An advisory program for first- and second-year medical students: the Weill Cornell experience

Abstract

PurposeFirst-year students negotiate new professional culture with a certain amount of excitement and anxiety. There are different approaches for offering guidance. In this study, the authors present Weill Cornell Medical College's experience with an advising program for first- and second-year students.MethodsFifty faculty advisors were each assigned 1–3 first-year students who they would follow for 2 years. The responsibilities were outlined to both faculty and students. The program was evaluated using an anonymous questionnaire.ResultsFor the two classes surveyed (2011 and 2012), most students met their advisors once. For both classes, the most frequently discussed issues were general adjustment to medical school, academic life, and the professional life of the advisor. Summer research and career opportunities were also discussed. Most students were satisfied with the advising program. Satisfaction increased with an increase in visits. Most students who did not meet their advisors established an advisor relationship on their own.ConclusionsAn advising program was established at Weill Cornell Medical College that satisfied most of the students. It is important to evaluate its format regularly, from both student and advisor perspectives, in order to ensure its continued success.

Mentorship of US Medical Students: a Systematic Review

“…The most common model of mentorship used was the traditional dyad model, which was used exclusively by 16 programs [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] .…”

“…Most programs stated broad objectives including assisting medical students with career development/career planning 2,10,12,14,30 , professional development 11,12,19,23,24,26,30,32,33 , and well-being 29,32 .…”

“…Beyond costs, several of the papers described other barriers. Two articles cited faculty members' busy schedules as barriers, 19,27 while those that utilized residents and students as mentors noted competing demands and responsibilities 17,30 .…”

Evaluating the academic advisors' communication skills according to the students living in dormitory

“…Most of the students who do not regularly visit their academic advisor personally try to establish communication with their academic advisor. [ 17 ] Another result of the present study, in the students' opinion, was the academic advisors' low score in “oral and written” field. This field means the academic advisors' ability to use sentences and words in oral and written forms.…”

Development and Implementation of an Advising Program’s Meet-and-Greet Session

“…4,5 Students of the health professions face academic and professional issues that may differ from students in other degree programs. [6][7][8] In evaluating the literature on medical and nursing students, satisfaction with faculty mentorship and advising seems to be dependent on meeting at least once with a faculty advisor. 6,7 There is a deficit, however, in the literature regarding best practices for facilitating an introduction between faculty advisors and students.…”