Career choices matter: educating medical students on a diversity of practice settings

Throughout medical school and residency, learners encounter a series of decision points which have a significant influence on their future careers. While some distinctions are explored thoroughly through the curriculum and made quite evident, decisions regarding future practice setting are less intuitive for trainees: Urban or rural? Community or academic? Given that many medical schools are located in large cities, learning about rural or community practice without actively seeking out opportunities can be challenging. In order to bridge this knowledge gap, students at the University of Toronto organized a career development event targeted at pre-clerkship students. This event featured a panel of physicians who compared their different practice settings and the associated logistics, rewards, and challenges