I’m co-chairing a committee to take a long hard look at pre-medical
education at Mason, particularly from the standpoint of academic
advising and the “care and feeding” of such students over the course
of their undergraduate years here. The Committee, charged by the
Provost, provides a unique opportunity, I feel, to market Mason
towards an entirely new demographic of entering freshman who, from
day one are focussed on achieving a career in medicine.
Two sea changes at Mason are catalyzing this process: the first is
simply that we have more physicians than ever before on faculty.
These individuals can play critical roles in the mentoring of
undergraduate pre-medical students, while at the same time serving as
role models. The second change is that Mason is moving broadly ahead
in biosciences across a number of fronts (neuroscience,
bioengineering, proteomics just to name a few) and these changes make
it possible to market the University more effectively towards
entering freshmen who are very interested in a pre-med curriculum.
None of this will be possible without adequate central support and
coordination. But I’m very optimistic for the future and I believe
this new focus will help the University.
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 