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Link to the official website: http://gsmi.georgetown.edu/
Hey fellow post-bac students. Here's something I did last summer that has helped me get into my current post-bac program. There were a few students in the GSMI anatomy program that were on the wait list for georgetown's SMP program. I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I hope it helps and sheds some light on something to do for the summer. I have used SDN for a long time and I thought I'd try to give something back. I finished a 6 week course in human gross anatomy at Georgetown University's Summer Medical Institute (GSMI) in 2008.
What is GSMI?
Georgetown University Summer Medical Institute is, roughly, a six-week course in anatomy, histology, physiology, or biochemistry at the medical school level. Medical school faculty that usually teaches during the year, teaches all the summer courses. There is also an option for students in GSMI to enroll in two P/F seminars about applying to medical schools and about important issues in medicine today.
Who Takes Anatomy @ GSMI?
The GSMI program was attended by three types of people. The first type were the pre-med students who were still in undergrad (junior or senior). The youngest student in my gross anatomy class was only beginning junior year in the fall. The second type of students were those who have already graduated from their undergraduate institution and were working on some sort of post-baccalaureate program. Finally, the last type of students were those who did not pass the course in medical school. Also, there were a few students in my class who were in gross anatomy to help them decide if medicine was for them, as well as a pre-dental student. This year, the anatomy class had a good mix of all three groups.
Gross Anatomy for the non-repeating students consisted of covering the exact same material as medical school students for the exception of head and neck, but at a more superficial level. When I heard of the exclusion of head and neck in the very first lecture, I was a little disappointed. After all… I had shelled out about four grand for the class. This feeling changed towards the end of the six weeks. I was relieved we did not have to learn head and neck along with the rest of the body in six weeks. There was just way too much material to cover within six weeks and the course was a great test of both my short term memory and enthusiasm to learn a mountain of new material daily.
Lecture and Lab
Lecture was from Monday through Friday, alternating between one to two hours each day. Cadaveric dissection was also every day and although shown as 4 hours on the course syllabus, many people stayed much longer per day. All 16 students were given access to the cadaver lab 24/7, so on the weekends, many of us would spend extra time in the cadaver lab trying to prepare for the practicals. Our class was divided into two rooms. One room was for the remedial students and one room was for the students in GSMI. This was done so the remedial students could do anatomy including head and heck in the six weeks. There were approximately four students per cadaver and 2-4 TAs at any one time in the cadaver lab. Sometimes there would be a TA at every cadaver, sometimes not. The TAs were first year students who were asked to TA because they were at the top of their class for anatomy or were fourth year students who were taking an elective to brush up on their anatomy before they begin their ortho surgery residencies. Finally, the tests for gross anatomy were very similar to questions that would be asked on shelf style and USMLE style exams.
Atmosphere
I had initially thought and feared that gross anatomy would be full of gunners who were only out for themselves. Thankfully, this was not the case. I felt the overall environment created by the professor, the TAs, and the students was one that encouraged group learning, hard studying, and the opportunities to have a great time in the city. It is definitely possible to have a great time discovering DC and Georgetown while getting a stellar grade in gross anatomy.
Living and expenses
This program is not cheap and rightfully so, I tried to take advantage of all the opportunities given to me. I didn't make any outside living arrangements in Georgetown and looking at prices on craigslist made me cringe. I decided to live in the dorms at Darnall Hall. The dorms at Darnall Hall can be summarized in one word: TERRIBLE. The facilities inside the dorm were old and falling apart. The elevator reeked, only 9 out of the 25 or so washers and dryers worked for the entire building, food was constantly stolen from the fridge (even with names on it), for the guys bathroom there were constantly clogged… you get the point. I had initially purchased a meal plan at the dining commons, but it was so far to walk that I ended up canceling it to eat a the student center or at Epicurean across from the hospital. So, don't buy the meal plan (the food isn't great, food is far, and it's just plain expensive). One walk to downtown Georgetown will both take your breath away and… well, your money. Things cost more in Georgetown, period.
Golden Opportunities
At the start of this program, I had hoped that doing well in GSMI's gross anatomy course would help me better my poor med school application. Now that it is over, I have gained a lot more than I had initially thought. Let me tell you why. Students in the GSMI are allowed to enroll in two P/F seminars called "Physicians and Society" and "Medical School Admissions". I'll start with the former. In this course, different physicians from different specialties came in to talk about important issues in health care. They often helped generate ethical questions that may be asked in interviews and gave us a better understanding of medicine in general. The medical school admissions seminar taught us interviewing skills, how to write personal statements, basically, how to get into medial school (taught by the admissions board at Georgetown). The infamous Adam Meyers was in charge of the admissions seminar. Many of the physicians who came into talk about their profession offered opportunities to shadow them at the hospital. There were some students who were able to establish a connection with a surgeon to observe surgery from the Georgetown faculty. Many of us also had the opportunity to get a personal advice for getting into medical school from Georgetown faculty.
Verdict
I hope this long winded review will have helped some people decide if this program is for them. I feel it was a great opportunity. I've made some connections with Georgetown, improved my application, and learned a great deal about the admissions process straight from the mouth of admissions committee members. I believe a majority of the class did well, with a B or higher. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Best of luck to you all.
