To Be...A Spartan MD

While the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) has been a standard of the medical school admissions cycle, additional testing on top of academic metrics has more recently begun to show value as institutions aim to assess applicants more holistically and equitably.  To better provide care for patients in an ever-evolving health care industry, the next generation of doctors must understand far more than chemistry and human anatomy.  The College of Human Medicine began requiring in 2021 that all candidates take the Casper Test, an open-response situational judgment test administered online. Innovative responses to educational imperatives have been an important trait of the college, extending that spirit to the admissions office.  The college, for instance, was one of the initial medical schools in the U.S. to implement the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) as part of its interview process and has continued with the effort now for close to a decade. So, including a situation...

A special feature of content on the College of Human Medicine Office of Admissions website highlights an important partnership, as the college continues to seek beneficial collaborations and pathways to help guide students from disadvantaged, underserved populations to medicine. The College of Human Medicine Admissions Office has partnered with the Charles Drew Science Scholars Program in the College of Natural Science since 2014. The Medical Preparation Opportunity allows undergraduate students from underserved and disadvantaged backgrounds interested in med school and other pre-health/pre-professional routes the opportunity to participate in preparatory programming, mentoring, and possibly even early assurance pathways.  Students from disadvantaged backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in medical education. Programs like these help offer equitable access to these pathways and, ultimately, to make medicine more representative. A number of students have successfully ma...

The College of Human Medicine recognizes that the recent COVID-19 crisis has been life-disrupting for everyone. As we transition from pandemic to endemic and beyond, we must consider how students and applicants have been affected. Grades through Spring 2022 Many colleges and universities decided to continue instituting a Pass/Fail system for coursework through spring 2022. For those of you in which a Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade is rendered for any courses from winter 2020 through spring 2022, CHM will accept that course grade without bias. This includes coursework that is traditionally considered prerequisite or recommended for many medical school admissions processes. The vast majority of schools will have since returned to an in-person learning experience beginning with the summer 2022 semester. As such, traditional letter/numerical grading will be required for prerequisite coursework starting then but may be reconsidered pending future life-threateni...

Perhaps no other Friday noon hour is as special come every mid-March as that of the Match Day.  Fittingly, the incoming spring means medical school seniors recently learned where they will begin life anew and move onto residency after closing the chapter on medical school. Last Friday's Match Day saw another widely celebrated ceremony for students on their way to a career. That begins with knowing where they'll be spending their first few years of training as official physicians. This year's Match Day held a record number of MD residency applicants across the nation and College of Human Medicine seniors once again had a terrific showing. Residency matches are made by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), using an algorithm to "match" graduating medical students with available training positions at health systems across the nation. From the NRMP, the 2022 Main Residency Match included 39,205 total positions.  Read: 2022 Main Residency Match By the Numb...

Black history is American history. We pay tribute to the accolades of African Americans and honor the important contributions made to our shared national tapestry. These contributions include those to the industry of medicine. Members from the College of Human Medicine community recently spoke about Black History Month and what those contributions mean to them. Celebrating and Supporting Black History Month from MSU MD on Vimeo . Also in honor of Black History Month, students in the college's Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapter featured profiles of Black physicians, faculty and administrators at the College of Human Medicine, originally shared on the chapter's Instagram page . 

Members from the College of Human Medicine’s chapter of Latin American & Native American Medical Student Association (LANAMA) hit the road to take part in the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) Midwest Regional Conference earlier this month. With the college well represented at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine for the 32nd annual event, several future Spartan MDs received special designations. Students Kimberly Flores and Aldana Garcia were appointed to the executive board and Valerie Rozen received “Best Poster Presentation” at the conference’s research symposium. Read more on their special designations. Kimberly Flores Elected Next LMSA Co-Director Third-year student, Kimberly Flores, will be helping to lead the organization as the next Co-Director, filling the role of outgoing co-director and fellow College of Human Medicine student, Jennifer Chinchilla. New core executive board members are elected each year at the conference. During the process of electing th...

Reproduced from MSU Today The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has granted $25 million to expand the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine’s public health presence in Flint. The grant will create an endowed fund to increase public health faculty, academic research and community health collaborations. “Expanding MSU’s public health program in Flint is a great thing for the community, and it also will yield important lessons for our state and nation as we struggle with both emergent and chronic health challenges,” said Ridgway White, president and CEO of the Mott Foundation. “MSU’s work in Flint is a wonderful example of what can happen when physicians, researchers, residents and community advocates work together to improve health.” The new grant to MSU will build upon Mott’s initial support for the college’s presence in Flint. Between 2011 and 2013, Mott granted $12 million to MSU for the college’s expansion and relocation of its public health program from East Lansing to F...

The first few weeks of January have arrived and, of course, that naturally means it’s a new year! Along with a new cycle can come exciting, fresh resolutions for the months ahead. If planning to apply to medical school within the next year…or two…or three, setting goals for the year can help guide your preparation and keep your plan on the right path.  Preparing for medical school can be challenging enough. The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly added an extra layer to the fold, complicating the process and limiting opportunities for potential applicants with components like, say, extracurricular experiences that are important. So, making special considerations and being thoughtful about the time ahead can not only alleviate some of those challenges, but produce bountiful results in bulking up that applicant profile.  Lining up what you need next on your journey naturally depends on your place on said journey. No matter you’re stage though, the pandemic has forced students and in...