Choosing the right specialty is not an easy task for physicians. Consulting on your career provides a different perspective on this difficult task and will facilitate the decision-making process. 

The purpose of this committee is to organize career-oriented events and guide physicians, instructors, junior faculty, postdocs, Ph.D. students working in KUSOM, Koç University Hospital, and KUTTAM on their career choices through group activities and individual one-on-one guidance.
The committee also plans to support mentorship expertise of KUSOM faculty interested in developing their mentorship skills.

The members of CGFA are full-time faculty members of KUSOM with different educational backgrounds from various international programs who are individually dedicated to guiding physicians on their career paths through mentorship.

The members of the committee are chosen by the Dean of KUSOM. Committee Head and Members are full-time faculty staff of KUSOM. They are chosen for a 3-year period, which then can be extended by the Dean. 

The committee’s methods include consultation sessions with committee members or other KU faculty; one-on-one meetings with specific specialists; seminars with experts or experienced staff; group activities.

The committee works in collaboration with the Career Events Club for the School of Medicine (KUKET), the KU Career Development Center and the Postgraduate Clinical Training Committee (PCTC).

CGFA is dedicated to CURRENT physicians, instructors, junior faculty, postdocs, Ph.D. students working in KUSOM, Koç University Hospital, and KUTTAM.

We can advise you to explore who you are and what you want in your life, and then identify the career options that will support your goals.

We have a standard application form that starts with the questions to get your identity and class year. The second part contains five questions to assess the needs of your application. The sample questions are as follows: 

• Which issue would be of specific interest to you regarding your medical career? 
• Do you have a current decision on your postgraduate career path? 

While answering these questions, you could have a chance to think broadly for your needs and background development during your education period. 

Application form can be easily reached through our website. The most important part is to fill the form completely so that we can have more information about you and guide you according to your needs. When the filled form is sent via email, all the members of the committee will be available for your application. We will contact you as soon as possible. 

Click the link below the questions! 

The members of the committee will process and evaluate the application at first sight.  We will be contacting you in 5-7 work days. 

You can have an initial -10 minutes- meeting with the assigned member of the committee to define your needs. The timing of your dedicated meeting with the recommended mentor could take up to 2-3 weeks depending on the availability of their academic calendar. 

A team of two specific faculty members of the CGFA will conduct the meeting. 

There is an option to state a particular person you would like to contact for mentorship in our application form. While CGFA cannot guarantee the presence of the person you name, an effort will be made to invite him/her if convenient for the said faculty.  

Meetings are scheduled at least a week before. We prefer face-to-face meetings but when necessary and available secure online platforms (such as cisco, zoom, etc.) are also can be used. Phone calls are not accepted. 

CGFA members use a “coaching” perspective in guided consultations. This method is designed to: 

• Help the applicant discover career objectives 
• Identify personal criteria to handle future career decisions 
• Encourage self-awareness about values, interests, strengths and weaknesses 

The first part of the meeting will be dedicated to open-ended questions concerning the mentee’s personal qualities, professional goals, approach to career alternatives and familiarity with career development tools.  

The attending faculty will then analyze your responses to build immediate and delayed feedback on your career strategy. Please keep in mind that this session does not intend to provide a ready-made career formula, nor does it suggest an absolute next step to be taken. Be sure to check “What should I NOT expect from this meeting?” below. 

The CGFA feedbacks are constituted from the information you provide during the application and the answers during the meeting. Verbal feedbacks are given immediately at the end of the meeting.  

Do not forget that our recommendations are only suggestions, are subjective and aims to support you to form your own unique decisions. There is no single career path for a physician and there isn’t a single “best” or “worse” option. Every choice has its pros and cons.  

After the meeting, we will send a short questionnaire to obtain your feedback on the meeting. Your feedback is valuable to improve the quality of the assistance we provide. We will never ask for your final decision after the meeting, observe and record your later career. 

We will not,  

• Provide information on the working conditions of different countries or hospitals. 
• Provide any assistance on finding PhD, Post-doc positions in different countries or institutions. 
• Make choices on country or hospital on behalf of you.
• Comment on a specific individual that you are willing to work together or suggest a specific person work with. 

Written consent will be requested before the meeting. Attending two committee members will take notes but these are to be used during the meeting only, not for reporting. There will be no video or audio recording. The confidentiality of this meeting is strictly protected! We will securely store the written data until your graduation. 

There isn’t any regular reporting procedure on these meetings. The stored data will be reported to the Dean’s Office if only specifically asked (the committee is directly responsible to the Dean), or the committee believes not reporting may cause harm to you.