SUNY Downstate Medical Center - Iatros Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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In die fall of 1968, the students and the adminis- tration embarked on a new program of student par- ticipation in the admissions program at Downstate. Steve Green, David Slovik, Burt Dibble and Hank Ginsberg were the students involved in the pilot study that year, joining the regular members of the admissions committee in interviewing applicants. Steve and David worked with Drs. Parnell and Pomerantz, respectively, for the first half of the year, while Burt and Hank worked with Drs. Pomerantz and Kydd later in the year. The role played by the students was t vofold. First, they acted as a liason between applicant and faculty member with the hope of relaxing the applicant as well as showing tlie communication be- tween faculty and students at Downstate. In addi- tion, the students hoped to aid in the determination of criteria for admission of potential Downstate students. This last role was not only the most mean- ingful for the participants but also the most difficult to fulfill. The problems of the pilot project were largely caused by a lack of structure in the program. No uniform guidelines were set up and the faculty members involved seemed even less sure of the student ' s role than the student himself The result was a wide range of participation and different degrees of emphasis on a given role. In order to un- derstand the problem better, a description of the admissions committee and the procedures it follows is necessary. The admissions committee consists of nine members of the faculty and administration. They each have three responsibilities concerning the choice of Downstate ' s entering class each year: 1. screening all applications and choosing those applicants they believe worthy of an interview; 2. interviewing applicants; 3. choosing the next entering class from those interviewed. At this point we must delve further into the machinery of the interview. The relative importance of the interview is large in the scheme of admissions criteria. Evaluation of the applicant is in terms of several parameters, but in summary, the membe r of the committee must decide on a numerical grade, based on the inter- view and the other credentials presented. This grading system has a range of 1.0-8.0 with the latter as tlie maximum score. The score is not only part of the presentation of the applicant to the committee, but actually detennines when and whether tlie presentation will occur. Applicants receiving scores of 1.0 or 2.0 will not even be presented to the entire Henry Ginsberg Student Member of .admissions Committee Dorothy Holden, M.D. FacultN Member of Admissions Committee

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Sometimes forgetting is a blessing, e en in the medical profession. Faced with the new problems of internship and residency, we forget the trauma that preceded it all. No matter what our feelings, it is a seller ' s market, and the kicking and clawing is o er for all but the most completely spastic, . pproaching the front doors of medical school was a different business, and the market was far from bullish for many of us. Depending on how eiirh ' we began to pursue our present demanding mistress, our li es danced to her demands. The pre-med realized that failure to breach tlie doors left him outfitted for little else of distinction. He wasn ' t even too sure that whanging away at bio with all the other grubby preemies was any kind of a sure passport to his ambitions. The well rounded guy who decided on medicine late was impressive with his arty background, but then had to agonize over calculus and chem and hope his summer school physics would be acceptable. If not, he might have to rather sheepishly resume his career in anthropology. So, individually we danced to the tune, sized up the schools, and wondered whether we ' d be among the .50 to 60 per cent who didn ' t get in anywhere, let alone the school of our particular dreams. .admissions committees groaned along with us. The horn of plent ' has its hazards; what hundred do you select from a tliousand, what one out of ten bright unbelievable candidates? Despite all the good men you turn away, ou manage to accept a few real ringers. Not even the computer has a sixth sense; but it, at least, isn ' t programmed for ulcers. You sit in judgment solemnly, cogitate, ruminate, pray, and flip a quarter. There are some efforts afoot to make this annual rite of fall less of a dance macabre for all parties. One example is the introduction of a standard ad- mission form. Heretofore, each school had its own version, asking such varied in depth questions as daddy ' s occupation (elitism? fiscal Jim Crow?) or requiring such things as a biography in your very own handwriting (calligraphy? graphology?). If enough schools adopt tlie new form, as has Down- state, the applicant can just slip in a few carbons and type away, reducing his work by about 90 per cent. Another bright light on the admissions scene is a new social consciousness. Project SEEK is operating at Downstate to increase minority admissions to the profession of medicine. The method is to find fresh- men in the neighboring colleges and offer them tu- toring, summer jobs in medical fields, and moral support, with a guaranteed place in the medical Face sheet of the iiiiiform application blank developeti nnder the auspices of the Grouj) on .Student Affairs of the Associa- tion of . nierican Medical Colleges. % .« APPUCATIOX FOR ADMISSION ■ zn. ' - ■ , , „ • ' T . rjii«n .p Un.«.J Sum D a n • » ' ■- - -D »1Q CXtoiSf J,, :; li ' - ' K v g .-» Q «■£ aejm. ■ ■■ °!,%% ' school if their academic standards and interest are maintained. Is this reverse racism? Will black doc- tors go back to the ghetto or flee to the suburbs with w hitey in the end? Even if the final marks go down on the dim side of the ledger, the attempt will have been made, and that is a hopeful sign in itself. Like all of medicine, even the recruitment i rocess has its exciting aspects, along with all the strain and pain. The field must, after all, sustain itself with dynamic new blood in an age when the image of the doctor is threatening to become ever more tar- nished. It must also foster the paramedical sister services so necessary to it. Only in this way can medicine remain vital in a vital new age.

