Skip to Main Content
MD-PhD Program
YSM Home

INFORMATION FOR

Peer Advising by Senior Students

Program Goals

The goal of the PASS Program is to facilitate peer-to-peer mentoring in which senior students pass down program specific (i.e. based on PhD department or clinical interest) information to junior students.

Additionally, the PASS Program aims to provide junior students with an easily accessible academic support system that remains pertinent as they progress through different stages of training, but is also flexible and adaptable to accommodate those who have changed their PhD departments or clinical interests.

For more information, please contact PASS Coordinators Zach Kloos, Jeffrey Duncan-Lowey, Kerrie Greene, Ruchi Gupta, or Elizabeth Woo.

Activities

Fall meeting:

This event will be held in a “speed dating” format. Student Mentor(s) representing different departments will be seated at different tables, and junior students will rotate through tables associated with departments they are potentially interested in joining. In addition to meeting their Student Mentor(s), the Mentees will learn:

  1. Department-specific requirements (i.e. when to qualify, which classes to take)
  2. Recommendations regarding PIs to rotate with, or to have on their thesis committees
  3. Information and tips about longitudinal clinical activities


Spring meeting:

This event will also be held in a “speed dating” format but in a more casual setting. This event will allow Mentors to “check-in” with their Mentees, as well as allow junior students who have changed departments to connect with a new Mentor.


Mentor training dinner:

This mandatory training session will occur once a year prior to the fall meeting. It will cover topics including:

  1. Debrief: The survey results will be presented (see Metrics and Analytics below) and a selection of the “challenging cases” will be presented as teaching points.
  2. Feedback: Mentors will be asked to give feedback and share general thoughts about the program.
  3. Mentoring guidelines: How often to contact Mentees, what to do if they ask questions you cannot answer, etc.
  4. Effective mentoring strategies: How to encourage Mentee participation, how to provide guidance without being discouraging, etc. “
  5. Above my pay-grade”: Discuss situations in which Student Mentors should consult with the Faculty Supervisor, or situations in which they should recommend their Mentees contact a faculty member (i.e. MD/PhD Academic Advisor, Dean Angoff, etc).

PASS Student Mentors