Medical Degree Program Admissions Application Criteria & Process Admission Requirements How to Apply FAQs Transfer Policy & Procedures Contact Us Curriculum Electives Student Support Career Advising Career advising and support are of the utmost importance to the UC Irvine School of Medicine. As students transition into medical school, they are assigned a career advisor who will provide support as they maneuver through the various major milestones within medical education. Home Education Medical Education Medical Degree Program MD Programs Career Advising Expert Guidance Our medical school has an effective career advising system in place that integrates the efforts of faculty members, clerkship directors and student affairs staff to assist medical students in choosing elective courses, evaluating career options and applying to residency programs. Careers in Medicine Careers in Medicine is a program developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges provides a package of online and live interactive resources to assist medical students define their career pathway. It includes elements that help students identify areas of personal interest and strength and pair those interests to characteristics of various medical and surgical specialties. Suggestions are provided for exploration of clinical specialties, and guidelines that assist with residency application, personal statement preparation, and interview preparation are reviewed. Career Advising Program The UC Irvine School of Medicine offers a wide range of experiences and opportunities for career exploration and advising throughout medical school. Through class sessions, specialty talks, workshops, specialty and upperclassman panels, individualized advising meetings and other professional development activities, the Career Advising program provides students with the guidance, mentorship and resources needed to thoughtfully explore specialties and successfully navigate the next stages of their medical careers. Career Advisor Assignment and Individual Career Advising Meetings Every student is assigned a career advisor upon matriculation into medical school. All students have individual meetings with their assigned career advisor throughout medical school as they approach various milestones. These meetings are intended to assist students as they maneuver through the MD curriculum and provide opportunities for students to share their goals, expectations, as well as challenges and concerns throughout medical school. Specialty Advising The UC Irvine School of Medicine Specialty Advising program connects students with dedicated faculty specialty advisors across a wide range of medical and surgical specialties. These advisors provide individualized guidance for students exploring career options and preparing for residency applications within their chosen field. In addition to one-on-one mentorship, specialty advisors collaborate to provide specialty-specific recommendations, timelines and application guidance for students at all stages of medical school. This centralized advising information is reviewed and updated annually to ensure students have access to current insights on how to build competitive residency applications. During the clinical years, specialty advisors also work closely with third-year students on all aspects of the residency application process, including application review, specialty competitiveness, program selection, interview preparation and rank list guidance. Student Interest Groups Student interest groups at the UC Irvine School of Medicine work closely with clinical departments and faculty to provide students with specialty-specific opportunities and networking. Through meetings, workshops, panels and other events, interest groups help students learn more about different career paths while fostering meaningful connections between students, residents and faculty mentors. Depending on the specialty, interest groups may also help connect students with opportunities for mentorship, shadowing, research involvement, leadership opportunities and community or volunteer engagement. Transition to Residency - Information Workshops Multiple important workshops are held throughout the four years to assist and support students through the process of preparing for the clinical years, planning a fourth year schedule, applying to away rotations, writing CV’s and personal statements, obtaining letters of recommendation, ERAS/ResidencyCAS, the San Francisco Match (Ophthalmology) and early matches in military programs and Urology, residency application, preparing for interviews and formulating rank lists. Students will be provided with pertinent slides, handouts and all workshops will be taped. In addition to these informational workshops, students are supported in this process by their individual career advisors and specialty advisors. All fourth-year course schedules must be approved by the career advisor prior to submission to the scheduling coordinator. Medical Student Performance Evaluation (Dean's Letter) Preparation During spring quarter of the third year, students are provided a workshop that details the content and format of their Medical Student Performance Evaluation (Dean’s Letter) and provides guidance to soliciting letters of recommendation. Each student’s personal career advisor will assist with writing the Noteworthy Characteristics section of the MSPE. All fourth-year students will then meet individually with career advisors during the summer quarter. During this meeting, the student will review the MSPE and make final edits. This meeting also provides additional time to discuss residency application strategy. Our Team Megan Boysen Osborn, MD, MHPE Senior Associate Dean, Students Co-Director, Multimedia Design and Educational Technologies Fellowship Vice Chair for Education Professor, Emergency Medicine Career Advisor Megan Boysen Osborn is an emergency physician and senior associate dean for students. She went to medical school and completed her emergency medicine residency at UC Irvine (zot, zot!). She went to Stanford University for an academic fellowship and the University of Illinois, Chicago for a Master’s in Health Professions Education. Osborn is a former EM residency director and has previously served as the chair of the Promotions and Honors committee. