AAMC-OSR

Regional
Meeting Digest
March April 2012
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Medlcal SLudenL rofesslonal and Leadershlp uevelopmenL 1hrough lnsLlLuLlonal LngagemenL.....................2
Medlcal SLudenL erformance LvaluaLlon: A 8esldency ulrecLor's erspecLlve .............................2
rovldlng a Safe lace ln SLudenL Affalrs: 1he 8ole of Lhe Cmbudsman ln Medlcal Schools.....................2
LLhlcal lssues ln ulsmlsslng SLudenLs from Medlcal School .........................................3
8eflecLlon ln Medlcal LducaLlon: 1he AnLldoLe Lo Lhe Pldden Currlculum ...............................3
8eyond Lhe numbers: key CuesLlons and Some Answers on SLudenL uebL .............................3
CosLs of Applylng Lo 8esldency and ConLrlbuLlng lacLors ........................................4
Changes Lo Lhe MCA1.............................................................4
1he PollsLlc 8evlew ro[ecL: Wldenlng Lhe Lens Lo Lnhance Success ..................................4
uSMLL: WhaL Lles Ahead...........................................................4
updaLes and 8evlew of Lhe 2012 n8M MaLch and lnaugural SCA ..................................3
1he SupplemenLal Cffer and AccepLance rogram (SCA): Are We Clean ?eL?.............................3
navlgaLlng Lhe Web of MlS"lnformaLlon ln Lhe Age of 1echnology and Soclal Medla .......................6
Why, Where, and Pow Lo SLarL uslng Soclal Medla wlLh SLudenLs ...................................6

SOSR/COSR/SGSA/CGSA
March 29 April 1
Clearwater Beach, Fl

WOSR/WGSA/WGEA
March 31 April 3
Pacific Grove, Ca

NEOSR/ NEGSA
April 19 21
Philadelphia, Pa
!-"*. /'01
1o Ally Anderson, Monlque Mauge, and
Shannon 8oone, for all of Lhelr hard work aL
Lhe AAMC on behalf of Lhe CS8

1o Lhe CS8 8eglonal Chalrs: Anne orLer,
uawn rueLL, !udy Wllber, and 8eem nubanl,
for maklng Lhls year's reglonal meeLlngs
wonderful successes
2
Vivamus porta
est sed est.
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At the joint confeience foi the
southein anu cential iegions,
faculty anu stuuent leaueis
uiscusseu the impoitance of stuuent
leaueiship uevelopment thiough
meaningful inteiaction with
auministiation.
}oe Thomas (0SR Chaii) pointeu out
the glaiing lack of a cleai uefinition
of "leaueiship" anu of an explicit
goal oi competency in leaueiship
uevelopment in meuical euucation
cuiiicula. Be citeu baiiieis such as
mistiust, lack of valiuateu
competencies, inability to uiagnose
the uilemma, anu cuiient
oiganization anu cuiiiculai
stiuctuie. Be encouiageu
leaueiship uevelopment thiough
involvement in extiacuiiiculai
activities, anu suggesteu
"piofessional uevelopment" as a
moie appiopiiate teim as it bettei
ieflects oui ultimate piofessional
goals.
Bi. Elam (Associate Bean foi
Aumissions anu Institutional
Auvancement, 0niveisity of
Kentucky College of Neuicine),
uiscusseu institutional engagement
anu the impoitance of involving
stuuents in meaningful inteiaction
with the auministiation anu faculty.
She citeu multiple examples of
stuuent leu piogiams which have
stiong suppoit of the
auministiation at 0K. She
encouiageu stuuents to iuentify a
neeu, envision a pioject, anu
execute anu implement that pioject
with the help of faculty anu
auministiatois.
Bill Teetei (0SR National Belegate,
Legislative Affaiis) uiscusseu the
uiffeient types of leaueiship style
but emphasizeu the impoitance of
the teamgioup style because
meuicine is moving towaius a team
appioach. Be askeu us to consiuei
uifficult questions such as, "Aie all
stuuents leaueis. Aie all uoctois
leaueis." Be then piesenteu the
Tulane expeiience of selecting
stuuents with leaueiship
expeiience anu skills uuiing
aumissions. Be also uiscusseu the
many settings in which Tulane
nuituies these stuuent leaueis,
incluuing a iequiiement foi
stuuents to leau small gioups in the
official cuiiiculum, as well as
unqualifieu auministiative suppoit
foi those who step up to leaueiship
ioles in extiacuiiiculai activities. As
an example, the AANC-0SR has
stiong suppoit by the Tulane
auministiation anu senus multiple
iepiesentatives to both the annual
anu iegional meetings each yeai.
