2024 PreMed Summit, Saturday, September 28th, 2024 at Carroll College in Helena

Register Here

 

Please join us on Saturday, September 28th from 8:00am to 5:00pm for the 2024 Montana WWAMI Pre-Med Summit at Carroll College in Helena, MT. This conference is provided at a minimal cost of $15 to attendees and includes breakfast/snack bags and lunch. Registration is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. For questions contact Lisa Benzel at [email protected], or Judi Sullivan at [email protected] or call 406-660-0246.

 

2024 Agenda 

PDF version of agenda available for download 

Location: O’Connell Hall (Admissions Office), except for lunch in Campus Center (CUBE)

7:30 a.m.                  Registration (and breakfast snack bags)(O’Connell Hall, Room 107)

8:00 a.m.                  Welcome and Overview (Room 107), Jay Erickson, MD & Brant Schumaker, DVM, MPVM, PhD   

8:15 a.m.                  Components of the Medical School Application (Room 107), Stella Yee, Admissions Director, University of Washington School of Medicine

9:15 a.m.                  Medical School Financing Options (Room 107),Jay Erickson, MD, & Zach Meyers, MD

9:45 a.m.                  Break

10:00 a.m.                Creating Your Personal Statement(Room 107), Mike Geurin, MD

11:00 a.m.                Breakout Session # 1(Please choose one of the following, O'Connell Hall):

     Loan Repayment Programs (Room 101)                    Zach Meyers, MD & Amy Unsworth, OCHE

     MD PhD Program (Room 125)                                       Brant Schumaker, DVM, MPVM, PhD

     Nuts & Bolts of MCAT (Room 102)                               Hilary Becker (MSU) & Laurie Rodriguez (Carroll)

     Pre-Med Research Experience (Room 106)               Mark Pershouse, PhD (UM) & Grant Hokit, PhD (Carroll)

11:35 a.m.                Break to switch sessions

11:40 a.m.               Breakout Session # 2(Please choose one of the following, O'Connell Hall):

     MT WWAMI Students Q&A (Room 101)                         MT WWAMI students

     Nuts & Bolts of MCAT (Room 102)                                  Hilary Becker (MSU) & Laurie Rodriguez (Carroll)

     Pre-Med Research Experience (Room 106)                 Mark Pershouse, PhD (UM) & Grant Hokit, PhD (Carroll)

     TRUST (Targeted Rural UnderServed Track)(Room 119)         Jay Erickson, MD/Lisa Benzel, MT TRUST Director

12:15 a.m.                Break to move to buffet line and eat (Campus Center - CUBE) 

12:35 a.m.–1:30p.m. Lunch(Campus Center - CUBE)

     Table Breakout Discussions – (12:35-12:50; 12:55-1:10; 1:15-1:30)

1:30 p.m.                   Break to switch to Breakout Session 3

1:45 p.m.                   Breakout Session # 3(Please choose one of the following, O'Connell Hall):

    Application/Interview Process Advice (Room 102)      John Kalbfleisch, MD& Stella Yee, UWSOM

    MCAT Tips from Students (Room 106)                            Q&A students from UM, MSU & Carroll

     MT WWAMI Students Q&A (Room 101)                          MT WWAMI students

     TRUST (Targeted Rural UnderServed Track) (Room 119)           Jay Erickson, MD/Lisa Benzel, MT TRUST Director

2:20 p.m.                   Break to switch sessions

2:25 p.m.                   Breakout Session # 4 (Please choose one of the following, O'Connell Hall):

     Application/Interview Process Advice (Room 102)       John Kalbfleisch, MD& Stella Yee, UWSOM

     Loan Repayment Programs (Room 101)                          Zach Meyers, MD & Amy Unsworth, OCHE

     MCAT Tips from Students (Room 106)                              Q&A students from UM, MSU & Carroll

     MD PhD Program (Room 125)                                             Brant Schumaker, DVM, MPVM, PhD

3:00 p.m.                   Break

3:05 p.m                    Medical School Interview Preparation (Room 107), Stella Yee, Admissions Director, University of Washington School of Medicine

3:25 p.m.                   Mock Medical School Interviews (Room 107),Zach Meyers, MD

4:50 p.m.                   Closing Session - drawing for Grand Prize and door prizes(Room 107)

 

MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

Resources for PreMed Students 

Medical residency is post-graduate training after completion of medical school.  Residency provides more focused, in-depth training in one area of medicine

Before graduating medical school, typically between third and fourth year, most students research and apply to residency programs in their chosen specialty area. Residencies vary in length from 3-7 years depending on the specialty area. Below are several residency options, although there are more that could be added:

Three-Year Residencies:

Internal Medicine

Family Medicine

Pediatrics

Emergency Medicine

 

Four-Year Residencies:

Obstetrics-Gynecology

Psychiatry

Neurology

Dermatology

Ophthalmology

 

Five-Year Residencies:

General Surgery 5 years

Urology 5 years

 

Greater than Five-Year Residencies:

Neurosurgery 7 years

 

Additional helpful links for more information about residency:

https://students-residents.aamc.org/premed-navigator/whats-journey-residency

https://sites.uw.edu/uwgme/prospective-residents-and-fellows/

https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-students/preparing-residency/which-factors-do-applicants-weigh-most-when-picking-residency

Job-shadowing will give you a better understanding of what a doctor's typical day is like, allows you to get a clear sense of what it’s like to be a practicing physician, and gives you good experience to talk about in your applications and interviews for medical school. It's also a great way to gain familiarity with different specialties and medical environments. For this reason, many medical schools across the U.S. have a minimum requirement for shadowing hours. This may vary widely; some schools require 12–24 hours, while others require more than 75 hours. WWAMI sits in the middle with a strong recommendation of at least 40 hours.

 

If you don’t already have a personal connection with a physician, we can usually assist with making those connections, if you have flexibility in scheduling, locations, preferred specialties, etc. Feel free to reach out to the below contacts for assistance:

 

Ali McInnis, Montana WWAMI TRUST Assistant   

[email protected] or (208) 699-4134  

Rural shadowing opportunities available. 

 

Liz Kelsey, UM Pre-Med Job Shadow Program Manager

 [email protected]or (406) 243-4763  

 Robotic shadowing and/or webinar-based shadowing also available.

See below for a few suggested current event topics to be up to date on when interviewing for medical school (Note-this is not a complete list):

 

  1. COVID-19 and Effects on Health & Society
  2. Vaccinations
  3. United States Health Insurance and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)
    1. Cost of healthcare versus outcomes in the US and other developed nations
  4. Mental Health & Physician Burnout
  5. Gun Violence & Mass Shootings
  6. Abortion & Contraception
  7. Cultural Curiosity in Patient Care and Diversity in Healthcare
  8. End-of-Life Care
  9. Opiod Crisis
  10. Artificial Intelligence & Applications to Healthcare
  11. Differences in health care outcomes based on socioeconomic status

 

Locations to look for up-to-date articles and information include:

New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)

Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA)

Annals of Internal Medicine

New York Times

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal

  • Drew Babcock, American Indian Outreach & Project Coordinator

 

 

Loan Repayment Information

NHSC Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Fact Sheet

NHSC Scholarship Program Fact Sheet

NHSC Student-to-Service (S2S) Fact Sheet

NHSC Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program Fact Sheet