"You asked. We listened."
The Whiddon College of Medicine uses feedback from students to make improvements to our curriculum, policies, resources and facilities. Here are some of the recent changes we've made in response to student input.
| You asked for... | We listened and... |
|---|---|
| Increased accessibility to advising and mentoring | Laventrice Ridgeway, Ed.D., now has weekly scheduled office hours at Mastin Building |
| Increased funding to support travel to meetings for student presenters | Requested additional assistance from the Dean |
| More study space on campus | Renovations to the Charles M. Baugh Biomedical Library are currently under way |
| More Step exam practice tests | Purchased additional Comprehensive Basic Science Self-Assessments and Comprehensive Clinical Science Self-Assessments for students |
| More options with scrubs | Modified the dress code to include additional options |
| Additional question banks for study and Step prep | Purchased UWorld for all students and kept Osmosis |
| Additional career counseling services | |
| More guidance on activities to pursue in M1/M2 to be competitive for residency application | Developed Continuous Professional Development Program |
| Better furnishings in the student lounge at Children's & Women's Hospital | Obtained comfortable seating from the hospital, bought lamps and wall hangings with affirmation |
| A new microwave in the Mastin call area | Purchased new microwave |
| Help adjusting to medical school | Developed Rx for Success, a pre-orientation course for incoming medical students |
| 2022-2023 Academic Year | |
|---|---|
| Parking passes at USA Health for students who reported outside shuttle hours | Met with USA Health leadership team to facilitate request |
| Support for Step 1 study skills prep | Provided multiple Lunch & Learn sessions and individual tutoring |
| Improved classroom space at hospital campuses | Purchased new chairs for Active Learning Center at University Hospital; renovated ALC at Children's & Women's Hospital |
| More access to mental health providers | Hired a full-time health and wellness counselor, Becky Smith, Ph.D., LPC, to exclusively serve Whiddon College of Medicine students |
| Discounted meals for clerkship students | Worked with USA Health Human Resources to obtain daily meal cards |
| A return to the White Coat reception | Brought back the reception as a celebration after the event |
| More college-wide wellness events | Brought back Moe's dinner, Arts in Medicine, Honest Conversations and Crawfish Boil |
| More development with respect to career readiness | Introduced USA Career Development to Whiddon COM students |
| Address weight shaming in clinical learning environment | Office of Diversity and Inclusion developed Bias in Healthcare article series |
| An opportunity to meet with leadership teams | Began monthly meetings with M1 and M2 class officers, hosted pediatrics clerkship town halls, and resumed the Dean's breakfasts |
| M3 Wellness Forums to be in clerkships instead of group forums | Integrated forums into appropriate clerkships |
| 2021-2022 Academic Year | |
|---|---|
| Improved work space at University Hospital for surgery clerkship | Renovated 7th floor area into student work space |
| A return to the Match Day breakfast | Brought back the breakfast as a start to the event |