Anderson University hosted its second annual Pre-Med Boot Camp this year in May and Upstate AHEC was proud to support it as a sponsor. The two-week, intensive workshop is structured to prepare students for the expectations and application process of medical school and is led by physicians from AnMed and faculty members from Anderson University’s College of Health Professions and College of Arts and Sciences.
The program is offered at no cost to participants and is designed for those who may not have the flexibility to participate in other extended, summer-long programs already offered around the state. The goal is to provide medical experiences to students from smaller colleges who may not typically have access to such opportunities which are often more readily available at larger universities.
Experiences offered at the Pre-Med Boot Camp include shadowing opportunities with AnMed medical professionals across many disciplines, hands-on workshops, interview practice, MCAT preparation and discussion panels with physicians, current medical students and representatives from the admissions committees from the four South Carolina medical schools. Upstate AHEC staff members were also able to present information to the students regarding resources and programs offered in the Upstate region and across the SC AHEC system. To read more about student experiences at the Pre-Med Boot Camp, check out Anderson University’s news article on the event.
“The students who attend our boot camp express their gratitude for this unique opportunity to explore medicine,” said Dr. Stoney Abercrombie, MUSC AnMed Campus Dean. “Many feel that this camp has solidified their commitment to attending medical school. That is the essence of what this boot camp was created for.”
The idea for the boot camp initially came from discussions between Dr. Abercrombie and Dr. Carrie Koenigstein, Associate Dean of Anderson University College of Arts and Sciences, on how to better prepare students for medical school. The two collaborated to offer a 50-hour course that fall semester to AU students that exposed them to shadowing, medical workshops and the opportunity to interact with AnMed Family Medicine residents. They saw an increased number of AU students applying and being accepted to medical schools as a result and began looking into how to expand the workshop to offer a similar opportunity to students at other colleges and universities located around the Upstate. Thus, the partnership between Anderson University and AnMed for a two-week summer learning experience was born.
“In 2022, we held the inaugural Pre-Med Boot Camp with 18 students from seven area colleges,” said Dr. Abercrombie. “With the financial support from Upstate AHEC, we were able to expand the 2023 camp to 24 students from nine area colleges.”
Schools represented amongst the 2023 Pre-Med Boot Camp attendees included: Anderson University, Bob Jones University, Clemson University, Converse College, Erskine College, Newberry College, Presbyterian College, Winthrop University and the University of South Carolina.
Applications for the 2024 Pre-Med Boot Camp close on January 15, 2024. For more information and to apply, visit Anderson University’s AnMed Pre-Med Boot Camp webpage.
For all the latest on Upstate AHEC’s upcoming programming and events, visit www.upstateahec.org.
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