Student Support
Academic Support
An important role of an academic advisor is supporting professional development in students. Advisors are key to identifying academic needs, to help students connect with resources and support, both personally and professionally.
Advisor’s Role by Year
Year 1
Meet and Greet – getting to know the student and exploring areas of the student’s premedical curriculum that may be weak; encouraging the student to maintain life balance during Caribbean medical school.
Academic Advising
- Identifying needs and interests
- Encouraging the student to make a course calendar detailing what is accomplished each week
- Discussions of preparation for NBME exams
- Review first assessment and develop an action plan
Professional Advising
- Offer inspiration about the field of medicine as a career
- Share own experiences
Career Advising
- Begin discussions of specialties
- Introduce early clinical experiences
- Discuss difficult topics from clinical experiences
Year 2
At least one advising opportunity is recommended each term between the advisor and the student.
- Review course performances
- Discuss preparation strategies for Case Presentations, NBME exams, and clerkships
- Further discuss choice of specialty and importance of a balance between all aspects of development – grades, clinical skills, interpersonal communication skills, professionalism, and social conscience.
Year 3-4
Academic Advising
- Review of clerkship shelf exams
- Preparation for NBME exams
Professional Advising
- Offer inspiration about the field of medicine as a career
- Share own experiences
Career Advising
- One-on-one discussions about strengths and weaknesses
- Planning an appropriate elective schedule
- Discussions of ways to strengthen areas of a performance evaluation (MSPE)
- Preparation for residency applications – letters of reference, personal statements, interviews
- Preparation for Match and the SOAP process