Medical student career development, as defined by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), is a four-year process of self-assessment, career exploration, career decision-making and implementation. The University of Michigan Medical School has a long history of placing graduating medical students into residency training programs that match their career interests and needs. Our medical students are highly regarded and sought after as residency candidates.

The objective for career development at the University of Michigan Medical School is to provide medical students with the information and experiences necessary to make good career decisions and to be successful in the residency matching process.
The program is listed below roughly in chronological order as it would be experienced by a University of Michigan medical student.

Medical Student Career Development Program
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE — The Assistant Dean for Medical School Career Development, Dr. Zink, heads the Career Development Committee, consisting of Dr. Glick, Associate Dean for Student Programs, at least three medical school faculty members from different departments, Dean Emeritus Giles Bole, M.D., Susan Hayward, Eric Middleton, Kalindi Trietley, and at least eight medical student members (minimum of two from each of the 4 medical school classes). This committee formulates the program plan and generates all activities needed to carry out the plan. Administrative support is provided by Denise Brennan.

Career Development Counseling Appointment (M1 AND M2 YEARS) — An introduction to career development is given at the M1 Orientation. Starting around November of the M1 year, students are asked to set up a half-hour career counseling appointment with the counselor who is assigned to their class (Eric Middleton, MA, Ph.D., or Kalindi Trietley, EdS, LPC). During this appointment students review their background and interests in medicine, skills, and lifestyle issues. They have the opportunity to use self-assessment tools from the AAMC MedCareers program, or the Glaxo-Wellcome Pathways program. They are asked about their plans for the M1-M2 summer, and a tentative plan for gaining career information and experiences is developed. Students who desire additional general career counseling from an experienced physician schedule a meeting with Dr. Brian Zink, Assistant Dean for Medical Student Career Development. A second career counseling appointment is held midway through the M2 year, with a similar format to the M1 meeting. The student reviews his/her experiences and impressions related to career choice, and has the opportunity to use the tools described above.

Career Seminars (M1 AND M2 YEARS) - This is a long-standing, well-received program of one hour luncheon sessions that introduces M1 and M2 students to the medical disciplines. Chairs, faculty, community physicians and resident physicians are invited to briefly describe their specialty and then answer questions from the students. Sessions on Women in Medicine and Alternative Physician Careers have recently been created. The Career Seminar Series has proven to be an effective way to disseminate basic information about medical careers to pre-clinical medical students. Input is solicited from students and the Career Development Committee on ways to enhance the program each year.

Mentoring and Shadowing Experiences (M1 AND M2 YEARS) — Mentoring and shadowing experiences, as well as being invigorating as clinical exposure, are a valuable part of career exploration. First, to better define these entities, shadowing is an opportunity for a medical student to observe a physician as he/she practices — to understand what a "typical day" is in that discipline. A shadowing experience may be a one time or continuous experience, but the expectation for the physician does not include shadowing as an ongoing relationship with the student. Mentoring is a more involved process where a physician develops a relationship with the medical student through repeated meetings, and provides an opportunity for career exploration and some amount of career counseling. Currently, a number of opportunities exist for medical students to have shadowing and mentoring experiences.

OSP-Sponsored Career Development Sessions (M1 AND M2 YEARS) - In order to address general areas of interest in career planning that may not be covered in the Career Seminar Series, the Office of Student Programs (OSP) offers a number of sessions for M1 and M2 students. These informal sessions include: "Medical Career Information" (a session to introduce M1 students to the Career Resource website); "What Will I Do Next Summer? (explores options for work, research and other career exploration opportunities); "Will I Be Able to Get a Job When I’m Done?" (physician workforce estimates and career planning); "Show Me the Money" (financial planning, debt management, physician salary information); and How Will I Practice?" (exploration of various practice settings and arrangements — academic, HMO-based, physician group practices, contract physicians, etc.).

Student/Faculty Medical Specialty Organizations(M1 — M4 YEARS) — A number of departments at UM Medical School sponsor medical student interest groups (e.g. Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Surgery, Emergency Medicine), which serve as excellent forums for career exploration. Some of these groups attract mainly M3 and M4 students. M1 and M2 student involvement is variable. As part of the Career Development Plan we would seek to identify and publicize on the Career Resource Website, all medical student interest groups, and encourage interest groups to include M1 and M2 students in their activities. OSP will also support the development of student run groups in areas that do not currently have an interest group.

Faculty Medical Career Advisor Program (M3 AND M4 YEARS) — Faculty advisors play an important role for most medical students in career decision-making. Medical school faculty are solicited to serve as Faculty Career Advisors (FCAs) and are assigned to students midway through the M3 year based on the student’s best guess as to their career specialty at that point. FCAs provide in depth career advising specific to their discipline and are often the student’s most valuable resource during residency application.

OSP-Sponsored Career Counseling Activities (M3 AND M4 YEARS) — Students in the M3 and M4 years will have the opportunity to set up an appointment with their Counselor (Kalindi Trietley or Eric Middleton) to use standardized tools as part of their career decision-making process. This includes the "skills, interests, values, critical factors" worksheets and other tools that are part of the MedCareers program. Most of these materials are web-based, and will be included in the Career Resources Website.

OSP also sponsors the following didactic or small group sessions for M3 and M4 students:

Senior Kick Off Day - general overview of residency matching process.

Preparing for the Residency Match Process — an M3 Seminars in Medicine Session

How to Write a CV and Personal Statement — currently is given as part of the Seminars in Medicine.

Career Chat for the Undecided — informal session held at the very end of M3 or beginning of M4 year. Students who are having difficulty making a career choice have the chance to discuss this with the medical school faculty who also struggled with career choices.

Interviewing Skills Sessions — held during the fall of M4 year as small group sessions for students interested in improving their interviewing skills. Students have the opportunity to go through a mock residency interview with a medical school faculty member, and be provided feedback on their interviewing skills.

Preparing Your Residency Match List — held in December of M4 year. A general session on the elements that go into making the final list.
Career Counseling for At-Risk Students and Scramble Day Process (M4 YEAR) — The Assistant Dean and Counselors provide special assistance to those M4 students who may be at risk for not matching, either because of academic performance, personal problems, or the competitiveness of the specialty. The goal is to identify students early enough to make sure that they have a back-up plan, and to provide counseling that may enhance their chances for a successful match.

For students who do not match and must enter the Scramble in order to secure a residency position, OSP provides communication equipment (phone lines, FAX, computers), secretarial support, on-site counseling, and ensures that a Faculty Advisor is available to assist the student. Each department commits at least one faculty member in advance who will be free on Scramble Day to assist students.

Match Day Festivities (M4 YEAR) — The culmination of the M4 residency matching process is held at a local hotel ballroom and includes remarks and presentations by students and faculty and the reading of the match results.