MD’23: Fourth years are currently in the thick of interview season! It's an exciting time as we try to highlight all of our accomplishments and strengths while also figuring out which programs suit us the best. Wish us luck as the countdown to Match Day begins! 

MD’24: As the end of the year approaches, we have been hard at work in our clinical clerkships. We have passed the halfway mark of third year, and many of us are honing in on what specialties we are interested in pursuing. Several of us are continuing to attend national conferences to present research, travel abroad, volunteer in local clinics and nonprofits, and write case reports on interesting patient cases that we encountered on the wards. Many of us are much more comfortable in our patient interactions, wealth of medical knowledge, comfort levels in the OR, navigation of the various hospital settings, and note writing abilities. It’s been really amazing to see how far we have come since starting medical school 2.5 years ago, yet how much more there is for us to learn.

MD’25:  It’s incredible to think that we are on our last block of the semester–time has absolutely flown by! We are currently learning about reproductive health and management of patients with gynecological and obstetric conditions. Outside of the core curriculum, we recently shared our service-learning projects with our classmates, and it was amazing to see how everyone engaged with the community. One student led an improv class for children with autism to help them engage in social settings, and another developed an app to help aid providers at a local low-resource clinic to conduct better eye examinations. As we approach the second semester, Step-1 is on everyone’s mind, but a nice two week winter break is what we are all looking forward to.

MD’26: Blink! We are nearly halfway through the first year of medical school and it happened in a flash. With a semester under our belts, we have figured out how we like to study, preferred learning resources, and in general, have gotten our "sea legs.” We have also been exploring summer research projects, shadowing in various specialties, and getting involved with campus organizations, volunteer clinics, and pre-clinical electives. After a challenging Block 5 packed with epidemiology, genetics, and a deeper dive into pathology, first years are racing to the finish line in Block 6 where we are learning more about cancer biology, pharmacology, and wading further into immunology. The proverbial firehose continues, but we are up to the challenge, especially with a well-earned holiday on the horizon.

PLME: All PLME students are busy preparing for their final exams and assignments of the semester. Students have also been meeting with their PLME Deans and Meiklejohn advisors to plan and register for classes for the spring semester. Several students have been involved in the new Medicine in Action Program (MIAP), which matched PLME students with local physicians from different specialties for shadowing opportunities. Students involved with Child Health Advocacy Program (CHAP) have been busy volunteering weekly at local elementary and pre-schools, teaching younger students about various health-related topics. PLME Deans hosted a cookies and cocoa social event to bring students across different classes together and connect. First-Generation/Underrepresented in Medicine (FURM) also recently hosted a de-stress event for the FURM community. Seniors had their last class of the PLME Senior Seminar, which consisted of panels featuring key members of the medical education team and current medical students who are PLME alumni.