Support and Resources

The librarians and other library staff at Becker are a tremendous, yet often underutilized, resource. If you have any (and I mean ANY) question about one of the many textbooks in the library, how to use any of the available computers, or want tips on how to use a research database to search a topic you found interesting after class, the library staff is readily accessible to help you get your questions answered. As WashU Med students, you have access to Clinical Key, a search engine specific for clinical findings and medical information. This massive database can sometimes be hard to navigate, but don’t fear! All the library staff have plenty of experience in using the database and are willing to help provide you tips for using it! Throughout Phase One, you will meet many of the librarians through dedicated interactive sessions, in which the librarians lecture the class on all the resources that Becker offers. Finally, if you ever need a quick snack break while studying, the Becker library regularly has small snacks and candy waiting for you at the entrance.

The Class Resource Development Group (CRDG) works to put together a Google Drive with study resources available to all incoming medical students. The Google Drive is divided by the Phase One modules and contains Anki decks, study guides, and lecture notes made by previous students. I use the class Google Drive often, and the resources have been immensely helpful in navigating how to study the Gateway Curriculum!

WashU Med places an emphasis on clinical research, which means that it is easy to get involved as a medical student. Many labs have availability and are happy to work with students. The Office of Medical Student Research and Scholarship (OMSR), under the leadership of Koong-Nah Chung, associate dean for medical student research, makes the process of matching with a research mentor easy to navigate. The hours in clinical research can be more flexible than traditional bench research, which can make scheduling for exam studying and extracurricular activities less stressful. I have found being involved in clinical research both manageable and enjoyable during Phase One!

Coaching is essentially a process where you get paired up with a real working physician or dean who will act as your coach throughout your time in medical school. The coaching groups are preset groups of people who are unique. My coaching group is really friendly and supportive. Coaching creates an environment where you can vent and discuss issues nonjudgmentally. What’s especially cool is that your coach will translate your feedback into curriculum updates, so it feels like we have a more direct way to talk to administration. On a biweekly basis, the coaching sessions involve discussing everything from our current problems to more systemic problems in medicine. These sessions always are fun and spark stimulating conversation.

Dean Koong-Nah Chung, associate dean for medical student research, is a wonderful source of support for students interested in research. She has some listings of previous projects and principal investigators who typically help students with high-output research, and makes note of publications to which they contributed. Beyond that, she also has a longer list of faculty names for broader, cold-emailing purposes. Dr. Aimee James, professor of general surgery, also helps people with research in general surgery, if that’s of interest.

Medical school can be intimidating, especially at a large, highly-regarded institution like WashU Med. Luckily, the faculty here are a tremendous support for helping us navigate this thing we call medical school. The amount of faculty that have dedicated time for our own development and support is beyond what I could have imagined. In fact, there are so many resources that sometimes it is actually more difficult narrowing down which faculty you want to reach out to because there are so many great options! The faculty not only make the transition to medical school incredibly smooth, but they also continue to support students throughout all the phases of the Gateway Curriculum. There are small acts of support and larger ways in which faculty extend their support. For example, Dean Colleen Wallace (assistant dean of student affairs & Module 1 co-lead) made it her mission to memorize every student’s name by the end of orientation, showing us that she truly cares about who we are. She even took photos of us holding “first day of medical school” signs on our first day of orientation. These small acts add up over time, making us feel included and seen. In a larger way, faculty go the extra mile to ensure our success. One example is when I was having car trouble, one of our professors offered to personally go out of their way to come pick me up so that I could attend a required class. While reaching out to some faculty does require a little more effort (i.e. if they aren’t teaching lectures during that module), all the faculty that I have met respond very quickly and are willing to meet with you even in the midst of their busy schedules.

Some of you may have interests adjacent to clinical medicine. Perhaps, they involve concepts that may seem antithetical to the practice of medicine, like financial management or starting a health-care business. That’s okay! You’re like me and the few other students each year who choose to pursue a five-year MD/MBA at WashU Med. Whether you want to design a new medical electronic records system, learn how to improve robotic surgery program operations, research health-care cost reduction initiatives, or set yourself up for a future that involves medical consulting to life sciences industries, there is a place for you at the Olin School of Business. The program accepts applicants from any year of medical school, offers tuition-free scholarships, and gives you a broad network of friendly colleagues looking to expand their impact through creative business solutions to everyday problems. Plus, your summer before the program is spent gaining international business acumen while having a 90% paid trip to diverse locations such as Barcelona, Paris, and Santiago (Global Immersion Program, Summer 2022). Feel free to reach out with any questions about logistics or the MD/MBA career path!

The residency application process can be stressful, time-consuming, humbling, and exciting all at the same time. So much work has gone into building this application, and now you’re seeing the culmination of your work! It’s your time to shine! Luckily for us, we have Dean Diemer and Angie MacBryde in the Office of Career Counseling to help guide us through the process. We start meeting in Phase Two to help define our interests, shape our schedules, and find the right mentors in our fields. Meetings become more frequent as applications get submitted and interviews begin. They are both reliable resources for us to answer questions, review materials, and help connect us with other faculty (in and out of WashU Med) to help us land where we fit best. You’re going to love working with them both as you navigate the residency application process.

My classmates have been the best support system at WashU Med thus far. From the beginning, everyone has been so kind, welcoming, accepting, and supportive of each other’s interests. Medical school is a unique experience where we are all doing the same thing every day, so it’s nice to have peers who are always willing to talk, listen, and commiserate in our shared struggles. When I have been stressed or having a bad day, many of my classmates have reached out to offer support. Despite spending so much time together during school, we are constantly hanging out outside of school because we love each other so much.

The summer before starting at WashU Med, the incoming M1s fill out a survey with questions about themselves. These survey answers then are matched with a current M2 that shares similar backgrounds, experiences, and interests. From there, the Big Sib/Little Sib pairing is formed. It’s been amazing to have a familiar face in the M2 class that I see on a frequent basis. It’s also been nice to have someone I can reach out to with small or big questions related to medical school or St. Louis. Some people hang out with their Big every week, some people grab coffee or a drink now and then, and others simply just chat when they run into each other in FLTC. Your relationship with your Big can be whatever you both want it to be; this is something you indicate on the survey! I think this program makes WashU Med so special because it fosters a sense of community between classes and gives M1s extra support during their transition into medical school.

WashU provides us with a free subscription to UWorld for nearly three years, which is quite unique compared to other schools. Additionally, we have Amboss ambassadors in nearly every class who work with Amboss, another great Q bank and resource with excellent Anki integration, to get free trial periods, class discounts (up to 30-40% off), etc. Finally, the Class Resources Development Group has a collection of resources, including notes from previous years, Anki decks from previous years, textbooks, and various other Step 1 and Step 2 resources. Safe to say, you can choose to study from a large variety of free or greatly discounted resources provided by WashU.

—Read S., M3

I use third-party resources to consolidate lecture information and fill in knowledge gaps or areas I still find confusing. Third-party lectures are great if you’re looking for concise overviews of pertinent topics and are an efficient way to review material when studying for exams. You certainly don’t need third-party resources to succeed in the Gateway Curriculum, but I highly recommend trying them out to see what works for you!

—Hannah N., M1