Academics, continued

Academic Support in Biennium I: The Pre-Clinical Years

The goal of academic support services is to identify academic problems early and provide assistance.

All students are given an opportunity to attend the pre-matriculation program but priority is given to students at risk for academic problems.

Early identification of problems begins with: pre-matriculation performance, self-assessment evaluations, optional diagnostic testing, frequent course testing, and observations by faculty and staff.

The Associate Deans for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs monitor student performance on all tests throughout the academic year and as needed initiates discussions with at risk students, course directors, and academic support personnel.

Contributing factors to academic problems include absenteeism, emotional and physical problems, family and personal relationships issues, adjustment to a new environment, financial problems, isolation from class members, etc. Students are encouraged to seek assistance in addressing issues that contribute to their academic problems.

Types of Academic Support

• Course directors and teaching faculty provide assistance to students on a daily basis. Students should seek out faculty and request assistance when they are experiencing difficulty. Course directors can be particularly helpful at diagnosing problems and recommending appropriate assistance with content.
  
• Individual and small group tutors are available to students who are at risk or experiencing difficulty with a course. Tutor assignments are made in the Office of Student Affairs.
  
• Academic support and learning skills assessment and assistance is available in the Office of Student Affairs. Personnel can administer diagnostic tests, assist with time management, note-taking, test-taking, study skills, and provide or recommend counseling.
  
• A student with academic problems may be assigned a faculty mentor. The faculty mentor will meet on a regular basis with the student to review progress, develop strategies for learning, review materials, and set priorities and goals.
  
• Evaluation for specific learning disabilities is available on request. Academic support personnel in the Office of Student Affairs or the WSU Office of Disability Services in the Student Union can provide you with a list of professional evaluators. The criteria used by the National Board of Medical Examiners for determining accommodations on the USMLE is available in the Office of Student Affairs.
  
• Summer make-up courses are available for students who have permission from the Student Promotions Committee to repeat a course. A catalog of available courses is on file in the office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

Academic Support in Biennium II: The Clinical Years

As in the first biennium, our goal is to identify academic and non-cognitive problems early in the clinical years. Clerkship directors are encouraged to provide timely feedback to students throughout the clerkship or at least by the midpoint of the clerkship. Clerkship directors are encouraged to document academic and/or behavioral problems, discuss the documented deficiencies with the student and bring them to the attention of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

Types of Academic Support

• Clerkship directors, preceptors, and residents are available to assist students throughout the clerkship experience. Students should take responsibility for seeking help as soon as they are aware of academic or personality problems that interfere with clinical performance. The clerkship director has a number of resources available to help students be successful. In some cases the clerkship director, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, and the student's advisor may consult together to determine the best approach to helping a student.
  
• A student's advisor generally provides independent and objective advice to a student. Developing a continuing relationship with your advisor can be very beneficial throughout the clinical years. Advisors are trained to do academic counseling and have access to numerous resources in the school and community.
  
• A student with an academic or behavioral problem may be assigned to a faculty mentor.
  
• Occasionally, students are placed in a non-graded clerkship to work on specific deficiencies. The Student Promotions Committee determines the objectives and monitors the student's progress through the clerkship.
  
• At times, a student may need to take a leave of absence in order to resolve a problem (see LOA policy).

Communicating Student Clerkship Performance with Other Clerkship Directors

Occasionally, a student with persistent academic or behavioral deficiencies may benefit from having information from a clerkship shared with the clerkship director in a subsequent clerkship. The purpose is to provide closer supervision of patient care by the student, additional academic or behavioral assistance and closer monitoring of the student's progress with frequent feedback to the student.

Academic Advisors

Roles of Advisors

In the beginning of Year-2, all students are assigned an Academic Advisor who is a physician and faculty member. Advisors provide a wide variety of assistance to students, helping them to succeed both academically and personally. In the eyes of students, they may be a mentor, friend, or advocate amongst the physician faculty. They have an ongoing relationship with students, lasting for the duration of medical school. The role of the Advisor is as varied as the individuals who serve in this capacity. There are, however, certain common roles that they fulfill for students.

Mentor
Frequently, the Advisor takes on the role of a mentor. This depends on the individual student, the Advisor, and circumstance to a large extent. The Advisor is a role model for the student to at least some degree in all Advisor-advisee relationships. In some cases where the chemistry is right, the Advisor may become the most important role model for the student. This often leads to more interaction between the student and Advisor and a more active role for the Advisor as a career counselor for the student. Advisors are trained in helping students to accurately self assess their strengths and weaknesses, to explore the various specialties of medicine, and to find a specialty which is the best fit for the student.

Friend
The Advisor most often plays the role of a friendly person among our academic community who can listen and talk to students free of other responsibilities such as grading, supervising, or disciplining. Until students reach Year-2, they may not have had an opportunity to relate in a close manner with clinical physician faculty. Because they were medical students once, Advisors can empathize with students in a way that even parents, old friends or clergy cannot. Being a receptive and friendly ear to students is one of their most important roles.

