Stepping Stone to Success
A progressive graduate program challenges and helps students
find their way to medical school, prepares them for other science
careers and broadens the School’s goal to promote diversity.
“I was so well prepared that I really felt my first
year of medical school was a review of what I had learned the year
I spent in the MSMS program.”
— Robert L. King, MS3
When Selika Owens recited the Physician’s Oath with the entering
Class of 2008 during the traditional White Coat Ceremony this August,
her experience was a true rite of passage: it heralded the beginning
of her long-held dream to become a physician.
The path Owens followed was through the IUSM Master of Science
in Medical
Science program, which helps students strengthen their learning
skills and prepare for the rigors of medical school. The two-year
program, established in 1995, is not only a route to success in
medical school, but provides broad training for other biomedical
careers such as health care, research and pharmaceutics. About sixty-eight
percent of MSMS students have been admitted to medical schools.
“Certainly the MSMS enhanced my candidacy for medical school,”
claims Owens, a biology graduate from Xavier University in Louisiana.
“I chose this program because I felt it would offer me an
unparalleled transition into medical school.”
To be considered for admission to the MSMS program, a student must
be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and educationally or economically
disadvantaged. Candidates must have completed a four-year bachelor’s
degree from an accredited institution, earned a cumulative and science
GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and completed all premedical science requirements.
Applicants also must have scored a 5.0 in the physical sciences,
verbal reasoning and biological sciences on the Medical College
Application Test.
“No single factor is determinative,” says MSMS program
director William Agbor-Baiyee, PhD, MPA, assistant professor of
family medicine. “The admission process provides an individualized,
thorough and holistic review of each applicant, taking into account
personal and academic factors including but not limited to socioeconomic
or educational criteria.”
Perhaps the strongest factor leading to admission is something
no test can gauge. “The typical applicant believes he or she
has the potential to become a physician,” says Dr. Agbor-Baiyee.
Getting Started, Getting Ahead
Students admitted to the School’s MSMS program are required
to participate in a ten-week MCAT Preparation Program, the cornerstone
of the MSMS experience. Total immersion in a concentrated learning
environment, focused on improving MCAT performance, helps students
develop lifelong skills, attitudes and habits. They spend about
thirty-two hours weekly in the classroom, tackling subjects such
as biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, verbal reasoning
and writing. Particular emphasis is placed on learning in small
groups.
Collectively, this intense period of study promotes student-directed
learning and teamwork, and helps students approach the MCAT with
better strategies to succeed. Dr. Agbor-Baiyee says the typical
student scores an average of three points higher in rated areas;
some students have improved their performance by as much as eight
points.
Students begin their actual degree curricula in the fall semester
after completing the MCAT program. The first semester includes courses
in biochemistry, basic histology, human physiology and problem-based
learning in medical science. The following semester includes human
gross anatomy, infectious microbes and host interactions, and additional
studies in problem-based learning medical science. The second year
includes courses in endocrinology, drugs, diseases and poisons,
problem-based case development in medical science, guided research
and neuroanatomy.
Thirty-five semester hours must be completed before students receive
their MSMS degrees. Some of the credits may be transferable toward
degree requirements in other graduate and professional programs.
But many entering the MSMS program have no intention of completing
their master’s degree; their one goal is to enter medical
school. After finishing one year of the program, Robert L. King
scored well enough on his MCAT and improved other skills enough
to pave the way for admission to IUSM.
“The one thing I find unique about IUSM is that they set
their standards higher for admission,” notes King, a Palmdale,
California, native and third-year medical student. “The MSMS
courses are taught by many of the same faculty whom students encounter
their first year of medical school. I was so well prepared that
I really felt my first year of medical school was a review of what
I had learned the year I spent in the MSMS program.
“Let’s just say my stress level during my first year
as a medical student was kept to a minimum because I was prepared,”
adds King, whose hard work has earned him a fully-financed medical
education through an Eli Lilly and Company Scholarship.
Selika Owens concurs, adding, “The program offers exceptional
mentoring opportunities and allowed me to meet and form strong social
and professional relationships with many of my future professors
and peers. Various on-campus medical associations encourage student
participation in important community service programs such as health
fairs. I believe these components were preeminent in my success
in MSMS and advancement into medical school.”
“I chose this program because I felt it would offer
me an unparalleled transition into medical school”
—Selika Owens, MS1
For more information about the MSMS program at IUSM, visit
its Web site at www.msms.iu.edu.
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