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coimnittft ' wliilr those rt ' t ' ci iiiii sroics of S.O will be ac-fi ' pted without ir ic In the entire coiiiiiiit- tee. F i()iii tlie aho e it is easiK suniiisetl that mean- ingful participation In- students in the admissions program must include a role in determining this numerical grade. Hovvexer, this past year, each (acuity member decided individually the degree of students were actually unaware of the existence of such a grading system and, in general, there was little understanding of the overall mechanics of ad- mission. general, there was little understanding of the overall mechanics of admission. Despite diese problems, the presence of students at the interviews was successfiil from the point of view of giving the applicant a more pleasant view of Downstate. Time and again the applicants expressed ple;isure at liaving the student present and many questions tliat could be best answered bv ' a student were therefore resolved. But is this the onlv- purpose of student participation in die program, or should some definite program be set up.- ' This c}uestion was partially answered this year with tlie institution of a uniform, orderly program of participation. This program was devised by the members of the admissions committee after consul- Burton Dibble Student MfTiiber ot . dniission-s (. ' oiiiinittee tation with two members of htst year ' s student group. During the 1969-70 year, each participating third-year student will be paired with a member of the admissions committee. Each applicant inter- viewed will be discussed by both members and tlie resulting score will be on the basis of this discus- sion. Students will view meetings of the committee as observers and will also participate in the meet- ings whenever a faculty member feels that the student can add significantly to the presentation, ' fliis situation would most likely develop from a marked difference of opinion concerning the can- didate. The remaining question concerns voting by students on die admissions committee. In order to evaluate this question, a superficial description of tlie meetings is necessary. Each member of die com- mittee comes to each meeting with several applicants that he is ready to present. The presenta- tion includes a review of gi ades, MCAT .scores, recommendations and the interviewers ' rating of the appliciuit. After members of the committee have had a chance to view the application, transcript, etc., for themselves, they enter their own rating on a sheet listing the applicants that will be reviewed for that day. The system appears more intricate when one considers each meeting as a continuum. Each week, applicants are considered in the light of the number of acceptances sent out, the number of places left and the group of applicants being con- sidered in general. In accordance with these factors, the average rating needed to gain acceptance drops from appro.ximately 7.5 to approximately 6.8 by the end of the season. Thus, in order for students to participate in the actual voting, weekly attendance throughout the year would be necessary and this would put a great burden on the students involved. However, the value of the student vote may be unnecessary if there is true cooperation between faculty and students within the guidelines already devised. The members of the class of 1970 who participat- ed in diis program found it a fascinating and valua- ble experience. Although they may have had little impact on the entering class this year, diey did play an important role in laying the foundation for an ex- panded and more meaningful program for the fu- ture. They were also happily surprised to find that although there was skepticism concerning the value of student participation, most of the faculty members were more than willing to accept such participation in the program. It is the hope of the students involved that they have added a new dimension to this huge, complicated and often very impersonal process.