About Advising

ABOUT ADVISING
The Dean's Goals for an Advising Program

• Improved academic performance for students at all achievement levels
  

• Improved career development; successful residency placements

• Increased student satisfaction and participation in the life of the college

• Strong networks of collaboration and support between students, faculty and staff
  

The COM Advising Program is designed to be a flexible means to serve each student's unique needs. In the course of a journey to medical school, each student benefited from the support, encouragement, and good counsel of family, friends, teachers, family physicians, and other professionals. This personal team will continue to be valued resource during medical school, and will expand to include:

• College of Medicine faculty advisors who will provide invaluable resources for professional, personal and career advising;
  
  
• Office of Student Affairs staff advisors who will provide personal and career advising and direct students to campus resources;
  
  
• Other College of Medicine staff who will provide key information and/or procedures on topics such as registation, financial aid, and special programs;
  
  
• College of Medicine classmates who will provide a wealth of peer advice and support; and
  
  
• Student Organizations which provide a wealth of support and resources on a variety of subjects, such as specialties and interest groups, study strategies and tutoring through the ASN Academic Support Network

Reasons to Meet with Your Faculty and OSA Staff Advisors

• Opportunity to discuss your interests and concerns and get feedback
• Review and support for your progress towards your academic goals
• Explore, evaluate and clarify your career goals at this point in time
• Strategic planning for competitive residencies (research required, etc.)
• Clarify University or College policies and procedures
• Personal advocacy within the University and College
• Professional advocacy: references, referrals, research opportunities, awards, scholarships, and letters of recommendation.
  

Frequency of Meetings
Students and faculty may meet as frequently as they wish, and are strongly encouraged to do so, but a minimum of three meetings each academic year are required in conjuction with grade results in:

• Fall
• Winter
• Spring

To make the best use of limited faculty time, students are urged to come with a list of topics or concerns they wish to address. See lists of suggested topics for each year are listed on this site.

• The pace and pressure of the curriculum can be very difficult for first year students, enlist faculty advisors early in sorting out workable strategies for managing possible stress.
• Students experiencing illness or pressing family circumstances are encouraged to talk with their advisors early, while multiple options are available.
  
• UIC Faculty is a key career planning resource, so cultivate a relationship early for advice and contacts as you sort out your career interests.
• Note that students interested in "competitive specialties" should discuss career strategies with their advisor within the first year of medical school.
• Students are not limited to one advisor, ask your advisor to identify faculty with specific expertise or contacts.

Reporting on meetings
Both student and faculty member are asked to provide feedback to the Office of Student Affairs on these meetings through the meeting confirmation form which is designed to encourage both student and faculty to identify goals and to monitor progress towards those goals. Form available in OSA or on-line on this site under Forms.

Maintaining Contact
Both student and faculty are responsible for maintaining regular contact and observing appropriate professional courtesies in their relationship. If either partner experiences difficulties, please contact Doreena Durbin (312-996-2450) in the Office of Student Affairs for assistance.

Changing Advisors
Students may change advisors for any reason, and faculty may request that a student be assigned to another advisor. These arrangements may be made directly and reported to the Office of Student Affairs using the Match/Switch Form or by contacting Doreena Durbin (312-996-2450) for assistance.

When Problems Arise
When academic or personal problems arise, the pressures of medical school can seem overwhelming, especially for first-year students. Illness, family crises, and other emergent problems can affect a student's performance on exams and should be brought to the immediate attention of Student Affairs staff. Early intervention is essential, given the pace and pressure of the curriculum. The deadline for first year students wishing to enter the Decompressed Program is the first Friday in December.
Campus resources available directly to students and faculty include:

• Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) for assistance with general learning strategies, time management, effective reading, memory, test anxiety, and stress management. Students are encouraged to use this valuable resource which is funded by student fees.
• Campus Counseling Center for confidential personal or group counseling by licensed professionals. Also funded by student fees.

If illness, family crises, or other emergent problems threaten satisfactory academic performance, several options may need to be considered in consultation with OSA deans.

• Leave of absence Both the timing and the length of a leave of absence require careful consideration, since the Student Advancement and Promotions Committees determine the conditions and timing of the student's return. See Policies section of site for details. Generally up to one year is possible upon approval of petition for one of the following reasons:
• education research
• personal or medical reasons
• to reconsider a career in medicine
  
• Withdrawal. Students in good standing with no outstanding course failures, who withdraw, may petition for readmission to the College Promotions Committee up to one year following withdrawal. See Policies section of site for details.

