MS1 Class Information: October 16, 2025

In this issue: 

  • EQI Survey
  • HCOP program Ambassador Recruitment 2025-2026
  • Career Advising Guidance for MS1s in Autumn Quarter
  • Career Advising Tip of the Month

EQI Survey 

This week, UWSOM is conducting a short 15-minute survey to measure improvements on initiatives identified from last year’s ISA survey. Your feedback directly shapes the medical student experience and is used in the LCME accreditation process. 

Your cohort’s current response rate is 48%. We need your help to reach our 80% goal by Friday! 

How to Find the Survey Link 

  • Check your inbox for an email from eqi@uw.edu (reminder sent today) 
  • Subject: 2025 UWSOM Independent Student Analysis (ISA) Follow-Up Survey Invitation 
  • Survey closes Friday, October 17 

Don’t miss your chance to win! There will be a $500 grand prize across all cohorts. See below for the incentive breakdown (per cohort) 

Campus  # of Gift Cards ($10)  # of Gift Cards ($50) 
Seattle  2  4 
Spokane  1  3 
Wyoming  1  2 
Alaska  1  2 
Montana  1  2 
Idaho  2  2 

*According to the UW policy, student employees (e.g., tutors, research assistants, hourly workers, etc. cannot receive a gift card. If you win the raffle as a student employee, we will send alternative items of the same value from Amazon. 

This survey is anonymous, and responses are reported only in aggregate.
Questions? Contact eqi@uw.edu. 

Thank you for taking your time to complete the survey and help strengthen our program. 

HCOP program Ambassador Recruitment 2025-2026  

HCOP program Ambassador Recruitment 2025-2026 

Program Overview  

Team-based, interdisciplinary approach to prepare health profession students working in rural and medically underserved communities.  

Eligibility  

Open to students with ~ two years of their health professional program remaining  

Requirements  

  1. Mentor a pre-health student  
  1. Self-paced Canvas modules on rural health and underserved populations. Graded on completion, not academic credit. 
  1. Final Presentation (e.g., III poster, RUOP presentation, community partner presentation,…)  
  1. Complete 80 clinical hours (clinical rotations will qualify) 

Stipend  

Receive a $1,000 stipend.  

Priority deadline to apply is October 26th. Applications submitted by this date will receive priority review. After October 26th, applications will still be accepted on a rolling basis. 

Career Advising Guidance for MS1s in Autumn Quarter 

Your dedicated Career Advisor will be in touch soon regarding your in-person Intro to Career Planning group session at your WWAMI site in November. This session will introduce you to the key concepts and resources to support you in Foundations and throughout medical school and will answer lots of your career/specialty focused questions.  

In the meantime, we ask that you make time to watch three short videos developed in partnership with Dr. Maya Sardesai, Assistant Dean of Student Development, which give perspective on career exploration/discernment, extracurricular involvement, and research: 

You are also welcome to look ahead at aspects of our website, including: 

  • Explore Your Career: guidance on how to approach career exploration & exploring specialties.  

For Career Advising’s perspective on non-clinical elective selection during Foundations, visit our Elective Selection website.   

From January-May 2026 we open our advising schedules to meet 1-1 with MS1s. We will reach out to you in December with information about scheduling this appointment. Please email your career advisor if you have unique circumstances related to the timing of your 1-1 meeting. Otherwise, we ask that you not schedule appointments with us until winter 2026, as we meet with 300+ MS3s in the fall.  

If you have questions about Triple I/summer planning, please review the slides from career advising remarks in the recent Triple I presentation. We recommend talking with your College Mentor who is a good sounding board for decision making.  

You are welcome to come to Office Hours: M-Wed, 11-12pm AK/12-1pm PT/1-2pm MT and talk with a Career Advisor. There may be a wait time if we have clinical students in the queue.  

Your dedicated Career Advisor (Linh, Sarah and Tonja) looks forward to seeing you for your group session this fall. 

Career Advising Student Advisory Board Tip of the Month    

This advice is for all students and includes first-generation and BIPOC student lenses.  

You’ve now heard about our school’s summer Independent Investigative Inquiry (III) requirement. There are multiple ways to fulfill this requirement.  

The Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP) is a great way to build up your clinical skills while making a real impact in a local community. RUOP, along with programs like Discovery and Integration and Global Health Immersion Program (GHIP) are valuable no matter which specialty you end up choosing.  

If you’re aiming for a very competitive specialty that recommends research, it’s a good idea to do research next summer. Don’t stress if it’s not directly related to your field of interest – that’s pretty common! Residency programs value the experience and your ability to produce meaningful results in different areas of medicine. Research not your jam? No worries! Lots of specialties don’t need it.  

Check out the advice from specialty career advisors in the UWSOM Specialty Guides under “Foundations Phase Planning” on how to “Get Engaged with this Specialty” and “Extracurricular Planning.” Wondering where your career path may take you in med school? You can start exploring specialties with interest group events and the Career Advising Video Library.  

  • Reviewed by MS4 Cara Chapman. Originally written by alum Shanelle Briggs, MD.   

We welcome tips and ideas from all students. Please reach out to Career Advising at medadv@uw.edu. 

This link will take you to past information for MS1s.

Have a terrific week!