Thanks to Prof. Marija Heffer and colleagues at the University of Osijek (Croatia) Medical Faculty for the stimulating, engaging, and productive summer. Fruitful exchange of ideas, curriculum development, meetings with students, and casual chats about lab work provided a fruitful way to navigate the end of COVID-19. Hvala vam!
Congratulations to NVCC student Sabrina Melendez-Rosales who was selected from a national pool of applicants as one of 80 metro-DC scholars for participation in the Summer Health Professions Education Program sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Sabrina will serve as a SHPEP scholar and take part in a pre-medical enrichment program involving academics, medical school application preparation, clinical shadowing, and networking opportunities from June 6 – July 16. SHPEP is regionally hosted by Howard University Hospital and Medical School. Congratulations to Sabrina on this important next step toward becoming a medical doctor! For further information and assistance applying for the summer 2022 program, have a look at the “Opportunities For Students” section of this webpage. Applications are usually due in early March for the summer session.
At a recent National Institutes of Health Grand Rounds Lecture in October, Curtis Langlotz, a Stanford Univ. medical doctor and bioinformatics researcher, gave a lecture detailing his work to bring artificial intelligence to radiology image interpretation. What was striking about his one-hour lecture is how his research not only involves medical expertise, but also an in-depth knowledge of computer science and linguistics. Traditionally, experts have been viewed as individuals who know much about one specific area. To be on the cutting edge of research, one often has to be an expert in multiple areas. Of course, Prof. Langlotz probably didn’t expect that his work would take him into linguistics, but interdisciplinary work requires an open mind and frequently takes detours into new and exciting areas.
The future? A computer assisting doctors to be sure that small masses are detected before they become massive tumors!
Want to know if you’d really like to study medicine? Want to learn more about medicine? Increasingly, medical schools are offering evening lectures for interested members of the public. Over the course of a semester and for less than $200 in fees, you’ll hear from medical experts on a variety of topics. The formats vary from the very immersive and hands on (Washington University in St. Louis)
to the lecture-based (Georgetown University) and are geared toward the non-scientist. Some programs even open their doors to high school students. Links below to Washington Univ. and Georgetown Univ.
Georgetown University Medical Center Herbert B. Herscowitz Mini-Medical School Course Schedule
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!
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!
A few things that stand out from the AMSA (American Medical Student Association) Conference in Arlington, VA.
From the companies exhibiting products:
– new to the US, AMBOSS is a German company that has created a great, tightly integrated platform for studying content for the medical shelf (and USMLE) exams. A quick demo showed that this system is truly a one-stop shop for mastering clinical cases without relying upon other resources (such as textbooks or clinical photos).
From the lectures:
Dr. Pritish Tosh (Mayo Clinic, Internal Medicine Residency Program Director)
– Reinforced few points that we make to our pre-medical students, namely, as a medical student your standardized exam scores are important but less so that being excellent and taking advantage of opportunities at your school.
Dr. Roberta Gebhard (Masonic Care Community, Assoc. Medical Director)
– Emphasized taking care of yourself as a prerequisite for outstanding patient care and also reminded students to be kind to all people they encounter (from the janitorial staff to the CEO of the hospital).
Dr. Claudia Krebs (Professor of Teaching, Univ. of British Columbia Medical School)
– Insightful look at how you learn should change and evolve as you progress from college, to medical school and beyond.
Mr. Petros Minasi (Kaplan Test Prep)
– Spoke about your medical school personal statement. 100% agree that all students should work with an engaged, expert advisor who supports your success, but disagree with the Kaplan “one-size-fits-all” philosophy and some of the statement writing suggestions. Certainly worth discussing during our on campus pre-med seminars.
Highlights from selected day 2 fun conversations and talks….coming soon!
Having been asked by many pre-medical students how they might be able to learn more about medical school, meet other pre-med students and learn from current medical students about their schools (and how they got into medical school), I have referred them to a conference held by the national American Medical Student Association. An annual conference is held in Crystal City, VA (in Arlington) and offers students many opportunities to learn by attending lectures, meet other students and gain exposure to clinical aspects of medicine, including the always popular suture tying mini class (don’t worry, you won’t be stitching up people!). Review the conference program, think about what your goals for attending the conference are and plan how to get the most out of your time and money at this exciting meeting. The first day, Thurs is generally less compelling for most students, the lectures and events pick up more on the 2nd day (Friday) and on Saturday. Visit their website at amsaconference.org and certainly send me an email, I will be there meeting with other advisors and attending talks.