The Advisory Dean Program: A Personalized Approach to Academic and Career Advising for Medical Students

Abstract

Advising and mentoring programs for medical students vary in their official names, scope, and structures. Catalyzed by negative student feedback regarding career advising and a perceived disconnection between faculty and students, in academic year 2003-2004, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons implemented its formal Advisory Dean (AD) Program and disbanded its former advising system that used faculty volunteers. The AD Program has become a key element for enhancing the students' professional development throughout their student training, focusing on topics including, but not limited to, career counseling, professionalism, humanism, and wellness resources. Advisory deans and the dean for student affairs, familiar with resources for academic development, student support, and extracurricular activities, operate at the nexus of the program, providing personalized mentoring and advising for each student. Fully supported by administration and faculty, the program has shown early success according to student feedback. Early feedback from the Class of 2006, who had been involved in our AD Program for three years, has been encouraging. Out of 152 students, 104 (68%) provided feedback, with 93 (89%) of the respondents reporting the AD Program as a valuable initiative. Expecting to further improve on this early positive response, the AD Program will continue to foster an environment conducive to a seamless transition from student to physician.

Improvements in medical school wellness and career counseling: A comparison of one-on-one advising to an Advisory College Program

“…However, their system focused primarily on career advising and planning, while our study also demonstrated a significant impact on student wellness. Many of the other innovative college advising systems above report that formative surveys and focus groups have shown that students value these interventions (Puckett et al 1989;Kalet et al 2002;Scheckler et al 2004;Goldstein et al 2005;Macaulay et al 2007). However, these institutions have not published data regarding overall effectiveness in reaching their goals or compared the results to more traditional advising systems.…”

“…In addition, oneon-one mentoring is encouraged between advisory directors and their students. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons has created a similar Advisory College System that engages students in bi-monthly meetings and provides additional mentoring as needed (Macaulay et al 2007). Kalet et al (2002) describe the implementation of an advisory program at NYU (New York University) School of Medicine whose colleges are theme based and therefore attract faculty members and students with similar interests and goals.…”

“…While the above studies support the need for the creation of effective student wellness and career advising systems, multiple studies have discussed the difficulty of constructing successful formal programs (Mann 1992;Igartua 1997;Deangelis 2004) prompting medical schools to create novel advising systems (Puckett et al 1989;Kalet et al 2002;Murr et al 2002;Scheckler et al 2004;Goldstein et al 2005;Macaulay et al 2007;Stewart et al 2007;Coates et al 2008). We developed a fundamentally different approach to student advising in view of the need for our medical students to find mentors and in recognition of the perceived lack of success of current advising systems.…”

Student Pharmacist, Pharmacy Resident, and Graduate Student Perceptions of Social Interactions With Faculty Members

“…Mentors are able to encourage career aspirations, create networking opportunities, increase self-confidence, and socialize mentees into the profession. 1,2 Mentoring is also a vital component in the development of professionalism, [2][3][4] and professional students reported that mentoring was important to them. In developing these relationships, faculty members can participate in formal programs that involve students and residents as well as interact informally with them outside the academic setting.…”

Measuring medical students' sense of community and satisfaction with a structured advising program

“…In general, however, the primary goal of these programs is to enhance the overall medical school experience for students. [1][2][3][4][5][6] The traditional medical training environment is characterized by an intense workload, a competitive and individualisCorrespondence: Rachel B. Levine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center 5200 Eastern Ave. /Mason F. Lord Bldg, Center Tower, Suite 2300, Baltimore, MD 2122. Email: rlevine@jhmi.edu tic culture, and high learner stress.…”