Programs Help Prepare Students for Medical Education
| A trio of summer programs offered by the UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs have helped prepare a contingent of potential future doctors for medical school.
The Pre-Medical Summer Scholars Program, Final MCAT Preparation Program and MedEd Ready all serve students bound for medical school, but each program is tailored to a different point in students’ academic careers.
“We want to provide a spectrum of preparation for our future medical students,” said the center’s Nick Pettus, who administers the MedEd Ready program. “The needs of any given student will depend on where they are in their academic journey, even though they are all headed for the same destination.”
For instance, while the MCAT Preparation Program is an intensive two weeks in June for undergraduate students to study for the medical school entrance exam, the Pre-Medical Summer Scholars Program is a comprehensive six weeks in June and July for studying the sciences, shadowing clinicians, in-depth discussions and mock interviews to prepare students for the medical school application process.
MedEd Ready, on the other hand, is an early August program for students who have already been admitted to medical school but face some hardship, such as being a nontraditional or first-generation student, educational or socioeconomic disadvantages or certain underrepresented minority students.
“This program works as a kind of bridge that takes students all the way to and through orientation,” said Pettus. “It’s not just knowing which building classes are in but also helping students understand what medical school is all about and how they can be successful once classes begin.”