In this issue:
- Please take the MSQ survey
- ICYMI: Please share feedback about curriculum and instruction
- Tip of the Month: Managing extracurricular activities
It only takes 10 minutes to complete the MSQ survey
A message from the Educational Quality Improvement Team: First and foremost, a big thank you to everyone who has already completed the Matriculating Student Questionnaire (MSQ) by the AAMC!
We’re excited to share that we’ve seen a 4 percentage point increase in responses since Aug. 7, with 155 students (56.4% of the class) contributing their feedback.
If you haven’t had a chance to complete the survey yet, we’d love to hear from you!
It only takes 10 minutes, and your input will be valuable.
Here is an overview of the current response rate for the MSQ at UWSOM.
| U Washington | Total | Percent |
| Completed | 155 | 56.4% |
| In Progress | 18 | 6.6% |
| Not Started | 102 | 37.1% |
| Total Eligible | 275 | 100% |
*The overall national completion rate is 60.2%.
How to Access the Survey: Look for a reminder email from msq@aamc.org sent on Thursday, August 15.
If you encounter any issues accessing the survey, please contact msq@aamc.org directly, including your full name and AAMC ID.
For any additional questions, please contact eqi@uw.edu
ICYMI: Your feedback on curriculum and instruction will be welcome
Here is a message from MS1s Prabhat Aluri (Spokane) and Madia Bazso (Seattle): We are your block partners for FMR, which means we will be meeting with faculty to represent student feedback on curriculum and instruction during and after this block. We have created a live document for you to leave course feedback. This will allow you to give us your thoughts on specific features of the course as we go, rather than waiting until the end of the block.
We realize the block is halfway over. That does not mean that it is too late to share feedback as we help to improve the curriculum, and its delivery, for the rest of our time in Foundations, and for future students! We highly recommend keeping the document provided bookmarked or opening a sticky note on your desktop so you can document feedback as it arises, rather than waiting until the end of the block and trying to recall what happened.
The rules are located in the Google document itself, but for the sake of completeness:
* There is a tab for general, UW-wide feedback
* Each Foundations site has a dedicated tab for issues specific to that site
* If you would like to echo what someone said, use the tally system included in the document
* You can access the document through the incognito tab if you would prefer to remain anonymous
* Please be cordial and constructive in the document. We will be reviewing the document periodically in a moderator capacity
* If you are struggling with how to deliver feedback in a constructive manner, you can reach out for additional support or resources
If you have concerns about the Learning Environment as defined by the University of Washington, please know that there are additional resources located here.
Here is the link to live feedback documents for all our classes. You can bookmark this link to give real-time feedback for any of our classes as we move through Foundations.
Peer to Peer: Tip of the Month from Career Advising
Welcome MS1s! Every month, you’ll get a tip in this newsletter to help your career planning stay on track.
You will soon get tons of emails about extracurriculars. This may seem overwhelming during FMR but think big picture about what might interest you career-wise. If you can, try to take on a leadership position for an interest group, a volunteer project, or join a committee. Make sure you don’t overcommit, but picking one or two extracurriculars this year to pour into is a fantastic way to kick off med school!
Pathway applications will also open this fall and can be very helpful in learning how to better serve minoritized and underserved communities. Learn more about Pathways here.
- Reviewed by BIPOC MS4 Abraham Correa-Medina. Originally written by BIPOC alum Shanelle Briggs, MD.
ICYMI: Here’s the previous MS1 newsletter.