The AY 2019-2020 at the School of Medicine (SOM) is well underway, and UNC Radiology’s UME program is thriving, serving SOM medical students in many ways: offering per block Individualization Phase (MS4) radiology electives; participating in the upcoming Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation visit; lecturing to Foundation and Application Phase (MS1-3); and mentoring student researchers, among other roles.
Career goal advising takes center stage now, as we are entering interview season for NRMP Match 2020. Annually, medical students across the U.S. and abroad submit their final applications on September 15. We’re pleased to highlight the important roles our faculty play in mentorship. Assistant Professor Dr. David Mauro leads the Department’s Career Goal Advisors team. Other team members include Drs. Ben Huang, Ari Isaacson, Sheri Jordan, Sheila Lee, Katrina McGinty, Ben Mervak and Jessie Stewart.
UME Career Goals Advisors
The SOM Office of Student Affairs designed this career advisory program to assure students have access to their specialties of choice through designated departmental advisors. For those medical students interested in radiology, Department’s Career Goal Advisors guide them through critical steps post-graduation, from applying to radiology residency programs, to the culture of early career practice, given most transition from their final year in subspecialty training. Dr. Mauro and all other advisors have been instrumental in providing UNC SOM students with information on networking in the field internally and at conferences and annual meetings, as well as referring them to invaluable resources.
Dr. Mauro noted: “The career goal advising program has been hugely successful, allowing our medical students to be well informed throughout the match process and ultimately match to one of their top choices as they find the program that best fits their personality and meets their future goals.”
The Department’s investment in career goal advising has yielded terrific payoff for students and faculty pairs. Efforts in recent years have placed our competitive UNC M4s in top-tier radiology programs at wide-ranging, geographically diverse academic medical centers. Since 2015, the SOM has placed 26 UNC students in radiology, essentially all at top programs of their choice. Residency programs selected include: University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Stanford University, New York University (NYU), University of Washington, Duke University,Yale University, University of Virginia, University of Colorado, Boston University, University of Florida, Ohio State University, University of Mississippi, and Maine Medical Center.
And of course, several great students have matched to our very own UNC residency too, we are thrilled to report!
Sharing with UNC medical students the rigors and rewards of our field has proven greatly satisfying to UNC Radiology faculty serving as UNC Radiology’s Career Goal Advisors.
Dr. Lee reflects: “I enjoy helping students figure out where they see themselves in one to five years. Exposing them to Radiology and what we do every day for patients and providers is the fun part. The application and interview process is more tedious and occupies so much of the student’s focus and energy during medical school. Also, creating a rank list requires sorting and sifting through school details, and lifestyle choices! I like being a sounding board for them during this time. For me, it’s so gratifying seeing our advisees match in our specialty, but especially so if they match at their top choice.”