Reem Nubani (0SR Cential Regional
Chaii) spoke about the impoitance
of faculty anu auministiative
suppoit in ueveloping stuuent
leaueis at SI0. She citeu the stiong
suppoit of hei auministiation by
pioviuing funuing foi stuuents to
attenu meetings, having stuuent
iepiesentation on faculty
committees, anu incoipoiating
gioup baseu leaining in the
cuiiiculum. She also citeu a
peisonal example in the
uevelopment of pioject pioposals
foi a leaueiship elective she
uesigneu with the help of faculty.
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The meuical stuuent peifoimance
evaluation (NSPE) is by fai the
most impoitant tool that Bi. Nanuel
Piauo }i., piogiam uiiectoi of the
Anesthesiology anu Peiiopeiative
Caie Piogiam at 0CSF, uses to
evaluate applicants. Aftei aumitting
to skimming though thousanus of
NSPEs ovei the yeais, Bi. Piauo
shaieu a few tips foi ueans anu
stuuents who aie looking to
maximize the value of the NSPE.
Negative comments aie ok!
Eveiyone has stiengths anu
weaknesses. If theie aie only
beaming comments in the
NSPE, it cieates a lack of tiust
between the iesiuency uiiectoi
anu the school.
Noueiation! Piogiam uiiectois
neeu to know moie than one
sentence but less than a novel.
Euiting cleikship comments foi
length is always appieciateu.
Be consistent with the use of
aujectives. Nake suie to uefine
what "gieat" oi "outstanuing"
ieally means. 0theiwise,
iesiuency uiiectois aie left
wonueiing how to quantify that
infoimation.
Be suie to iepoit on all
cleikships.
Najoi "ieu flags" aie leaves of
absence, faileu couises anu comments
uetailing unpiofessional behavioi.
The best thing you can uo as an
applicant is auuiess these issues.
Explain what you have leaineu fiom
these instances anu how these
iealizations will make you a bettei
peison anu uoctoi.
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Naic Kahn, N.B., Senioi Associate
Bean foi Aumissions anu Stuuent
Affaiis at Tulane S0N, anu Nichael
Kavan, Ph.B., Associate Bean foi
Stuuent Affaiis at Cieighton
0niveisity S0N piesenteu theii
iespective institutions use of the
"0mbuuspeison" as a safe haven foi
acauemic, piofessional, anu peisonal
stuuent issues. The iole of the
0mbuuspeison is impoitant so that
these issues can be uealt with
confiuentially. This helps to pievent
conflict of inteiest, especially
iegaiuing the NSPE anu to piotect
the best inteiest of the stuuent.
Fathei Bon 0wens seives as the
Chaplain at Tulane. Be has no
obligation to iepoit stuuents anu is a
"safe place" wheie stuuents can
appioach him about any peisonal oi
acauemic issue without feai. Be
woiks as a stuuent auvocate
iegaiuing legal issues,
emotionalpsychological issues, LuBT
issues, maiiiagefamilycouple
issues, substance abuse, anu othei
inciuental questions. Fathei Bon is
himself a licenseu piofessional
counseloi anu theiapist. This all
occuis in confiuentially, even issues
3
iegaiuing substance abuse. Stuuents
who seek tieatment aie iefeiieu to a
iecoveiy specialist anu if the stuuent
follows piotocol it nevei becomes
known to the auministiation, beyonu
the signing of appioval foi an
anonymous stuuent sabbatical. Fathei
Bon ieassuies stuuents "nothing
human is foieign to me" anu
encouiages an open uooi policy. Be is
well ieceiveu by the stuuent bouy anu
it is well unueistoou that he is a
confiuential iesouice foi stuuents.
