Leapfrog, an organization that tracks hospitals’ safety records, has given UCSD top honors for having the best teaching hospital in the nation. Information about UCSD School of Medicine can be found here.
–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consultant
Photo courtesy of the New York Times
Does studying art enhance your observation skills as a physician, thereby allowing you to pick up subtle signs of illness? In recent years, there has been a general acknowledgment that studying art–and fine-tuning the art of seeing–helps medical students hone their skills. More medical schools are incorporating gallery visits and art classes into their curricula in an effort to sharpen students’ observational acuity. Arts Practica was founded by Alexa Miller to help medical professionals gain more skill in what they see. Arts Practica offers training programs, gallery visits, and classes which encourage med students to “learn to see.” An article in the New York Times describes a forum that took place at the Museum of Modern Art which convened educators and doctors to discuss teaching strategies in programs melding art with medical education. An additional article in the Times describes “What Doctors Can Learn From Looking at Art.” A study which found that studying the arts and humanities in medical school promotes empathy was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine and referenced in an article on incorporating the arts into medical education. In addition, a study was done at Columbia and Cornell to assess the effect of an observational art course on medical students’ ability to reflect, tolerate ambiguity, and other traits.
More medical schools are adding an arts component to their curriculum, and some examples are below:
Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech
The Multiple Mini Interview format is spreading rapidly among US medical schools. Here is a list of MD schools using MMI in the 2018-2019 application cycle:
For information about how to best prepare for the MMI, please refer to a previous blog post here or contact me to do a mock MMI session. Good luck!
–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting
The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown has made changes to its curriculum to help medical students prepare to treat LGBTQ+ patients. The school has also added a scholarly concentration in LGBTQ+ Healthcare and Advocacy.
A Stanford study showed that most medical schools do not incorporate enough content to prepare medical students adequately to care for patients who identify as LGBTQ+. More on Stanford’s leadership in this area can be found here.
–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admission Consultant
Stony Brook University School of Medicine has changed its name to Renaissance due to the longstanding support it has received from Renaissance Technologies. This seems to be a trend amongst medical schools, many of which have changed their names in recent years out of deference to benefactors. This includes Brown, Penn, Mt. Sinai, and many others, as described in a New York Times article from 2015.
–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consultant
Oklahoma State plans to expand its osteopathic school to another location with a focus on expanding the supply of physicians in rural locations of the state, specifically to serve the needs of Native Americans. Specifics can be found here.
–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consultant
Thomas Jefferson University and its Sidney Kimmel Medical College have announced that they are partnering with Italy to create a first-of-its-kind medical degree that will allow graduates to practice medicine in either the United States or the European Union.
–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting
The MCAT system has changed such that registrants will be notified via email if a date becomes available. You must register to be notified when a space becomes available in your preferred location on a specific date. Previously, registrants had to continually check the system to see if a spot opened up. The space will not be held for you since others will be notified concurrently—but this is an improvement over having to check the system for vacancies. The MCAT Notification Appointment Request system will be a big help to applicants.
–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting
The University of Massachusetts has received a $7.9 million NIH grant for its business incubator, M2D2, to develop new medical devices/technologies for those suffering from blood, lung, heart, and sleep disorders. General information about UMass medical school can be found here.
Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consultant
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine has received a gift of $200 million, the largest in its history. The gift is intended to expand scholarships for Mayo’s medical students, enhance innovations in the curriculum, and provide an endowment for a professorship. As a result of the gift, Mayo’s name is changing to that of the benefactor, Jay Alix; Mayo will now be known as the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine.
