Networking – the buzzword for making contact with people and exchanging information, ideally to the mutual benefit of everyone – is not something you sign up for. Rather, it is an effort and a state of mind. Networking occurs anytime you meet someone in your the medical profession or education, when you write a letter to a potential helper whose name you've found in your high school or college alumni, when someone picks up the phone to tell you of their experience in a USMLE review, and any other time someone advances your knowledge and career in any way.

How you behave when networking is important as the effort in itself. The smart networker respects the opinions and time of others, helps other people as much as he is helped and establishes rapport long before asking a favor or even offering a paid medical consultation. A bad network is a name-dropper who brags about his connections and comes across as being more concerned about what can be done for him than what he can do for someone else. Is it so hard to guess which of the two has a greater chance of helping you succeed in your medical career? If you look at the business aspect of being a physician, you need a vast network to build a name; and you need to start working on that network even during your USMLE review sessions.

Start creating your network by making a list of people you know well, anyone you admire professionally, and any you'd like to meet. Cast a wide net, using all of your connections – professional, academic, familial, and social, right down to the local librarian. Then narrow the list to the following:

1. People whom you know would be glad to help you

2. People who might be interested in your search and be willing to make an introduction

3. People who may not help you directly but may hear of a medical residency training or a free crash course on USMLE basics

Remember that you don't have to limit yourself to friends and acquaintances. Try to contact by telephone someone who has been successful in the field of medical profession. Almost any connection – attendance at the same high school or college, a mutual friend, or a shared professional or cultural interest – can be used as a springboard for introductions.

Many people will feel some obligation to help someone from their former school and obtaining your high school or college alumni list is one way of finding them. Scan the list for people whose chosen education or parents are within the medical profession. If notations in the list don't include occupations, look up alumni in the city where you live. A friendly call to ask someone if he or she knows of a school chum who works in related medical field of choice may well lead to the right person. Another good source is the database of a social or service organization to which you belonged in high school and medical school.