In this issue:
- Update on the ISA Survey
- Seattle students: Career planning session is Monday, Oct. 21
- Tip of the Month: Tips for medical school activities
Update on the ISA survey
Here is a message from ISA Committee Co-Leads Nicholas Popp (MS4), Sarah Busch (MS4), Ben Henderson (MS3), Matt Lumsden (MS2) and Lila Faulhaber (MS2):
We thank so many of you for completing the Independent Student Analysis (ISA) survey, which serves as the backbone data for the medical school accreditation. Additionally, thank you to all of you that showed up to the in-person survey sessions. Among all student cohorts, your class has recorded the highest response rate of 84% with Wyoming being the first to reach 100%, followed closely by Spokane (98%), Alaska (88%), Montana (83%), Seattle (76%), and Idaho (71%). Please see the graph below for the regional breakdown. Our goal is to reach 80% at every campus with your help.
If you have not yet taken the survey, the invite can be found in your inbox from the eqi@uw.edu with the subject line “[Reminder] We need you to complete the ISA survey!”
There have been scheduled times with snacks to work on the survey. In Seattle, students can fill out the survey with snacks from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, in Room T733.
There are many opportunities to win a gift card as specified in the table below.
Thank you so much for your help!
Gift Card Incentives: Please see the breakdown below. There will be one $500 gift card for drawing from all four cohorts.
Campus | # of Gift Cards ($10) if Campus Response Rates Reach 60% | # of Gift Cards ($50) if Campus Response Rates Reach 60% | Additional # of Gift Cards ($30) if Campus Response Rates Reach 80% | Total # of Gift Cards |
Seattle | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Spokane | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
Wyoming | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Alaska | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Montana | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Idaho | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
Total | 12 | 6 | 14 | 32 |
*According to the UW policy, student employees (e.g., tutors, research assistants, hourly workers, etc. cannot receive a gift card. If you win the raffle as a student employee, we will send alternative items of the same value from Amazon.
Career Planning sessions underway throughout WWAMI: Seattle session is Monday
Career Planning sessions have been held or will be held throughout WWAMI. Upcoming sessions include Spokane (noon Oct. 29 in Room 212 of the 840 Building), Wyoming (mid-November), Alaska (Dec. 2) and Montana (Oct. 30). Idaho has already had its session.
Here’s information about the next event, in Seattle:
Linh Ngo and Sarah Thomson, Seattle career advisors, will present “Introduction to Career Planning with Q&A”
- Date: Monday, Oct. 21
- Start 12:30 p.m. PT
- In person: T625
- Zoom: https://washington.zoom.us/j/98922338390
This session will:
- Provide advice on what meaningful engagement in Foundations looks like. E.g. extracurriculars, scholarship etc
- Discuss how to approach specialty/career exploration and planning to set yourself up for success in meeting your eventual career goals, while not knowing your specialties of interest yet
- Provide information and resources to help you navigate career planning from MS1-MS4, including the road to residency
- Prepare you for our 1:1 MS1 Career Advising Appointments, which take place winter and spring 2025
- Answer FAQs
As a preview, please bookmark and review these two important resources on our Career Advising website: Start at the Choosing a Career landing page.
- Career Planning timeline: includes career planning steps to take Fall 2024 -Spring 2025 and onward. Many of the resources on our website are linked from this timeline
- Specialty Guides; this is our most used resource containing specialty advice from each of our faculty Specialty Career Advisors for career planning in the 25 specialties UWSOM students most commonly apply to for residency
Peer to Peer: Tip of the Month from Career Advising
We hope you’re adjusting well to medical school!
You’ve now heard about our school’s summer Independent Investigative Inquiry (III) requirement. Check out the advice from specialty career advisors in the first two sections of the UWSOM Specialty Guides on “Advice for MS1s/MS2s Exploring This Specialty,” “Extracurriculars,” and “Scale of Importance for Medical School Activities.”
The Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) is a great way to build up your clinical skills while making a real impact in a local community. RUOP, along with programs like Discovery and Integration, is valuable no matter which specialty you end up choosing. If you’re aiming for a more competitive specialty that recommends research, it’s a good idea to do some research next summer.
Don’t stress if it’s not directly related to your field of interest – that’s pretty common! Residency programs appreciate the experience and your ability to produce meaningful results in different areas of medicine. Research not your jam? No worries! Lots of specialties don’t need it.
Wondering where your career path may take you in med school? You can start exploring specialties with interest group events and the Career Advising Video Library.
- Reviewed by BIPOC MS4 Abraham Correa-Medina. Originally written by BIPOC alum Shanelle Briggs, MD.
ICYMI: Here’s the previous MS1 newsletter.