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Personal and academic background
Discuss background
and any needs that might have an impact on their medical educational
experience
- educational
background, strength of preparation for medical school
-
research or work background previous to medical school
-
special interests or needs
-
special logistics,demands, or family responsibilities
-
transportation/housing issues
-
personal interests, skills,
movitation
-
values;
goals
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Strategies for
Academic Success
Emphasize
need for continuing committment to:
- time
management
- developing
appropriate study habits
- balanced
lifestyle: diet, exercise, and stress management
- time
for family, friends, and recreation.
- importance
of a support group, building community
- student
organizations
- value
of volunteerism for support and, networking
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Personal Development
Encourage students not to neglect the personal aspects
of their professional development during medical school
- ask
about long term personal goals
- explore
how these fit into their personal values.
- encourage
opportunities to develop leadership skills
- encourage
development of interpersonal and communications skills: presentation
skills, writing, interviewing
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Review/clarify
COM policies and curriculum, as needed
A myriad of policies and procedures govern the life
of the University, the College of Medicine, and the Office of Student
Affairs.
- students
are responsible for familiarizing themselves with all University,
College of Medicine, Chicago Site, and Office of Student Affairs
policies, procedures, and revisions.
- policy information
is shared with Students through the Policy section of the OSA
website, at class orientations, by faculty and staff advisors,
and through the UGME Newsletter, Rapid Pulse.
- questions
about policies or procedures should be directed to faculty, staff,
or the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.
- students
who feel that their situation does not fit established policies,
and can present compelling and unusual circumstances, may petition
for an exception on a case-by-case basis
- requests
for changes in policy or procedure can also be presented to student
leaders for peer advocacy within the college.
College of Medicine
Curriculum
College of Medicine Curriculum is governed by faculty
committee. See Curriculum section of site for details.
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Registration Responsibilities
Registration is the responsibility of each medical
student. Failure to comply with registration guidelines can result
in serious consequences. The most important facts to remember about
registration are
- registration
is a required official UIC activity;
- registration
is a separate process from the COM scheduling process;
- each student
is personally responsible to manage their UIC registration;
- registration
must be done each and every semester a student is enrolled;
- failure
to register means you cannot take exams and will not receive credit.
The College
of Medicine maintains a COM Registrar's Office to advise and guide
Students in this process, but each student is responsible for his/her
actual registration through the
UIC Office of Registration and Records.
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Career Interests
Discuss early expectations or constraints. Explore
the importance of building a "competitive position" for the residency
selection process, especially for those students interested in the
traditionally competitive specialties. Encourage students to log on
to AAMC
Careers in Medicine and
create a confidential personal profile.
- review the
importance of a strong academic record
- role of USMLE
scores
- value of
research, publications, awards and prizes
- electives,
International opportunities
- leadership
skills, volunteer experience.
- Graduate
assistantships, the ISP Program, the MD/PhD Program
- scholarship
opportunities
Discuss upcoming
specialty selection process
- review sources
of specialty information FRIEDA
- discuss the
role of self-assessment in this process; need to identify values,
skills, and interests to narrow the range of specialties under
consideration
- review the
decision making process; identify decision making skills
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OSA Career Workshops
Encourage
students to log on to AAMC Careers in Medicine, create a confidential personal profile, and to participate in workshops offered by the Office of Student Affairs and Specialty Interest Groups.
Review
resources available throughout four years. Emphasize
the importance of early self-assessment in the career planning process
- encourage
students to take advantage of the cycle Career Planning Workshops: workshops offered by the Office
of Student Affairs
- discuss
workshop experience and outcomes.
Critical
Factors
The
importance of each of the following critical factors will help narrow
the range of specialties to consider. See AAMC
Careers in Medicine
- Patient
Characteristics
- Types
of Illnesses
- Autonomy
- Caring
for Patients
- Continuity
of Care
- Diversity
of Work
- Family
and Leisure Time
- Focus
of Expertise
- Income
- Innovative
Thinking
- Intellectual
Content
- Interaction
with other Physicians
- Manual/Mechanical
Activities
- Pressure
- Responsibility
- Schedule
- Security
- Sense
of Accomplishment
- Status
Among Colleagues
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United States
Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE)
Review COM policies governing the USMLE (look
under Policies section)
- to
be promoted to the M-3 year and begin clerkships, students must
pass the USMLE: Step 1 exam, which covers the basic science disciplines
studied during the first two years of medical school
- USMLE
Step I scores are a critical component of all residency applications
- students
with interests in "competitive programs" should prepare for these
exams with care as their scores will often determine whether they
even get an interview.
- assistance
in preparation for USMLE exams
- tips from
Nancy Nolan, M1/M2 Staff Advisor on scheduling
USMLE Step I
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Preparing for
Clinical experiences
Entering the wards and becoming part of a healthcare
team requires a shift in dress and behavior. Review UICCOM expectations
for professionalism in clinical settings (see OSA procedures under
Policy section).
- professional
grooming, dress, and behavior at all times;
- complying
with health and safety requirements;
- appropriate
use of hospital property, especially scrubs
- understanding
and adjusting to etiquette and culture of each ward;
- taking care
in all communications with patients, staff, and family
- observing
confidentiallity of patient disclosures and records
- managing
the personal and ethical issues that may arise;
- time management
(reading requirements; studying for clerkship exams).
Clerkships are
an important opportunity to evaluate personal career interests
- observe
the culture in each clinical setting:
- what do
you like or dislike about each specialty or setting
- learn what
residents and attendings like and dislike
- sift/compare
experiences and observations separate out what is personal or
site specific, and what is representative of the specialty
- evaluate
whether each specialty might be a potential career fit
- check out
AAMC Frieda workforce information and statistics for each specialty
at http://www.ama-assn.org/frieda
- See career
section of this site for a List of Questions to ask during rotations
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Scheduling Strategies
for M-3 Clerkships
- options for
sequence and selection of clerkships;
- value of
away rotations to check out residency interests;
- value of
electives in areas of specialty interest;
- Need to identify
faculty for recommendations for residency applications
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