Mt. Sinai Eliminates Pre-Med Reqs for Accepted College Sophomores

Mount Sinai Is Revolutionizing Medical Education by Eliminating Traditional Pre-Med Requirements and the MCAT for Half of Admitted Students

Program Aims To Attract Sophomores In Fields As Diverse As Biophysics And Computer Science, To Global Health And The Arts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Christie Corbett | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai(212) 241-9200 | christie.corbett@mountsinai.org

(New York – February 27, 2013) – The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is the first medical school in the United States to drive a fundamental shift in pre-medical education by offering college sophomores with any undergraduate major early acceptance, no MCAT, and progressive pre-med requirements for half of each entering class. Sophomores will be admitted in 2013 into the new program called “FlexMed”, with foundations in computational science and engineering; humanities and social sciences; or biomedical sciences, which will allow them to pursue any undergraduate major unencumbered by traditional pre-med requirements.

Many medical educators have called for significant reform of the current pre-med model for training, established nearly a century ago. The pace of discovery and innovation and the changing landscape of healthcare delivery warrant different requirements for students entering medical school. For example, genetics and genomic sciences are rapidly becoming a mainstay in medical research and clinical care, but such coursework is not part of typical pre-med programs.

“The current model of medical school training has stagnated despite major advances in science and medicine,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of The Mount Sinai Medical Center. “We want to attract students with bright, creative minds who understand the role of precision medicine and big data and want to change the world. We also want innovators in clinical care who think of medicine in the larger social context and identify new practices for better care delivery. We believe FlexMed signals a paradigm shift in how we select, prepare, and educate the next generation of physicians, and hope other medical schools will follow suit.”

FlexMed builds on the success of Mount Sinai’s Humanities and Medicine (HuMed) program, which in 1987 was the first program in the United States to offer early assurance of acceptance to sophomores with a humanities background. Data from the HuMed program shows that these graduates perform as well as their classmates in areas such as honors grades in clerkships, class ranking, research and publications, school leadership, and community service.

“Traditional pre-med programs consume so much time and effort that students do not have the opportunity to see the bigger picture of their education or of medicine as a profession,” said David Muller, MD, Marietta and Charles C. Morchand Chair in Medical Education and Dean for Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We started HuMed because we wanted our students to thrive on a culture of academic rigor, mentorship, and self-discovery. The success of this program inspired us to take the lead in redefining medical education with FlexMed. This new paradigm fits perfectly with transformations that are occurring at Mount Sinai in medical school curricula, clinical care, and biomedical investigation.”

Steven T. Case, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Associate Dean for Medical School Admissions at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and a national thought leader on medical education, said, “Armed with a quarter century’s success with the Humanities and Medicine Program, the new FlexMed program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has the potential to revolutionize pre-medical education and truly transform medical school admissions. By discarding the MCAT, undergraduate students are afforded unparalleled flexibility in selecting majors, furthering academic pursuits and enhancing personal growth beyond what is feasible in traditional premedical curricula. This bold step, more than any other, will enhance the diversity and contribute to the educational excellence of medical students trained at Mount Sinai. Medical schools nationwide should note this courageous decision and closely monitor FlexMed outcomes.”

FlexMed is replacing turn-of-the-20th-century science courses with more relevant translational science and humanities coursework for 21st century physicians. Required coursework will include Ethics, Health Policy/Public Health, and Biostatistics. For students who have not pursued science majors, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Genetics will be taught at Mount Sinai prior to matriculation. Students will also be required to volunteer time in clinical settings as an undergraduate, and complete a senior thesis or its equivalent in any topic. They will be encouraged to be proficient in Spanish or Mandarin and to defer one or two years prior to starting at Mount Sinai to further pursue their academic interests.

“The science and technology of medicine, the delivery of care, and the populations we serve have changed substantially in recent decades. Furthermore, we are concerned whether we will have enough physicians and physicians with the requisite skills to meet society’s needs,” said George E. Thibault, MD, President of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, an organization that supports projects that improve health professional education. “FlexMed is responding to these changes and these needs, and I applaud Mount Sinai for taking an important step forward in changing the way we select and prepare the health care leaders of tomorrow.”

