Physicians in clinics, hospitals, and private practices throughout the area volunteer to serve as mentors. Although students are not yet practicing medicine, they learn to communicate with patients and take vital signs in the first year, and advance to medical interviewing and physical assessments the second year. This early exposure helps develop the understanding and basic skills needed to become competent physicians. During the first year, students also meet in small groups with a faculty preceptor to discuss their clinical experiences. Ellen Telesca, the program's course administrator, points out that this ongoing exchange often causes students and faculty to form a close bond that develops into an ongoing mentoring relationship.
Students evaluate every block, both in writing and in discussions with faculty.
They serve on committees, and their suggestions carry weight. Associate Professor George Ojakian, who teaches histology, tells of two first-year students who worked all summer to create a data base for the histology web site, and another who designed a web quiz to help students practice slide identification. Looking ahead While recognizing that work remains to be done, Dean Feigelson is proud of what has been accomplished. To help oversee the undergraduate program and continue the innovation, the dean has appointed Dr. Jeanette Mladenovic senior associate dean. While supporting the decision to accelerate students' entry into the clinical arena, she would like them to revisit the basic sciences in the third and fourth years when it will mean even more to them.