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June 27, 2025 Issue

The WeeklyWire is an official communication tool of the Larner College of Medicine. Student feedback led to its development and continues to inform iterative improvements. All non-curriculum-related email communications are directed through The WeeklyWire to help support manageable email inboxes for our students; it's a one-stop-shop for all med school happenings outside of the classroom!

Please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Medical Education with any questions.

WeeklyWire 06/27/2025

FOR ALL MEDICAL STUDENTS

Community Connections
  • The WeeklyWire: 
  • Shelf Resources: A reminder that the Dana Library has some e-book and print books that may be helpful for shelf exams, test-taking and developing clinical knowledge: The Subject Exam link has supplemental resources for each clinical rotation (e.g., Case Files series, Step-up series); the Step 2 Exam link has an e-book "Test-taking Strategies for the USMLE Step 2".  Do you want to learn more about strategically approaching NBME clinical knowledge questions? Take a look at the Unlocking Assessments NBME Video Series… 
  • Volunteer with Rally Cat's Cupboard: Sundays from 9AM-12PM. Rally Cat's Cupboard is a food pantry for UVM students and community. They need volunteers on Sundays to help transport food donated from Hannaford's to the Cupboard! To sign up to volunteer, please contact CJ Sands. Submitted by your Medical Student Council Chairs of Community Service. 
  • Join the Larner COM Class of 2029 Facebook Group: We’re excited to invite you to the Larner College of Medicine Class of 2029 Facebook group. To ensure this group remains exclusive to accepted and current students, so we appreciate your patience as join requests are reviewed.
  • DEADLINE APPROACHING! – REQUIRED – Complete Insurance Policy Decision/Waiver Form: July 01. All UVM students are required to have health insurance. Every year by July 1, you MUST sign up for the coverage offered by UVM or supply the name of your current insurance provider. This can be done by visiting the Insurance and Student Health Fee webpage and completing the Insurance Policy Decision/Waiver Form. Students who fail to complete the annual online insurance decision/waiver by the deadline will be billed, the insurance premium will be added to their UVM student account, and a hold will be placed on their student account. Once a hold is placed on a student’s account, they will not be able to register or make registration changes. For more information, please reference the Medical Student Handbook. Questions should be directed to the UVM Center for Health and Well-being.
  • Monthly Student Education Committee (SEC) Meeting: 7/1, 5:30-7:30PM via zoom. The Student Education Committee (SEC) is comprised of students dedicated to and actively involved in the improvement of the medical school curriculum. Representatives from each class meet once a month with the Interim Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education, Dr. Christa Zehle, to discuss a variety of issues pertaining to the student experience within the Vermont Integrated Curriculum (VIC). The group’s responsibility is to act as a liaison with faculty to provide a unified student point of view, and to appropriately bring pertinent educational issues to the attention of faculty and course directors. SEC is charged with reviewing course evaluations written by students at the close of each Foundations course and presenting that data to the Foundations Committee, which oversees the pre-clinical portion of the curriculum.
  • UVM Offices Closed on July 04: All UVM Offices, including the Office of Medical Student Education, are closed all day, Friday, July 04, 2025, in observance of Independence Day (UVM Administrative Closures). Offices will re-open at 8am, Monday, July 07. Please plan accordingly, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
  • Health Care Counselor: 7/6-7/11, South Hero, VT. Come be a part of a fantastic opportunity to help type 1 diabetics have a safe and fun summer! All Counselors are provided with on-camp housing and meals. We are seeking compassionate and dedicated Healthcare Counselors to join our team for our resident summer camp programs at Clara Barton Camp in North Oxford, MA, Camp Joslin in Charlton, MA, a traveling day camp, and Vermont Overnight Camp…
  • Optional External Surveys for Medical Students: Survey is currently open. Physician Infertility Awareness in Medical School Curriculum Survey. Dear Medical Students, We invite you to participate in a voluntary study assessing whether the current medical school curriculum includes discussions on physician infertility awareness or medical students’ fertility and family planning. If you are a current medical student at an LCME- or COCA-accredited MD or DO program in the United States, we would love to hear your experience surrounding this topic. Survey duration: about 2-3 minutes Survey closes at 11:59 pm on July 18, 2025 If you agree to participate in this study, please click the survey link. Your responses are anonymous and kept confidential. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me. Thank you so much for your time and contribution! Best, Taylor Lan She/Her/Hers MD Class of 2026 Penn State College of Medicine.
Career Counseling Opportunities

o2028 Students

  • Orient yourself to Step 1 starting with this one-page guide to planning.  The document has a link to a Step 1 planning Checklist applicable to all stages of the preparation process.

co2027 Students

  • Donate Messages of Insight and Support for Step 1 Prep in this Donation Box. The USMLE Step 1 preparation journey can, at times, feel daunting and isolating. Words of wisdom and support from fellow peers who have prepared for Step 1 have the power to inspire, guide, and motivate fellow peers at every prep stage, and for generations of future classes. Feel free to offer as many anonymous submissions as you'd like.  Welcoming donations for USMLE Step 2 CK and NBME Shelf exams as well.  
  • Shelf Exam Success Recommendation Checklist: A compiled Academic Achievement list of tips, strategies, and considerations for co2027 shelf exam preparation planning: Link to Checklist.  This checklist can also be found along with other resources in the Clerkship Academic Success Planning page of the Academic Achievement Commons.  The checklist covers all things clerkship shelf: question bank, voucher requests, timing of self-assessments, supplemental resources. 
  • Shelf Resources: A reminder that the Dana Library has some e-book and print books that may be helpful for shelf exams, test-taking and developing clinical knowledge: The Subject Exam link has supplemental resources for each clinical rotation (e.g., Case Files series, Step-up series); the Step 2 Exam link has an e-book "Test-taking Strategies for the USMLE Step 2".  Want to learn more about strategically approaching NBME clinical knowledge questions? Take a look at the Unlocking Assessments NBME Video Series.