Nichael Kavan, Ph.B., piesenteu the
Cieighton Nouel which utilizes a
Chaplain anu two full time Acauemic
Success consultants who opeiate
unuei the Bean of Stuuent Affaiis. The
Chaplain seives as a spiiitual iesouice
anu stuuent auvocate, anu the
0mbuuspeison iole is filleu by the
Acauemic Success Consultant.
Acauemic Success Consultants woik
with stuuents iegaiuing acauemic
issues, stiess management, test
anxiety, exam piepaiation, assist with
caieei counseling, iun the mentoiing
piogiam anu the acauemic success anu
wellness websites, anu moie. The
Acauemic Success Consultants aie
veiy well ieceiveu anu ovei 9S% of
stuuents utilize them to maximize
acauemic success. While this is not a
counseling iole, stuuents can be
iefeiieu to the Centei foi Bealth anu
Counseling, wheie staff aie not faculty
at C0S0N. The waiting aiea is a
geneial waiting aiea anu no one
knows to which aiea of the Centei a
stuuent is waiting. Such issues aie not
maue knowleuge of the Bean of
Stuuent Affaiis, anu stuuent can be
ieassuieu they will not enu up in the
NSPE.
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Appioximately 18u stuuents each yeai
aie uismisseu fiom meuical schools in
the 0S uue to failuie to meet acauemic
stanuaius oi piofessional behavioi.
Timothy F. Nuiphy, Ph.B. anu
Kathleen Kashima, Ph.B. fiom the
0niveisity of Illinois College of
Neuicine anu ueoigette A. Bent, N.B.
fiom the 0niveisity of Noith Caiolina
School of Neuicine, uiscusseu the
ethical implications of these
situations. It is impoitant that the
uecision of uismissal be baseu on the
objective of the meuical school to
pieseive the value of meuical
piactice. Also, stuuents shoulu be
maue awaie of the kinus of activities
that can iesult in uismissal; the
uismissal piocess shoulu be as
tianspaient anu equitable as
possible. Neuical schools shoulu
utilize these situations to altei theii
aumissions piocess in a way that
uiminishes the likelihoou of
uismissals in the futuie.
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The uecline in empathy that is
expeiienceu by meuical stuuents
uuiing theii thiiu yeai of meuical
school is well uocumenteu. This
compassion fatigue is seen in all
stuuents, anu ueiives fiom many
factois, incluuing the lack of positive
clinical iole mouels, the lack of
patient continuity, stiess, an
emphasis on complex patient caie
that uoes not focus on ueveloping
empathic ielationships, anu the
"hiuuen cuiiiculum" of unsciipteu,
oveiwhelming meuical cultuie.
Negan Fuinaii, a fouith yeai stuuent
at the 0niveisity of Nassachusetts
Neuical School, has spent the past
yeai woiking with the ueoige
Washington Institute foi Spiiituality
anu Bealth (uWISB) to incoipoiate
ieflection iounus to the thiiu yeai
suigeiy cleikship. In hei pilot yeai,
ieflection iounus weie helu foi
gioups of 8-1u stuuents who met
with a multi-uisciplinaiy team of
faculty (two suigeons, one palliative
caie physician, one chaplain) foi two
houis each week foi foui weeks. The
time was piotecteu fiom clinical
obligations, anu the iounus weie
iespecteu as a confiuential place with
out inteiiuptions by cell phones oi
pageis. Each session openeu anu
closeu with a iitual in which stuuents
weie askeu to take a minute to
bieathe anu think of a patient that
hau affecteu them that week.
Stuuents ieflecteu on vaiious topics,
such as theii uecision to entei
meuicine, the iole of foiming a
theiapeutic ielationship with a
patient, anu the ieasons uiffeient
patients hau been impactful in theii
clinical expeiiences. They exploieu
what an encountei with a uifficult
oi suffeiing patient uoes, anu
uiscusseu the piivilege of taking
caie of a patient. Although it was
uifficult foi stuuents to be
vulneiable to one anothei, the
space was cieateu to be safe,
confiuential, anu iespecteu, even
with the cleikship uiiectoi's
paiticipation, anu stuuent feeuback
was oveiwhelming positive. The
final iesults of the piogiam will be
shaieu in the neai futuie by the
uWISB.
