To Be...A Spartan MD

People might think I’m crazy, but I was actually excited to move to Michigan from California. It was a nice excuse to travel and explore a new place that I might not have otherwise considered visiting. So far, I love it here. You get to actually experience the four seasons. I moved here in late July and Michigan was gorgeous at the time. I left California experiencing 110 degree summer days to temperatures in the mid-80s and 90s. Fall was also beautiful, but it was way too short! The orange/red hues from the leaves changing colors made for some pretty cool picture ops. Winter has been surprisingly wonderful. Some of my classmates, like myself, were ecstatic to see the first snowfall. This rang true for those classmates from out of state, at least. There were definitely a lot of snaps and excitement that day. I had seen a lot video posts on Snapchat of classmates walking through the snow. I was mesmerized by the beauty of it all. Yeah, it gets pretty cold, but you get acclimat...

After receiving the acceptance phone call from Dr. Maurer, College of Human Medicine Assistant Dean for Admissions , it kind of seemed surreal that I had been accepted. That feeling could be from dreams I would sometimes have of being accepted only to wake up realizing it hadn’t happened yet. I know. The waiting game is the worst. It didn’t really hit me that I was going to be a doctor until I received my white coat. That made it real. Since the white coat ceremony, we hit the floor running since the first day of class was the day after the ceremony. There was an adjustment period trying to figure out how best to study the material. It wasn’t that the material was difficult to comprehend, it was just the shear volume! You naturally try to find a balance between personal life and school. I think I’ve developed a good balance now to keep myself sane (although I’m sure my classmates will say that’s debatable). After the first couple months of medical school, I’ve definitely le...

With the introduction of our ground-breaking Shared Discovery Curriculum as well as several new facilities and initiatives, there are a lot of great changes happening to the College of Human Medicine (CHM). It's truly a special time to be here. And no one can better voice what it is like to be at CHM than those within the student body. From time to time, the Office of Admissions has enlisted student representatives to periodically offer an inside look at what studying medicine here is all about. Students at different stages and various backgrounds are given the opportunity to touch on their personal experiences and ambitions. Moving into the new year, we'll be hearing from first-year student, Harminder Sandhu. *** Hi! My name is Harminder. I grew up in a small farm town called Gridley, California, where access to healthcare and resources was very limited. Having experienced health disparities first-hand in my rural community, I have a strong desire to give back ...

With the recent news of McLaren Health's plan to consolidate operations into a new hospital next to MSU , the move expands McLaren's relationship with the university and, subsequently, the College of Human Medicine (CHM). The plan for a new $450 million health care campus will allow both entities to work more closely together on research and increase educational opportunities for students among additional clinical services. "This is an extraordinary opportunity to collaborate with MSU to redesign and elevate health care for a region and the state for generations to come. Our partnership will transform health care delivery to support a world-class medical experience and advance pioneering medical research," said McLaren CEO Phil Incarnati. Norman Beauchamp, Dean of the College of Human Medicine, is also excited about the partnership's expansion and the college's opportunity to help transform health care. The college is proud to see that CHM medical stude...

One of the biggest takeaways of the new Shared Discovery Curriculum is that it quickly places students inside clinics to contribute to real patient care teams. By quickly, we mean the first year. Within weeks, actually. While this is only one facet of the new curriculum , rapidly immersing students in real clinical environments is a big departure from traditional models. Medical schools have delivered their curriculum by way of a "2 + 2" structure for decades. The first two years are predominantly dedicated to learning basic and disease sciences (typically delivered through lectures and numerous exams) followed by two years dedicated to clinical experiences that use observational and apprenticeship methods for learning. With the Shared Discovery Curriculum now in it's second year, each of the college's last two entering classes have joined third- and fourth-year students in the clinic, providing a more authentic trajectory of training focused on progressi...

Today is a College of Human Medicine (CHM) Rural Applicant Interview day. This is one of the days that the admissions office specifically designates for interviewing students that are from rural communities, have strong ties to rural areas, or are interested in one of our rural medicine training programs. As Director of Rural Medicine for the College of Human Medicine, this is one of my favorite days. Many of these students will become part of the Leadership in Rural Medicine certificate program, and will choose to complete their clinical training in Michigan’s rural communities—either in the Upper Peninsula, Northern Lower Peninsula, or the MidMichigan/Thumb area. These students, if enrolled, will eventually graduate as the 44th class that has been involved in the college's rural training programs. Things are different now than they were when CHM started the Rural Physician Program in the 1970’s. The College was one of the first medical schools to create a rural t...

After a violent demonstration on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville took place in August, an idea began taking shape in Chrissiey Jackson’s mind. “After the Charlottesville incident, I asked my peers how they felt about what was going on,” said Jackson, a second-year Michigan State University College of Human Medicine student. “As an institution, we needed to deal with it.” She emailed her concerns to Wanda Lipscomb, senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion and associate dean for student affairs in the medical college. Other students also began approaching Lipscomb, suggesting the college needed to do something in response. As a result, Celebrating Unity and Connections week was born and has now become the college’s effort to help its students of different ethnic, economic and cultural backgrounds share their personal stories and find common ground. As part of Celebrating Unity and Connections week, students participated in group activities “We ...