将知识传递下去

医学生近同伴导师计划

Megan Schlussler, a fourth-year Idaho WWAMI Medical Education student from Sandpoint, and Liz Bryant, director of the N. 爱达荷地区健康教育中心 于2019年推出PMMP. As the former Pre-Health Professions Program Coordinator at U of I, Bryant was staff advisor for the 医学预科/ Pre-PA俱乐部, which helps Vandals interested in a medical profession form study groups, find community service opportunities and locate research experience on campus.

“The pre-med club benefitted me by providing direction around strengthening my medical school application,” Schlussler said. “We also participated in volunteer events with Idaho WWAMI students, which gave me a chance to relate to people who knew what I was going through and how challenging it is."

施勒斯勒被二战录取了, 这是一所横跨华盛顿的5个州的地区医学院, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho and is part of the nationally ranked University of Washington’s School of Medicine. Every applicant accepted to Idaho WWAMI is an Idaho resident and takes medical school classes at U of I. It was at the Moscow campus that the “near-peer” mentor program she experienced with the pre-med club translated to current medical students mentoring pre-med undergraduates.

“There’s so much more involved in applying to medical school than people realize,” Schlussler said. “I’m passionate about helping people that are on the same path as me, and a mentor program seemed like a good way to share niche knowledge.”

通过COVID-19进行沟通

In 2019, with Bryant’s help, the PMMP matched 12 Idaho WWAMI medical students with 20 pre-med undergrads. Participants were paired to ensure a mentor’s experience would align with a mentee’s need, with acceptance priority going to applicants with historically underrepresented and/or disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Mentors can help review applications and help keep mentees competitive,” Schlussler said. “But what makes this program stand apart is the fact that we are med students; we can describe what it’s actually like to be in med school and what helped get us here.”

在大流行之前, PMMP对爱达荷州北部的医学预科学生开放, 包括来自刘易斯-克拉克州立学院的学生, 北爱达荷学院和伊利诺伊大学. But as the world went virtual in response to COVID-19, the mentoring program followed suit. By Fall 2020, 宝石州的医学预科生和大四学生都可以申请, so Idaho WWAMI students began mentoring undergraduates from as far away as Pocatello and Boise.

“传授知识”

Gillian Glivar ’22, who grew up in Eagle and graduated from U of I with a 医学科学学士学位，连续两年参加PMMP.

“As a junior, my mentor kept me laser-focused on the application requirements for medical school admission and began preparing me for how demanding the curriculum would be. 他帮我设定了期望。. “As a senior, my mentor looked over my application and gave me valuable advice regarding best interview practices. I relied on my mentors for very different things but received so much out of the program both years.”

Glivar, 谁是即将到来的爱达荷州WWAMI班的一员, is excited to share her medical school application experience with pre-med mentees.

“I definitely hope to serve as a mentor in this program,” she said. “I am excited to share my experience with prospective students now that I have knowledge to impart.”

Schlussler, 谁在申请普通外科住院医师名额, 会在2023年从医学院毕业吗. 她很自豪这个项目被公认为 service learning activity through WWAMI – will be maintained after she graduates.

“Being a mentor helped me improve communication skills that I can use as a physician,” she said. “You get information from your mentee and come up with a game plan together. Ideally, with patients, I’ll be able to talk with them about the condition they have and they, in turn, 能理解我们的治疗方案吗.”

This year marks WWAMI’s 50th anniversary in educating and training future physicians in their home state. 这是本州唯一的公立医学院, Idaho WWAMI helps increase the number of primary care physicians, 特别是在服务不足的地区, 并为学生提供了独特的机会, 社区医学教育.