Great to see the new student common areas at Harvard with ideal places for quiet study and spontaneous conversations ….all enhanced by open space, natural lighting, views of trees/plants, and comfortable furniture. Wish all study+academic spaces would prioritize lighting, ventilation, and furniture comfort as necessities for maximizing student productivity.
Busy time for talented students! Here are some exciting opportunities for students in October… get your calendar out and set aside time for events including: financial literacy, learning about opportunities (some potentially free) to study in Germany, and also opportunities for study at Virginia Commonwealth University.
October 1, Monday, at NVCC Alexandria campus, in the AM, with a break around lunch and through the PM, a full day of financial literacy basics. From building a business to international student banking. Drop by Bisdorf AA-158 to learn more. Brought to you by the Financial Aid office.
On October 12, Thursday, in the afternoon (from 12:45-4pm), the Goethe Institute in Washington DC (easy Metro access, near “Gallery Place/Chinatown”), hosts “Career Booster Germany”. Drop by and learn about opportunities for study in Germany for college students. There are many graduate-level programs that seek American students and some are even fully funded by the German government. The 12:45 arrival time includes lunch provided for students; though free, registration is required. List of all events at: https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/wsh/ver.cfm
Finally, investigate options for further study at Virginia Commonwealth Univ. at an informational seminar held at NVCC-Alexandra, in the AFA Room 118 on October 10, Wednesday, from 1-2pm.
Students, definitely keep me posted if you plan on attending any/all of these!
To maintain a strong start to the fall semester, consider attending the Loudoun campus’ Smart Start for Students sessions on Monday 9/10 and Tuesday 9/11 from 10am-1pm at the HEC building. 30 minute presentations on everything from study tips, library resources, and resume/CV writing. And oh yeah…free pizza from 12:20-1pm daily. Register for the presentations at: http://bit.ly/SmartStartLoudoun
Great opportunity in early August to be invited back as an alumnus to the National Human Genome Research Institute’s annual Genomics Short Course teaching workshop on National Institute of Health’s (NIH) campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Super chance to re-connect with staff and meet other instructors refining their teaching plans. Engaging workshops in sequencing and CRISPR-CAS9! Colleagues: plan to apply for next year’s session in mid-January 2019.
Actor Alan Alda writes a very good book highlighting the importance of effective conversation in science. Covering topics ranging from his interviewing scientists for PBS programs, to recent scientific research on communicating, to acting improv techniques to help build communication skills, to the habits of doctors talking to patients, this easy-to-read book will be worth your time. If you are in science and communicate in any way (that means all of us), this book is worth your time. For further information, information on the university center Alda helped found to promote improved science communication:
www.aldacenter.org
Students in class (and office hours) will recall my mentioning inexpensive online classes to supplement college/university classes and as a useful way to build skills before transfer, grad school, or med school. These Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) feature leading international universities with two of the largest course sources being Coursera (coursera.org) and EdX (edx.org). Whether you want to brush up on biostatistics, take a programming course, or learn about infectious disease, you will find it on either of these sites. Edukatico.org and class-central.com are 2 websites that gather listings of online courses as well as student reviews.
Inexplicably, the blog was unavailable for the past few weeks. A big thanks to the tech gurus at NVCC’s TILT: Art Lin and Damon Green for getting things back up and running again. Without them, we can’t do our work. Thank you!!
Fantastic opportunity to give a talk at the AHEA (American Hungarian Educators Association) conference entitled “Optimizing the lecture in medical education: Lecturing at the Univ. of Pécs Medical School” reviewing the lessons learned from teaching medical students at the University of Pécs Medical School (PTE-AOK) in Hungary. Hungarian and US educators attending this conference from different disciplines were interested in learning how lecturing can be improved and applied to their fields. The discussion generated was engaging and plans for follow-up studies in Pécs gained momentum. A great way to share with others the fruits of a productive semester in Hungary!
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) conference featured engaging vendor displays targeting students. Many of the familiar faces from last year were there again (Princeton Review, Kaplan, AMBOSS).
Looking for an online job? Check out M Modal’s virtual (ie., online) medical scribe program. Looks like an interesting way to be in a paying medical job that offers flexibility. Downside could be lower wages, but worth investigating.
Altius MCAT (Utah based and recently national) Altius offers a unique slant on test prep (mimicing the diagrams you will see on the MCAT), a score guarantee, and very reasonable pricing.
UWorld MCAT…a strong USMLE product is now branching out into MCAT. With one stop shopping for test prep with very good diagrams and succint explanations in their online program.
This year’s American Medical Student Association (AMSA) conference featured two exceptional lectures by dynamic medical educators. Gary Rose (on the admissions committee at Florida Atlantic Univ.) spoke on “Interview Do’s and Don’ts” providing a summary of his book which advises medical students. Great to hear that all of his recommendations have been a part of our NVCC advising materials for students! Sal Mangione (medical faculty, Thomas Jefferson Univ.) gave a fantastic lecture on Leonardo DaVinci and the nine elements ofcreativity as an aid to becoming a leading doctor. Two outstanding lectures amongst many inspiring opportunities for students! If you missed AMSA this year, look ahead to 2019!