Seminar assignments - Medical school paper- utsw PDF

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Medical School Paper- UTSW...

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UT Southwestern Medical School UT Southwestern is one of the eight state-funded medical schools in Texas, located in downtown Dallas. Since its founding in 1943, this medical school has trained over 10,000 physicians. As a result of this location, there are several high profile hospitals affiliated with UT Southwestern used to train medical students, including two UT Southwestern University Hospitals (William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and Zale Lipshy University Hospital), Parkland Memorial Hospital, and Children's Medical Center. In order to apply to UT Southwestern students must submit an application through the Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service (TMDSAS). This application must be submitted by October 1. The applicants MCAT score must be received in order for the application to be considered complete. In addition, applicants are required to submit a secondary application after submission of the TMDSAS application. UT Southwestern interviews between August and January, and sends out acceptance offers beginning November 15th. This is a rolling admissions process. The final deadline to accept an offer of admission is May 15th according to AAMC Traffic Rules. After June 1, no Texas medical school is allowed to offer admission to an applicant who is already accepted at another Texas medical school. By August, students who wish to request deferment should submit an application to the Office of Admission. In addition to these deadlines, applicants must have completed the following undergraduate courses: biology (14 hours, 2 hours of laboratory credit), biochemistry (1 semester), inorganic chemistry (1 semester), organic chemistry (2 semesters, 1 lab credit), English (2 semesters), calculus or statistics (1 semester), physics (2 semesters, 2 laboratory credits). Admission to UT Southwestern is very competitive. In fact, US News & World Report ranks it in the top 25% in terms of both research and primary care. Southwestern is proudly one

of less than 24 schools with this designation. The average GPA of the current class is 3.85. In addition, there is an average MCAT score of 33.87. There is no information about admissions rate, but the website reports that each class consists of 230 matriculates, with 90% being Texas residents, as required by law. Further, UT Southwestern’s current medical school class consists of a 51% male and 49% female. Most students are between 23 and 29 years of age (76%), with 8% being less than 23 years of age and 6% being over 30 years of age. There are many ethnicities represented in this class, including African American, Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic. Further, current students had a wide range of undergraduate majors, from science majors such as biology and chemistry, to non-science majors in the liberal arts and social sciences. After being accepted into UT Southwestern, students are responsible for certain tuition and fees. Tuition is currently $16,500 per year for Texas residents and $29,500 per year for nonTexas residents. Students are also responsible for paying around $5,720 for books in the first year. Other fees include housing, costs of which will vary. Students are required to provide proof of health insurance prior to participation in the curriculum. In addition, students are required to purchase a personal computer. For a small fee, students can utilize the installment plan. There is financial aid available for students. Students are encouraged to apply for the Federal Application for Free Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Most of the financial aid is made available through federal and state loan programs. There are also several scholarships available through private sources. UT Southwestern prides itself on its ability to work directly with students to assist in the search for financial aid. After becoming financially settled, students are able to begin taking classes. Core classes include medical biochemistry, human anatomy, embryology, medical genetics, medical physiology, human behavior, medical neuroscience, biology of cells and tissues, fundamentals of

immunology, human anatomy lab, medical ethics, critical thinking, and weekly academic colleges. After the first year, students are able to enjoy an 11-week summer break. Classes in the second year consist of 12 instructional blocks. Blocks include general principles and the hematopoietic system, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal/musculoskeletal systems, gastrointestinal system, central and peripheral nervous system, psychopathology, endocrine and reproductive systems, extremes of life, and weekly academic colleges. Students are also required to complete an advanced cardiac life support class prior to completing the second year. The class structure during the first 2 years consists of team-based learning, lecture, laboratories, simulations, and small-group projects. There are also opportunities for clinical experiences during these years. During this time, students are graded on a pass/fail basis so as to encourage students to focus on actually learning the material as opposed to competing with others. Core clinical rotations during the third year include Psychiatry (6 weeks), Obstetrics and Gynecology (6 weeks), Internal Medicine (12 weeks), Family Medicine (4 weeks), Surgery (8 weeks), Pediatrics (8 weeks), and Neurology (4 weeks). The fourth year consists of Acute Care (4 weeks), Ambulatory Care (4 weeks), Sub-internship (4 weeks), and Four Electives (4 weeks each). In addition, throughout the four years, students are able to take non-credit electives. Options for electives include the following: Community Service Learning, Designing Health Care Solutions, International Service Learning, Medical Ethics, Applied Nutrition, Basic Elements of Research, Global Health, Medical Finance, Medical Law, Medical Spanish Web resource, Public Health, and Spanish Interpreter Apprenticeship Program (SIAP). There are also over 100 for-credit electives that are available during the fourth year. These electives can be used to help make career decisions or building strengths in interesting fields.

In addition to their classes, students are encouraged to participate in medical research with the Southwestern faculty. Students who do so are able to graduate with an MD with Distinction in Research. Many students do this in the paid Summer Research Program, which lasts 10 weeks. This program consists of weekly luncheon seminars, discussions, and clinical and basic research. Further, students are encouraged to submit their findings to formal research meetings, including the Medical Student Research Forum. Other students fulfill the research requirement for this distinction during the clinical years, in which they work closely with a mentor to research a subject of interest. Students are further encouraged to participated in yearlong research programs, such as programs at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Sarnoff Foundation. Students are able to receive funding to present their findings at national conferences via an application from the Medical Student Research Office. Research programs are also available for undergraduate students. One such paid program is the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) in which students spend 10 weeks in individual research laboratories led by UT Southwestern faculty members. This program is specifically for students who are interested in pursuing a PhD or MD/PhD. Fellows are able to gain knowledge of research techniques and about the facilitation of a research project. There is also the government-sponsored UT Southwestern Undergraduate Medical Research Fellows Program (UT-SUMR), in which minority students spend 10 weeks researching interest-specific projects with a faculty mentor. There are several dual degree programs available for students to pursue. First, students can complete an MD/PhD by fulfilling three additional years of graduate study and dissertation, with a total of 7 years for completion of the dual degree. Second, students can complete an MD/MBA via a 5-year program in conjunction with the School of Management at the University

of Texas at Dallas. Third, students can complete an MD/MPH via a 5-year program in conjunction with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. Fourth, students can complete a BS/MD via collaboration between UT Southwestern and UT Dallas. Further, there are several distinctions that students can receive upon graduation with an MD, including MD with Distinction in Health Policy, MD with Distinction in Global Health, and MD with Distinction in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. I personally am interested in applying to UT Southwestern for several reasons. I like the location (Dallas, Texas) because I am from Dallas and would love to be close to my family. I also like the Academic Colleges that UT Southwestern implements, in which students are grouped up into one of six groups for the remainder of their time in medical school. It is in these groups that students are educated about the critical elements of taking a medical history and performing a physical exam and later practice these skills during hospital visits. These groups are also the basis for discussions about medical ethics and professionalism. This system is similar to Welcome Week at Baylor, which I really enjoyed as a freshman. Overall, I believe that UT Southwestern is a school in which I would flourish and learn a lot.

Works Cited UT Southwestern Medical Center. Admissions, 2015. Web. 20 March 2015. ....