enough and what is a waste of time (14%).
“The child”, “guards”, “I’m tired of exams”
Open answers fill the statistical picture with an honesty that cannot be quantified. When asked what is the biggest emotional obstacle related to the exam, the residents wrote, among others: “the enormous amount of material”, “fatigue”, “fear of failure”, but also “the child”, “guards”, “I’m tired of exams” or “unemployment afterwards”.
We are not just talking about an exam. We are talking about a moment in life when a professional over 30 years old, integrated in the work field, with exhausting guards and often with family responsibilities, must find time and energy to study material of thousands of pages. Study time was compressed from hours to 15-30 minute windows — during breaks between patients or late at night, after the shift.
Where do they get their information from?
In a context marked by legislative changes regarding the format of the specialty exam, residents predominantly turn to informal sources. The main source of information stated is older colleagues (36%), followed by private WhatsApp and Facebook groups (20%). Only 1 in 5 residents (21.8%) consult official websites of the Ministry of Health or medical universities.
36.9% of the respondents stated directly: they did not know anything clearly about how the exam in their specialty will look like.
Segment differences are significant. Residents graduating in 2028 or later rely even more on the informal network — 47.4% get information from older peers, and access to formal sources drops to just 8.8%.
What I want from a training tool
Respondents were asked what features they would consider useful in a platform dedicated to specialty training. Most requested: subject summaries (61.7%), online grids (61.2%), exam simulations (49.1%), visual mindmaps (26.4%) and personalized learning calendar (24%).
A pattern appears when the data is segmented by exam year. Residents graduating in 2026 — 56% of the sample — emphasize grids and summaries, quick review tools. Those with exams in 2027-2028 more often ask for long-term planning tools: structured calendars and comparative rankings with other candidates.
The subject matter remains the same regardless of format
Almost 13% of respondents cited uncertainty about the exam format as their main emotional obstacle. “We don’t know how it will be” constantly returns in the open answers.
“What we noticed from the data of this survey is that residents who focus on mastering the material from the bibliography, not on anticipating the format, have a more structured preparation and a lower level of anxiety. Regardless of whether the exam will be a grid or a synthesis, the foundation remains the same: deep knowledge of the official bibliography,” explains Dr. Mihai Voinea, co-founder of Grile-Specialitate.ro.
The Grile-Specialitate.ro platform, launched on February 17, 2026, currently covers 51 specialties (partially or totally) out of the 70 existing nationally for medicine, pharmacy and dentistry. The available tools—chapter-structured summaries from the official bibliography, visual mindmaps, grids with source explanations, and flashcards—are designed to work complementary: summaries provide the macro-structure needed for a synthesis paper, mindmaps build the visual architecture of the topic, and grids and flashcards fix the details through active testing.
The platform can be tested for free on Grile-Specialitate.ro.
