Residents and Specialty Night is a yearly event organized by learners through MUN MedCAREERS and is open to all medical learners. This evening provides learners an opportunity to explore a wide variety of medical specialties that exist in Newfoundland and Labrador.
 
Learners rotate through small group discussions of specialties of their choice in an effort to obtain answers to any career or personal questions that they may have. The evening is especially helpful to those who are not sure which specialty they would like to enter. 
 
Not only does this event offer information not formally found in the medical curriculum, but it also serves as a networking opportunity for learners while interacting with resident and staff physicians. 


Who organizes the session?

A volunteer learner arranges this event during the winter or spring semester. Usually the outgoing 2^nd-year learner, who remains on the task group, will pass over the duties to an incoming 2^nd-year learner who has been in the group the previous year.  


Which specialities are represented?

A variety of specialties will be represented, based on class interest and physician availability. 

Personal Contacts

This is part of your information gathering. Informational presentations are arranged with physicians and residents in the various specialties. It is a type of informational interview in which there is a meeting of a group of learners with a specialist and/or resident for whom they prepare a specific set of questions. These questions will help the learners get a valid idea of what that specialty is about and whether or not it will suit them.

The information interview has 3 purposes:

1. To learn about practicing or doing a residency in a specialty area of interest.
2. To gain information about new developments in various specialty areas of interest.
3. To build a network, by asking for more referrals from the person you interview.

Keep a record of your searches for each specialty area, including the opinions from presenters in the area. You can use the cumulated data to help put your list in order and confirm that the right things are on the list. When you have completed this you will be in good shape to make sensible and informed selections for your clerkship rotations, including electives. This is not a job that is easily accomplished in a short period of time. You need to start in your first or early part of second year, so when that moment comes at the end of second year you are ready to make a well-informed choice for yourself! Look back at the attributes you identified in your values, interests, skills, environmental and practice needs assessments, and critical factors and see how well they match with the answers you have obtained in your specialty research.

Examples of Questions to Ask

• How/why did you choose this specialty?
• What do you like most /least about this specialty?
• What are the various practice settings for this specialty?
• How do you balance your career with the rest of your life?
• Describe the schedule of your program, covering the following aspects:*daily hours *call schedule *days off per month
• What is the salary range for work in this specialty?
• Are there other recommendations you would make to a new physician considering this specialty?
• What attributes do you think are the most important in anyone considering this specialty?
• If you had it to do over again, would you choose this specialty? Why/why not?
• Who else would you suggest I speak with? May I let them know you referred me?

Suggestions for additional questions you may want to ask the residents if the information is not covered in their presentations:

• How important is it to have research experience to obtain a position in your residency program?
• How many residents were accepted into your program last year? Were all available places for residents filled?
• Briefly outline how the schedule for your residency at MUN compares to other programs in Canada and the USA.
• What is call like? What kind of backup is provided?