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OFFICE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS AND THE ACADEMIC SOCIETIES
 
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ACADEMIC SOCIETIES
The Academic Societies of the CWRU School of Medicine

Mission Statement
Overview
   Advising
   Building Community
   Advocates for Students
   MSPE Preparation
Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
Change in Society Dean

Policy and Procedures

Upon matriculation to the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, all students are randomized to one of four Academic Societies.  Each Society is named after an important person in the history of the Medical School and is led by a Society Dean.

The four Academic Societies are:
The Frederick Robbins Society - Robert L. Haynie, MD, PhD, Dean
The Emily Blackwell Society - Elizabeth McKinley, MD, MPH, Dean
The Joseph Wearn Society - Steven Ricanati, MD, Dean
The David Satcher Society - Charles Kent Smith, MD, Dean

Students remain members of their assigned societies throughout their time as students. The Societies aim to foster close relationships and a sense of community among students.  The Society Deans serve as mentors, helping students navigate the curriculum and providing students with advice and support for residency and career planning. 

Mission Statement

The purpose of the Academic Societies is to provide a comprehensive support system for students so that they can master the academic and professional skills required to be a physician.  This goal is accomplished through advising, teaching, collating assessments for the Medical Student Performance Evaluation, and building a sense of community.

Overview:

Advising- The Society Deans function in a group practice model and are available 24/7.  Students work primarily with their Society Dean (SD), but they are encouraged to use the resources of all four SDs.
  • Personal Advising
    • Managing life events while achieving excellence in education
    • Referral to Student Counseling Services, Student Health Services, Addiction Services
  • Academic Advising
    • Students sharing best practices with one another.  Group meetings during the block to create a Personal/Professional Learning Plan (PLP)
    • Remediation (Learning plans and academic and behavioral contracts)
    • Referral to Educational Support Services
    • Arranging Examination Accommodations
    • Academic Scheduling and Timing of National Boards Exams
    • Dual Degree Program Planning (MS, MA, PhD, JD, DDM)
  • Career Planning
    • AAMC Careers in Medicine Program
    • 1:1 meetings to help students finding mentors
    • Match Time-line, resume preparation, personal statement preparation, coordinating class meetings
  • Research
    • Helping students find mentors
    • Writing Letters of Recommendation for research grants, fellowships and year-long programs
    • Coordinating with Office of Medical Student Research
  • Teaching - the Society Deans are all teachers. They teach some curricular components, but are primarily involved in the teaching of medical professionalism.
    • Create and Lead Professionalism Workshop (4-year program is in development)
    • Create and Lead the Student Clinician Ceremony
    • Run the Healers' Arts Curriculum
  • The Society Deans also:
    • Meet weekly with the Office of Curricular Affairs
    • Teach in the IQ program (problem based learning groups)
    • Lead the Personal Learning Plan sessions (Personal reflection, continuous quality improvement, sharing best practices)
    • Organize and Maintain the Tutoring Program
    • Attend on clinical services

Building Community

  • Creating a smaller community where everyone feels heard.
    • Society Lounge Space
    • Society Government- The Intersociety Counsel (ISC)
    • Independent budget for the ISC, allocation determined by students
    • Society Competition
    • Society Volunteer projects
    • Society Logos
    • Vertical learning (sharing best practices)
  • Managing School Events
    • Irwin H. Lepow Memorial Medical Student Research Day
    • AOA (Preparation of student information, presentations to selection committee, AOA lecture and banquet)
    • White Coat Ceremony
    • Student Clinician Ceremony
    • Match Day
    • Society Dinners and picnics
    • Graduation Award Ceremony
    • Graduation (hooding of students)

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The Society Deans advocate for their students
At the School of Medicine, decisions about academic advancement are handled by the Committee on Students (COS).  Referrals to this committee are made for academic and professional reasons. 

The guidelines for academic referrals are clearly spelled out in the student handbook.  The student’s SD will meet with him/her in advance, describe the process and then attend the meeting as the student’s advocate.  The SD will also collate the data about academic performance and present it to the COS.

A referral to the COS may come from many sources such as a faculty evaluation, faculty complaint, student complaint, criminal referral or a mental/physical health referral.  The SD will meet with the student and ask them to reflect on the complaint and advise them about the COS process.  The actual investigation of the complaint will be coordinated by the Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs.  The Society Dean will attend the COS meeting to advocate for his or her student.

Medical Student Performance Evaluation Letter Preparation- All graduating students need this letter as part of their residency application.  The MSPE is prepared by the students’ Society Deans.

  • Transparent process accomplished through a series of 1:1 meetings.  Students see the letter during the entire process, including the final product.
  • SDs collate the student’s academic assessments and write the unique characteristics portion of the letter.

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Avoiding Conflicts of Interest - Key Principles

The Society Deans are advisors.  All academic assessments are prepared by faculty and the Office of Curricular Affairs and are provided to the Society Deans.  The Society Deans present the data to their students and review the assessments with them to help them reflect.  If a student fails to meet expectations on a particular assessment or a curricular competency, that student is then referred to the SD who will meet with the student and help him/her prepare a remediation.  The SD asks the student to self-reflect and identify areas of strength and weakness.  The SD will then communicate to the student the timing and substance of the remediation exercise designed by the faculty.

Whenever possible, the Society Deans avoid having their own students in a preclinical or clinical teaching activity.  Moving forward, Society Deans will ask that those organizing the IQ groups not to assign students to a group facilitated by their Society Dean.

The Society Deans write the MSPE.  Although this is a letter of evaluation, the Society Dean’s role is to collate the assessments that are prepared by the faculty.  The part of the letter that is crafted by the SD is the “Unique Characteristics” portion which is written with the aid of the student and relies heavily on information provided by the student.  If a student is uncomfortable with their MSPE, they may request an independent review or a change in letter-writer from the Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs. 

Change in Society Dean
The societies work on a group practice model and students are free to consult with any of the Society Deans.  If a student genuinely feels that they have a conflict with their Society Dean and is not comfortable with this person, he or she may meet with the Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs to request a change.  The Vice Dean will make the final decision. 

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