A Longitudinal Career Development Curriculum

Abstract

OPEN ACCESSSeptember 4, 2009A Longitudinal Career Development Curriculum Anita Pokorny, MEd Anita Pokorny, MEd Northeast Ohio Medical University Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.5109 SectionsAboutAbstract ToolsDownload Citations ShareFacebookTwitterEmail AbstractAbstract Introduction: Integrating career development and advising content into undergraduate medical education curricula is a goal of many medical schools. In 2005–2006, the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) realized this goal by incorporating its career development and advising program into the formal curriculum as a central component of a 4-year longitudinal course. One of five course themes, professional identity development (PID) focuses on medical student career development, lifelong learning skills, personal wellness, and self-care. Methods: To advance and plot their PID, students participate in didactic and small-group sessions related to four phases of career development: self-assessment, career exploration, decision making, and implementation. Students work with clinical faculty advisors individually and in small groups to self-reflect and set short- and long-term goals. The success of this program depends on volunteer clinical faculty who are willing to devote time to working with a small group of students over their entire 4 years of undergraduate medical education. A mix of didactic and small-group work followed by an opportunity for reflection is most effective. Students benefit from concrete, hands-on activities. A highly structured format that includes a detailed set of expectations is also beneficial to both students and advisors. Results: The PID curriculum was first introduced to the class of 2009 in their M1 year. Short-term results indicate that the curriculum has been successful in increasing student use of the AAMC Careers in Medicine (CiM) website. For example, by December of their M1 year, 68.6% of the NEOUCOM class of 2012 had registered with CiM, as compared to 34.2% of class of 2012 M1 students nationally. Because these students are just now in their M4 year and in the midst of residency interviews, it is difficult to assess the long-term effectiveness of the curriculum. In addition, since this initial implementation, the curriculum has undergone multiple changes based on formal and informal feedback from students and advisors. Discussion: The PID component of the curriculum constitutes a unique collaboration between the offices of student affairs and medical education. It has yielded increased student use of CiM tools and activities and promoted clinical faculty involvement in students' career development. Educational Objectives By the end of this curriculum, students will be able to: Articulate the personal meaning of a life-career as a physician.Convey the importance of balancing multiple life roles.Answer the questions “Who am I, and what do I want to do in my life-career as a physician?”Consolidate a professional vocational identity characterized by possessing a clear and stable picture of their interests, goals, and talents relative to career choices and decision making.Identify their primary career path. Sign up for the latest publications from MedEdPORTAL Add your email below FILES INCLUDEDReferencesRelatedDetails FILES INCLUDED Included in this publication: M1 Fall.pdf M1 PID Syllabus.pdf M1 Spring.pdf M2 Fall.pdf M2 Spring.pdf M3 Intersession I Syllabus.pdf M3 Intersession II Syllabus.pdf Reflection Summer Experience.pdf To view all publication components, extract (i.e., unzip) them from the downloaded .zip file. Download editor’s noteThis publication may contain technology or a display format that is no longer in use. Copyright & Permissions© 2009 Pokorny. This is an open-access publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.KeywordsSelf CareLearning CommunitiesCareer PlanningVocational Guidance Disclosures None to report. Funding/Support None to report. Loading ...