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October 16-22nd, 2023


The WeeklyWire is an official communication tool of the Larner College of Medicine. Student feedback led to its development and continues to inform iterative improvements. All non-curriculum-related email communications are directed through The WeeklyWire to help support manageable email inboxes for our students; it's a one-stop-shop for all med school happenings outside of the classroom!

Please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Medical Education with any questions.

CLASS INFORMATION

  • REMINDER- COVID-19 GUIDELINES: The University has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks. Please take a moment to review UVM COVID GUIDELINES FALL 23

Class of 2024

  • Co2024: AMA Foundation’s 2024 Physicians of Tomorrow scholarships- Applications open on Monday, October 2, 2023. The deadline to apply and upload all associated materials is Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 11:59 PM CST. Our Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship program distributes $10,000 in tuition assistance scholarships to medical students approaching their final year of school. With 12 scholarship categories in a variety of focus areas the AMA Foundation awards scholarships to a diverse cohort of medical students each year. To apply, students must be final-year medical students that are currently enrolled in an accredited U.S. allopathic or osteopathic medical school and be permanent residents or citizens of the U.S. or have DACA status. Students interested in applying can click here for more information and answers to frequently asked questions, and here to apply. Contact AMAF Program Coordinator, Allison Wesel with questions.
  • REMINDER: Residency Interview Prep Meeting- Thursday, October 19th, 5:30 PM via Zoom. 
  • Co2024: Specialty Sib Survey- deadline November 1st, 2023. Help an M3 figure out their M4 year! The LCOM Specialty Sib is brought to you by the Larner College of Medicine Student Council. The 4th year sib will help with the nuts and bolts of the lotteries and timing of your (M3’s) 4th year planning. They are not a substitution for career or academic advising. We will try our best to align your specialty interests with those of your 4th year mentor in order to facilitate more specific advising, though we can’t guarantee that there will be an available 4th year with the same specialty interests. This questionnaire assists us in making pairings for the coming year. We close the survey November 1, 2023, to allow Student Council time to pair students. Take the questionnaire here.

 

Class of 2025

  • Co2025 - Surgery Senior Major Info Session- Wednesday, November 8th, 5PM; MedEd Room 200. Learn about the requirements and the benefits of pursuing the Surgery Senior Major with a pizza dinner. Our faculty will be presenting with a Q&A to follow. Contact Lisa Washburn with questions. The event is intended to be in person, however if our Connecticut students are interested, send an email to Lisa for the Zoom link. 

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Class of 2026

  • Co2026- Anatomy of the MSPE and PIZZA!- Wednesday, November 15th, 12:00-1:00 PM, MedEd Center 200.  What is the MSPE and why is it important? Have some pizza while you find out! Join Dr. Karen George, Associate Dean for Students, for a discussion about the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) -- what it is, what goes into it, and why it is important. Pizza will be provided but RSVP is required. Please RSVP online by 11:59 pm on November 8. Contact Emma Faustner with questions.
  • Co2027/co2026 – RESEARCH FUNDING OPPORTUNITY – Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship: 01/03/24 application deadline. $6,000. Financial support for research to be conducted either during a continual period of a minimum of 8 to 10 weeks, 30 hours or more per week; or an average of 4 hours per week for 12 months over a period of 1 to 2 years, for clinical investigation, basic laboratory research, epidemiology, social science/health services research, leadership, or professionalism