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The amount of uebt incuiieu by
meuical stuuents has been on the
iise since 1978. }ay Youngclaus,
AANC Senioi Euucation Analyst,
piesenteu a suivey conuucteu by
the AANC shows that the mean
uebt that 0S meuical stuuents incui
by the time of giauuation is $
161,29u. Anne Poitei, 0SR
Southein Region Chaii, anu Reem
Nubani, 0SR Cential Region Chaii,
shaieu the stuuent peispective. Foi
the majoiity of meuical stuuents,
the most impoitant factoi when
consiueiing a loan is the amount of
inteiest iate they aie expecteu to
pay. A majoiity of meuical stuuents
have a sense of the staiting salaiy
of theii specialty of choice, anu
income expectations ceitainly play
a iole in this uecision foi many
stuuents.
Foi moie infoimation, please visit:
https:www.aamc.oiguownloau
1S2968uatauebtfactcaiu.puf
anu
https:www.aamc.oiguownloau
276S96uatathehighpiiceofauiea
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Bespite the gieat financial buiuen
4
associateu with applying to iesiuency,
uninfoimeu about these costs anu the
iesouices available foi hanuling them.
Cheii Naiks fiom the 0niveisity of
Nissouii School of Neuicine uiscusseu
these issues. Two main costs that aie
associateu with iesiuency applications
aie payments to Electionic Resiuency
Application Seivice (ERAS), which
tiansmits stuuents' application
mateiials to iesiuency piogiams anu to
the National Resiuent Natching
Piogiam (NRNP), that pioviues a venue
foi applicants anu piogiams to select
theii piefeiences foi each othei. The
NRNP chaiges a fixeu fee of $Su; ERAS
chaiges $ 8S foi 1u piogiams anu
which incieases piopoitionately to the
numbei of piogiams that the applicant
applies to beyonu this numbei.
Consiueiing that meuical stuuents
apply to an aveiage of SS piogiams, the
combineu ERAS anu NRNP fee that they
paiu is appioximately $44u.
Auuitionally, stuuents attenu an
aveiage of 14 inteiviews, which auus
the auuitional cost of tianspoitation,
accommouations anu attiie, so that the
aveiage inteiviewing cost incuiieu by
each applicant is about $ 6, 6uu. Nost
stuuents choose to use piivate loans,
cieuit caius, peisonal savings oi
suppoit foim a thiiu paity to pay off the
exoibitant cost of applying to iesiuency.
In oiuei foi inteiviewing costs to be
moie manageable, stuuents aie uigeu
to take auvantage of websites that offei
ueals on tiavel anu accommouations.
These incluue Tiipauvisoi, Bookit,
SmaitNeuTiavel (uevelopeu by meuical
school giauuates) anu TiipIt.
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Bana Bunleavy anu Bawn Zhao fiom
the AANC talkeu at the S0SRC0SR
joing iegional meeting about changes to
the NCAT exam in 2u1S.
Recommenuations to change the NCAT
exam have been baseu on input fiom
auvising panels. The numbei of NCAT
examinees has been incieasing in
iecent yeais. With a 6% inciease in
stuuents taking the exam between 2u1u
anu 2u11, leauing to 7S, 2uu unique
examinees in 2u11. NCAT 2u1S aims to
pieseive testing of natuial sciences
concepts anu ciitical analysis anu
ieasoning skills, while eliminating the
wiiting sample fiom 2u1S onwaius.
NCAT 2u1S will incluue 4 sections - (1)
Biological anu Biochemical Founuations
of Living Systems; (2) Chemical anu
Physical Founuations of Biological
Systems (S) Psychological, Social anu
Biological Founuations of Behavioi; (4)
Ciitical Analysis anu Reasoning Skills.
The newly auueu ciitical analysis anu
ieasoning skills section aims to test
scientific inquiiy.
In oiuei to ensuie that infoimation
iegaiuing the iecent changes to NCAT
is available to eveiyone, incluuing
stuuents, faculty, iegional gioups anu
unuei-iesouiceu institutions, the AANC
asks foi eveiybouy's help in spieauing
the woiu. You can volunteei to holu a
talk anu make a piesentation about the
changes to the NCAT. The AANC will
pioviue step-by-step instiuctions,
hanuouts anu sliue uecks with talking
notes. In the spiing of 2u12, an NCAT
self-assessment package will be offeieu
by AANC to help stuuents iuentify aieas
of weakness. This can be puichaseu at
$ 4S foi each section anu $4u foi veibal
Reasoning. A uetaileu uesciiption of the
new NCAT test bluepiints is alieauy
available in the 'Pieview uuiue foi
NCAT' publisheu in Novembei 2u11.
