Career Counseling . . . ?

[Arctic Char]

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i am curious about other schools out there . . . are you guys getting much in the way of career counseling in your first two years? do faculty or admin sit you down and spell out the requirements you need to fulfill to become a practicing physician (step 1, step 2, step 3, certifications, various careers in medicine, etc etc)? i.e. is everyone clear on the course of your career in the future (not the nagging question of what you'll go into, but in general what you have ahead of you)? i think us SDNers are probably on top of most of this, but there are others . . .

sometimes i get hints that my classmates are naive about some particulars of residency, and being a physician in general. i know they'll all pick it up at some point down the road, but i'd rather see them well prepared and aware of their options. i'd hate to see people make decisions they regret just because they weren't aware of alternatives, or didn't understand the system.

should i expect this from our "2nd year coordinator" . . . ? or should i implement a workshop to get everyone on the same page?

i really appreciate thoughtful responses

 

[Pinkertinkle]

I think people are expected to figure this stuff out on their own.

 

[Paws]

We aren't given any support for this at my school. I wish we were, but it's sort of the "figure it out for yourself" method of learning. That's why I am here on SDN all the time, I learn everything from everyone else here.

 

[randomedstudent]

No help at my school either. I know some schools are better at this stuff than others. Some schools assign mentors to each student and are really on the ball with guiding students....unfortunately for me, my school is not one of these.

 

[Arctic Char]

interesting. thnks for the replies.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

i am curious about other schools out there . . . are you guys getting much in the way of career counseling in your first two years? do faculty or admin sit you down and spell out the requirements you need to fulfill to become a practicing physician (step 1, step 2, step 3, certifications, various careers in medicine, etc etc)? i.e. is everyone clear on the course of your career in the future (not the nagging question of what you'll go into, but in general what you have ahead of you)? i think us SDNers are probably on top of most of this, but there are others . . .

sometimes i get hints that my classmates are naive about some particulars of residency, and being a physician in general. i know they'll all pick it up at some point down the road, but i'd rather see them well prepared and aware of their options. i'd hate to see people make decisions they regret just because they weren't aware of alternatives, or didn't understand the system.

should i expect this from our "2nd year coordinator" . . . ? or should i implement a workshop to get everyone on the same page?

i really appreciate thoughtful responses

there's a login/password that your school gives you for the AAMC career planning website... i forget exactly what the details are... but it can really help.

 

[The Remix]

Here is the website referred to above: http://www.aamc.org/students/cim/
Your dean of student affairs is supposed to have the login information for you to get full access. Your personal login info is the same access code you used when you applied. Hope this helps