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Class of 2027

  • Co2027: CVRI-VT ECAC "Find Your Mentor" Event - Thursday, November 30th, 12:00-1:00 PM, Med Ed 100. The CVRI-VT ECAC are thrilled to invite you to our esteemed "Find Your Mentor" event --a special research networking occasion orchestrated to connect early career student researchers, including medical students and graduate students, with potential research mentors. This event seeks to cultivate collaboration, mentorship, and knowledge exchange within our vibrant research community at UVM. RSVP by 11/16 via this link. 
  • Co2027/co2026 – RESEARCH FUNDING OPPORTUNITY – Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship: 01/03/24 application deadline. $6,000. Financial support for research to be conducted either during a continual period of a minimum of 8 to 10 weeks, 30 hours or more per week; or an average of 4 hours per week for 12 months over a period of 1 to 2 years, for clinical investigation, basic laboratory research, epidemiology, social science/health services research, leadership, or professionalism.
  • Co2027: Larner Medical Student Council Class of 2027 Election Results – The Larner Medical Student Council would like to congratulate the Class of 2027 Student Council members, including Lajla Badnjevic (Chair of Communications), Jonathan Palmer (Chair of Student Leadership), Jeffrey Heithmar (Chair of Student Life), Benjamin Sebuufu (Chair of Finance), and Claudia Tarrant (Chair of Community Service).  We could not be more excited to welcome them onto the Larner College of Medicine Student Council, and to watch them grow into their roles as our newest student leaders.

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Upcoming and Ongoing Opportunities

  • AWARD OPPORTUNITY - AΩA Professionalism Award: Tuesday, October 17th nomination deadline. Amount: $10,000. For ongoing programs in medical schools or other institutions that represent best practices in the education and practice of medical professionalism. Individuals or teams may apply.
  • Student Performance Night – Friday, 10/20/2023, 7-9 PM, Hoehl Gallery. Calling all artists/musicians/comedians! – The Student Performance Night is being held in collaboration with the Larner Medical Student Council, Music SIG, Wellness Committee, and the Jandl ’79 and Parker ’73 endowments. Mark your calendars to enjoy an evening listening to live music while perusing art. If art or music or anything creative that you want to showcase is a passion or pastime, sign up HEREto share your wellness outlet with the Larner community and enjoy the creative process!
  • RESEARCH FUNDING OPPORTUNITY – Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship- Co2027 and Co2026: 01/03/24 application deadline. $6,000. Financial support for research to be conducted either during a continual period of a minimum of 8 to 10 weeks, 30 hours or more per week; or an average of 4 hours per week for 12 months over a period of 1 to 2 years, for clinical investigation, basic laboratory research, epidemiology, social science/health services research, leadership, or professionalism.
  • Housing Opportunity for Medical Students- February and March 2024. For the past ten years I have made my lovely, cozy, and quiet South End house available to one or two UVM medical students, during the months of February and March. I do not charge rent. I just ask folks to pay for their utilities. Please contact me if you are interested in staying in my house this winter: Anne Damrosch 802-363-3444 
  • Vermont Department of Health supports licensing of VisualDx public health app for the smartphone of every UVM medical student- To modernize public health efforts, VDH is investing in information technology for all physicians, residents, and medical students in Vermont. Their goal is to improve the recognition of communicable disease and public health related diagnoses and to advance public health alerting and reporting. VisualDx covers more than 3,400 diagnoses. The diagnosis summaries can serve as a study aid, a quick reference, and a differential diagnosis engine that students and medical professionals can leverage in the classroom and on rotations. VisualDx includes a library of more than 45,000 equitable clinical images—great for learning and for PBL exercises. The VisualDx desktop platform is customized with localized public health links to infectious disease alerting and reporting and delivered within clinicians’ existing workflows.

    To access VisualDx on your mobile device, create a personal account and download the VisualDx mobile app: Visit: visualdx.com/institutional-signup on a clinical computer or through UVM network.

    Download the mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. Enter the username and password you created in Step 1.

     

  • Job Opportunity for Medical Students- 1 hour/week (ongoing), South Burlington. An emeriti faculty member (MD’52) is looking to hire a medical student to read him the New England Journal of Medicine as his vision is declining and he wants to stay up to date on the journal. He will pay for 1 hour per week and is located in South Burlington. Contact Emily Stoehr for more information.
  • GIS Support and Consulting Services- Working on a project that involves data and geography? We can help! Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, uses geospatial technology to map data. Anyone who has gathered data that they’d like to connect to a map can meet with our GIS consultants for: GIS project design, the selection of appropriate datasets, and the selection and use of geoprocessing tools (including ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and Google Earth Engine). For quick questions, email: Library.GIS-Support@uvm.edu. For more in-depth consultations, Make a consultation appointment.
  • Housing Opportunity for Medical Students- February and March 2024. For the past ten years I have made my lovely, cozy, and quiet South End house available to one or two UVM medical students, during the months of February and March. I do not charge rent. I just ask folks to pay for their utilities. Please contact me if you are interested in staying in my house this winter: Anne Damrosch 802-363-3444.