Faculty advisors of students in academic difficulty may be asked to play several roles:

• Students with significant academic difficulty may be mandated by the Promotions Committee to develop a study plan. Advisors may be asked to work with their student advisee to develop an appropriate plan, to sign off on the plan, and to monitor student progress. If a student is either called before the Promotions Committee or petitions Promotion Committee for a particular action, students will normally seek letters of support from the advisor.
• Students facing being dropped from the College of Medicine are given the opportunity to address the promotions committees (Student Advancement Committee and College Committee on Student Promotions) in person. Faculty advisors are asked to accompany the student to speak in support of the student.-

Faculty Advising Roles click here for text of a presentation by Norma E. Wagoner, Ph. D., Dean of Students at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine on ADVISING AS TEACHING at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at the Academy for Excellence in Teaching on April 18, 2001 in which she reflects on each of the following roles of a faculty advisor.

Professional Role Modeling
Clinical and Basic Science faculty provide students a glimpse into their profession, and can offer both inspiration and clarification about the choice of a professional life in a discipline.

Student Advocacy
Faculty serve as valuable resources in assisting students as they navigate the COM curriculum. They may be called upon to clarify policies and procedures; monitor academic progress; review exam results; advise on study skills/ time management; assist with remediation planning; appear on behalf of students at COM committees; offer advice on selecting electives; planning clerkship strategies;and pursuit of research opportunities.

Personal counseling
Faculty are critical in identifying student needs and providing providing the feedback and support necessary for academic success. They are asked to listen without judgment, support students in their self-assessment, to probe for problems, to monitor stress management, to provide a supportive environment for problem solving and decision making, and to provide referrals as needed.

Career guidance
All faculty can assist students in the process of self-assessment and clarification of personal goals which are essential to good career planning. Clinical faculty play a vital role in the specifics of specialty selection, residency application, and may be a source of letters of recommendation, and referrals

Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE)Letters
MSPELetters are prepared for each student by the Office of Student Affairs and consist of the following sections:

• brief personal background (hometown, family, hobbies)summary of undergraduate education, awards, and volunteer activities; work experience; graduate degrees.brief summary of preclinical experience (honors grades, breaks in academic progress, special programs, date of passing USMLE Step I)list of clerkships with final grades (as available) and facullty evaluationssummary of medical school volunteer activities, awards, etcsummary paragraphs about personal characteristics and learning style
• a final recommendation paragraph placing student in one of four "ranking" categories

During the summer, M-4 students complete an intake form with their background information. Clerkship grades are forwarded from the Registrar's Office and faculty evaluations on each clerkship are transcribed. Final Letters are assembled and and edited in OSA during the fall for electronic release for all medical students on November 1st.

Staff Advising Roles
Student Advocacy
Staff are available to help students navigate the UIC system, to identify needs, to provide feedback and support, and to refer students to campus resources. Staff in the various offices of Dean of The College of Medicine are trained to manage the myriad of essential processes on behalf of students: admissions; orientation; curriculum catalogs; registration; financial aid; testing; tutoring; counseling; scheduling electives and clerkships, etc. Students experiencing academic difficulty, for any reason, should be in contact with staff in the Office of Student Affairs for assistance in considering available options.

Personal counseling
Staff serve students by listening, assisting in problem solving, and by providing referrals as needed.

Career guidance
Student Affairs coordinates a variety of career workshops, luncheons, and seminars, maintain a career resource library, and offer feedback and career counseling.

Gatekeeping and coordination with external agencies
Staff monitor and coordinate a variety of processes vital to each medical student: medical licensing exams, electronic residency matching, awards processes, scholarships, etc.

Student-to-Student Advising Roles
College of Medicine Students are an important resource for peer-counseling, peer-advocacy, and peer-career advice. While, many of these networks of support may be informal, there are a variety of formal channels available to all students:

• Student-to-Student panels are offered, often in conjunction with Class Orientations, and are frequently accompanied by Student-to-Student Publications Tutoring through the ASN Academic Support Network Co-sponsored by AOA, CMSC, and OSA Student Government provides official channels of representation and advocacy Student Organizations provide opportunities to socialize, to provide volunteer service, to explore specialties, to celebrate cultural interests, etc.
• Student Leadership Forum provides opportunities for leadership development