Annual OBGYN meeting

About a month ago, I attended the national ACOG meeting in Washington D.C along with a few other UMHSers. I would encourage everyone to attend a national annual meeting for whichever specialty you are wanting to pursue either in your 3rd or 4th year. ACOG is the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Here is a list of the organizations by specialty:

Family Medicine – American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) http://www.aafp.org/

Internal Medicine –American College of Physicians (ACP)  http://www.acponline.org/

Pediatrics – American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) http://www.aap.org/

Psychiatry – American Psychiatry Association (APA) http://www.psych.org/

Surgery – American College of Surgeons (ACS) http://www.facs.org/

Obstetrics & Gynecology – American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) http://www.abog.org/ --  American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) http://www.acog.org/ -- American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society (AGOS) http://www.agosonline.org/

The ACOG meeting had specific events just for medical students! The first session was "OBGYN as a Career." There was a forum filled with generalists, specialists and residents each providing their view of OBGYN. They spoke to the challenges and highlights of the career and where they see the field going. The second session was all about residency. It was again a panel but this time of program directors from around the country, a recent graduate who just matched into the specialty and a resident. They all provided great advice on what to expect during the residency match, interviewing etc. 

The second day was filled with round tables. This was probably my favorite part because it was much more personal 8-9 students per "speaker". The first round table was regarding residency again and each table had a program director that we could ask questions galore to. They talked about what's important to consider when choosing which programs to apply to and what programs are looking for. The second roundtable was about your CV and personal statement. We had a resident at our table that he is the first to look at all the personal statements that come through his program. He told us what stands out to him, what should be avoided etc. 

A fun event they had was a Skills lab. They had suturing stations, models for delivering a baby, doing pap smears, inserting IUDs, fetal heart tracing etc. This was provided by practicing OBGYNS that volunteered. I enjoyed participating in the activities but since I had experienced a majority in my core rotation already, I used this chance to pick the brains of the physicians running the activities. They were all more than willing to discuss anything regarding the field!

The most important part of the weekend was the residency fair. 25-30 programs had tables set up manned by residents and program directors that we could meet, ask questions and learn more about their programs. This was incredibly valuable. You can learn a lot about a program by looking at their website but it's different to actually talk and meet with the residents to get the overall feel of the program. I was also able to network and meet people.

Overall, I would high recommend all students to attend at least one annual meeting. Even if it's not the field you are interested in but it is happening close to where you are living, Go! A lot of the information presented in the residency sessions were geared towards OBGYN but were also valuable for all specialties and approaching the match in general.