Individual

The first stage of the CiM program is “Understanding Yourself.” This stage involves getting to know your personality, interests, values, expectations, likes/dislikes, and strengths/weaknesses. It is also a time to identify your life and career expectations. Getting to know yourself is the best way to start to find a career that suits you.

We suggest that you begin this process during year one. You can start with the “Understanding Yourself” section of the CiM website. There is a lot of useful information on this site and many self-assessments that you should complete by the end of year one. Additionally, there are other personality and aptitude tests that you can complete on your own.

Try some of these:

• Jung Typology Test: This is a free personality test that helps you evaluate yourself and determines your personality type.
• University of Virginia’s Medical Specialty Aptitude Test: This aptitude test asks you questions about your personality, habits, and preferences. It then suggests which medical specialties maybe more suitable for you.
• Duke University School of Medicine and GlaxoSmithKline’s Pathway Evaluation Program: This program evaluates your values and interests and then determines suitable medical specialties.

After learning about yourself, the second stage of CiM is “Career Exploration.” This stage involves exploring and learning about the various residency programs. You can explore what each specialty entails, the type of lifestyle involved, the required strengths, the salary, and the way that current residents and physicians feel about their careers.

You can begin a broad research of your options during pre-clerkship (years 1 and 2). Hopefully, you will be able to focus your search to a few specialties by the beginning of third year.

There are different types of residency programs in Canada. Generally, they divide into:

• Family Medicine
  • Number of years: two
  • After the second year, residents may apply for a 6-12 month Enhanced Skills Program in:
    • Emergency Medicine;
    • Palliative Medicine;
    • Family Medicine Anaesthesia;
    • Care of the Elderly;
    • Sports Medicine;
    • and many more.
  • For more information, see this list of Enhanced Skills Programs from the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
• Specialty Residencies
  • Number of years: variable
  • Most specialties allow direct entry in year 1 of residency (R1). However, some subspecialties, of internal medicine for example, require prior completion of 3 years of residency.
  • As well, there are a few special programs available. This list describes the specialties, subspecialties, and special programs.

To start, you can read the following resources about different specialties:

• CMA – Specialty Profiles: Each profile provides a general overview, the practice setting and profile, income, and satisfaction for each specialty.
• RCPSC – Information by Specialty or Subspecialty: The RCPSC provides information about each specialty or subspecialty including objectives of training, specialty training requirements, accredited residency programs and program directors, and examination dates and format.
• AAMC’s CiM – Specialty information: CiM provides information on the nature of each specialty, training/residency, and salary.

There are various other ways to learn about different specialties:

• Electives
  
  In year 1 and 2, non-mandatory electives are offered to all Anglophone and Francophone students. These 10-hour observerships are a great opportunity to learn about a specific field of medicine and may be done during the academic term (during the allotted “Self study/Elective time” in your schedule) or in the summer. They give you more experience in areas where you have not had clinical exposure and help you “rule in” or “rule out” career choices. The Undergraduate Medical Education Electives Web site has information and contacts for electives in different specialties in Anglophone and Francophone settings. Make sure to submit your electives on the Clinical Placement website and hand in a hard copy of the evaluation form to the Medical Education office (RGN 2046).
  
  In year 2, there is a mandatory elective, which provides students with further clinical exposure. Students arrange for a 20-hour elective during March in a discipline of their choice.
  
  During electives, students can ask residents and physicians questions about their career, lifestyle, and the pros and cons of their specialty. Some questions you may want to ask are:
  1. How/why did you choose this field?
  2. What do you like most/least about your career choice?
  3. What are the various practice settings for this field?
  4. What is your daily schedule like? How often are you on call? How many days off do you have per month?
  5. What is your lifestyle like in this field?
  6. What attributes are the most important in anyone considering this field?
  7. Are there any recommendations you would make to a medical student considering this field?
  8. If you had to do it over again, would you choose this field? Why or why not? 

Rural electives are popular among students since they often provide more “hands-on” opportunities. In year 1, students participate in a mandatory community/rural placement at the end of May. Students are placed in a rural community for the week and have an opportunity to shadow physicians and experience some of the highlights of rural life. These placements are coordinated by the Distributed Medical Education (DME) office.

International electives are valuable experiences in which students get additional clinical exposure and can explore their career options. Students interested in international electives may explore the following resources:

1. Faculty of Medicine – International Elective Guidelines
2. Faculty of Medicine – Global Health Office
3. Bureau des Affaires Francophones – Coopération Internationale
4. Canadian Federation of Medical Students – Global Health Resources

• Career Exploration Opportunities within the Medical Program
  Resident and physician leaders are involved in the CBL, PSD, Cliniques Simulées (Francophone), e-portfolio, and mentorship programs. These are great opportunities to connect with physicians and residents and learn more about their chosen field of medicine. They will often agree to personalize a 10 hour elective for you. Through the Aesculapian Society, there are also many student interest groups that give students the opportunity to learn about different specialties through speakers, electives, and other opportunities.
• Research
  Students can gain more work experience in a particular specialty by participating in a pre-clerkship, summer research project. You can formally apply for a research project through the Summer studentship program or you can find your own supervisor. Research can show that you are interested in a specialty and is looked upon favourably by some residency program directors, especially in certain competitive specialties. It also provides opportunities to network, get a reference letter, and gain experience for future academic medical pursuits. Make sure that any research that you have done in medical school and during your undergraduate studies is listed on your CV. 

There are a few other important aspects to consider when selecting a career path.

1. Students should look at CaRMS match reports and statistics to evaluate how competitive it is to enter each program.
2. Students should also compare the salaries and benefits in different provinces, remembering to consider the large amounts spent in overhead costs, for many specialities.
3. Although unexpected, some students finishing residency are finding themselves jobless. It is important that students learn about the specialties that require more physicians. CareerMD is a website that displays postings for physician employment opportunities in the Canada and U.S.
4. Lastly, it is useful to determine if physicians are satisfied with their career choices. See the National Physician Survey for more information.
   
   Through your experiences and these resources, you will get a better idea of which specialties suit you, and which don’t. This will help you narrow down your options in your journey to find the specialty that fits your personality, preferences, and goals best.