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Student Life

Scenic Setting and Convenient Location

The School of Medicine is part of the UConn Health Center campus on 162 acres, seven miles west of Hartford in scenic Farmington. The Hartford area boasts all of the charm, beauty, and history of New England. In addition, Boston and New York are about a two hour drive, and Long Island Sound is a 45-minute drive from school. Day or weekend excursions are convenient during any season. In the spring and summer, the sandy beaches of Southern Connecticut and Rhode Island are only about an hour away.

The Berkshire Hills of Western Connecticut, with their characteristic Colonial-era buildings, covered bridges, and quaint villages, are about a half-hour drive. The drive is scenic any time of year, and especially breathtaking in the fall. In the winter, in addition to the local ski slopes, the mountains of Vermont are two-and-a-half hours away.

The Health Center is built atop a hill with panoramic views of rural hills and the skyscrapers of Hartford. It is a pleasure to go to school in a quiet suburban area with all the outdoor recreational opportunities and vestiges of small-town life, yet with the excitement of a city less than 10 minutes away.

The area offers a wide variety of housing options. For example, the Farmington Valley offers suburban living and a , West Hartford – from the upscale neighborhoods of West Hartford and its vibrant center – to the diverse neighborhoods of New Britain – to city living in Hartford. You can choose your price range, living style, and setting, and never be more than 10 minutes from the Health Center.

Striking Diversity Among Students

Whether you look at age, gender, race, educational background, extracurricular or community service interests, diversity is one of the most striking aspects of UConn's medical school. The range of backgrounds run the gamut from 21-year-olds just out of college; to 24-year-olds who have taken off a couple of years after college to travel, study, or work; to 30-somethings with families or advanced degrees. The average age of the entering class is about 24.

In recent years, equal numbers of men and women have matriculated. Over the last several years, a typical class is 12 percent underrepresented minority, 11 percent Asian, and 77 percent Caucasian. There are normally about 50 different undergraduate colleges and universities represented in each entering class. Students have majored in diverse fields from biochemistry to English, and from neuroscience to art history. Many have pursued independent study or research interests as part of their preparation for medical studies.

Students have strong outside interests. Researchers and emergency medical technicians, rock climbers and ballerinas, artists and rugby players, are all learning and training together. Each class spends a portion of its first two years with the dental students, who add still different perspectives. With their vastly different backgrounds as a backdrop, students teach and learn from each other on academic, professional, and social levels.

A Typical Day

Faculty and administration are committed to creating an environment in which students can grow as individuals, as well as professionals. The curriculum is structured so there are fewer hours of lecture and fewer tests, compared to a more traditional curriculum. This allows for greater student autonomy in time-management.

During the first two years, classes typically begin at 8 a.m. and end at noon, giving students time to run errands, get some exercise, or catch up on work. Nights are usually spent studying – alone or in groups. As long as an exam isn’t looming, most students find time to go out one or two nights a week. The “new” curriculum has decreased lecture time and increased interactive small group conferences.

From the beginning of medical school, students are trained to work effectively and compassionately as professionals in the Principles of Clinical Medicine (PCM) course. One afternoon each week is spent learning patient history-taking procedures and physical exam skills. The psychological and social aspects of the patient-doctor relationship are discussed in small groups, where personal experience and ethical issues may be discussed confidentially and compassionately.

In the physical exam portion of PCM, the emphasis is on patient comfort as well as physician competence. Student discomfort is also addressed, and practical experiences are provided long before the “real thing” comes along in the third year.

During another afternoon each week, students head to their Student Continuity Practice (SCP) site. In the first year, students are paired with a primary care physician who may be an internist, pediatrician or family practitioner. Mentored by their preceptors, students may be seeing and completely managing their own scheduled patients every week. The three other afternoons of the week are free time.

The third and fourth years are spent in nearby hospitals and clinics. Days can range from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., depending on the clinical rotation. In general, one can expect an 8 to 10 hour day.

Wide Range of Activities

Student life is supported by the school community. From student-run interest groups and clinics to scholars groups, medical students are involved outside the classroom.

Smaller interest groups for various specialties are open to everyone and provide casual gatherings to discuss fascinating clinical material. Interest groups in family medicine, general medicine, history of medicine, and bioethics meet monthly. The Christian Medical and Dental Group has bimonthly prayer meetings and speakers on the abstract aspects of medicine. A Student Literary Discussion Society is held at a faculty member's home and offers insight into past and present literary classics.

