University of Washington School of Medicine

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University of WashingtonSchool of Medicine

• Alpha Epsilon Delta
• June 3, 2008

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UWSOM Mission statement

• Meeting the health care needs of our region-
  recognizing the importance of primary care and
  providing service to underserved populations
• Advancing knowledge and assuming leadership in
  the biomedical sciences and in academic medicine
• Special responsibility to WWAMI states
• Commitment to building and sustaining a diverse
  academic community
• Assuring access to education and training for
  learners from all segments of society

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What UWSOM Expects

• Academic ability to make it through school and
  licensing exams
• Knowledge of the practice of medicine
• Awareness of current problems affecting medicine
  and society
• Familiarity with ethical issues in health care
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Broad interests and life experiences

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Academic Ability
includes MSTP and WAMI
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GPA - Considerations

• Time to adjust to college
• Inadequate high school preparation
• A bump in the road for personal or family reasons
• We are looking for an upward trajectory or some
  compelling reason for lower than average grades.
• Although we value a broad based education,
  ability to succeed in science courses is
  important.

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MCAT Considerations

• We use verbal reasoning as a measure of the
  applicants ability to solve problems, an
  important attribute for a physician.
• lt7 is associated with problems passing USMLE
• The writing sample gives us some insight into the
  applicants ability to communicate his or her
  ideas clearly.
• When biology or physics scores are low we look
  for timing of the MCAT course work.

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RESOURCES for MCAT

• Commercial review courses
• Practice tests
• Learning specialists at UW
• Blanceducationservices.com

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Knowledge of the Practice of Medicine

• Know what you are getting into
• Show that you are making an informed decision
• Find experiences that are consistent with your
  interests and goals
• Reflect on your experiences

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Knowledge of medicine

• Has the applicant spent some time observing
  doctor/patient interactions?
• Does s/he understand the rewards, demands, and
  frustrations of the practice of medicine?
• Does s/he have any concept of lifestyles of
  various types of practices of medicine?
• Does s/he value patient autonomy? Does the
  applicant realize there are patients who dont
  cooperate with treatment plans, or who may engage
  in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors?

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The Value of Experience

• Find out what the career is all about
• Clarify and validate your initial impressions
• Learn about the dark side
• Test your level of commitment
• Find out what you like and dislike
• Improve the articulation of your goals
• Enhance your motivation

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Motivation for medicine

• What drives you toward medicine?
• What experiences/people have had a positive
  influence?

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Resources for Volunteer or Shadowing Experiences

• Washington Academy of Family Physicians
• http//www.wafp.net
• Volunteer Match
• http//www.volunteermatch.org
• Idealist
• http//www.idealist.org
• Peer ideas
• http//www.studentdoctor.net/blog/2008/03/22/pre-
  med-preparation-the-importance-of-physician-shadow
  ing

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Awareness of problems facing medicine and society

• Does the applicant know about delivery of health
  care in the U.S. and abroad?
• Does s/he have any understanding of the cost of
  health care and/or the breadth of those who are
  uninsured in the U.S.?
• Is there an understanding of the different types
  of medical insurance systems?

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Familiarity with ethical issues in medicine

• Patient autonomy and privacy
• Rights of adolescent patients
• End of life issues
• Participating in clinical trials
• Decisions around scarce resources
• Transplants
• Medication

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Communication and Interpersonal Skills

• Active listening
• Making yourself understood
• Ability to put yourself in anothers place
• Respecting others wishes

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Ability to relate to others

• Is the applicant empathetic, able to communicate,
  able to listen, broad minded, respectful of
  others?
• Does the applicant show a genuine interest in
  people? Does s/he have experience working with
  people?
• Has there been community involvement?
• Are there demonstrated humanitarian qualities?
• Is there recognition of needs of individuals?
• Does the applicant allow for differing values? Is
  s/he non-judgmental?

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Broad interests and life experiences

• Personal characteristics
• Knowledge of self others
• Maturity
• Integrity
• Intellectual curiosity

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Knowledge of self

• Does the applicant know his or her personality,
  strengths and weaknesses, biases?
• Can s/he self-assess?
• Is s/he aware of personal learning style?
• Does s/he have an understanding of people from
  cultures over than his or her own?

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Maturity

• Has s/he shown the ability to deal with stressful
  situations?
• Has the applicant demonstrated responsibility?
• Is the applicant self-reliant and independent?
• Is s/he confident, secure?
• Has s/he thought about long term as well as short
  term goals?

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Integrity

• Is the applicant consistent?
• Are his/her experiences consistent with expressed
  goals?

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Intellectual curiosity

• Does the applicant demonstrate intellectual
  curiosity?
• Can s/he grow?
• Can s/he call a question?
• Does s/he demonstrate interest in being a
  life-long learner?

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Letters of recommendation

• The letter writer should know you well in one
  or more areas
• Academic ability
• Interpersonal skills
• Work ethic
• Leadership qualities
• Ability to function on a team

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Guidelines for Writing a Letter of Recommendation

• 1. How well do you know the applicant and under
  what circumstances did you have contact with
  him/her?
• 2. What strengths does the applicant possess?
  Does the applicant have any unique
  characteristics?
• 3. Have you observed any particular weaknesses or
  characteristics which you feel would interfere
  with a successful medical career?
• 4. How well does the applicant get along with the
  faculty and his/her peers?
• 5. How does the applicant handle disappointing or
  stressful situations?
• 6. How do you assess the applicant's emotional
  maturity?
• 7. How do you assess the applicant's oral and
  written communication skills?
• 8. If possible, please indicate reasons why you
  feel that the applicant should or should not
  become a physician.
• Letters must be printed on University, company or
  personal letterhead and signed.

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Changes

• Sequence of discussion by interview score
• Criminal background check
• First year site selection match
• No automatic interviews for E 2009
• Additional pre-reqs for E 2010 (humanities and
  social sciences)