Career Advising

In the M1 year, students begin meeting with their Medical Student Advisor and get introduced to  specialty selection and  professional development. You will be introduced to faculty, alumni, specialty interest groups, and general resources that will help you begin exploring your specialty interests. You will have opportunities to extend your learning and experience beyond the CUNY School of Medicine curriculum by engaging in extracurricular activities or summer fellowships.  At this stage, the Career Advising sessions below are designed to help provide  a foundation 
 
•    Orientation to Career Advising Program and Process 
•    Building & Addressing Gaps in Your CV 
•    Understanding Yourself and Demonstration of AAMC Careers in Medicine Website 
•    Introduction to the MSPE Letter 
•    Applying for research and summer opportunities
•    M2 panel tips for succeeding in your second year of medical school
 

In the M2 Year, you will continue to meet with your Medical Student Advisor to craft your individual plan to secure opportunities and experiences to complement your medical education. You will continue to be encouraged to become involved in leadership, extracurricular, volunteer, and research activities, that help support your professional development before starting the rigorous third-year clerkships when your time becomes limited. Career Advising sessions will continue to be foundational  and will include:
 
•    Utilizing the AAMC Careers in Medicine
•    Addressing Gaps in Your CV 
•    Review of the MSPE Letter 
•    Overview of 3rd-year Career Advising Program and Residency Application Elements 
•    Maximizing Your Clerkship Experience and Clerkship Success 
•    M3 panel tips for succeeding in your third year of medical school
 

Welcome to the M3 year! At this point in your education, you will start to seriously consider your specialty and career interest as you utilize the knowledge gained during the preclinical years to participate in direct patient care during your clerkships. Though exciting, it can also be a challenging time for any medical student, so support from your Medical Student Advisor becomes even more important. We are committed to demystifying the residency application process so that you feel confident and prepared while focusing on excelling in your clinical clerkships. Some of the Career Advising sessions will include:

•    Overview of Residency Application Elements and Introduction to 4th Year Electives
•    4th Year Schedule Planning and Selection of Core Rotations
•    Choosing Electives & Utilizing the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities Service
•    Preparing the Personal Statement and Noteworthy Characteristics 
•    Residency Application Strategy and Utilization of Applications and Tools
•    Utilizing ERAS and Introduction to the Match and Specialty Matches
•    M4 panel: Maximizing your electives, Tips and Tricks for Residency Application Season
 

At this stage, you will finalize your specialty choice,  engage in complementary elective experiences, identify extramural opportunities at residency programs that you are interested in, complete your residency applications and apply to residency!  Career Advising at this stage is focused on helping your craft a polished application, select residency programs that are aligned with your goals, and ultimately match your desired specialty. In addition to virtual sessions where you can get tips and advice from program directors in different specialties, the Career Advising Sessions will include:

•    Residency Selection Strategy and Review of ERAS application
•    Residency Interview Preparation Video 
•    Review of MSPE Letter
•    Mock Interviews and Feedback on Interview Performance 
•    Ranking of programs and the match process 
•    Navigating the SOAP Process and Q&A
 

Students at the Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program/CUNY School of Medicine organize and maintain a number of specialty interest groups (SIG) to more fully expose their peers to specific areas in medicine. These school-sponsored groups offer lectures, workshops, clinical experiences and mentoring. Through participation in the groups, students can become more knowledgeable about a particular specialty to assist in their career decisions. Please email the  SIG directly to learn more.

Below is a list of the current groups and their contact information:
  

Active Verb List 

CUNY SOM CV Preparation Presentation 

CUNY SoM CV Annotated Template 

CUNY SoM CV Template Download

CUNY SoM CV Check List 

This section has many opportunities available outside of Sophie Davis/CUNY SoM for you to explore.  If you have questions about an opportunity including application release dates or deadlines, reach out to the contact person listed on their website to obtain more information. Some of the listed opportunities may have been cancelled for this year or postponed; please check back regularly on those sites for updates.

If any of the links are broken or incorrect, please send an email with the details to Dr. Saintonge:  ssaintonge@med.cuny.edu

Undergraduate Summer Opportunities

Medical Student Fellowships

Public Health Opportunities

Preclinical M1 and M2 Opportunities

M4 URM Electives

AAMC Roadmap to Residency

AAMC Careers in Medicine      

ABMS guide to medical specialties     

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) specialties requiring a preliminary/transitional year 

ACGME Residency Program Accreditation  

American Urological Association Match (Urology) 

Apply Smart: Data to Consider When Applying to Residency 

Couples Match 

Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)  

FRIEDA AMA Residency Program Database 

National Residency Matching Program (The MATCH)

NRMP Match Data and Reporting

Residency Explorer Tool

SF Match (Ophthalmology & Plastic Surgery)

What is the match?

2020 NRMP Program Director 

Letters of Recommendation Materials

Interview Preparation Materials 

Personal Statement Preparation Materials

Class of 2024 Career Advising and Residency Application Timeline

CUNY SoM M4 Elective Instruction

CUNY SoM Independent/Research Elective Proposal Form

CUNY SoM Domestic Waiver & Emergency Contact Form

CUNY SoM VSLO Transcript Request Form

CUNY SoM List of Extramural Affiliation Agreements

VSLO Student Essentials

VSLO Training

Sample VSLO Application Profile Photos 

AAMC Standardized Immunization Form  

CUNY SoM VSLO FAQs

VSLO Application Checklist

Composing Noteworthy Characteristics Video

Composing Noteworthy Characteristics PDF

Medical Student Performance Evaluation 2022