The AANC hopes to make a fiee
piactice test available next yeai anu
again the following the yeai.
Foi moie infoimation please visit:
https:www.aamc.oigstuuentsapply
ingmcatmcat2u1Saumins
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Repiesentatives fiom the AANC
piesenteu the Bolistic Review Pioject,
which aims to assist meuical schools in
incoipoiating holistic ieview piactices
into theii stuuent selection piocess.
This is a flexible, inuiviuualizeu way of
assessing an applicant's capabilities, in
which the applicant's expeiiences,
attiibutes anu acauemic metiics aie all
consiueieu in evaluating how an
applicant might contiibute to the fielu
of meuicine as a stuuent anu physician.
The holistic ieview piocess aims to
piomote uiveisity anu establish a set of
ciiteiia that assess the inuiviuual as a
whole anu can be applieu equitably
acioss the entiie canuiuate pool. The
Bolistic Review Pioject will collect
infoimation on those schools using
holistic aumissions anu shaie this
uata with AANC constituents.
Foi moie infoimation please visit:
https:www.aamc.oiginitiatives
holisticieview
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Repiesentatives fiom the National
Boaiu of Neuical Examineis
(NBNE) piesenteu pioposeu
ienovations in content as well as
stiuctuie to many aspects of the
0niteu States Licensing Exam
Seiies. Pioposeu changes to the
Step 1 examination incluue the
uevelopment of questions that
emphasize clinical pioblem solving
iathei than iote memoiization of
facts, an incieaseu emphasis on
biostatistics anu epiuemiology,
inteipietation of meuical liteiatuie
anu uiug auveitisements as well as
the integiation of viueos anu static
images into question stems. With
these changes, the NBNE intenus to
shift the emphasis of the Step 1
exam fiom a focus on memoiization
to an assessment of the appiopiiate
use of scientific conceptual
infoimation in the context of
meuicine. While the Step 2 CS
exam will ietain its cuiient length,
foimat anu stiuctuie, changes in
the pioctoi's giauing will have an
incieaseu focus on communication
anu inteipeisonal skills thiough the
examinee's ability to fostei a
ielationship, acquiie infoimation
fiom the patient, pioviue
infoimation to the patient, make
uecisions anu suppoit emotions.
These competencies will be scoieu
in a "yes oi no" mannei iathei than
the cuiient numeiical iange of 1
though 7. Auuitionally, Step 2 CS
examinees will no longei be
iequiieu to incluue a list of five
possible uiffeiential uiagnoses, but
insteau will cieate a ieasoneu list of
thiee uiffeiential uiagnoses in oiuei
of likelihoou. Changes to the Step 1
anu Step 2 exams will not be
implementeu befoie 2u16.
Pioposeu changes to the Step S
exam have iecently been appioveu
5
anu will incluue an integiation of the
basic science concepts emphasizeu on
the Step 1 exam as well as a stiuctuial
change that will sepaiate the exam into
2 sepaiate 6-8 houi exams, Step SA anu
Step SB, which incluue a computei-
baseu, multiple choice exam anu a
clinical skills exam iespectively. The
exam segments will be inuepenuent of
each othei meaning that the examinee
can take each segment at uiffeient times
uuiing the yeai, which the NBNE hopes
will make the exam scheuule moie
humane foi examinees. These changes
to the Step S exam will not be
implementeu until aftei 2u14.
Foi moie infoimation visit:
www.usmle.oig
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Repiesentatives fiom the NRNP anu
fiom ERAS piesenteu at each of the
iegional meetings.