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    Events

  • Hopkins Ophthalmology Virtual Curriculum Session- Monday, October 16th, 6:30-7:30 PM. The Hopkins Ophthalmology Virtual Curriculum (HOVC) is excited to kick off the 2023-2024 season with a virtual session on cornea/cataract/introduction to ophthalmology with Dr. Divya Srikumaran, Vice Chair of Education and former Residency Program Director at the Wilmer Eye Institute (Johns Hopkins). The Hopkins Ophthalmology Virtual Curriculum sessions consist of 1-hour monthly virtual sessions. The first ~30 minutes will be a talk presented by an ophthalmology faculty member/clinician on their specific subspecialty, what a day in the life of a ____ (retina, oculoplastics, etc.) specialist looks like, their path to ophthalmology, etc. The final ~30 minutes of the session will consist of an open Q&A session to allow students to get to know the speaker as well as to learn more about what it's like to be an ophthalmologist. The goal of the program is to expose medical students to different subspecialties of ophthalmology. To receive the Zoom link for this event, please sign up for the mailing list on our website by 10/15/2023 at 10:00 AM EST. Interested students can follow HOVC on Instagram or reach out to Nathan Pan-Doh with additional questions.

  • Random Chats about Data - Statistical Output: Tuesday, 10/17, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM, Howe Library Meeting Room (Howe 001B). A conversation about interpreting p-values, test statistics, confidence intervals or plausible intervals, parameter estimates.

