Wednesday, April 23, 2014

EM Mentoring 101

The biggest downside to seeking advice from a blog like this one is the lack of diversity of opinions.  Even if the author has tried to incorporate best practices from many sources, the info you get will still be filtered through their personal biases. This is why you need to seek out more than one opinion on the really big questions. A local advisor is going to be your ideal resource, so long as they are keeping up with trends in the Emergency Medicine application and match process. Another option is the SAEM e-advising program that can match you up with a faculty member from the region of the country you are interested in.

There are also web-based alternatives. One of the best I have yet encountered is the EM Mentoring 101 website put together by Christine Swenton when she was an EM resident at the UF Jacksonville program.  Back in 2012 she interviewed experienced Clerkship Directors and medical student advisors from across the country and collected their ideas and opinions into a one-stop site. Go have a look. I do not think you will be disappointed.



3 comments:

  1. Happened to stumble upon this. I completely agree with the above comments. Glad to see someone finds the website useful. :)

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  2. Hey Adam. Thanks for putting this on your blog.
    Tom Morrissey here from Jax EM program. This certainly is a helpful resource, especially as a jumping-off point for those students interested in EM, but who might not have a formal EM training program (and the advisement that comes with it) at their home school. We need to cultivate these fields for the future of EM...there's some rockstars out there! We're trying to get this site linked to CDEM and SAEM as well...but very helpful sources for EM-interested students.

    Thanks again
    TKM
    tom.morrissey@jax.ufl.edu

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  3. Tom,
    We could not agree more. Not all students are as fortunate as those who get their advising at Jacksonville.
    Thanks!

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