Passing Knowledge Down the Line

A Near-Peer Mentor Program for Medical Students

Megan Schlussler，来自Sandpoint的爱达荷州WWAMI医学教育的四年级学生 Liz Bryant, director of the N. Idaho Area Health Education Center introduced PMMP in 2019. 作为一所大学的前学前健康专业项目协调员，布莱恩特是该项目的员工顾问 Pre-Med/Pre-PA Club, 帮助对医学职业感兴趣的汪达尔人组成学习小组, 寻找社区服务机会，在校园里寻找研究经验.

“医学预科俱乐部为我提供了加强医学院申请的方向，让我受益匪浅,” Schlussler said. “我们还与爱达荷州WWAMI学生一起参加了志愿者活动, 这让我有机会与那些了解我的经历和挑战的人建立联系."

Schlussler was accepted to WWAMI, a 5-state regional medical school that spans Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, 蒙大拿州和爱达荷州，是全国排名的华盛顿大学医学院的一部分. 每个被爱达荷州WWAMI录取的申请人都是爱达荷州的居民，并在伊利诺伊大学学习医学院课程. 正是在莫斯科校区，她在医学预科俱乐部体验到的“近同龄人”导师项目转变成了现在的医科学生指导医学预科本科生.

“申请医学院比人们意识到的要复杂得多，”Schlussler说. “我热衷于帮助与我志同道合的人, 导师计划似乎是分享小众知识的好方法.”

Communicating Through COVID-19

In 2019, with Bryant’s help, PMMP将12名爱达荷州WWAMI医学院学生与20名医学预科本科生配对. 参与者被配对，以确保导师的经验与学员的需求相一致, 优先录取历史上代表性不足和/或弱势背景的申请人.

“导师可以帮助审核申请，帮助学员保持竞争力，”Schlussler说. “But what makes this program stand apart is the fact that we are med students; we can describe what it’s actually like to be in med school and what helped get us here.”

Prior to the pandemic, the PMMP was open to pre-med students in northern Idaho, including students from Lewis-Clark State College, North Idaho College and U of I. 但随着世界为应对COVID-19而变得虚拟，指导计划也随之效仿. By Fall 2020, pre-med juniors and seniors across the Gem State could apply, 所以爱达荷州的WWAMI学生开始指导远至波卡特洛和博伊西的本科生.

‘Knowledge to Impart’

22岁的吉莉安·格利瓦在伊格尔长大，毕业于365滚球官网 Bachelor of Science in Medical Sciences, participated in the PMMP for two consecutive years.

“As a junior, 我的导师让我把注意力集中在医学院入学的申请要求上，并开始让我为课程的苛刻程度做好准备. He helped set my expectations,” she said. “As a senior, 我的导师看了我的申请，并就最佳面试方法给了我宝贵的建议. 我在很多不同的事情上都依赖于我的导师，但这两年我都从这个项目中学到了很多.”

Glivar, who is part of the incoming Idaho WWAMI class, 很高兴与医学预科生分享她申请医学院的经历吗.

“我当然希望在这个项目中担任导师，”她说. “我很高兴能与365体育滚球分享我的经验，因为我有知识可以传授.”

Schlussler, who is applying to residency spots for general surgery, will graduate from medical school in 2023. She’s proud that this program – recognized as a service learning 活动将在她毕业后继续进行.

她说:“作为一名导师，我提高了沟通技巧，这对我成为一名医生很有帮助。. “你从你的学员那里获得信息，然后一起制定一个比赛计划. Ideally, with patients, 我就可以和他们谈谈他们的情况, in turn, will understand our treatment plan.”

今年是WWAMI在本州教育和培训未来医生的50周年纪念日. The state’s only publicly funded medical school, 爱达荷州WWAMI帮助增加初级保健医生的数量, especially in underserved areas, and provides students with opportunities for unique, community-based medical education.