Career Planning Support Team

Your Career Planning Support Team is made up of  numerous people who will support your specialty and career exploration throughout your time in medical school.

Chart explaining the roles of the three types of career planning supports

College Faculty

Your College Faculty serves as a sounding board, providing support and coaching for your early career exploration. They connect you to resources and provide referrals to other physicians and senior students for career conversations. Your faculty member will not provide advice in specialty-specific areas, such as your level of competitiveness or applying to residencies. They will refer to a Career Advisor for general career planning and or to a Specialty Career Advisor for specialty-specific advising.

Career Advisors

At the start of medical school you will be assigned a general Career Advisor who supports your career planning throughout your time in medical school. Your Career Advisor offers advice on ways to explore your specialty and career interests, approaches to specialty decision making, and preparing your residency application. They provide resources and data for specialty exploration and planning and refer you to Specialty Career Advisors for specialty-specific advice. Career Advisors support students who are undecided on their specialty and provide advice on dual applying and couples matching. They support students throughout residency application season by reviewing CVs and personal statements and advising on interview preparation and ranking.

Specialty Career Advisors (SCA)

Each specialty at UWSOM has one or more Specialty Career Advisors (SCA). SCAs are faculty physicians who are named by their departments as dedicated specialty advisors. Each student is connected to specialty career advising by Spring of the 3rd year. SCAs answer specialty-specific questions, assess students’ level of competitiveness, recommend 4th-year rotations and advise on residency programs.

Review the Specialty Guides for information on:

  • preparing for a meeting with an SCA
  • SCA contact information
  • SCA guidance and recommendations for each specialty