In recent years, a new opportunity has emerged in the healthcare industry. Pre-medical students have trended toward taking a “gap year” between college and medical school. As of 2015, 60% of entering medical students took a gap year between undergraduate graduation and medical school matriculation. In the past, students who have chosen to take time off have pursued research opportunities or unpaid internships. However, many students require patient-centered experience and would rather spend their year(s) in a clinical setting. These future physicians represent a highly qualified and motivated, but underutilized workforce.

CEI Vision Partners hopes to reimagine gap years for students by offering an opportunity to join their practice and work “hands-on” from day one. The success of this gap year program depends on the willingness of the applicant to learn and adapt while simultaneously applying, or preparing to apply to medical school. During the first 6-8 weeks, the gap year student will complete the required training under the guidance of certified ophthalmic technicians and scribes. Students within the program are able to participate in unique experiences such as learning from advanced peer mentors and given the opportunity to further education by completing certification training.

Requirements:
1. *No previous ophthalmic or clinical experience necessary to apply
2. Bachelor’s Degree prior to the start of the opportunity
3. Pre-medical requirements satisfied
4. Intention to matriculate in an MD/DO/PA/OD program
5. Housing and travel expenses/arrangements are the responsibility of the applicant/student – no housing or travel arrangements provided by CVP
6. Proficiency with typing (prefer typing speed of 60-80 words a minute)
7. Strong ability to listen and interpret medical information
8. Assist with setting up and preparing procedures in the exam lane
9. Maintains physical environment of exam and procedure rooms. Cleans and stocks rooms daily and maintains an appropriate supply of sample drug medications as needed
10. Under the direction of a physician, may initiate prescription refills and records prescriptions in patients chart
11. Ability to interact with patients, visitors, and all personnel in a courteous manner
12. Conflict resolution, positive attitude, communication, organization, and leadership skills required
13. Maintains confidentiality of information regarding patients and co-workers; demonstrates respect for individual, cultural, and social differences
14. Participate in own professional development by maintaining required competencies, identifying learning needs, and seeking appropriate assistance or educational offerings
15. Able to teach patients and families in accordance with the plan of care
16. Able to record activities, document assessments, plan of care, interventions, evaluation, and re-evaluation of patient status
17. Able to use a computer and learn new software programs
18. Working knowledge of infection control procedures and safety precautions
19. Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein, or asked of, by a supervisor

How to Apply Interested applicants may complete the CVP Gap Year Opportunity application found and email [email protected] for further questions.

Women Helping Women is looking to recruit and train more volunteers to help with community presentations. There is an information session for Monday April 19, 12:30-1:00pm via Zoom so you can learn more about the community education volunteer role and next steps to get involved.

Women Helping Women’s community education volunteers have the unique opportunity to be a liaison between the Greater Cincinnati community and the agency. These volunteers teach hour long presentations on the basics of gender-based violence prevention and response, definitions of intimate-partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking, indicators of harm and control, trauma-informed responses to survivors, and WHW resources. These volunteers will work hand-in-hand with the prevention team at WHW to provide evidence-informed training for adult learners at community partner agencies, faith-based communities, healthcare providers, etc. Most of the presentations are during business hours Monday through Friday but there are occasional evening and weekend presentations as well.

If you are interested in attending the information session and learning more about this role, please click here to complete the interest form. Even if you cannot attend the information session on 4/19, please complete this form to let them know you are interested and they will follow up to provide more info to you.

There are new Aspiring Docs and Anatomy of An Application resources available through AAMC:

Aspiring Docs Blog:

Cancer is My Teacher
“Early on, I was faced with a decision: I could decide to let my illness work on me, and I could crumble under the randomness of it all, or I could decide that my illness was going to work for me. I was going to turn cancer into the greatest opportunity that I had ever been given.” Will Moody, a premed student diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, writes about his remarkable tale of resilience.

A Personal Plea to Premeds
“It is okay to love a career in medicine for more reasons than one; but serving your community has to be your Why, above anything else, for becoming a physician.” In our 300th blog post, first-year medical student Trisha K. encourages premeds to examine their motivations for pursuing medicine.

Anatomy of An Applicant:
Mentorship, volunteering, research, and scholarship combined with a deep dedication to the pursuit of medical education helped Jarrett Jackson achieve his dream of attending medical school at Howard University College of Medicine. Learn more about Jarrett’s journey: Real Stories Demonstrating Core Competencies