Clinical Guide The Nerd's Guide to Pre-Rounding Table of Contents Part 1. Warning: Career Ahead Before I even get into how to get through third year, a warning: It’s over pretty fast. Before you know it, it’s spring, third year’s almost over, and you have to pick your sub-I’s and get ready for applying to residencies. It sounds like it’s far away, but it isn’t. There are three kinds of people going into clerkships: People who have a strong idea of what they want to do People who have a few options in mind but no strong opinions People who have NO IDEA where they’re going Find an advisor. Or two. Regardless of which category you fall into, you will benefit from talking to someone who can advise you on reaching your career goal. Ideally, this would be someone working in your chosen (or prospective) field—a professor, a former preceptor, an attending you’ve worked with. Notice I didn’t say "mentor." The word "mentor" conjures the image of a god-like Mother-Father being, ala Tuesdays with Morrie: part Ward Cleaver, part Captain Kathryn Janeway, part Obi Wan Kenobi. Most students never find an advisor with this much benevolent parental mojo, and I think it’d be a mistake to look for one. You can get great career advice from normal mortals, and you don’t have to meet with them every Tuesday of third year to get it. Even meeting twice might be enough. Also, don’t forget about your big sibs and "older" students, who may be more helpful in sketching out your career terrain in the near-distance. If you are a "NO IDEA" person, it’s harder to know where to start finding an advisor. I would say your Deans are your best bet, followed by your Network Parents (unless you’re in a "dysfunctional family," in which case you may never have met them!). For people without a strong direction, it’s especially key to start meeting with an advisor early, to get help on finding a career path. You might also consider reading a book such as Anita Taylor’s How to Choose a Medical Specialty, or using the UCSF MedCareers site , as well as AAMC's MedCareers site, and the CareerMD.com site. You should also make sure your third-year schedule gives you some broad exposure to various career options early on (i.e., before April). People with a strong idea of what they’re doing are released from the "Are You My Mother?" agony that afflicts those looking for their niche. However, there are other issues. Again, your schedule should be arranged so you have a chance to "try out" your likeliest choices earlier rather than later (again, before April). Fortunately, for the majority going into primary care or psych, there’s enough time to sample and consider options. On the other hand, if you’re bound for a surgical subspecialty like ortho, urology, neurosurg, or the like—or think you might be—you’ve probably already realized you’re going to have to "shake the tree" a little to get career support. One week of your future career choice, spent in the outpatient setting during the FCM rotation, is not going to be enough data on which to decide your fate. Hopefully you’ve made plans to get deeper exposure to your possible choice(s) early in third year. You should also try to find a mentor in the specialty early to get help and advice. Your advisory college mentor can help you. Finally, even if you know what you’re going into, keep an open mind. You may find you love something you never would have considered. Think: "I’m going into Ob/Gyn--unless something else tempts me away." Don’t wait until the end of third year to think about career choices—you don’t want to feel rushed when it’s time to arrange a schedule. It’s easy to get nearsighted during clerkships. Don’t make that mistake.