Valerie Parkas, MD, Associate Dean of Admissions and Associate Professor of Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said, “FlexMed will prime our students for the intellectual rigors of medical school by providing them with outstanding skills in communication and analytic thinking.”

Students will be selected for the FlexMed program based on a comprehensive review of their academic and extracurricular activities. They will also be interviewed to assess personal attributes such as collaboration, commitment, creativity, curiosity, empathy, innovation, initiative, and social conscience.

Mount Sinai plans to conduct a longitudinal study to measure cognitive and non-cognitive development as well as performance indicators of key skills desirable in a student. Demographic and scholastic information, personal attributes, scholarly activity, community service, and leadership skills will all be collected in the study.

For more information, visit www.mssm.edu/flexmed.

About The Mount Sinai Medical Center

The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses both The Mount Sinai Hospital and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Established in 1968, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is one of the leading medical schools in the United States. The Icahn School of Medicine is noted for innovation in education, biomedical research, clinical care delivery, and local and global community service. It has more than 3,400 faculty members in 32 departments and 14 research institutes, and ranks among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and by U.S. News & World Report.

The Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is a 1,171-bed tertiary- and quaternary-care teaching facility and one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. In 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Mount Sinai Hospital 14th on its elite Honor Roll of the nation’s top hospitals based on reputation, safety, and other patient-care factors. Mount Sinai is one of just 12 integrated academic medical centers whose medical school ranks among the top 20 in NIH funding and by U.S. News & World Report and whose hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Nearly 60,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients last year, and approximately 560,000 outpatient visits took place.

For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/

Find Mount Sinai on:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mountsinainyc

Twitter @mountsinainyc

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/mountsinainy

Note: Dr. David Muller, Dean of Medical Education at Mount Sinai, is available for interviews, as are students currently enrolled in the Humanities and Medicine program, on which FlexMed is based.

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Top 20 Highest Rated Companies Hiring Interns Right Now

Google, Procter & Gamble, QUALCOMM, Microsoft & Nordstrom Among Top 5 Companies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: MaryJo Fitzgerald | Glassdoor
(920) 420-6832 | maryjo.fitzgerald@glassdoor.com

SAUSALITO, Calif. (February 27, 2013) – With many companies already advertising for summer internships, Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, is helping intern candidates figure out where to apply with its second annual list of the Top 20 Highest Rated Companies Hiring Interns Right Now. This year, Google ranks #1 for the second year in a row, followed by Procter & Gamble, QUALCOMM, Microsoft and Nordstrom.

“Glassdoor’s mission is to help all job seekers make more informed career decisions, and that includes college students looking for internships,” said Amanda Lachapelle, Glassdoor’s director of HR and talent acquisition. “This list helps college students hoping to get their foot in the door at companies they might like to work at, and gives them a snapshot of which companies other interns appreciate working at most, what the interview process is like, and what their earning potential might look like.”

Google ranks as the highest rated company among interns with its 4.6 company rating, improving on its 4.3 rating in last year’s report. (Company ratings based on a 5-point scale: 1.0=very dissatisfied, 3.0=OK, 5.0=very satisfied). Google interns speak favorably about working on projects that impact others, helpful employees who treat interns well, generous compensation packages, and perks like free meals. One Google Platforms Project Manager Intern (Mountain View, CA) shared: “Google treats interns even better than full time employees. All of the employees all the way up to VP personally spend time with you and take your opinion.” In addition, Google Software Engineer Interns bring in an average monthly base pay of $6,432 per month. Other Google Interns earn an average monthly base pay of $5,787.

Check out the complete results below, including company ratings, interview difficulty ratings, and average monthly base pay, entirely based on current and recent intern feedback:

Approximately 15,000 interns have shared company reviews on Glassdoor. The Glassdoor company review survey asks employees, including interns, to rate their satisfaction with the company overall and to provide feedback on the benefits (pros) and downsides (cons) of working at the company, among sharing other workplace insights. For the purposes of this list, a company’s ranking was determined using each company’s average company rating on Glassdoor according to interns who participated in the survey between January 29, 2011 and January 28, 2013.