  • Fall 2023 Careers in Medicine Specialty Panel Series- Family Medicine- Tuesday, October 17th, 12:00-12:50 PM; MedEd Center 200 Classroom. The goal of this informal session will be to answer any and all questions about Family Medicine as a specialty choice. Attendings will be on hand to discuss the field in general and to describe the subspecialty opportunities available. Special attention will also be taken to explain the residency application process and offer specific guidance to best prepare you for navigating that process. Contact Emma Faustner in the Office of Medical Education with any questions.
  • Spotlight on Primary Care Series- Homelessness (co-sponsored with SMNA) Wednesday, October 18th, 12-1 PM, MedEdCenter 200 Sullivan Classroom. This one-hour session is an AHEC Scholar eligible activity; be sure to complete the sign in form at the session to add it to your AHEC Transcript. Contact Jennifer Gaudreau, Physician Placement Professional, with questions.
  • Monitoring and Improving Your Credit Score – Wednesday, October 18th, 2023, 3 PM. Understanding your credit is essential to a solid financial future. You need to know how to access your credit report and score, how to monitor your report and the best ways to improve your score. Improving your creditworthiness begins with a few intentional actions. Join Ms. Veronica Herrera from Experian, as she answers your questions and shows you what you need to become a credit expert! Register Now
  • Fall 2023 Careers in Medicine Specialty Panel Series- Ophthalmology- Thursday, October 19th, 12:00-12:50 PM; MedEd Center 200 Classroom. The goal of this informal session will be to answer any and all questions about Ophthalmology as a specialty choice. Attendings will be on hand to discuss the field in general and to describe the subspecialty opportunities available. Special attention will also be taken to explain the residency application process and offer specific guidance to best prepare you for navigating that process. Contact Emma Faustner in the Office of Medical Education with any questions.
  • Q+A for Med Students Interested in Radiation Oncology-Thursday, October 19th, 8:00 PM via Zoom.  Are you a medical student looking to learn more about the field of radiation oncology? Join us for our bi-monthly Medical Student Q&A, where you will have the opportunity to meet faculty and resident radiation oncologists and ask any questions you have about how radiation is used to treat cancer, career paths within the specialty, research opportunities, the residency application process, and tips for being a competitive applicant. Register here.
  • Coffee/Tea/Cocoa with Dean Zehle- Friday, October 20th, 7:30 AM-8:15 AM, Given Courtyard outside N100. Dean Zehle would like to invite students and faculty to stop by before class/rotations to join her for coffee/tea/cocoa. Feel free to stop by for a chat, catch up on events, share a story – whatever you would like to talk about – or simply feel free to grab a drink and head off to start your day! She often hosts special guests and looks forward to seeing you whenever you are able to come by. Please reach out to her Executive Assistant, Colleen Case, for more information.
  • Fall 2023 Careers in Medicine Specialty Panel Series- Pathology- Tuesday, October 24th, 12:00-12:50 PM; MedEd Center 200 Classroom. The goal of this informal session will be to answer any and all questions about Pathology as a specialty choice. Attendings will be on hand to discuss the field in general and to describe the subspecialty opportunities available. Special attention will also be taken to explain the residency application process and offer specific guidance to best prepare you for navigating that process. Contact Emma Faustner in the Office of Medical Education with any questions.
  • Spotlight on Primary Care Series: Primary Care in Rural Vermont- Wednesday, October 25th, 12:00-1 PM, MedEd Center 200 Sullivan Classroom. This one-hour session is an AHEC Scholar eligible activity to begin building your AHEC transcript (be sure to complete the sign in form at the session.) Participants will learn about the delivery of primary care in a rural setting, the challenges of practicing primary care in a rural setting, and the benefits of practicing primary care in a rural setting. AHEC Scholars Core Topic Areas include Social Determinants of Health, Cultural Competency, and Medical Practice Transformation. This is a brown bag event- bring your lunch and we’ll bring the snacks—first come, first served while supplies last. Contact Jennifer Gaudreau, Physician Placement Professional, for more information.
  • Grand Rounds on Climate Change, Health and Health Care- Wednesday, October 25th, 12:00-1:00 PM, Davis Auditorium. Please join us for a presentation and discussion on how medical professionals can help address climate change, referred to as the single biggest health threat facing humanity by the WHO. Presenter: Dr. Beth Zigmund, member of the UVMMC Sustainability Council, Steering Committee of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, Amer College of Radiology Task Force on Climate Change and Sustainability, and Association of University Radiologists Committee on Climate Change and Sustainability. This event is offered in-person or via Zoom (Meeting ID: 999 247 259 Password: 406047). Contact Beth Zigmund with questions.
  • 2023 Virtual AAMC Awards Recognition Event- Wednesday, October 25th, 4-5:15 PM. Join us as we host our third annual AAMC Awards Recognition Event to honor our colleagues and their achievements! You will want to be a part of the celebration as we commemorate our 2023 AAMC Awards recipients. Registration is free but required.
  • Joint POSTER SESSION for 2023 Summer Medical Student Research Fellowships funded by LCOM and Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont; and 2023 Summer Student Fellowships in Cancer Research funded by UVM Cancer Center- Thursday, October 26th, 11AM-2PM; Hoehl Gallery, Given Courtyard, and Sullivan Classroom (MedEd 200) foyer.  51 medical students and 9 graduate/undergraduate students are excited to share their summer research with you! Coffee and snacks will be provided.
  • Office of Medical Education presents Annual Office Trick or Treating Event- Tuesday, October 31, 8:30 AM-4:00 PM, Given Courtyard N100 (and additional locations across Larner). Swing by the VT Office of Medical Education N100 Suite to get some TREATS during office hours on Tuesday, October 31.  Meet OME faculty & staff and wander our cubes and offices in Given Complex of HOOORRRROORRRR! We know most have you have discovered the magic of our student snack bin, at this point, but here’s your chance to load up on the “good stuff” (as in the totally horrible, wonderful stuff). Tasteful and appropriate costumes enthusiastically received.

