Just to clarify the Family Practice vs Internal Medicine thing: Internal Medicine was originally a specialty which dealt with medical diseases of adults. The GP would consult an Internist for complicated problems. As medicine became more specialized, subspecialties of Internal Medicine developed, such as Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, etc. At the same time, being a GP fell out of favor as many states required 3 years of residency before licensure. At that time, non-subspecialty Internists became de facto Primary Care doctors. At the same time, the new specialty of Family Practice emerged (essentially a GP with much more training).
You can currently break down Primary Care physicians in the US into the folowing groups:
Family Physician: 3 years residency, trained to treat all ages, do minor surgery, birth babies. This is a true current GP.
General Internist: 3 year residency treating adolescents to adults. Compared to an FP, will have spent less time training in outpatient medicine, and does not treat children. Will probably have spent more time treating hospitalized patients and those with multiple medical problems.
Pediatrician: 3 year residency treating children and adolescents. Much less training in adult medicine, but more experience with critically ill children.
Ob/Gyn: Specialist in female medicine, trained extensively in female surgery and gynecologic problems but not in male medicine and often not in non-gynecologic medicine.
A lot beyond that depends on the individual doctor. Since I trained at a University hospital where going into Primary Care was for the “failures”, I went into IM to have the option of further subspecialty training. As a female General Internist, I see many more female patients and do a lot more general gynecology than most male IM docs. Compared to most FPs I know, I do much less minor surgery and don’t treat children, but take care of more seriously ill and complex patients. I also do more hospital work than most FPs.
To go back to the OP, however, you can’t ever know your specialty until you’ve had a chance to train in it. Get into the best medical school you can (or any medical school you can). The best deal currently is the military. They will usually cover tuition, room and board, and some expenses in a 1:1 trade-off year for year. If you don’t want to do the military thing, then a state school is your best bet, but don’t count on getting in.
Didn’t get into any of the five state schools she applied to-although got into better quality private schools