co2026 Students

  • The ERAS application registration is now open: You should have received a token this week. If you didn’t get the token (and it’s not in your inbox, please reach out to Emma Faustner. We encourage all students, regardless of your specialty’s application platform, to register in the MyERAS® system and begin working on your application.
    • AAMC and ERAS Application Resources: The transition to residency is a critical part of your journey to becoming a physician. To support you during this phase, the AAMC has developed several resources to help you prepare your MyERAS application:
    • Register Now: Specialty Spotlight Webinar Series Features Strategies to Help Advisors and Applicants: The AAMC ERAS team is hosting a series of webinars featuring specialty-specific guidance for medical school advisors and 2026 residency applicants. Each webinar includes a program director and an advisor who share best practices in preparation for the 2026 ERAS application season. All the webinars are recorded for later viewing and are available on our website. See below for details and registration links for these Specialty Spotlight webinars:
    • Specialty Requirements: It’s important to review requirements that residency specialties have issued for the 2026 season as you are working on your application. These requirements are listed on the 2026 ERAS Participating Specialties and Programs webpage. We encourage you to refer to this page throughout the season as it will be updated as additional specialty requirements are received. To access residency specialty requirements: 
      • At the top of the page, locate the “Type” tab on the left-hand side.
      • Select “Residency” in the drop-down menu.
      • To the right, select “Specialties with Additional Information.”
      • A listing of all residency specialties that have provided new requirements will display directly on the page.
      • Note: A comprehensive list of all specialties (residency and fellowship) that have issued requirements is also available via the ERAS Specialty Information Report at the top of the page.
    • What you can do now in the MyERAS application:
      • Begin working on your MyERAS application.
      • Create a personal statement(s).
      • Send Letter Request Forms to the people who will write your Letters of Recommendation (LoRs).
      • Authorize the release of the COMLEX-USA and/or USMLE transcripts.
      • Manage documents.
      • Import ERAS resume information and LoRs from your most recently submitted application (for the previous seven ERAS seasons) under the History tab. Imported resume information may be edited.
      • Some documents are assigned to selected programs by default, and others require you to manually make assignments to programs. The Assignments Checklist within the MyERAS portal illustrates which documents are automatically assigned to programs and which require applicant assignation. 
    • ERAS Fee Assistance: The AAMC has expanded its Fee Assistance Program to include the ERAS application. This program provides an automatic discount for students who previously qualified for fee assistance when they applied to medical school. As a medical student, you are not eligible to apply for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program as it is only available during the premedical application phase. Eligible students have already been notified via email about their discount, and no additional action is required. Eligibility is displayed on the MyERAS dashboard, and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.
    • You will be responsible for uploading your photo to ERAS, if you’d like a new photo you may have a portrait taken by the Creative Services team. Drop-in studio portrait sessions take place on Mondays from noon to 1pm, and Wednesdays from 3 – 4pm. You may also take your own photos with a smart phone if you choose – professional attire, with or without your white coat (military applicants may choose to wear their dress uniform), full face and shoulders, against a plain background.
    • Photo specifications: JPG/JPEG or PNG file, max file size of 150KB, max dimensions 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches, max resolution 150 DPI.
  • Donate Messages of Insight and Support for Step 1 Prep in this Donation Box. The USMLE Step 1 preparation journey can, at times, feel daunting and isolating. Words of wisdom and support from fellow peers who have prepared for Step 1 have the power to inspire, guide, and motivate fellow peers at every prep stage, and for generations of future classes. Feel free to offer as many anonymous submissions as you'd like.  Welcoming donations for USMLE Step 2 CK and NBME Shelf exams as well.

Have a great weekend!

Karen George, MD, MPH (she/her)
Associate Dean for Students
Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science
Larner College of Medicine, Office of Medical Education
University of Vermont
Given Courtyard N-100
89 Beaumont Ave.
Burlington, VT 05405 
karen.george@med.uvm.edu

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Housing Opportunities

Graduate students are highly sought tenants in the Burlington area and property owners often advertise specifically to them with special rates (less than would be offered to undergraduate students). Don't hesitate to ask housing contacts if they would consider lowering the advertised rate to secure a graduate student; it never hurts to ask!

Explore housing opportunities & housing support resources via the UVM Off-campus Housing Site...

Burlington Off-campus Living Guide: Includes information to help off-campus students have successful experiences off campus. Check out the 6th edition of the UVM Off-Campus Student and Community Relations (OSCR) Off Campus Living Guide....

Landlord/Tenant and Housing Questions and Issues: Please contact OSCR (802-656-9405)

Lost & Found

Lost something? Email the Office of Medical Student Education (OMSE) a description of the item. OMSE and the Dana Medical Library recently joined the UVM campus-wide lost & found system and search not only the College of Medicine, but campus as a whole to see if it's been turned in. If it hasn't, the office can file a claim for the item should someone turn it in soon!

Found something? Please turn it into either the Office of Medical Student Education (Given Courtyard n100) or the Dana Medical Library (First floor of the Medical Education Center) and we will be sure to log it into the Campus-Wide Lost & Found Database.

Found items are kept up to 30 days, and then are donated to various local organizations depending on the item.