To Be...A Spartan MD

The College of Human Medicine (CHM) Office of Admissions used Facebook Live to hold the department's first stream this week. Admissions staff used the live broadcast to connect with potential applicants and thoroughly discuss the medical school application process, from A to Z. Elizabeth Lyons, Admissions Counselor, detailed the different phases of the application and also offered tips and advice for students who may potentially apply to medical school. Along with providing that overview, Elizabeth also talked about factors that make applicants competitive and traits that sit well with the College of Human Medicine, in particular. Joined by Francisco Velazquez, Communications Coordinator, the staff members also facilitated a quick Q&A. The Office of Admissions had asked Facebook and Twitter followers to submit questions for a week prior to the stream. The team also announced that they will be going "live" again in the new year. Follow the Office of Admissio...

The College of Human Medicine (CHM) Office of Admissions is hosting a Facebook Live stream on Wednesday, December 7th from 7pm-8pm (EST). Representatives from the admissions office will be on hand to discuss the college and selection factors, while also offering admissions tips and a Q&A. Staff will answer questions directly from personal submissions. Followers can submit questions any time prior to the stream via our Facebook page , Twitter page , or through email . Viewers tuning in during the event will be able to post additional questions and comments on the stream's comment section. What is Facebook Live? Facebook Live is a streaming service on the social media platform that allows users to broadcast live video to their news feed. How can you participate? Simply "Like" and follow our Facebook page . Send us your questions and tune in on Wednesday! Once the broadcast has ended, followers can view the recording on our page. Interested in applying t...

The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (CHM) received the Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service . The award was presented by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) on Nov. 13th in Seattle at their annual Learn Serve Lead meeting. The AAMC honored the community-based medical school for outstanding contributions to medicine and community service. In particular, the AAMC acknowledged CHM's efforts to improve health in Flint as well as in rural communities across the state. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha—pediatrician and assistant professor—exposed lead poisoning in Flint College of Human Medicine staff played an integral part in exposing toxic levels of lead in Flint’s water supply. Subsequent measures by CHM to aid local communities have also been carried out in maintaining the college’s public health–focused initiatives. Partnering with the Flint community also led way to the Pediatric Public Health Initiative , a collaboration ...

Approximately 60-80 hours per week. That’s an average of how much time a medical student spends studying. I remember first hearing this at orientation and thinking there was no way that could be possible. Now having one year of medical school under my belt, I learned how accurate that statement truly was. Between classes and clinical training sessions, the 60-80 hours a week flew by. I was trying to absorb all the new information and become the clinician I always wanted to be. Moving from my first year into my second, I found myself hitting a wall when it came to school. Spending time reading about different drugs and diseases felt disconnected from the patient-physician experience. It was becoming harder and harder to get up early for a long day of studying. With domain exams every 2-5 weeks and Step 1 on the horizon, I didn’t have time to waste. I needed to reignite the spark that first got me interested in medicine. I found that getting involved with the community was one...

The medical school application cycle follows a process that is made up of several different phases. Now that applicants are submitting secondary applications from individual schools, we've transitioned into the interview phase. The medical school interview season for most medical schools across the nation generally runs from September to March, give or take. Now full steam ahead into interviews, each school has begun the process of hosting hundreds of applicants. While this portion of the process is where colleges really get to gauge who they believe are the best fit for their school before making final decisions, applicants are also served an opportunity to get a better feel for where they will possibly train for the next four-plus years. During interview season at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (CHM), applicants do multiple mini interviews (MMI)​ with various people connected to the medical. Beyond the MMI, prospective students are also paired w...

The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (CHM) has announced a new Rural Community Health Program (R-CHP) partnership with Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital . Ludington, on the northwest coast of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, becomes the sixth Rural Community Health Program site. Partnered with hospitals across northern and mid-Michigan, the program is designed to provide students with enriched clinical experiences, rural public health leadership opportunities, and small town lifestyle experiences that will encourage alumni to establish practices in Michigan's rural communities. Rural communities participating in the R-CHP program have been selected based on exemplary educational and clinical opportunities within each community. Once selected for the Rural Community Health Program, MSU’s medical students will spend up to six months at the hospital learning clinical skills and gaining experience with the varied roles of a rural physician. “We have t...

Much like our beginnings , the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (CHM) is again rethinking and reshaping the medical school experience.  Change, in the best interest of our students and communities, has been a challenge CHM proudly embraces time and again. In the early 1960s, reports had demonstrated the need for a medical school in Michigan focused specifically on serving the state's population through direct involvement in community health care. That was the foundation for the College of Human Medicine to become the nation's pioneer community-based medical school in 1964. A formal philosophy of enabling clinical training within community hospitals materialized. CHM also went on to develop "focal problems," a precursor of Problem-Based Learning (PBL). The college is the first to have a medical ethics unit as well as the first to offer a bio-psycho-social model of curriculum. Since its creation, in fact, the college's curriculum h...

