Helping MDs-to-be find their path in medicine

In 2014, UBC medical students told Doctors of BC they could use some help figuring out which branch of medicine to go into. How could Doctors of BC possibly help hundreds of UBC medical students spread out over Vancouver, Kelowna, Prince George, and Victoria with this career-defining decision?

Our answer was an informal speed-dating style dinner event in which students sit at tables in small groups while doctors of varying specialties rotate around the room. Doctors provide insight into the challenges, successes, and life in their section of medicine, and students have time to ask questions. We called it Find Your Match and it was an instant hit for students seeking information about a life in medicine. It is now a mainstay annual event held by Doctors of BC at least twice each year.

Earlier this year, 22 doctors representing 16 specialties met with more than 130 students at events held in Vancouver and Kelowna.

“I loved every moment of Find Your Match. Everything was amazing. The time we spent with each physician at each table was perfect, allowing us a bit of time at the end of the event to talk to the physicians we wanted to.”
- UBC Vancouver medical student 

Medical students are not the only ones who enjoy the event as practising doctors who want to guide our doctors of tomorrow frequently return annually to mentor students, often with great enthusiasm.

“Very happy to participate again, I enjoyed last year.”
“Yes, I would love to attend.”
“I can do it! Thank you for asking.”
- Vancouver doctors 

Photos of these events can be found here.

We were fortunate to have two residents, Drs Alana Fleet and Patricia Jiang, act as emcee and provide advice at the events, as they are a bridge between student and full-practice doctors. Thank you to the students who participated and to our Find Your Match physician mentors:

Vancouver
​Dr Kathleen Ross
Dr Charlotte Yong-Hing
Dr Ahmer Karimuddin
Dr Jeff Roberts
Dr Debra Miller
Dr Nasir Jetha
Dr Nick Szpakowicz
Dr Roopjeet Kahlon
Dr Alana Fleet
Dr Andrew Yu
Dr Katherine Paton

Kelowna
Dr Kathleen Ross
Dr Patricia Jiang
Dr James Chin
Dr Jared Baylis
Dr Mark Yudin
Dr Gareth Eeson
Dr Vincent Arockiasamy
Dr Caitlin Holtby
Dr Shelley La Berge
Dr Conrad Tsang
Dr Nevin De Korompay

Find Your Match is one in a series of ongoing events and initiatives Doctors of BC proudly provides to support BC’s doctors of tomorrow.