Experiences from a national webinar with recently matched Canadian ophthalmology residents for medical students

Introducing the Canadian Urology Student Interest Group (CUSIG): Initial experience from a national webinar with recently matched Canadian urology residents for medical students

“…To overcome the challenges created by limiting time in single-entry specialties and the suspension of visiting electives, numerous initiatives were undertaken to pivot toward fostering virtual connections between applicants and programs. 1,2,[6][7][8][9][10] This is the underpinning for the start of the CUSIG as a means to connect students to different virtual events in urology with the hope that having one primary source of communication would enable more participation, connection, and benefit for students and Canadian urology programs.…”

“…6,7 Student interest groups have also leveraged this increased online presence to build national medical student specialty interest groups in ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and radiology. [8][9][10] These student-led nationwide interest groups have been found to foster a sense of community among medical students enabling them to connect with coapplicants and residency programs. [5][6][7] For these reasons, the Canadian Urology Student Interest Group (CUSIG) was created to serve as a national hub for Canadian medical students interested in urology.…”

“…This is the first event of its kind for Canadian medical students interested in urology. 8 The goals of this event were to: (1) enable medical students to gain insight from matched residents about the unique CaRMS 2022 process and; (2) understand the current student perspective on urology and the matching process. Participants were sent a survey following the event to meet the second goal.…”

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DISCUSSIONTo overcome the challenges created by limiting time in single-entry specialties and the suspension of visiting electives, numerous initiatives were undertaken to pivot toward fostering virtual connections between applicants and programs. 1,2,[6][7][8][9][10] This is the underpinning for the start of the CUSIG as a means to connect students to different virtual events in urology with the hope that having one primary source of communication would enable more participation, connection, and benefit for students and Canadian urology programs.National Canadian specialty interest groups are a novel concept. In the last two years, many initiatives were founded and launched by Canadian groups in ophthalmology (COSIG) and neurosurgery (CAMSIGN) that aim to unite medical students interested in particular subspecialties.

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“…neuroanatomy sessions, annual meetings, and the Virtual Introductory Summer Course in Ophthalmology) to diversity training (with CAMSIGN's Women in Neurosurgery series and COSIG's Canadian Ophthalmology Mentorship Program). 8,9 These initiatives have been shown to benefit students by providing a greater sense of connection through events and programs. 6 While subcommittees of the Canadian Urology Association (CUA) provide high-quality undergraduate medical education curriculum in urology, organize national conferences wherein medical students can participate, and advocate for equity diversity and inclusivity within urology, the success of COSIG and CAMSIGN highlight the value in trainee-led initiatives for undergraduate trainees.…”