It doesn't take a philosophy major to understand that change is constant. Some changes are serious and life-altering; others, not so much. In the world of science, new discoveries and knowledge add foundational context from which the future of medicine must learn to incorporate and adapt.  Higher education communities have raised concerns about whether or not premedical curricula have kept up with these changes; what seemed to work yesterday may not be what works tomorrow . Many medical experts agree that an undergraduate education should not be geared towards only getting students into medical school; instead, these years should be dedicated to creativity within an intellectually stimulating liberal arts education. Congruent with this mindset is the concept that prerequisites (or for that matter any scripted course of undergraduate study) should not be so overwhelming that the applicant seems pressured to emphasize (major in) science in lieu of other academically rigorous...

Letters of evaluation are an important part of the ACMAS application and thus, the med school admissions process. Per the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) , "A recommendation letter or letter of evaluation is a letter in which the author assesses the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the person being recommended/evaluated." Admissions committees can learn a lot about an applicant beyond their metrics. Effective letters offer professional perspectives on an applicant's many diverse attributes and personal qualities. Truth is, the majority of medical school applicants from year to year have competitive grades and scores, so letters give insight into each individual's unique strengths and experiences. In addition, letters of evaluation can highlight one's commitment to medicine through their service, research, and academic pursuits. Also helpful is the fact that other health professionals, academics, and/or mentors can vouch for...

The MSU College of Human Medicine (CHM) hosts a number of special programs for students with a variety of ambitions. This fall, CHM will also give students the option to pursue a new certification. The Medical Partners in Public Health Certificate is an option for College of Human Medicine students to gain clinical training in underserved community settings, with an emphasis on clinically relevant population level prevention and wellness. Physician graduates of the MD-PH program will be able to apply public health principles as well as evidence and theory to better understand how to improve the health and well-being of their patients and the communities to which they belong. This certificate complements the public health content in the CHM curriculum , enhancing the training with formal knowledge and skill in the core public health disciplines of epidemiology, biostatistics, health behavior and health education, public policy and administration and environmental health. In...

It's graduation week for our seniors! But before the students put on their caps and gowns, the newest crop of Spartan M.D.'s are busy preparing for the next portion of their lives—residency. The results of the 2016 residency match process are in for the MSU College of Human Medicine (CHM) graduating class. The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) reported results for CHM, which included early, advanced, and military matches. As tradition, fourth-year students were joined by family and friends on "Match Day" across our community campus es to celebrate and learn where they matched . The NRMP or, "The Match," places applicants for postgraduate medical training positions into residency programs at teaching hospitals throughout the United States. The NRMP is a private, non-profit organization established at the request of medical students to provide an orderly and fair mechanism for matching the preferences of applicants for U.S. residency pos...

The summer before I started medical school at the College of Human Medicine (CHM), I often wondered what I was getting myself into. What will med school be like? What will I learn? Will I be able to keep up? Would I still have a life? Will I embarrass myself in front of a bunch of medical professionals? What don’t I know that I need to know? With (almost) two years of medical school down, I would tell all those who are about to matriculate (along with my past-self) to calm down. Relax. You will learn all that you need to know when you need to know it. You will be able to keep up. It may be hard, but it’s doable. Sure, it can be draining at times, but med school is still incredibly rewarding. You will be pushed, but you will grow. So before you begin classes, the biggest thing you can do before starting med school is prepare while simply enjoying the process. Here are five pieces of advice to help make the transition to med school a bit easier. Relax and enjoy your last s...

For most medical schools across the country, the current cycle interview period has come to a close. The next incoming class is starting to take shape and, unfortunately, that means some applicants must deal with rejections. Here are some steps to take so that you may alleviate the disappointment and use the time going forward on strengthening your application for the next cycle. Acknowledgement In medical school admissions, rejection is just part of the process . In fact, being rejected is pretty common. Tens of thousands submit applications each year for an increasingly limited number of seats. The competition is stiff, with the vast majority of U.S. medical schools offering less than 200 open slots per incoming class. Less than 40% of applicants in the prior cycle matriculated, according to data from the American Association of Medical Colleges . While rejection can be disheartening, it's important to come to terms with the circumstance quickly. Don't allow the...

The MSU College of Human Medicine (CHM) Office of Admissions is hosting a virtual chat this Thursday, March 3rd from 4pm to 7pm EST. This online discussion supplements our participation in the AAMC Medical School Virtual Fair, held by the American Association of Medical Colleges this past February. Students can register for the chat at the Virtual Fair webpage —instructions will follow upon registration. Those who already registered for last month's event need only log back in and join us on our dedicated page. Admissions representatives will be joined by several current students, who will all be on hand to take questions on the admissions process, premedical requirements, application tips, special programs, student life, and everything in between. Registrants will also find several videos on our page that offer a deeper look into life at CHM, starting with a word of welcome from Dr. Joel Maurer, Associate Dean for Admissions. The Office of Admissions' continued eff...