The Careers in Medicine 4-Phase Career Planning Model

At ISMMS we use the Careers in Medicine 4-Phase Career Planning Model. The four-step career-planning process is grounded in the theory of person-environment fit (previously, Parsons’ trait and factor theory), which shares similar or equivalent concepts with other theories (e.g., person-organization fit, person-job fit) prominently recognized across academic fields (e.g., industrial and organizational psychology, public administration). As such, it is widely recognized across fields that individuals who fit their field, work setting/environment, and other related factors are happier and more satisfied and, thus, more engaged, productive, or high performing.

This Guidebook is separated by the four phases to help you navigate easily and get a sense of how you are moving along the career planning process.

This journey should start day 1 of medical school. So think about the four phases of the CiM career planning model as being loosely assigned to the four years of a traditional medical school curriculum and incorporate deadlines for applying and matching to residency. This timeline will mirror the experience of some medical students, and others will need to tweak it. What’s most important is for you to tackle the tasks and activities in each phase roughly in this order:

First, complete self-assessments to measure your interests, values, and other influences that affect your career decisions.

Second, begin to explore medical specialties to help you understand the work, assess residency requirements, gauge your competitiveness, and compare salaries, workforce projections, and other elements of the specialty, practice, and setting options available in the field of medicine.

Third, mesh what you know about yourself with the information you have about specialties and practice options to identify the one or two specialties that best fit you.

Fourth, implement your specialty decision by beginning your first steps toward residency—applying for residency programs, interviewing, and participating in the match.