MS2 CLASS INFORMATION – December 02, 2021

(Printable PDF)

Preclinical Town Hall Meeting for MS1 and MS2 Students

Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Start: 5pm Alaska / 6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain

Location: Link will be forwarded via email

Led by: MSA and UWSOM Deans


National Study to Better Understand Medical Students’ Professional Identity Formation

The UW School of Medicine is part of a national study to better understand medical students’ professional identity formation as they complete their preclinical education.  The study, funded by the Kern Institute, is especially interested in the role of learning communities, such as the UW’s Colleges program, in students’ professional identity formation.  UW is one of two medical schools pilot-testing the survey to be used in the study with second-year medical students at 7 medical schools.

We are looking for volunteers to complete the survey, followed by a brief interview with one of the study’s investigators to let us know how clear the survey questions were.  The survey will take about 30 minutes and the phone interview another 5-10 minutes.  We will provide you with a $20 Amazon gift card as a thank you for helping us.

The survey has 7 open-ended questions and several close-ended questions you can complete online.  Your responses will be anonymous and will not be part of the data analyzed in the study.  Your name will never be identified with the data.  If you are willing to complete the survey, please email Marj Wenrich, associate dean for education strategies (maxter@uw.edu).  She will provide you a link to the survey, set up your brief follow-up interview, and get the information needed to process your $20 gift card.


Y2Q Update

Hello everyone. Hope you had a good holiday break. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey over the past week. Our response rate of 42.2% continues to exceed the national average of 36.3%! Half of the Wyoming class have now completed the survey, followed by a virtual tie between Spokane (45.8%) and Seattle (45.5%). These response rates represent about a 5% increase at each campus over the past week. Thank you!

The response rates at Idaho (37.5%), Montana (33.3%), and Alaska (30%) remain unchanged. Please complete the survey before it closes on January 3, 2022.

We will do random drawings of the following prizes to encourage your participation:

  • Two $50 items you select from Amazon
  • Eight $25 items you select from Amazon
  • Six $50-value WWAMI gift packs

The drawings will take place after the survey closes and if your name is picked, we will ask for the AAMC receipt of survey completion. Please keep a record of it! Please note AAMC sends the survey link to your email (Contact Y2Q@aamc.org to request the link).

Thank you everyone for your help and look forward to updating you next week.

Sara Kim, Ph.D.

Research Professor, Department of Surgery

Associate Dean for Educational Quality Improvement


Career Advising Student Advisory Board – Tip of the Month

My partner and I were reminiscing on Step 1 and felt this tip should be focused on how we did our best to maintain wellness throughout it! Here are a few things we did that helped:

  1. Take winter break off!! Put the flash cards down, close the books, and do something that will rejuvenate you. Hopefully by the end of this (at least 2 week) break, you’ll actually be excited to hit the books!
  2. Take one day off a week! It’s helpful to physically go somewhere that is not your home/study space. We went skiing and to a fun dinner once a week!
  3. Use academic support services (https://education.uwmedicine.org/student-affairs/academic-support/)! If you’re feeling overwhelmed, scores aren’t improving for a while, etc., meet with them to re-evaluate your plan. There is no perfect study plan, and you’ll have to be adaptable, so just go into it with an open mind J

Written by Career Advising Student Advisory Board member, Shanelle Briggs and reviewed by a second BIPOC Board member, L’Oreal Kennedy.


In case you missed it:

November 18, 2021 Student Newsletter for MS2s.