Hey fellow post-bac students. Here's something I did last summer that has helped me get into my current post-bac program. There were a few students in the GSMI anatomy program that were on the wait list for georgetown's SMP program. I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I hope it helps and sheds some light on something to do for the summer. I have used SDN for a long time and I thought I'd try to give something back. I finished a 6 week course in human gross anatomy at Georgetown University's Summer Medical Institute (GSMI) in 2008.
What is GSMI?
Georgetown University Summer Medical Institute is, roughly, a six-week course in anatomy, histology, physiology, or biochemistry at the medical school level. Medical school faculty that usually teaches during the year, teaches all the summer courses. There is also an option for students in GSMI to enroll in two P/F seminars about applying to medical schools and about important issues in medicine today.
Who Takes Anatomy @ GSMI?
The GSMI program was attended by three types of people. The first type were the pre-med students who were still in undergrad (junior or senior). The youngest student in my gross anatomy class was only beginning junior year in the fall. The second type of students were those who have already graduated from their undergraduate institution and were working on some sort of post-baccalaureate program. Finally, the last type of students were those who did not pass the course in medical school. Also, there were a few students in my class who were in gross anatomy to help them decide if medicine was for them, as well as a pre-dental student. This year, the anatomy class had a good mix of all three groups.
Gross Anatomy for the non-repeating students consisted of covering the exact same material as medical school students for the exception of head and neck, but at a more superficial level. When I heard of the exclusion of head and neck in the very first lecture, I was a little disappointed. After all… I had shelled out about four grand for the class. This feeling changed towards the end of the six weeks. I was relieved we did not have to learn head and neck along with the rest of the body in six weeks. There was just way too much material to cover within six weeks and the course was a great test of both my short term memory and enthusiasm to learn a mountain of new material daily.
Lecture and Lab
Lecture was from Monday through Friday, alternating between one to two hours each day. Cadaveric dissection was also every day and although shown as 4 hours on the course syllabus, many people stayed much longer per day. All 16 students were given access to the cadaver lab 24/7, so on the weekends, many of us would spend extra time in the cadaver lab trying to prepare for the practicals. Our class was divided into two rooms. One room was for the remedial students and one room was for the students in GSMI. This was done so the remedial students could do anatomy including head and heck in the six weeks. There were approximately four students per cadaver and 2-4 TAs at any one time in the cadaver lab. Sometimes there would be a TA at every cadaver, sometimes not. The TAs were first year students who were asked to TA because they were at the top of their class for anatomy or were fourth year students who were taking an elective to brush up on their anatomy before they begin their ortho surgery residencies. Finally, the tests for gross anatomy were very similar to questions that would be asked on shelf style and USMLE style exams.
Atmosphere
I had initially thought and feared that gross anatomy would be full of gunners who were only out for themselves. Thankfully, this was not the case. I felt the overall environment created by the professor, the TAs, and the students was one that encouraged group learning, hard studying, and the opportunities to have a great time in the city. It is definitely possible to have a great time discovering DC and Georgetown while getting a stellar grade in gross anatomy.
Living and expenses
This program is not cheap and rightfully so, I tried to take advantage of all the opportunities given to me. I didn't make any outside living arrangements in Georgetown and looking at prices on craigslist made me cringe. I decided to live in the dorms at Darnall Hall. The dorms at Darnall Hall can be summarized in one word: TERRIBLE. The facilities inside the dorm were old and falling apart. The elevator reeked, only 9 out of the 25 or so washers and dryers worked for the entire building, food was constantly stolen from the fridge (even with names on it), for the guys bathroom there were constantly clogged… you get the point. I had initially purchased a meal plan at the dining commons, but it was so far to walk that I ended up canceling it to eat a the student center or at Epicurean across from the hospital. So, don't buy the meal plan (the food isn't great, food is far, and it's just plain expensive). One walk to downtown Georgetown will both take your breath away and… well, your money. Things cost more in Georgetown, period.
Golden Opportunities
At the start of this program, I had hoped that doing well in GSMI's gross anatomy course would help me better my poor med school application. Now that it is over, I have gained a lot more than I had initially thought. Let me tell you why. Students in the GSMI are allowed to enroll in two P/F seminars called "Physicians and Society" and "Medical School Admissions". I'll start with the former. In this course, different physicians from different specialties came in to talk about important issues in health care. They often helped generate ethical questions that may be asked in interviews and gave us a better understanding of medicine in general. The medical school admissions seminar taught us interviewing skills, how to write personal statements, basically, how to get into medial school (taught by the admissions board at Georgetown). The infamous Adam Meyers was in charge of the admissions seminar. Many of the physicians who came into talk about their profession offered opportunities to shadow them at the hospital. There were some students who were able to establish a connection with a surgeon to observe surgery from the Georgetown faculty. Many of us also had the opportunity to get a personal advice for getting into medical school from Georgetown faculty.
Verdict
I hope this long winded review will have helped some people decide if this program is for them. I feel it was a great opportunity. I've made some connections with Georgetown, improved my application, and learned a great deal about the admissions process straight from the mouth of admissions committee members. I believe a majority of the class did well, with a B or higher. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Best of luck to you all.
