Academic advising is the process of the medical student and an academic advisor reviewing the services and policies of the institution, discussing educational and career plans, and making appropriate course selections.
Academic counseling is the process of the medical student and an academic counselor discussing academic difficulties and to help the medical student acquire more effective and efficient abilities in areas such as study skills, reading skills and/or test-taking skills.
Academic advising is provided by the deans and directors in the Offices of Undergraduate Medical Education, Student Support and Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the North Philadelphia and St. Luke’s regional campuses. These educational leaders are available to review the policies of the institution, the resources and processes to access available resources to support students’ academic progress, success and well-being, and to answer any questions students may have about their educational and career plans.
During the Transition to Medical School course, during the students’ first week at Katz, they are provided with academic support resource information and are encouraged to seek help for any academic concerns. The information is available in the student introductory packet and on the school’s portal. Students are encouraged to contact individual faculty, course directors, and the offices of student support and undergraduate medical education.
Students can access the deans and directors through self-referral (for example, directly contacting the dean, or director or attending the dean or director’s office hours); referral by a faculty member, course director, academic coach, residency career advisor, or another dean or director or learning support specialist; and/or referral by a peer tutor (peer academic facilitator).
Every student on both campuses is assigned to an academic coach upon matriculation and a residency career advisor (RCA) prior to the start of Phase 2. The academic coach provides academic counseling and support throughout the medical school program. RCAs are available to provide academic advice about clinical schedules and are required to approve student’s elective course selections in Phase 2 and Phase 3. The Phase 2 and 3 deans and/or director from the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education on both campuses review students’ course selections before finalizing their schedules and are available to provide advice and answer questions throughout the course selection (lottery) process.
Academic counseling and individualized learning support is provided for students on the North Philadelphia and St. Luke’s regional campuses through an integrated system of individualized learning support that includes faculty academic coaches; educational administrative leaders in the Offices of Undergraduate Medical Education and Student Support; the learning support specialist; and peer tutors.
All students on both campuses are assigned on matriculation to an academic coach who provides longitudinal, academic counseling and individualized support throughout their time in the MD program. Katz clinical faculty members are academic coaches who are selected through a formal application process. Academic coaches provide one-on-one and group coaching for a cohort of medical students through all phases of the curriculum.
The goals of the academic coaching program are to
support students’ academic progress and success throughout their time in medical school;
support students’ professional identity development as lifelong learners;
develop a trusting, longitudinal coaching relationship with a faculty member; and
connect students at academic risk with appropriate resources and support services (refer to more information about these services below).
The Katz School of Medicine peer academic facilitator program, is overseen by the deans or directors from the Offices of Undergraduate Medical Education and Student Support. For example, the assistant dean for Phase 1, the assistant director of the Phase 1 curriculum at the St. Luke’s Regional Campus, and the senior director of personal counseling and wellness. Students in the M2 through M4 classes from the North Philadelphia and St. Luke’s campuses are selected to serve as peer academic facilitators through an application and interview process. They also complete a training program to prepare them for their role.
Facilitators provide one-on-one academic assistance by assessing their peer’s individual needs and providing individualized advising that includes reviewing course content, reviewing previously used study skills to provide advice about effective study techniques and the use of learning resources, reviewing formative (practice) questions, and individualized review of their peer’s Phase 1 examinations. Peer tutoring is available to help students learn curricular content, prepare for examinations in Phase 1, clinical subject exams in Phase 2, and/or national licensing examinations.
Students meet in-person or virtually with a peer academic facilitator on either the North Philadelphia or St. Luke’s campus. Students can self-refer or be referred by faculty, course directors, deans or directors in the Offices of Undergraduate Medical Education and Student Support, an academic coach and/or the learning support specialist. Facilitators also hold group sessions to provide academic assistance for students in Phase 1 of the curriculum. These sessions include
how to study for the block at the beginning of the course;
weekly content review sessions; and
a review session before the final examination for each Phase 1 course.
The Katz Career Advising Program is an integrated, longitudinal program designed to support career exploration, elective selection and career decision-making for all medical students at the North Philadelphia and St. Luke’s campuses. The program is coordinated and managed by deans in the Office of Student Support (for example, the assistant dean for career advising at the North Philadelphia campus and the assistant dean for student support on the St. Luke’s regional campus). Throughout the students’ enrollment, assistant deans or directors, and the associate director from the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education and Student Support provide specific individual advising related to elective selection and career decision-making.
To ensure that all medical students receive comparable and comprehensive career advising, a structured system of residency career advising was introduced for students on the North Philadelphia and St. Luke’s Regional Campus in the 2023–2024 academic year. Lead RCAs are selected to manage career advising at a departmental level and qualified candidates must be chosen by faculty appointment at the rank of assistant professor or above, manage a clinical practice in a discipline highly subscribed to by medical students, have the ability to provide highly effective and honest feedback, and exhibit a track-record of success in mentoring learners engaged in undergraduate or graduate medical education.
Lead RCAs were identified for each specialty that more than 10 students from the 5 graduating classes selected for residency training. At the North Philadelphia campus, lead RCAs are from nine clinical departments. At the St. Luke’s campus, two members of the dean’s office and a faculty member from the department of surgery serve as the lead RCAs.
Students meet with their doctoring college academic advisors one-on-one twice a year in the first two years and then once a year thereafter. Together, they review a student’s progress in medical school and set personal goals. Midway through their third year, students are assigned specialty advisors, who are physicians in the specialties for which they plan to apply. These advisors help guide their M4 scheduling and residency application choices. The offices of Student Affairs and Medical Education are available to counsel students individually throughout medical school.
Student interest groups—representing various medical specialties—host events to introduce students to the specialties. Students may arrange to shadow physicians on their own.
Students can pursue a variety of internships, externships, and service opportunities through many domestic and international programs, including Katz’s Global Medicine Program as well as student-run service organizations.
Academic Advising
Hannah Ravreby, MD
Assistant Dean, Academic Advising
Phone: 215-707-1670
Email: [click-for-email]
Career Counseling
Kimberly Forde, MD
Assistant Dean, Career Advising
Phone: 215-707-5876
Email: [click-for-email]
