Show SummaryDr. Cynthia Boyd, Associate Dean for Admissions and Recruitment at Rush Medical College, discusses the distinctive elements of the Rush Medical College program, including its focus on developing critical thinkers and providing excellent clinical care. She also highlights the importance of community service and healthcare exposure in the admissions process. Dr. Boyd emphasizes the need for applicants to present a thoughtful and authentic application that aligns with the school's mission. Ultimately, Dr. Boyd also encourages applicants to seek feedback if they are not successful in the admissions process and to consider areas for improvement before reapplying.Show NotesWould you like to attend a medical school that is outstanding – really outstanding – community service? I'm speaking today to the Associate Dean for Admissions at Rush Medical College, recipient of the 2020 Spencer Foreman Award for outstanding Community Engagement.Thanks for joining me for the 551st episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Will you be ready next Spring to apply to your dream medical schools? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted’s Med School Acceptance Calculator can give you a quick reality check. You'll not only get an assessment, but tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. Plus, it's all free. Now let's move on to today's interview. I'm delighted to have on Admissions Straight Talk, Dr. Cynthia Boyd of Rush Medical College. Dr. Boyd earned her MD at George Washington, where she also did her residency in internal medicine and later earned an MBA from Chicago Booth. She joined Rush Medical Center in 1998 and has served in a variety of roles, including Assistant Dean for Minority Affairs, Director of Medical Staff Operations and Chief Compliance Officer. She moved over to Rush Medical College full-time in 2019, and is now Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, as well as the Associate Dean for Admissions and Recruitment.Dr. Boyd, thanks for joining me on Admissions Straight Talk. Welcome back. [1:55]Pleasure to be here. Thank you.Let's start with my usual opening question, which is can you give an overview of the Rush Medical College program for MD students, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:01]Absolutely. So just a very quick overview,  Rush Medical College was one of the first medical schools in the Midwest, dating back to when it was founded in 1837. And it is a clinical-focused organization or institution or university. We don't have a parent university, so we are dedicated to the health sciences. Rush Medical College, its main goal is to develop students who will be critical thinkers, who will provide excellent clinical care, patient safety and quality.So in 2017, the curriculum was totally changed and more directed at the students becoming the learners, self-directed learning versus sitting in a classroom and so to speak, being fed everything. So practitioner teacher models, our practitioners also teach our students, so they're able to bring to the classroom, to the students, their own practice experience, and they learn from that as well.What's new at Rush since we spoke a little over two years ago? A little over two years ago, we were in the midst of the pandemic, as I'm sure you remember and are aware. But has anything stayed from that period? What's changed? [3:17]I would say the newest is that we went from a grade scale of grading to pass fail.Oh, wow. [3:39]Now for the preclinical years, the pre-clerkship, I should say, years, it is a pass-fail grading system. Flipped classroom

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