More than 50 NJMS alumni and faculty physicians provided first- and second-year students with an inside look into the life of a practicing physician during the annual Alumni Career Night event in February.

Spanning two nights, the program, sponsored by the NJMS Alumni Association, featured predominantly primary care paths on Monday, February 19 and mostly specialty fields on Thursday, February 22.

Students had an opportunity to chat informally with practicing physicians during a light supper, selecting seats at tables set up for each specialty.

Adam Sterman, a first-year student, chose to sit at the Liver Transplant Surgery table with four other students and Dorian Wilson, MD, '82, to learn more about this highly specialized field, which appeals to him, he said, for its physicality.

"I like that fact that this is active medicine," he explained.

Dr. Wilson agreed. "There is something about that moment of truth when you tap into your training in a highly skilled technique and the corresponding responsibility that goes along with it," he said. "The one pre-requisite for this field is that you need to be darn passionate about surgery."

Joseph DiTrolio, MD, Alumni Association President and a urologist with a private practice echoed that sentiment when he advised students to select a specialty that made them happy, because then, he said, work will be a pleasure.

During each night's panel discussion, alumni and NJMS faculty offered advice and insights on their respective specialties, covering topics including the length of residency training programs, the work-life balance their specialty afforded, as well as its earning potential.

< Back