MS3 Class Information – October 14, 2021

Career Planning Resources to Assist You With 4th Year Planning

Key resources and tools to support you in career planning for your 4th year include:

a) Specialty Preference and Career Planning required survey reminder

b) Resources to help you plan for your registration appointments

c) How to connect with Career Advising

Specialty Preference & Career Planning Survey

This is the Career Advisors’ initial touchpoint with your 4th year career planning process. By now you will have received your required survey which is one of a series of surveys which helps us know where you are in your specialty preferences.

Use These Resources as You Plan for Your E&F Registration Appointments: 

  1. Review the Career Advising’s 4th Year Planning webpage and follow the instructions.
  2. Utilize the online Specialty Guides.
  3. These contain 2021 updated information and replace the Career Advisors FAQ (purple PDF).
  4. An enhanced resource with advice from Specialty Career Advisors on subinternships, APCs, electives, and preparing for residency application and interviews.
  5. Use the Clinical Calendar for 4th Year Planning.
  6. Review the “Guidelines for contacting Specialty Career Advisors,” on the Specialty Guides page to prepare you for future meetings with your Specialty Career Advisor/s.

 Advising

After reviewing these resources, Career Advising can help if you still have questions. Our 1:1 appointment availability is limited this fall as we are assisting the Registration Team with E&F scheduling due to staffing shortages. As you have urgent questions, please come to daily Office Hours. Email responses may be delayed during this time period. Thank you for your patience.

  1. Office Hours for Quick Questions (10 minutes): 12-1pm, Mon-Fri.
  2. We added an extra day of office hours during the fall season.
  3. Secure a 1:1 session by making an appointment.

Vaccine Requirement for Students Rotating at VA Sites and Seattle Children’s

The Veteran’s Administration requires all health professions trainees to provide proof of vaccination using the VA Light Electronic Action Framework (LEAF) System. Health professions trainees will be asked to individually enter their vaccination information into the LEAF System.  If you are currently doing a rotation at a VA site, you may be asked to upload your proof of vaccination. If you will be doing a rotation at a VA site in the future, please be prepared to upload your proof of vaccination when you begin your rotation.

Seattle Children’s is also requiring students to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. At least two weeks prior to your start date, they will send instructions to send a copy of your vaccination card to Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH) Workforce and Environmental Health Services department.

Please note that Seattle Children’s is a separate institution from the UW School of Medicine and completing the vaccination verification process with UWSOM does not meet the SCH requirement. Additionally, Seattle Children’s does not accept medical exceptions or religious declinations for medical students.


Career Advising Student Advisory Board – Tip of the Month  

Making your 4th year schedule can be difficult, but there are people who can help! You can meet with Career Advising and with people who have been in your shoes. 4th year students who applied to your specialty of interest, current residents, and physician mentors are great resources for scheduling advice! However, don’t stress too much about your schedule right now! You can always move it around up to six weeks before the start date…and almost everyone makes changes to their schedule as they develop interests over time and are in tune with when they’ll need breaks, more time for Step 2 studying, etc. 

Written by Career Advising Student Advisory Board member, Shanelle Briggs and reviewed by a second BIPOC Board member, L’Oreal Kennedy. 


In case you missed it:  

Here is a link to last week’s Student Newsletter (10-7-21).