Career Development for Medical Students

Prescription for a Good Match Logo

Welcome to the Prescription for a Good Match program at Tulane SOM!

The information contained in this website is designed to address questions about career goals and developing your pathway in medicine. 

That means that you need to have a plan. Every plan needs a starting point--you need not have a well-fleshed out plan from the start, but you do need some kind of plan. The first step in creating a plan is knowing who you are and where you will fit the best. Are you an extravert or introvert? Are you a do-er or a think-er? What is important in life to you? What are you good at? With over 200 specialties and subspecialties, medicine has a place for everyone!

Career planning is an essential, exciting and often anxiety provoking aspect of being a medical student. Tulane University School of Medicine hopes to alleviate that anxiety by providing essential information, resources and career guidance to students throughout all years of medical school. The goal is to help students make educated decisions regarding their careers and to successfully obtain a residency position.

T1 & T2

The general approach to career development through the four years of medical school includes self assessment and career exploration in the first two years (T1 & T2). With over 200 specialties to choose from, you will NOT be able to get firsthand experience in all of them in the four short years of medical school. Instead, you will be encouraged to understand yourself and explore those options that are most likely going to be a good fit for you. 

T3 & T4

Experience the clerkship rotation. Find out what you like and don't like. But more importantly, why do you like something and dislike something else? The why can be more important than what you actually like/dislike. Answering these questions will help in choosing a specialty and navigating the residency application process (ERAS). The resources needed to do so can be found throughout this website and through the carefully planned advising timeline. 

What Should I Be Doing Now?

Many students find comfort in having a clearly defined set of steps to take to prepare themselves for residency application. Thus, we've developed a year-by-year checklist of activities that you will likely find useful in your journey to residency. Think of this as your prescription for a good match. 

T1 Career Advising Checklist

  • Connect with your TLC mentor and upperclass mentors
  • Take the Careers in Medicine assessments to learn what you’re all about
  • Take the MBTI and schedule a consult with Dr. D’Aquin
  • Think about the brand you want to use, and plan your extracurriculars appropriately
  • Attend T1 Residency Day
  • Most of all, do well in your preclinical coursework!

T2 Career Advising Checklist

  • Gather basic information about specialties in which you’d be a good fit
  • Discuss your career plans with your TLC mentor and/or Dr. D'Aquin
  • Attend T2 Residency Day
  • Plan your T3 Donut
  • Take USMLE Step 1

T3 Career Advising Checklist

  • Use the “Clinical Rotation Evaluation” to record reflections on your clerkships
  • Review your competitiveness for your desired specialty/ies with your specialty advisor and/or Dr. D’Aquin
  • Plan your T4 schedule; discuss with at least one specialty advisor
  • Attend T3 Residency Day
  • Attend career workshops on CVs, personal statements, ERAS and interviewing

T4 Career Advising Checklist

  • Submit your CV, noteworthy characteristics, personal statement to Canvas for review
  • Register with ERAS
  • Request LORs
  • Research residency programs
  • Complete the CiM Residency Preference Exercise
  • Register for Match
  • Review your MSPE
  • Do a mock interview
  • Create your ROL and have it reviewed
  • Attend T4 Residency Day

 

NEW - Match Timeline - Milestones on the Way to Residency

 Class of 2026 Residency Prep Book

Kristin Bateman, MD
Department of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
Faculty Director for Career Advising

Katrina D'Aquin, PhD
Office of Admissions & Student Affairs
Director for Career Advising