Advocate
Infrequently Advisors may be called upon to serve as the student's advocate in interacting with administration, faculty, residents, etc. Students who are appealing decisions of the Student Promotions Committee may wish to have their Advisor accompany them to their appeal hearings before the committee. Similarly, should a student have a hearing before the Honor Code Council, he or she may wish to be accompanied by their Advisor. These are only a few of the ways Advisors serve in the role of an advocate for the student.

The Advisor System

Academic Advisors serve as the first tier in providing students with guidance and assistance. Although an attempt is made to match students with an advisor in their specialty of preference, this is not always possible due to the limited number of available advisors. One of the advisor's most important roles is to help students plan fourth year schedules. They also assist students in the residency application process. They are not expected to be knowledgeable about residency programs in all specialties of medicine.

Tutors

Selection, Training, & Pay

Upper class students with at least 80 percent in the course to be tutored and an overall average of 75 percent or better are eligible to work as tutors. If a student's overall average falls below 75 percent, he/she will be asked to stop tutoring.

An orientation is held for all tutors. These topics are covered:

• Time and effort expected of tutors;
  
• Administrative procedures, including electronic time cards, tutoring logs, and time limitations;
  
• Changes in course requirements, objectives, and content; and
  
• Tutoring methods, approaches, and strategies.

Tutors are paid $12 per hour. They are limited to 10 contact hours per week and are required to log the number of hours spent tutoring, name of the student(s) tutored, subject, a brief description of content covered, problems, and recommendations. Both the tutor and tutee must sign the log. Paychecks are direct deposited into the tutor's personal bank account on Friday two weeks after time cards are submitted. In order to be paid for work, a time log and electronic time card must be submitted within 30 days of the date of tutoring. Logs should be turned in to the Office of Student Affairs/Admissions on the Thursday by 10 a.m. before the end of each pay period. Time cards are submitted electronically. They will be verified for accuracy but will not be approved unless the time log is turned in. The university rules for student employment state that under no circumstances should tutors begin working until contracts have been processed. If tutors do not turn in their contracts within three days of the first work day, they will be enrolled in the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (PERS), and 8.5 percent of their pay will be withheld for the entire year. Furthermore, if tutor time cards are not processed and paid in a timely manner, withholding taxes may jump to 20 percent if processed late.

Expectations for Tutors & Tutees

Tutors are expected to meet with tutee(s) on a regular basis as agreed, even through exam periods. This requirement applies at all times including final examination weeks. Exceptions to this policy are made when the tutor or tutee has personal extenuating circumstances or when the tutee is not in need of tutoring. Those tutoring more than one tutee at the same time may not multiply the number of hours by the number of students in a particular session. Tutors are required to report to the Office of Student Affairs/Admissions if they are not able to work. Should students stop tutoring or accept a new tutee, they should inform the Office of Student Affairs/Admissions.

Tutoring sessions should take place in the same location, preferably in an educational environment rather than the tutor or tutee's residence. Tutees are encouraged to schedule sessions regularly throughout the quarter and not plan on intensive tutoring just prior to exams.

The tutor should meet with the course instructor when there is a question about content. Reference materials such as textbooks, manuals, and self-assessment materials are available in the Office of Student Affairs. Two may be checked out at one time.

Initial assignment of tutors will be based on students' requests and on an academic ranking derived from undergraduate GPA and MCAT scores. Once academic performance information is available from courses, tutors may be reassigned to students who have greater academic needs, especially if there is a shortage of tutors. Due to conflict of interest, tutoring close friends or spouses is discouraged.

If a problem develops between a tutor and a tutee which hinders productive tutoring, or if the tutor is not effective, a tutee may request a new tutor.

Study Groups

Study groups are sometimes coordinated by the Office of Student Affairs to accommodate a great demand for tutors. Each has one upperclassman as a facilitator and no more than five or six Year-1 tutees. The Office of Student Affairs presents one workshop for the tutors that focuses on the role of a facilitator in group-based learning. The tutor and tutees should meet regularly once or twice a week. The Office of Student Affairs/Admissions periodically monitors the groups. These organized study groups are not changed during a course unless a student leaves the group.

Here are some advantages of group study:

• Students come prepared for each session.
  
• Discussion brings out a variety of approaches to problems and concepts.
  
• Participation builds self-confidence in one's knowledge base.
  
• Participation promotes life-long learning skills.
  
• Group interaction increases sensitivity to individuality and promotes interpersonal skills required for learning and working in clinical settings.

Research Opportunities

Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine actively encourages medical students to participate in research under the direction and guidance of experienced researchers. Research introduces students to lifelong learning tools, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and the use of the scientific process. During the first year, students are exposed to basic and clinical science faculty who are involved in cutting edge research. In a typical year, School of Medicine faculty receive more than $14 million in research funding in a wide variety of areas. Students are linked with faculty mentors who are strongly committed to working with students and welcome them to join their research teams. Typically, students conduct research during the summer between the first and second years. For many students, research activity continues throughout their medical school experience. Up to 25 percent of the fourth year may be devoted to research. For more information, check out "Research Opportunities for Students" to review a list of faculty mentors, stipends, and research opportunities. For those interested in an in-depth research background, see the M.D./Ph.D. dual degree program.