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family; play volleyball, golf, and tennis; and see live music. Nancy Guirguis, EdD, MSW Assistant Dean, Student Affairs Director, Student Support Career Advisor Nancy Guirguis serves as an assistant dean of student affairs and the director of student support at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. She completed her BA in psych and social behavior here at UC Irvine (zot, zot!) and went on to complete her master’s degree in social work and doctorate in education at the University of Southern California. Guirguis worked at USC after completing her graduate studies, but she is SO happy to be back at UC I,rvine working with the amazing students here at the School of Medicine. Her primary focus (and favorite thing) in Med Ed is having the opportunity to interact and know the student body well through wellness programming, career advising and student engagement activities! Outside of work, she loves staying active and spending time with family, friends and pups. She is looking forward to working with you all throughout this very exciting and undoubtedly memorable journey! Kristin Lewis, MD Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine Lead Career Advisor Kristin Lewis is a UCI Health emergency medicine physician. She went to medical school at UCSF and completed her emergency medicine residency at the University of Chicago. Before medical school, she was a full-time lecturer at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and continued to pursue her passion for education and teaching by completing a fellowship in Multimedia Design Education Technology (MDEdTech) at UCI. Outside of medicine, Lewis loves spending time with family, going to baseball games (Go Giants!), taking a yoga class and going to Disneyland! Daniel J. Munley, MD Assistant Professor, Medicine Career Advisor Daniel J. Munley is a board-certified UCI Health internist who specializes in primary care for adults. His clinical interests include education within internal medicine, novel treatments for diabetes and obesity medicine. He earned his medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska and then completed a residency in internal medicine at Banner-University Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, where he served as chief resident. He also holds a master's degree in medical physiology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. As a medical student, Munley traveled to India, where he provided healthcare for the children of migrant workers in Pune and worked at a clinic for tuberculosis and leprosy patients in West Bengal. Closer to home, he provided primary care and sexual health services at a homeless shelter in north Omaha. He is originally from Washington, DC. Munley sees patients in Orange. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking in national parks and playing acoustic guitar. Kyle Paredes, MD, MBA Assistant Dean, Student Affairs Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care Career Advisor Kyle Paredes is the assistant dean for student affairs, the director of the MD/MBA program and an anesthesiologist. He graduated from Brigham Young University before going to UCSF for medical school. Paredes did his residency training and MBA degree here at UCI (Zot, Zot!) and has stayed on as faculty since 2015. As a first-generation and underrepresented medicine physician, he is passionate about advising and mentoring students. Outside of medicine, he loves to cook, bake, listen to music, play with his kids and travel. Valery Vilchez Parra, MD Assistant Professor, Surgery Career Advisor Valery C. Vilchez Parra is a UCI Health surgeon specializing in laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgical techniques to treat diseases of the colon and rectum. She earned her medical degree from the University of Zulia Faculty of Medicine in Maracaibo, Venezuela. She completed her residency in general surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, followed by fellowship training in colon and rectal surgery at UCI School of Medicine. Vilchez’s clinical and research interests include a multidisciplinary approach to the treatments of recurrent and advanced colon and rectal cancers, complex redo inflammatory bowel disease conditions, pelvic floor disorders and anorectal disease. She is the author and co-author of more than a dozen peer-reviewed research papers in prominent medical journals. Also fluent in Spanish, she advocates for diversity and inclusion in medicine, global health and equity in healthcare. More recently, Vlichez served as a co-director of the Summer Healthcare Program (SHE program) within UCI and is a proud career advisor for the School of Medicine. Kenneth Shortt, MD Assistant Clinical Professor — Division of Hospital Medicine & Palliative Medicine, Medicine Career Advisor Kenneth Shortt is an academic internal medicine physician at UC Irvine, who supports medical student and resident education. Before joining UC Irvine, he worked as a private practice hospitalist. He is interested in early professional development and helping guide others through the beginning stages of their medical careers.