    We are thrilled to share that we have a fun collection of other departments and teams participating in this year’s event; swing by their offices and cubes of horror for additional sweet treats and meets:

  • The Teaching Academy (entrance accessed via the Dana Medical Library)
  • The OME Admissions Team (Given N200)
  • The OME Curriculum Team – Foundations (Given C141 – just off of the Given Bistro)
  • The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Given D201)
  • COMTS Help Desk (accessed via the Dana Medical Library)
  • The Dean’s Office (Given E126)
  • The Dana Medical Library
  • Fall 2023 Careers in Medicine Specialty Panel Series- Research Careers- Tuesday, October 31st, 12:00-12:50 PM; MedEd Center 200 Classroom. The goal of this informal session will be to answer any and all questions about research careers. Dr. Stapleton will be on hand to discuss research in general and to describe available opportunities. Special attention will also be taken to explain the residency application process and offer specific guidance to best prepare you for navigating that process. Contact Emma Faustner in the Office of Medical Education with any questions.
  • Monthly Medical Student Council Meeting- Wednesday, November 1st, 5:00-7:00 PM, MedEdCenter 203 Small Group Room or remote (link here). The Larner College of Medicine Student Council meets the first Wednesday of the month, during the academic year (September – June). Meetings are open to the community, and community members can contact Elise Prehoda, Medical Student Council President, or Justin Henningsen, Medical Student Council President-Elect, should you wish to request an item be added to the agenda. More information about Student Council can be found here. The link for remote meeting access is here.
  • Annual Winter Driving Course with Lt. Paul Ravelin- Thursday 11/2, 12-1pm, via Zoom webinar. Join Larner Medical Student Council for this year’s Larner Winter Driving course! Free and open to all members of the UVM, UVM Larner CT & VT, and UVMMC communities. There will be a random prize given to one lucky attendee, shortly after the course, too! Registration required at this link.
  • Fall 2023 Careers in Medicine Specialty Panel Series- Diagnostic & Interventional Radiology- Tuesday, November 2nd, 12:00-12:50 PM; MedEd Center 200 Classroom. The goal of this informal session will be to answer any and all questions about Diagnostic & Interventional Radiology as a specialty choice. Attendings will be on hand to discuss the field in general and to describe the subspecialty opportunities available. Special attention will also be taken to explain the residency application process and offer specific guidance to best prepare you for navigating that process. Contact Emma Faustner in the Office of Medical Education with any questions.
  • Osher Collaborative for Integrative Health – “Longevity and Healthy Aging Symposium”- Friday, November 3rd, 11am-6pm, online (free; registration required). Osher Center experts will discuss the latest research-backed science and share strategies to help people live long, healthy lives. The symposium is open to all community members and professionals. Register online.
  • Sarnoff Medical Student Fellowship- Virtual Info Session for All Current Medical Students- Sunday, November 5, 2023, 4-5 PM ET. Spanning more than 40 years, the Fellowship program has afforded medical students from across the nation extraordinary, often career direction defining, experiences of mentorship and research. The Sarnoff Fellowship Program offers medical students enrolled in accredited U.S. medical schools the opportunity to spend a year conducting intensive work in a biomedical research facility in the United States. The award provides an annual stipend and allowance. The application deadline for the 2024-25 Sarnoff Fellowship is January 10, 2024. A virtual information session for potential applicants will be held on Sunday, November 5, from 4-5 pm, Eastern time. To register for the session, please email Dana Boyd, Executive Director. More information about the Foundation can be found on their website.
  • The Untreated Epidemic: Understanding and Treating Long COVID and ME/CFS- November 6th, 12PM-4PM, Online and In person at Auditoriums E & F Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. This hybrid (attendance can be online or in-person) event will provide education and FREE CME credit on the diagnosis and treatment of Long COVID, ME/CFS, and other infection-associated chronic conditions. Masks are strongly encouraged and will be provided at this event if you choose to attend in person. Walk-in spots are limited; please pre-register to reserve your spot, choose your free lunch, and make accessibility requests ahead of time. Learn more and register here.
  • RMEC 2023: Uplifting Voices: Celebrating Diversity in Medicine- Friday, November 10th and Saturday, November 11th, UVM LCOM. This event is an opportunity to come together in a day of workshops and learning. We welcome medical students and premedical students. We will address issues affecting physicians of color such as redefining passion in medicine in the midst of burnout and developing purpose and identity in medicine. We will also discuss how to better serve marginalized communities, including racial minorities; healthcare policy; and how to take better care of ourselves. For more information and to register, click here.
  • Medical Ethics SIG Motivational Interviewing Event- Tuesday, November 14th, 12-12:45PM; MedEd 100. Join the Medical Ethics Student Interest Group as Dr. Clara Keegan, PA-C,  Martha Seagrave, and other guests walk us through and help us practice the useful skill of motivational interviewing. Lunch will be provided. 
  • Learn about the AAMC Financial Wellness Program-Friday, November 17th, 3:00 PM. Medical school can be challenging, but managing your money shouldn’t be. Join this FIRST webinar to see a demo of the AAMC Financial Wellness program. We will review the tools and resources that can help measure your financial health and get personalized recommendations for improvement, see how to complete online financial courses on topics relevant to real life, assess identity theft, calculate the cost of borrowing, create financial goals, create a spending plan, track expenses, and much more! Register here.