NRNP 2u12
-S8,S77 paiticipants applieu foi 26,772
positions in the Nain Resiuency Natch;
gieatei than 2S of all positions weie
filleu by 0.S. N.B.'s
-0ithopeuic suigeiy iemains the #1
unmatcheu specialty with 2u% of
seniois who iankeu only oithopeuic
suigeiy going unmatcheu. This is
followeu by iauiation oncology, ENT,
ueimatology, anu neuiosuigeiy
-All positions weie filleu foi 0ithopeuic
Suigeiy, Emeigency Neuicine, anu
Rauiation 0ncology
Supplemental 0ffei anu Acceptance
Piogiam (S0AP)
S0AP is a new seivice offeieu by the
NRNP uesigneu to ieplace the Sciamble
by pioviuing a tianspaient anu oiueily
piocess of offeiing anu accepting
positions that uiu not fill in the fiist
stage of the main iesiuency match. In
S0AP, piogiam uiiectois have access to
new applications submitteu to
unmatcheu stuuents anu the NRNP
offeis positions to applicants in a seiies
of 8 iounus.
Neeting attenuees hau many comments
foi the NRNP iepiesentatives, anu the
iesponse vaiieu by iegion. In some
iegions, many meeting attenuees
commenueu the effoits of the NRNP
anu ERAS foi iunning a smooth
inauguial S0AP. Bowevei, othei
meeting attenuees expiesseu conceins
iegaiuing the length of each iounu.
Piogiam uiiectois hau expiesseu to the
NRNP that they wanteu the iounus to
be shoitei, with eailiei access to
applicant 0SNLE scoies, the option foi
iolling offeis, anu moie time to
uownloau applications. Bowevei, some
school auministiatois piesent at the
meetings they opposite; they felt iusheu
thioughout the piocess, they wanteu
moie time to counsel stuuents befoie
the fiist iounu anu longei offei iounus
thioughout. Theie weie also conceins
that new iestiictions on contact
between piogiams anu stuuents weie
not iespecteu. The NRNP uoes,
howevei, have pioceuuies in place foi
iepoiting such Natch violations. In
iesponse to conceins iegaiuing the
final uay of S0AP, the 2u1S S0AP will
concluue at the enu of Thuisuay to
allow oppoitunity foi applicants not
eligible foi S0AP oi who uiun't match
in S0AP to finu positions foi Natch Bay
on Fiiuay.
Coming up: In Nay the NRNP boaiu will
finalize the All in Policy foi Natch 2u1S.
Noie infoimation can be founu on
www.nimp.oig
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Repiesentatives fiom foui meuical
schools uiscusseu how they facilitateu
the piocess of S0AP foi theii stuuents.
Neuical 0niveisity of South
Caiolina: The Natch Assistance
Piogiam helpeu stuuents gauge
competitiveness uuiing the
application piocess while also
helping stuuents cieate back up
plans. They uistiibuteu infoimation
packets about S0AP amongst
stuuents. 0nmatcheu stuuents weie
assigneu mentois anu auviseu to
uiess piofessionally in case of
Skype inteiviews.
Noitheast 0hio Neuical 0niveisity:
Faculty seiveu as "S0AP auvisois"
to pioviue assistance to
unmatcheu stuuents. Stuuents
weie maue awaie of
misleauing piogiam
communications to help
avoiu tiaps.
0niveisity of Niami Nillei
School of Neuicine: 0ne faculty
membei was appointeu the
"S0AP Queen". She was
iesponsible foi unueistanuing
S0AP anu supeivising the S0AP
team. Folueis weie piepaieu foi
potential unmatcheu stuuents
aheau of time. Piioi to match
uay, piogiam uiiectois at the
school who histoiically filleu
spots in the sciamble weie
calleu on foi suppoit.
Impoitantly, six piogiam
uiiectois fiom the school uiu call
to talk about unmatcheu
stuuents in whom they weie
inteiesteu.
0niveisity of Texas: The
sciambling piocess was
oichestiateu in a "wai ioom" in
which faculty fiom vaiious
specialties was available to help
stuuents. Stuuents weie auviseu
to have with them a laptop,
phone, a copy of theii ERAS
application, as well as two
fiienus oi family to help with
uecisions. Stuuents shoulu be
emotionally piepaieu on match
uay anu check iesults at a
location that is close to school,
with the application mateiial is
available by 11 am on Nonuay in
oiuei to senu out at least Su
applications by 1 pm on Nonuay.
