Stages of the Emphasis Program

The emphasis program runs for the first two years of medical school.

During the first half of the fall semester, VMS I students are exposed to each of the areas in the Emphasis Program.  They acquire an understanding of the unique characteristics of the individual areas by learning how scholars in these areas identify and investigate important questions. During this period, with the help of  faculty emphasis advisors,  the students blog in a formal way upon this experience as a means to clarify their understanding of what it takes to be a leader and a scholar. 

In the second half of the fall semester, students meet with the Emphasis area committees to discuss project opportunities and to begin meeting with potential mentors in order to select a project of their choosing. Once the mentor and project are identified, the  student and mentor join an emphasis area .

For the subsequent eighteen months, the mentor is vital  to the student’s  success in the Emphasis Program.
During the spring semester of the first year, students devote two half-days each week to learning more about their emphasis area and planning and initiating their projects, which they then pursue full-time for an eight-week period in the summer.

During both semesters of VMSII, they will continue to pursue their projects in collaboration with their mentors. There are two half-days each week are scheduled for them to complete the work and prepare their projects for presentation. At the conclusion of the two year program,  students  present their work,  by poster or oral presentation at  the Emphasis Forum, a medical school wide event.