Issue 93 - May 9, 2017
Making the Rounds with Founding Dean Dr. Barbara Atkinson
Friends and colleagues,
      
I am pleased to share the UNLV School of Medicine has reached another incredible milestone - one that I am very proud and excited about - selection of the students who will make up our charter class.  
 
Results of Second Look
As I reported a few weeks ago, on April 20 and 21 we held our Second Look program for students who had received a letter of acceptance from UNLV School of Medicine. Forty-eight of the 60 students we invited attended the program.  Students spent two days experiencing the school's problem-based learning curriculum, attending resources sessions and seeing how virtual anatomy really works. We built in plenty of time for students to ask questions and to interact with faculty and donors. 

Second Look proved to be very successful. Of the students who attended, 44 selected UNLV School of Medicine as their medical school, even though many held multiple acceptances from other medical schools.
 
Medical school selection is a competitive and dynamic process
Every U.S. medical student applicant who held more than one acceptance to a medical school is required to make their final selection by April 30. Twenty-two of the initial 60 students to whom we sent letters of acceptance also carried multiple school acceptances, which is a compliment to the caliber of our applicant pool and first class. 

Our charter class of 31 women and 29 men is truly outstanding. Here is more information about the charter class and the admissions process.
 
Our charter class consists of students who are from Nevada or who have strong connections to Nevada
  • 51 students are Nevada residents
  • 9 students are non-residents but have close ties to NV (they previously lived here, attended school here, or have parents or grandparents living here).
  • 29 students are graduates from Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) institutions:
    • 17 students graduated from UNLV
    • 11 students graduated from UNR
    • 1 student graduated from Nevada State College
Our students have strong academic credentials 
  • Besides the 28 NSHE students, 32 received their degrees from excellent schools outside of Nevada. These schools include Brigham Young University (6 students); University of California, Berkley (4 students); Loyola Marymount University (3 students); Johns Hopkins University (2 students), and one student each from UCLA; Dartmouth College; Rice University; The University of Texas, Dallas; University of Connecticut; University of Arizona; Rutgers University; University of Redlands; and Duke University. 
  • The average MCAT score for our charter class is 508. The MCAT scale ranges from 528-472. The national average MCAT score is 500.
  • The average GPA score for the class is 3.6.
  • When you compare our applicant pool of Nevada students to the out-of-state students who applied, 38 percent of the Nevada pool had MCAT scores that were 506 or above, while 40 percent of the out-of-state pool achieved the same level - both groups are very comparable by MCAT measures. When we compared the GPA results, however, the Nevada pool was substantially higher than the out-of-state pool. Thirty-one percent of the Nevada pool had a GPA of 3.8 or higher, while only 17 percent of the out-of-state pool was at that level.   
Our charter class of students represents the Southern Nevada community
  • Racial and ethnic background of our students breaks down as follows:
    •  28 White (47%), 
    • 12 Hispanic/Latino (20%), 
    • 13 Asian (20%), 
    • 5 African American (8%), and 
    • 2 (3%) who did not wish to disclose this information. 
  • That means that the percentage of our students considered underrepresented in medicine is 28% because the American Association of Medical Colleges' (AAMC) definition focuses on "racial and ethnic popluations underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population (e.g. Hispanic/Latino, African American and Native American/Pacific Islander/Hawaiian)."  Our high percentage will rank us among the top U.S. schools for serving minority medical students. Many schools work hard to achieve a target of 10% underrepresented in medicine students.
  • Two of our students are combat veterans.
  • 16 students are first in their families to attend college. 
The admissions process was competitive and efficient
  • 909 total applications were received, including 270 from Nevada legal residents, 88 with strong ties to Nevada, and 551 non-residents. 
  • The Admissions Committee reviewed every application, and used a blind admissions process. This means the name of applicants was not disclosed in the process.
  • Applicants interviewed include 293 students, all from the Nevada or with Nevada ties. Interviews were conducted from November 2016 through March 2017. 
  • A "rolling acceptance" process was utilized that allowed acceptance of students as early as December and continuing through early May.
We are extremely pleased about our admissions process and our exceptional charter class. These students are true pioneers as they work with us to modify and adjust our curriculum over the next fours years and develop the medical school's culture.
 
I also want to especially thank our scholarship donors who were essential in partnering with us to achieve this important first class. Every student I spoke with was extremely grateful to the donors, and I believe the scholarships were a driving force in the school attracting an amazing pool of applicants to attend the UNLV School of Medicine. This continues to be an incredible journey for me, and the community continues to be essential element of our success. I am excited for our students to join us this summer and to be part of this exciting community effort.

Best wishes,

Barbara

Mark Your Calendar: UNLV School of Medicine Speaker Series 
 
Internationally renowned editor of Gray's Anatomy and Director of Anatomy for the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Richard Drake, Ph.D., will discuss "Contemporary Trends in Human Anatomy Education." The event is slated for Tuesday, May 16 from 5-6 pm. The presentation will take place in the large resource room #306, in the new medical education building, located at 1001 Shadow Lane. 

Tours of the UNLV School of Medicine's virtual anatomy lab are available after the presentation.
Dean Atkinson Named 2017 Health Advocate Award 

The Community Partners for Better Health awarded six recipients with the 2017 Health Advocate Award. Dean Atkinson received the "Pioneer Health Advocate Award" for her visionary leadership in building the UNLV School of Medicine. 
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