Signups sought for faculty-student networking at Internal Medicine Speed Dating event

Department of Medicine faculty are being recruited to share insights from their career trajectories with University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson students interested in primary care, internal medicine and its subspecialties.

The Third Annual Internal Medicine Speed Dating Event is being hosted March 11, 5:30-7:30 p.m., by the college’s chapter of the Internal Medicine Student Association in HSIB 532 at the Health Sciences Innovation Building.

A light dinner will be served, with catering for the by-invitation-only event provided by Chipotle.

A collage of images – including critical care specialist Laura Meinke, MD (top left), allergist Puneet Shroff, MD (middle right), and endocrinologist Sara Penquite, MD (bottom right) – from April 2024 IMSA Specialty Speed Dating event hosted on the U of A Health Sciences campus in Tucson. (Courtesy of David Mogollon, Department of Medicine)

"As first-year medical students, there’s a lot of pressure to know the specialty you want to pursue, despite our lack of exposure,” said Caleb Seekins, a Class of 2028 medical student and co-president this year of IMSA’s Tucson chapter with fellow first-year Yi-Jen Yang. “This event gives students the opportunity to receive firsthand information on a variety of specialties to help ease this pressure and guide us on our future career choices."

Those faculty interested in participating by sharing the path they took to their internal medicine specialty or subspecialty should reach out to Bersabe Lopez in the DOM Office of Education or Amy Sussman, MD, DOM vice chair of education, Internal Medicine Clerkship director and fellowship program director in the Division of Nephrology.

“In collaboration with our IMSA chapter, the DOM is excited to host our third annual speed dating night where students have a chance to learn about all the subspecialties that make Internal Medicine such a fantastic career choice. Please consider joining us to represent your subspecialty,” Dr. Sussman said.

She’d like to have at least one faculty member or fellow representing each division in the department – not including herself and Laura Meinke, MD, a critical care specialist in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson, and DOM associate vice chair of education.

IMSA co-president Yang said, "We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Sussman, our IMSA chapter advisor, for facilitating connections with the internal medicine faculty. We hope our speed-dating event serves as a bridge between students and the Department of Medicine, offering a unique opportunity to explore the diverse career paths within internal medicine through personal one-on-one conversations."

Saman Nematollahi, MD (pictured in lower left of top image), an assistant professor and fellowship program director in the Division of Infectious Diseases as well as assistant director of the Internal Medicine Clerkship, was one of a dozen who took part last year and plans to this year as well.

“I highly recommend this event to both faculty and students interested in Internal Medicine,” he said of the experience. “For students, it’s a fantastic way to be exposed to many subspecialties in a short time. Last year, after participating for the first time, we created the Infectious Diseases Interest Group for first- and second-year medical students at the college! So, it’s rewarding in multiple ways.”

J.R. Exequiel “Keng” Pineda, MD, PhD, a Division of Cardiology assistant professor and researcher, agreed. “This is a unique event that allow us to share with medical students what excites an internist to come to work every day,” he said. 

IMSA students can register using the QR code on the event flyer (click on image at right to view) or...

REGISTER HERE!

And, again, faculty (or even fellows) interested in participating should contact Bersabe Lopez or Dr. Sussman.

DOM Event listing.

ALSO SEE:
“Sharing memories, experiences all part of IM Specialty Speed Dating benefits” | Posted April 16, 2024
“DOM faculty enlisted for April 10 IM Specialty Speed Dating Event” | Posted April 3, 2024