Students take a closer look at particular fields and become more academically involved through faculty-driven scholar organizations such as Pediatric Scholars, Surgical Scholars, Scholars in Medicine, Family Medicine, Ob/Gyn Scholars, and General Medicine Scholars). Scholar groups may ask students to make a presentation, conduct research, or participate in a preceptorship. The school and residency programs recognize these extra efforts.

National medical student organizations, including the American Medical Student Association, the American Medical Women’s Association, and the Student National Minority Association, are active. Many organizations sponsor trips, lectures and activities. Primary Care Day is a national event occurring every year in October. UConn students raise thousands of dollars in funding from local companies to host a day of education and dinner with guest speakers. Medical students also serve on virtually every committee affecting their lives and education, such as the Admissions Committee and the Committee on Undergraduate Medical Education.

An active and well-funded student government supports many activities, such as winter and spring dance formals, and a variety of student parties. The student government has also underwritten trips for students, whether for education, like a recent trip to Peru, or pleasure, an outing to a baseball game.

The one free summer between first and second year may be filled with medicine-related activities. The school publishes a book listing hundreds of faculty members interested in sponsoring student research. Research may consist of lab work, field work, or international projects. Medical students also may participate in projects in underserved communities in the United States and other countries, including Costa Rica, Barbados, Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Egypt, India, and Mauritius. Closer to home, preceptorship programs expose students to the clinical side of medicine by placing them with family doctors.

Through academic, extracurricular, and community service activities, students come into contact with the wealth of ethnic populations in the Hartford area, who provide social and cultural perspectives on the practice of medicine in an urban setting. Finally, students with a common interest are encouraged to start their own group. The Dermatones, for example, was created by medical and dental students interested in singing at student functions and in nursing homes and hospitals.

Commitment to Community Service

There is a strong commitment to community service. Through student-run clinics, students and physicians provide basic and acute medical care to Hartford's ethnically diverse population at the South Park Inn homeless shelter, the South Marshall Street shelter for women and children, and the YMCA temporary home for teens. Several years ago three determined medical students founded Hartford Health Education, a program that provides opportunities for students to teach health education to 6th graders. Issues such as puberty, sex, violence and decision making are addressed. It is rewarding to dispel myths and educate students, some of whom are already sexually active, on ways to protect themselves.

Life Outside the Classroom

Students are able to take advantage of the many events and activities Greater Hartford area has to offer. The Connecticut River Valley has some of the most picturesque areas in New England, with many historic sites to explore. Additionally, the Health Center is located just down the street from the Talcott Mountain Reservoir that offers miles and miles of trails to explore, whether by running, walking, biking, or cross-country skiing. Many student organized sports also take advantage of the extensive local park system. Whether you enjoy soccer, football, ultimate Frisbee, rollerblading, swimming or hockey, you will be able to stay fit and blow off steam by exercising.

The Greater Hartford area boasts internationally renowned museums, such as the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Hill-Stead Museum, symphony and ballet companies, and live theater, such as the Hartford Stage, and excellent venues where international recording artists perform. Local restaurants, clubs and bars support an active nightlife. If you happen to exhaust your options here, both Boston and New York City are a two-hour trip away.

Strong Student Support Services

The transition to medical professional is not always easy. UConn has instituted a number of programs and traditions aimed at easing that transition. Much of student education comes from UConn-trained physicians, who went through the same experience. Students and teachers work together as colleagues, sharing a commitment to training excellent doctors who have rich lives outside of medicine. At UConn, the institutional ethic is that doctors who are well-rounded are better caregivers.

Another tenet of life at UConn is that students should be involved in their education and training, and in shaping the experience for those who follow. Student evaluations are one of the most important considerations when restructuring a course.

To create a collegial atmosphere, courses are pass/fall to limit competitiveness and encourage true learning, as opposed to rote memorization. Students often take time to teach their classmates the more difficult points of a lecture. Second-year students are especially helpful to those in the first year, acting as tutors and administering practice exams. Students strive for personal best..

Several organizations foster the spirit of cooperation and help students cope with the sometimes massive demands of school. All students have access to comprehensive medical and mental health services that are included in the student fees. Support groups, like CHIPS (Compassionate Healing for Impaired Professional Students) and Peer Support, are run by students to offer a guiding hand or an attentive ear. Deans hold morning bagel and coffee sessions where groups of three or four students are given the chance to meet casually with them. The deans pride themselves on knowing students' names and interests within the first few months of school. Students facing problems are always amazed at the accessibility of the faculty and deans who, without exception, will lend a sympathetic ear and offer help.

In summary, the UConn School of Medicine is a place where students can continue to grow as individuals, as well as future physicians. Medical school simply is a new beginning.