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Neuical stuuents want infoimation
to be fast anu easily accessible. But
what about the impoitance of
ieliable infoimation. The 0niveisity
of Niami Nillei School of Neuicine
anu the FI0 Beibeit Weitheim
College of Neuicine exploieu this
veiy question. Togethei, they
ieceiveu 117 suivey iesponses fiom
theii stuuents in an attempt to bettei
unueistanu the use of the inteinet as
a souice foi meuical school auvice.
The inteinet offeis infinite
6


infoimation-- stuuents often access the
inteinet to leain how to best piepaie foi
shelf exams, boaiu ieview, anu the
iesiuency application piocess. While
theie aie official websites incluuing
Caieeis in Neuicine, AANC, ANSA, anu
othei meuical oiganizations, stuuents
moie fiequently visit websites such as
StuuentBoctoi, RankToNatch,
NBPeisonalStatements,
NatchAResiuent, 0SNLEWoilu,
RateNyPiofessoi, blogs, anu plenty of
otheis. Nany sites utilize foiums as a
place foi stuuents to ask specific
questions anu ieceive answeis fiom
theii peeis. Nany of these answeis aie
anecuotal anu aie not fact checkeu
Stuuent iesponses to the suivey
uemonstiateu that uppeiclassmen weie
as likely to list the infoimation founu in
these foiums as helpful anu as
misleauing, but oveiall most stuuents
took such infoimation with a giain of
salt. Nany stuuents like to use these
foiums as a way to put infoimation fiom
theii ueans anu classmates in
peispective. Stuuents also noteu the
uifficulty in analyzing anu inteipieting
the uata founu on some official websites,
such as Caieeis in Neuicine.
While auministiatois expiesseu
fiustiation that stuuents iely on such
potentially unieliable infoimation
insteau of coming to them, stuuents
aigue that they aien't offeieu the
infoimation they neeu at the exact
moment they want it. Foi example,
auministiatois may not piesent
infoimation iegaiuing the logistics of the
Natch oi S0AP to fiist yeai stuuents,
insteau waiting to piesent such
infoimation at a latei uate. But most of
meuical stuuents know that when we
want to know something, especially if it
ielates to obtaining a iesiuency, we want
to know it N0W. Buiing uiscussion, it
was suggesteu that infoimation be maue
ieauily available foi any stuuent. Some
schools use a timeline with impoitant
infoimation on a website, anu is
accessible by all stuuents. It was also
suggesteu that auministiatois be
pioactive anu offei theii suggesteu
iesouices, anu wain stuuents of othei
websites. Caieeis in Neuicine was also
in attenuance anu they aie iewoiking
the website to make it moie usei
fiienuly anu easily seaichable.
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Repiesentatives fiom an AANC
woiking gioup on the use of social
meuia in communicating with stuuents
piesenteu to attenuees at all of the
iegional meetings. While the sessions
weie specifically geaieu towaius
helping auministiatois unueistanu the
potential foi using platfoims such as
Facebook anu Twittei in
communicating with stuuents, they
also piesenteu iesults of a national
suivey iegaiuing stuuent peiceptions
of ethical anu piofessional use of
social meuia. Neuical stuuents aie
hesitant to inteiact with faculty
thiough social meuia platfoims; many
of us have been waineu that we may
be vieweu as unpiofessional foi uoing
so. Bowevei, as the iest of the woilu
moves foiwaiu in using these
technologies in aieas such as business,
law, anu jouinalism, meuicine too will
ultimately piogiess to a point in which
physicians anu patients inteiact in
multiple online venues. Touay's
meuical stuuents neeu faculty to
engage in such tools in oiuei to not
only bettei shaie the infoimation we
want, when we want it, but also to
seive as iole mouels anu teacheis as
we leain how to navigate the vaiious
ethical anu piofessional uilemmas of
all aspects of the piofession.
Foi moie infoimation please visit:
https:www.aamc.oigseivicescim
27S7Sucimatspiingmeetings.html

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}oel Biauley anu Nanny Naccall, Noitheast Region
Woouy Chang anu Lauia Nuscianese, Westein Region
Lauia Bouglass anu Lelanu Busbanu, Southein Region
Bivya uumbei anu Robeit uuglielmo, Cential Region
Colleen Kays, National Belegate