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Career Night Provides Insight, Direction for Medical Students

Drs. Roy Baynes and Bruce Deschere share their experiences with future physicians.

More than 200 Wayne State University School of Medicine students were on hand on January 9 to search for some insight into the important decisions that they’ll be required to make within the next few years. Career Night is held each year to give students an opportunity to speak with doctors and learn about a variety of specialties. This year, several faculty members and WSU alums volunteered their time to speak with a record number of participants. The evening’s events began with a few educational speeches and were followed by several group sessions where students met with doctors to learn about specific fields.

During medical school, students must begin to plan for their future. Only a short time is available for each of them to make a decision about where to apply for residency programs. Once a choice is made, it is left up to the National Resident Matching Program. The first of the educational speeches provided some background on Match Day and was delivered by Student Affairs Counselor Mike Weber. He illustrated how the system works and some good news about how WSU students fared last year in the match. In 2001, 65 percent of Wayne State graduates received their first choice of residency programs, and 88 percent received one of their top three choices. He went on to explain that a total of 95 percent of students matched to one of their choices, and that WSU exceeded the national averages for placement on all three accounts.

Choosing a residency program is not the only concern for our future doctors. During his speech, Assistant Dean Mike Herbert urged students to address what he referred to as “the business side of the operation.” He stressed the importance of finances and the legal aspects of medicine – the important issues that doctors have to grapple with every day.

Drs. Roy Baynes and Bruce Deschere share their experiences with future physicians.

With so many options and possibilities for medical students, career night can be extremely helpful with the decision-making process. Dr. Bruce Deschere recommended that they consider everything from the location of the hospital to the attitudes of the individuals working there. He offered advice for students seeking residencies in highly competitive fields. “There is a lot you can do for yourself. You must essentially show them that you are willing to bend over backwards to promote yourself.”

After the speeches, the participants moved into the breakout sessions. Dr Carl Lauter ran the session on infectious disease, allergy and immunology. “The session gives students a chance to ask questions. I give them a little information on who I am and how I chose my field. Also, I’ll tell them about the average day for a doctor and exactly what is expected.”

The students come to Career Night for many reasons. First-year medical student, Keith Santiago, explained, “I’m here to get a personal perspective from someone with experience. I’m looking for some honest opinions and hope to get some guidance.”

Thanks to the following people who gave presentations at Career Night:

Roy Baynes, MD, PhD
Rudrick Boucher, MD
Gary Chodoroff, MD
Carol Clark, MD
Steven Dean, MD
Bruce Deschere, MD
Mike Herbert
Carl Lauter, MD
Irving Miller, MD
William O’Neill, MD
Earl Rudner, MD
Michael Sandler, MD
Sharon Schafer, MD
Les Siegel, MD
Michael Webber, PhD
Greg Zemenick, MD

Alwyn Harriott, class of ’04, was in attendance for the second year in a row. “Last year, I attended the Emergency medicine session. This year I want to try something different. I’m trying to hone in on a field.”

With so many options, “honing in” may seem like a difficult task. The sessions were established to provide as much information as possible to give the students a start in the right direction. Dr. Roy Baynes hoped to impart as much detail as possible in the session he presented with Dr. Bruce Deschere. “I wanted to present the maximum amount of information. Medicine is a vast body of opportunity and we hope to assist the students in becoming familiar in a small way with some areas.”

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