Stanford Students Present Research at Annual Symposium

The number of students participating in the Stanford School of Medicine's annual Student Research Symposium has doubled over the past three years, Associate Dean for Medical Student Research and Scholarship Patricia Cross recently told the Stanford Report. This growing participation reflects both increasing student interest in research and appreciation for the quality of student work, Cross said.

Students made 33 presentations at this year's Symposium. Research projects addressed both medical innovations and the effects of health care system reforms. Specific topics included a study of how materials used in prosthetic limbs affect bone growth and a survey of Colombian women's awareness of the risks of congenital toxoplasmosis, a parasite linked to birth defects. A group of students taking a course on the practice of medicine also presented findings from their study of the impact of community outreach on health care.

The Symposium's first prize went to third-year student Jason Liauw for research confirming the identity of a specific protein responsible for speeding brain cell recovery after a stroke. The panel of medical students who judged entries gave Liauw's project high ratings on all four of the Symposium's criteria: significance of the research question, creativity, research design, and presentation of findings.

Pat Cross noted that about 90 per cent of Stanford medical students conduct some sort of research. A significant number of Stanford students take five years to complete their degrees in order to pursue research projects. Stanford provides broad support for medical student research, including grants for research work and travel, faculty mentoring, and opportunities to share findings, such as the annual Symposium.

Sources: "Not Just for Faculty: Medical Students Excel at Research," by Anne Pinckard - the Stanford Reporter, May 24, 2006

Cornell Graduates Class of 2006

Cornell University's Weill Medical College awarded 101 students with their M.D. degrees on May 18.

87 per cent of Weill's Class of 2006 have won places in postgraduate training programs at teaching hospitals. A Cornell press release says that these graduates "will do residency training or research in 19 different specialties at some of the most prestigious institutions across the country."

Members of the Class of 2006 combined their medical studies with a range of other interests. Almost 40 per cent of the students took part in one of the international programs that Weill sponsors in countries including Australia, Ecuador, Tanzania, Cambodia, India, Honduras, Nigeria, and Italy. 16 per cent took a year's leave from medical school to pursue research and other complementary career interests. Class members also took part in a wide range of community service projects including the Weill Cornell Community Clinic, a health-care service that the College provides for uninsured residents of New York City.

Source: "Internationally Minded and Socially Committed Class Receives Degree at Weill Cornell Medical College Commencement" - press release, Cornell University (New York City), May 18, 2006

AMCAS 2007 Up & Running

The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) website for 2007 applications to medical schools is now online. To register as a user and begin an application, go to the AMCAS home page (www.aamc.org/students/amcas/start.htm) and look for the "Apply Now!" link on the right-hand side of the page.

Florida Senate Clears Way for 2 New Medical Schools

The Florida Senate has approved plans to establish two new state-supported medical schools, one at the Florida International University in Miami and one at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The House is expected to pass the bill establishing the schools later this week.

Florida currently has four other schools of medicine. Some senators argued that it would be wiser to expand existing residency programs at those schools rather than to spend millions on establishing new institutions. Proponents of the schools, however, argued that new medical schools are a key element addressing the state's growing shortage of trained physicians.

The University of Central Florida hopes to be able to admit a first class of 40 M.D. students in 2008.

Source: "FIU Med School One of Two Approved," by Gary Fineout. The Miami Herald, May 2, 2006.

Community Service Is Essential in Med School Applications

Volunteer work is essential to gaining admissions to medical school, admissions staff from several well-regarded U.S. medical schools told a student reporter recently.

Stony Brook University student Erica Smith interviewed the assistant deans for admission at Michigan State, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Virginia, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York by phone. They all confirmed that community service is an important part of an application package.

"It’s a very negative flag" when an otherwise promising applicant shows no history of community involvement, University of Virginia assistant dean of admission Beth Bailey said.

Bailey said that pre-meds benefit most from volunteer service that puts them in contact with patients and caregivers. Clinics, nursing homes, and hospices are good places to look for volunteer activities that will make a medical school applicant stand out. Experience working behind-the-scenes, in pharmacies or in hospital administrative or support offices, is not as helpful.

Noreen Kerrigan, assistant dean of admisisons for Albert Einstein College, noted that students who must work to support themselves are judged by somewhat different standards. Fewer hours of community service are expected of working students, she said, although admissions committees still want to see evidence of service to others. "We just look for feeling, not hours."

Source: "Volunteering a Must for Med School," by Erica Smith - the Stony Brook Independent, May 1, 2006

Penn Students Participate in Penn-Botswana AIDS Project

By the end of this academic year, over 40 students and residents from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine will have taken part in the Penn-Botswana Program, which conducts clinical and educational activities to combat Botswana's AIDS epidemic.

The students and residents work in clinical programs at two of Botswana's largest hospitals, under the supervision of Penn faculty. Their service is part of the Penn-Botswana Program's mission to treat AIDS patients and to study and research AIDS in Botswana.

Penn faculty were recently awarded a $933,551 grant from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to support the program.

Harvey Friedman, MD, Director of the Penn-Botswana Program and Chief of Infectious Diseases at Penn, explained the importance of the program to Medical News Today. "Botswana is considered the test tube case in Africa regarding AIDS," Freidman said. "If we can't do something to turn around the epidemic in Botswana it would really be discouraging. This is one of the frontiers in HIV care."

For students and residents, Friedman said, the Penn-Botswana Program is "a once-in-a-lifetime experience....I am not surprised that, upon returning from Botswana, some students change their career goals."

The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine supports 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students. It is regularly ranked as one of the top medical schools in the U.S. in terms of research.

Source: "Penn School of Medicine Awarded Nearly $1 Million for African AIDS Program." Medical News Today, May 1, 2006.