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Media Contacts:

Scott Dobroski, Cell: (415) 847-4622

MaryJo Fitzgerald, Cell: (920) 420-6832

pr@glassdoor.com

About Glassdoor:

Glassdoor is the leading social jobs and career community that is changing the way people find jobs and companies recruit top talent. Founded in 2007, Glassdoor offers members access to the latest job listings, the ability to see Inside Connections™ via their Facebook network, and get access to proprietary user-generated content including company-specific salary reports, ratings and reviews, CEO approval ratings, interview questions and reviews, office photos, and more. Plus, employers can get involved in the conversation through Glassdoor’s suite of social recruiting solutions to reach target job candidates when they’re making career decisions. Glassdoor is backed by Benchmark Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, Battery Ventures and DAG Ventures. More information about Glassdoor can be found on its blog, and by following the company on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Glassdoor.com is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc.

TRICH IS MOST COMMON STD, YET MOST WOMEN UNAWARE, NEW SURVEY SHOWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Naria Williams | American Sexual Health Association

(202) 481-8291 | nwilliams@gpgdc.com

(Research Triangle Park, NC) – Trichomoniasis (trich) is the most common curable sexually transmitted Infection (STI), yet only one in five (22%) women are familiar with it, according to a new survey commissioned by the American Sexual Health Association (ASHA). Women surveyed perceive trich as the least common STI, when in reality there are more new cases of trich annually in the U.S. (7-8 million) than syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea combined.

“Trich is the forgotten STI – few are aware, and few know it is easy to get tested and treated,” said ASHA President and CEO Lynn B Barclay. “Yet trich poses risks to a woman’s health, many of which can be prevented with a simple, easy and painless test and cured with a dose of antibiotics.”

Trich is a parasite that is passed on during sex. Only about 30 percent of people with trich develop any symptoms, which in women can include itching, burning, redness or soreness of the genitals, discomfort with urination, or a thin discharge with an unusual smell that can be clear, white, yellowish, or greenish. Trich can also make sex unpleasant.

The CDC recommends that any sexually active woman seeking treatment for vaginal discharge should be tested for trich. However, 65% of women surveyed would not seek medical attention if they experienced unusual symptoms, instead waiting to see if the symptoms go away or treating themselves with over-the-counter medicine.

Pregnant women with trich are more likely to have preterm or low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds) babies. Trich also increases the risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Among women surveyed who were concerned about contracting an STD, nearly half (49%) worry about trich increasing their risk of HIV.

ASHA recommends that women encourage their partners to get tested, as 1 in 5 people can be reinfected within three months of treatment. “Women – treat your man. You could be at risk for trich even if you have only one sexual partner,” said Barclay. “Trich is often symptomless and can last for many months, meaning a person can be infected before meeting their current partner.” According to the survey, 63% of women cite having only one sex partner as a reason they would not get tested for trich.

“Bottom Line: Testing for trich is simple, easy, and painless. Trich can be easily cured. If you have symptoms, seek medical attention and get tested for trich.” Barclay adds, “Preventing STIs is a key aspect of sexual health. Being able to communication with our partners and health care providers is essential.”

The survey was conducted on behalf of the American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) via an online panel by Research Now, an independent research company. Interviews were conducted between January 28th – February 2nd, 2013 among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 female respondents between the ages of 18 and 50.

For more information on trich and other sexually transmitted infections, please visit http://www.ashastd.org.

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About ASHA

The American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1914 to improve the health of individuals, families, and communities, with a focus on educating about and preventing sexually transmitted infections. ASHA’s educational web sites include: www.ASHAsexualhealth.org, www.iwannaknow.org (for teens and young adults), and www.quierosaber.org (Spanish language site).

