To Be...A Spartan MD

The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (CHM) has officially broken ground on a new research facility set to be completed in late 2017. Ushering a new chapter in CHM history, the $88 million project will further a vision from Dean Marsha Rappley to increase CHM's research imprint. There's no better place for such an initiative than on Grand Rapids' thriving Medical Mile. Once finished, the research facility will be a good complement to the Secchia Center , located just up Michigan Avenue. The new research facility is part of a long-range strategy that began in 2005, when health and community leaders worked to bring medical education to the city. CHM expanded to include campuses in Grand Rapids and Lansing and moved its headquarters to the Secchia Center. Completed in 2010, the Secchia Center was built for medical education yet no accommodation was made for research laboratories. The Spectrum Health-MSU Alliance was established to draw academic...

The MSU College of Human Medicine Office of Admissions is proud to announce that we've officially launched our new website! While you can still find us at mdadmissions.msu.edu , the website address is one of only a few traits to carry over to the new site, which was in the works for a year. Beyond the cleaner layout, potential applicants or those at any phase of the admissions process will find the site to be much easier to navigate and digest. The prior version had a ton of information that needed to be condensed and repackaged. Eliminating redundancies and mapping out better direction were goals to remedy the difficulties visitors found in perusing through the prior site's content. Adding an outdated layout to the equation, it was surely time for a more modern look and feel. In addition to the new look, we've also included several new elements including social media integration and more user-friendly capabilities. For instance, expandable menu options will allow ...

After fourth-year College of Human Medicine (CHM) students enjoy their commencement ceremony with friends and family this weekend, the Class of 2015 will also be eyeing the next step and first as official physicians — residency. This past March, 178 soon-to-be Spartan MD's had their residency placements confirmed. As usual, the 2015 Match season was one of great pride and joy. Approximately 34% of the seniors will remain in Michigan for their graduate medical education. The remaining 66% of students will be training in many other states across the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and West regions at some of the most competitive residency programs in the nation. New Spartan MD's will be moving on to serve patients all across Michigan in both urban and rural communities. Beyond state lines, graduates will be headed to many of the nation's major cities like Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta, San Diego, Denver, ...

The following was written by Dr. Joel Maurer, College of Human Medicine Assistant Dean for Admissions, and was originally posted in March 2015 as part of the "Bioethics in the News" series by The Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences .  In February 2013 while visiting the University of California-Riverside, I presented a program on how to best prepare for medical school. As Assistant Dean for Admissions, I’d given this talk numerous times, and as such felt comfortable addressing questions from premed audiences. It was at that point I encountered a moment of awkwardness…. “Dr. Maurer, does your medical school consider applications from undocumented students?” I’d previously addressed questions about citizenship on many occasions, but never quite in the context of the question at hand. Thoughts began to race through my head… “Undocumented, as in illegal alien? Attending our colleges and universities? Really?” I suddenly suspected that the response that ...

Starting in just a few short weeks, a much different MCAT will be administered across the nation. These revisions are some of the most extensive changes to the test in its 80-plus year history. The new test will identify specific competencies whereas previous versions relied heavily on one's grasp of prescribed material. The question for many is...why? All of these changes to the MCAT are spurred on by a domino-effect that begins with the fact that health care is changing. Advancements in medicine and technology are consistently coming at a rapid pace. This is especially true today in the information age. Since the last version of the MCAT was first implemented, medical research and scientific knowledge have taken great strides. Thus, the foundation that tomorrow's doctors need to have is also evolving. Future physicians will need enhanced critical reasoning skills and must also have the ability to apply an even broader set of knowledge to more diverse populations. What ...

It is now just over a month before the MCAT2015 is finally launched on April 17th, cementing one of the biggest revisions to the exam in its history. Make no mistake: the revisions are extensive...but for good reason. Beyond the particular emphasis on biological and physical sciences of past versions, the new MCAT will now also emphasize behavioral and social sciences. Still, specific prescribed material is only a portion of the next version's focus. The new MCAT will also assess competencies that are becoming increasingly important to success in medical school and beyond. They'll surely help you here at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine . Per the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the new exam is "Designed to help better prepare future physicians for the rapidly advancing and transforming health care system." The medical education community by and large supports this transition. So what has changed and how should a perso...

You've  waited for a decision and word has finally arrived: you've been placed on the waitlist. It's okay for applicants to feel some anxiety when placed as an alternate. That's normal. More uncertainty isn't something an applicant begs to endure. But don't necessarily take it as a bad omen either. More than disappointment, you should have hope. You still have a chance, after all. Considering the sheer number of applicants across the country each year, the truth is that it's actually pretty common to be in this situation. Thousands of accepted students matriculate off the waitlist each year. With only 5-10% of students matriculating from the waitlist at some schools, others accept as high as 50-60% of their incoming class from waitlisted applicants. The question then is, "What should I do now?" Remain Positive Waitlist does not mean rejection. While this isn't ideal, getting your name onto a waitlist is an accomplishment and shows ...