Retired RWJMS Faculty Program to Mentor Medical Students

The RWJMS Retired Faculty Association has instituted a program by retired faculty to mentor current medical students. Dr. David Seiden, the vice-president of the RWJMS RFA, met with Drs. Sonia Laumbauch and Daniel Mehan, assistant deans for Student Affairs, to develop this volunteer program which was enthusiastically endorsed by the RWJMS RFA Executive Committee. There are six designated areas of assistance. Retired faculty who would like to participate in this program should contact Dr. Seiden directly email: seiden@rwjms.rutgers.edu.

The six designated areas for assisting medical students are shown below

  1. Academic support within the area of expertise of the faculty member
    This could include assisting students who are having academic difficulty in specific courses. It might include working with course directors in assisting M1 or M2 students preparing for remediation exams. It might include working with clerkship directors in assisting M3 students preparing for shelf exams.
  2. Research mentoring
    This might be general discussions of research in general and how it may be incorporated into one's career or perhaps advisement regarding specific areas of research within the expertise of the retired faculty member.
  3. Supervision of or assistance with Independent Projects
    All students are required to complete an independent scholarly project. Such projects must be approved by a faculty member but the mentoring by retired faculty in some projects could be very useful.
  4. Discussion of or exposure to specialty areas in medicine
    The process of exposing students to a variety of medical specialties to assist them in eventually choosing their own career paths is an ongoing process beginning in year one. Retired faculty could be helpful in this process.
  5. Enhancement of clinical skills
    Some students in their third and fourth years have the need to enhance their clinical skills. Pairing them with experienced clinicians can be of great assistance.
  6. General assistance to students in need of support (e.g. doubts about career)
    During their medical school careers, some students encounter periods when they have doubts about their decision to enter medical training. Having the ability to talk over their doubts and feelings with experienced faculty can be helpful.

Retired faculty who would be willing to assist in any of these areas should contact Dr. Seiden.