Doctors help medical students find their career match

Before their hectic life as a doctor, the intensity of residency, the thrill of a CaRMS match, and the stress of a CaRMS interview, every medical student has to answer a career-defining question: what type of medicine do I want to practise?

Doctors of BC supports members from the beginning of their careers, through their life in medicine, and into retirement. Find Your Match was created to provide students with an opportunity they had been lacking: the time and space to meet with doctors from a broad range of specialties.  Find Your Match is an informational speed-dating style interview session in which students sit in small groups around a table while doctors rotate, talking about their career, explaining the challenges and rewards of their chosen specialty. The event format allows students to ask questions about call schedules, experience, and lifestyle to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities available across disciplines.

Now in its third year, Find Your Match events were hosted this year in Kelowna and Vancouver. More than 175 medical students attended the two events, speaking to 20 practising doctors and medical residents in various specialties including family medicine, psychiatry, dermatology, internal medicine, urology, pediatrics, anesthesiology, and others. The events were emceed by resident anesthetist Dr Vishal Varshney in Vancouver, and resident emergency doctor Dr Jared Baylis in Kelowna. Doctors of BC President Dr Charles Webb attended both events to provide students with insight into his career as a GP.

During both Find Your Match events medical students asked questions, had meaningful conversations, and shared laughs with physicians while discussing the benefits and challenges of working in rural communities, hectic emergency rooms, and multi-disciplinary practices. Returning physician Dr Shaohua Lu noted “this is my favourite event, it’s so very important to be able to help the students like this.”

Students find the events enormously helpful. “No matter what specialty we choose, we can make it into whatever we want it to be,” said one student. “Just choose something we're passionate about and the hours, work-life balance, pay, and business aspects of our career will all fall into place.”

Photos of both events can be found in our Photo Gallery, here.

View coverage from Global BC.