 

 

Beyond Academics: Reflect by GMAC Develops Skills for Career Success

New Soft Skills Assessment and Tool from the Graduate Management Admission Council

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tracey Briggs | Graduate Management Admission Council

(703) 668-9726 | tbriggs@gmac.com

RESTON, Virginia (February 20) — For the past 16 years, college seniors have been told that the most important things they can do for their future are to focus on academics and to get good grades. Although academic performance matters a great deal, the critical element that shapes success in the workplace is what experts call “soft skills”—qualities such as how well you work with others and how well you perform under pressure.

In other words, your career potential is as much about how you work as it is about what you know.

Recent reports from The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fast Company have stressed that employers are increasingly evaluating job candidates based on their workplace attitudes and instincts. For instance, a survey analysis featured in Forbes last year noted that failure of new hires within 18 months of starting a job is overwhelmingly due to cultural mismatch or attitude clashes rather than any shortcoming of critical skills.

This emerging consensus among businesses and human resources professionals is why the Graduate Management Admission Council, the non-profit education organization of graduate business schools and developer of the GMAT exam, is launching Reflect by GMAC. Reflect is a personality assessment and personal development tool that offers job seekers a competitive edge by measuring soft skills and providing specially tailored resources that can help test takers make the most of their own talents. Among the personal-professional qualities that Reflect assesses are an individual’s tendencies toward innovation, strategic vision and collaboration.

“For undergraduates applying to graduate school or entering the workforce, Reflect can provide self-awareness that can help them craft their essays or present themselves in an interview,” said Pepe Carreras, GMAC vice president of marketing. “A command of the soft skills Reflect assesses — and helps you improve — is an essential quality both schools and recruiters look for and respond to.”

Schools, like companies, can use Reflect to help them build collaborative teams and cultivate individual talent, but Reflect is designed to be used outside the admissions process.

Self-administered and self-directed, Reflect provides instructive advice tailored to the strengths and needs of individual test takers once they’ve reviewed their results. Upon completing the hour-long assessment, students are presented with actionable tips for self-improvement based on the 10 competencies assessed by the exam. They can use their competency scores as a benchmark to see how they compare with high performers in 14 different career fields.

Reflect also includes three years’ access to a library of articles, book summaries and videos, which can be saved in a personal work plan. The comprehensive suite of resources will help a new generation of leaders nurture their professional strengths, help them navigate potential derailers and showcase their talents in the workplace.

The Reflect self-assessment and tool is available at gmac.com/reflect for $99.99. As students prepare to make the transition from school to workplace, they can get the Reflect advantage: the power of getting where you want to go by knowing who you are.

For more information, contact: Tracey Briggs, tbriggs@gmac.com or 703-668-9726.

About Hogan Assessment Systems: With more than 30 years of experience, Hogan is the global leader in providing comprehensive, research-based personality assessment and consulting. Grounded in decades of science, Hogan helps businesses dramatically reduce turnover and increase productivity by hiring the right people, developing key talent, and evaluating leadership potential.

About GMAC: The Graduate Management Admission Council (gmac.com) is a nonprofit education organization of leading graduate business schools and owner of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT exam), used by more than 5,700 graduate business and management programs worldwide. GMAC is based in Reston, Virginia, and has regional offices in London, New Delhi and Hong Kong. The GMAT exam—the only standardized test designed expressly for graduate business and management programs worldwide—is continuously available at more than 560 test centers in 110 countries. More information about the GMAT exam is available at mba.com. Please visit gmac.com/newscenter.

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TEACH FOR AMERICA FOUNDER VOTED CHAIR OF THE BOARD

– Teach For America’s COO and President to become co-CEOs –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Steve Mancini | Teach For America
415.531.5396 | steve.mancini@teachforamerica.org

NEW YORK, NY – February 13, 2013 – In a vote yesterday, the Teach For America Board of Directors named CEO and founder Wendy Kopp as board chair, succeeding Walter Isaacson, who will become chair emeritus after more than seven years as chair. The board also appointed Matt Kramer and Elisa Villanueva Beard co-CEOs of Teach For America, effective March 1. Kopp will continue in her current role as founding CEO of Teach For All, a global network working to expand educational opportunity.

