KIMS plans a meeting for interns

In light of changing the new regulations describing the pathway of specialty training in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti Institute of Medical Specialties (KIMS) arranged a meeting for the interns in order to address concerns regarding their future career plans (see pictures).

I thank Ali Mohsen for forwarding the above pictured documents from the facebook page of one of the junior doctors working in Kuwait.

KIMS's new rules?

So word's been going around that KIMS are changing the scholarship rules for people who would like to specialize abroad. To be honest, I'm not well versed on the issue but what I can gather from people (which may not be entirely accurate so don't quote us!):

-High GPA
-High TOEFL score
-You need to get into the Kuwaiti board and pass their exam
-You don't get to choose which country you go to
-You don't get to choose which specialty you get into

I guess what's more frustrating than having new rules is not having a system in place where these regulations are spelt out (on KIMS's website or another regulatory body). Things are a bit murky for junior doctors at the moment with little guidance from administrators to help them plan their future.

Anyway, for interested parties, apparently there's going to be a meeting at Kuwait Medical Association's HQ at 8pm today, Kuwait time.

More information is available if you join this facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118389084868775#!/group.php?gid=118389084868775&v=wall

Let us know if you are in possession of any more information!

Video Coverage from the Careers Days

In addition to photos from the Careers Days (see previous post), we also have... wait for it... VIDEOS of all that took place on Careers Days! So for all KMS's friends in the UK/Ireland who couldn't be home for Christmas to attend, we are sorry you couldn't be there but at least now you can watch all the proceedings from the comfort of your sofa at home. We would be immensely grateful if after watching the videos you e-mail us at kmsukir@gmail.com to let us know what you liked/didn't like about the conference and if you have any suggestions (if you're interested in becoming an active KMS member, or to to learn about future events, let us know in the e-mail).

To watch Careers Day visit our page on blip.tv

http://kmsukir.blip.tv

You can also watch the videos embedded in this blog if you scroll down to previous posts

Coverage includes:

Day 1: Getting into a Speciality - 4 videos

Day 2: The Specialties Panels + Dean's Speech

(Specialties covered = Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery and Other Specialties)

The careers event took place at Kuwait University on the 29th-30th December 2009. KMS would like to repeat its appreciation for all the help it received from KuMSA, Kuwait University, Dr. Altayyeb Yousef and his fellow speakers who deserve full credit for Day 1 and the panelist for taking part.

Photos from the Careers Days

Below is the link to the photostream on Flicker

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47820201@N08/

Finally we have coverage from 2009's Careers Days!

Here's a photo of us at the start of the conference:

And at the end of the conference... It seemes like the stress got to some of us:

Many many many many many heartfelt thanks to all the Kuwait University staff, the speakers/panelists, Dr. Altayyeb Yousef and his fantastic four and KuMSA who without this event would not have been possible. We are very grateful for all the support, which made this conference a fun project to work on (special mention to KuMSA's medical education and media committees. You guys rock!)

Powerpoint Slides from Conference's Days 1

This is a link to our Slideshare page, which has the slides from the conference's first day's presentations:

http://www.slideshare.net/kmsukir

The slides are from the following talks:

-Comparing Programs from Different Countries by Dr. Altayyeb Yousef

-How to apply to the Canadian Exam by Dr. Mohammed Al-Bader

-USMLE and Canadian Exams by Dr. Ali Alali

-What to Do After the Exams by Dr. Altayyeb Yousef and Dr. Mohammad Ibraheem

-The Interivew by Dr. Sadikah Behbehani and Dr. Mohammed Al-Bader

-What's after the interview by Dr. Altayyeb Yousef

We plan to post videos from the conference and ethical case studies for the interviews so keep watching this space.

Again, we would like to thank all the speakers and KuMSA for their help.

Medical Interviews: Resources for Students and Doctors

January marks the beginning of the interview period for a lot of students and junior doctors so here is a run down of useful resources we've come across:

Residents:

Web

www.studentdoctor.net is a fantastic website and the forum has lots of insider information. There are articles dealing with residency interviews http://www.studentdoctor.net/2009/12/acing-your-residency-interview/ and http://www.studentdoctor.net/2009/11/the-successful-match-how-to-succeed-in-your-residency-interview/

Books

For residency applicants there is an excellent book that I highly recommend. It covers the interview very well and has specialty-specific tips. It also has other tips not related to the interview. You can get it from Amazon The Successful Match: 200 Tips to Succeed in the Residency Match by Rajani Katta

For UK applicants this book is good and also useful for general medical interviews with over 120 questions: Medical Interviews: a comprehensive guide to CT, ST and Registrar interview skills by Olivier Picard

Medical Students

Web

For medical students this forum has a wealth of information and you can find university specific past interview questions: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/

Books

I also recommend this book from amazon: Medical School Interviews by George Lee

Courses

If you are really not confident about your interview skills there are courses available in the UK (www.medical-interviews.co.uk) and USA (www.mededits.com), which cater for medical students and doctors.

Soon, we will also be posting videos, slides and ethical case studies from our Careers Day, which will have interview tips from junior doctors.

If you know about a good resource we have not mentioned please share it with us by adding a comment to this post. Good luck everyone!