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    Articles, Media, and Publications

  • Hidden Prize Drawing - You are a WeeklyWire Reading Rockstar! Congratulations- you located a random drawing for a free ticket to the movies! Enter by 8 AM on Monday, October 16th to be eligible to win (or gift) a free movie ticket to the Roxy Theater, located in downtown Burlington. Enter to win, now…
  • Lagniappe Art and Literature Magazine is now open for submissions for Volume 8- submissions will be open until Friday, October 27th. Lagniappe is a magazine for creative expression, managed by Tulane University School of Medicine Students. It is a space to explore imperfection and is open to all. Check out some of our previous volumes to get a sense of what we tend to publish. Please consider sending us creative and nonfiction writing (under 1 page), poetry, visual art, photography, doodles, epiphanies, reflections, jokes, recipes, class notes or anything else you can dream!  Submit via the Google form or if the form isn’t working, via email. Please be sure to include your name (or let us know you'd like to be anonymous), description (1-2 lines regarding the content of your work or inspiration behind it), any additional comments/notes, as well as your submission included as an attachment. Additionally, let us know if we have your permission to use part or all your submission on our Instagram page and (include your handle if so.)
  • FREE New York Times Subscription for UVM Students, Staff, and Faculty: You must use your UVM email address to create an account and then go to nytimes.com and login to start reading; the account may need to be reactivated via the library link, periodically. Start exploring free NYtimes content, now…

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Housing Opportunities

Graduate students are highly sought tenants in the Burlington area and property owners often advertise specifically to them with special rates (less than would be offered to undergraduate students). Don't hesitate to ask housing contacts if they would consider lowering the advertised rate to secure a graduate student; it never hurts to ask!

Explore housing opportunities & housing support resources via the UVM Off-campus Housing Site...

Burlington Off-campus Living Guide: Includes information to help off-campus students have successful experiences off campus. Check out the 6th edition of the UVM Off-Campus Student and Community Relations (OSCR) Off Campus Living Guide....

Landlord/Tenant and Housing Questions and Issues: Please contact OSCR (802-656-9405)

Lost & Found

Lost something? Email the Office of Medical Education (OME) a description of the item. OME and the Dana Medical Library recently joined the UVM campus-wide lost & found system and search not only the College of Medicine, but campus as a whole to see if it's been turned in. If it hasn't, the office can file a claim for the item should someone turn it in soon!

Found something? Please turn it into either the Office of Medical Education (Given Courtyard n100) or the Dana Medical Library (First floor of the Medical Education Center) and we will be sure to log it into the Campus-Wide Lost & Found Database.

Found items are kept up to 30 days, and then are donated to various local organizations depending on the item.