As board chair of Teach For America, Kopp will work closely with Villanueva Beard and Kramer to inform the organization’s strategic direction. She will develop and lead the national board of directors, cultivate external support, and provide advice and counsel to the leadership team.

“Today’s announcement reflects Teach For America’s strength. Our dramatic growth over the past few years calls for more leadership capacity to respond to growing needs and opportunities,” said Isaacson. “We are excited to elevate two proven leaders who have a lot more to contribute and free up our founder to focus on the areas where she can add the most unique value.”

Elisa Villanueva Beard and Matt Kramer have served as senior members of Teach For America’s leadership team for eight years, and this transition is a natural evolution of their existing responsibilities. As co-CEOs, they will be jointly accountable for the organization’s performance and will assume the leadership role in charting its strategic direction, developing its team and culture, building external relationships, and raising public awareness.

Elisa Villanueva Beard will oversee Teach For America’s regional operations and represent the organization publicly. A native of the Rio Grande Valley, Villanueva Beard joined Teach For America in 1998, teaching bilingual first and second grade in Phoenix for three years. She then spent four years as executive director of Teach For America’s Rio Grande Valley region, before joining the national staff as chief operating officer. In that position, she managed Teach For America’s now 46 regions, which are responsible for the placement and development of more than 10,000 corps members, fostering the leadership of their local alumni, and raising 80 percent of Teach For America’s funding.

“Having grown up in the Rio Grande Valley, my life’s work is fighting for educational justice for underserved kids in my hometown and across the country,” said Villanueva Beard. “I am honored to continue this work as co-CEO of Teach For America, an organization that I know has such deep potential to move us toward the day when all children have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. Matt and I look forward to working together to take Teach For America to the next level.”

Matt Kramer will manage all aspects of the central Teach For America structure, including recruiting and admissions, corps member training, administration, development, marketing and communications, and central programmatic support of the regions. Inspired by his wife’s experience as a corps member, Kramer originally joined Teach For America as chief program officer in 2005. He then moved into the role of president, where over the past five years he has helped oversee all aspects of Teach For America’s national operations, from growth and strategy to performance and organizational culture.

“I am thrilled to continue my partnership with Elisa, now as co-CEOs of Teach For America,” said Kramer. “Teach For America plays such an important role in developing the leadership our country needs to live up to our highest ideals, and Elisa and I are eager to continue the hard work of ensuring that all children in our country have the opportunity to reach their full potential. I am also excited that we will continue to benefit from Wendy Kopp’s extraordinary energy and wisdom in her new role as chair of the board.”

To ensure strong governance, the board has created a new role of independent lead director and has appointed Dick Parsons, former CEO and chairman of Time Warner, to this position. As chair of the board’s executive committee, he will help ensure the effectiveness of the board, support the development of the co-CEOs, and provide additional support in cultivating external relationships.

As CEO of Teach For All, Kopp leads a growing global network of independent organizations that, like Teach For America, are enlisting their countries’ most promising future leaders to become lifelong advocates for educational excellence and equality. Now in its sixth year, the Teach For All network includes organizations in 26 countries worldwide. In the coming years, Teach For All aims to build support for the growth of the network and its partners, and to accelerate the growth and progress of its partners by fostering learning, sharing, and innovation.

“It has been my privilege to serve as CEO of both Teach For America and Teach For All for more than five years,” said Kopp. “Today’s announcement helps ensure that each organization has the leadership capacity necessary to meet growing aspirations. Elisa and Matt are exceptional leaders and great partners. They have already contributed immeasurably to Teach For America’s growth and impact and I look forward to supporting them as they lead Teach For America into the future.”

About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding individuals of all academic disciplines to commit two years to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity. Today more than 10,000 corps members are teaching in 46 urban and rural regions across the country, while nearly 28,000 alumni are working across sectors to ensure that all children have access to an excellent education. For more information, visit http://www.teachforamerica.org/ and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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