Year 1

Fall

• Attend the session, Introduction to the Career Advising Program and Careers in Medicine during New Student Orientation
• Seek out a specialty advisor or Society Mentor other than your assigned mentor for career advising purposes only
• Complete Medical Specialty Preference Inventory, Revised Edition (MSPI-R) on the AAMC Careers in Medicine site (AAMC login required)

Spring

• Review your MSPI-R results with your Societies mentor, one-on-one

Years 1-2

All year

• Attend specialty luncheons organized by student interest groups and clubs
• Start building your CV by conducting research/publishing and gaining new clinical skills early on in your training. See Student Opportunities for information and resources. (Tip: Update your CV as you go using CV Builder)

Fall

• Attend Careers in Medicine Discussion Panel: Primary Care focus

Spring

• Attend Careers in Medicine Discussion Panel: Subspecialty Care focus

Year 2

Fall

• Complete the PVIPS to help you define your career-related values and decide how those can apply to the way you shape you practice in medicine

Spring

• Meet with your Societies mentor in January to discuss the PVIPS results
• Attend Conversation with the Deans (large group discussion) to learn about planning Year 3 with an emphasis on career planning
• Students meet with their Societies mentor to review their portfolios and discuss summer opportunities such as shadowing and research experiences to support them in their career exploration.

Years 2-3

• Keep gathering information about specialties of interest (AAMC login required)
• Narrow down your specialty interests to 3-4 top choices
• Review AAMC reports on residency matches to assess qualifications and competitiveness for different specialties
• Conduct informational interviews (CiM > Shape Your Career > Professional Development > Networking > Informational Interviews) and/or participate in preceptorships (AAMC login required)
• Contact professional associations and specialty organizations (AAMC login required)
• Ask physicians working in specialties that interest you if you can shadow them to learn more
• Continue expanding your CV (Tip: keep your CV information current)

Year 3

Fall

• Begin reviewing and comparing residency programs

Spring

• Designate your specialty advisor between December and June to maximize their assistance in the residency application process (you can do this beforehand). See sample questions to ask specialists.
• Complete Qualtrics survey sent from the Office of Student Affairs prior to scheduling MSPE meeting #1
• Schedule MSPE meeting #1 with your House Dean
• Continue expanding your CV

Late May

• Register with the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and begin preparing residency applications (CV, letters of recommendation, personal statements, etc.). For more details about the application and the process, see the Residency Application section.
• Register with the NRMP for the Main Residency Match
• Register for Early Match programs, if applicable

Year 4

August

• Continue preparing residency applications (CV, letters of recommendation, personal statements, etc.)
• Complete applications and decide which residency programs you will apply to
• Participate in mock interviews.

September

• Start applying to ACGME-accredited residency programs.

October

• MSPEs released to residency programs
• Participate in mock interviews
• Interview with residency programs

December

• Military match results are released
• Application deadline to Early Match programs (Urology Residency Match) is mid-December

January

• Urology Residency Match results are released (Urology Residency Match Program)
• Ophthalmology Residency Match results are released (SF Match)
• Rank-order your selections in the NRMP Main Residency Match

March

• National Resident Matching Program (NRMP®) Main Residency Match results are released
• Match Day - third Thursday in March
• Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP®) starts.
• Finalize your CV (see CV samples)

May

• ERAS Season Ends: MyERAS closes at 5 PM ET