What Should I Be Doing as a Senior Medical Student Interested in Toxicology?
Participate in interest groups and seek out leadership positions in emergency medicine (EM), toxicology, and critical care. Seek out other toxicology-interested students or residents and participate in talks held by interest groups and in your medical school curriculum. If an EM or toxicology interest group is not available, consider starting your own or getting involved in national groups like the SAEM Toxicology interest group.
Work hard in your EM rotation, advanced EM rotation or sub-internship, and any away EM rotations. If your medical school does not have an EM rotation, seek out at least one away rotation. It is most important to make yourself the best EM applicant you can be.
Inquire about toxicology electives available at your medical school. If a toxicologist and/or toxicology resources are not available to you at this stage, do not fret - focus on boosting your resume as much as you can.
Make sure to find at least one EM mentor at your institution. A mentor who is a board-certified toxicologist is an added bonus, but not all institutions have a toxicologist on staff.
Shadow your mentors! If your institution is not a toxicology hub, ask a mentor for guidance on reaching out to potential mentors outside your institution for guidance and shadowing experience.
Seek out toxicology research opportunities if available.
