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EVENT
With an expanded program and an exciting line up of speakers, this year’s Medical Careers Expo was an important opportunity for medical students and interns to gain valuable insight into planning their medical careers.
THE ANNUAL AMA (NSW) and ASMOF (NSW) Careers Expo held 6 May attracted more than 200 students and interns to the Chatswood Concourse in Sydney.
This year’s event featured 14 exhibitors representing a range of Colleges, training organisations, NSW Health, AMA (NSW) and ASMOF (NSW).
Expo attendees also had an opportunity to meet with senior doctors from many different specialties during a full day’s program of presentations and panel discussions. Featuring more than 20 keynote speakers and panellists, the 2017 event was the biggest line-up the Medical Careers Expo has ever had.
Associate Professor Munjed Al Muderis spoke to a packed room about his journey as a refugee, including why he left Iraq, his incredible journey to Australia, and his experiences at a detention centre. The Australian-trained orthopaedic surgeon also serves as a Squadron Leader in the Australian Air Force Reserve, an ambassador for the Australian Red Cross, and is a human rights activist.
Another highlight of the event was hearing from Dr Raghav Murali-Ganesh, who is the co-founder of an exciting new app, CancerAid. Dr Murali-Ganesh, who would like to improve healthcare outcomes with the use of digital tools, spoke to students and interns about digital pathways in medicine.
Dr Trung Ton’s presentation on a nonclinical career path was also well-received. Dr Ton holds a Bachelor of Medicine from the University of Newcastle, a Master of Public Health from Harvard University, a Diploma of Child Health from the University of Sydney, and an International Diploma of Humanitarian Assistance from Fordham University. Dr Ton is a graduate of the Royal Military College Australia, where he was dux of his class. He is an emergency medicine registrar and a military engineering officer in the Army Reserve. He has been involved in global health leadership and mentoring for medical students and junior doctors.
The panel forum on ‘Why My Specialty is the Best!’ was a great opportunity for attendees to hear six different specialists verbally duke it out on what makes their specialty a particularly exciting career pathway.
Similarly, the panel forum on ‘Surgical Careers’ gave students and interns some unique insight into these medical careers.
In addition to giving expo attendees valuable information about interview techniques, Dr Andrew Zuschmann provided insight into the specialty of obstetrics/gynaecology.
Students were also given in-depth information on the transition from medical student to intern during a panel forum that included doctors-in-training, SRMOs and AMA (NSW)’s own doctors-in-training Liaison Officer, Evangelie Polyzos.
Rounding out the day was an exciting presentation on using social media to your advantage with AMA (NSW) Senior Media and Communications Advisor Lachlan Jones, followed by career planning, CVs and interview techniques with AMA (NSW)’s Careers Service Advisor Anita Fletcher.
For the first time, this year’s event included college information sessions, which AMA (NSW) Marketing and Promotions Coordinator, Shirley Wu said were very helpful to attendees.
“We tried to give expo attendees as much practical information as we could to help them make better career choices. I think the expanded program and line-up of exciting speakers was a huge bonus this year. And next year will be even better,” she added.