Another Reason to Consider Study Abroad During Your Undergraduate Experience!

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has been working to articulate new competencies for undergraduates seeking admission to medical school, and will issue recommendations to the AAMC Board of Directors in February 2012 including significant changes to the MCAT to be completed by 2015.  These proposed changes emphasize the concepts future physicians will need to master at this phase of their education including broader understanding of human behavior and its impact on health.

Below is an excerpt of a letter sent by DIS (Danish Institute for Study Abroad) director Anders Uhrskov to the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Directors of the AAMC in early November to advocate for the recognition of the value of international experiences in the new competency guidelines.  This letter was the result of discussions during our fall International Educators Workshop with pre-health advisors & faculty from DIS partners from a number of U.S. Colleges and Universities.

 Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) in Copenhagen has for many years offered study abroad programs in Copenhagen also for pre-health students. This fall semester 2011 172 pre-health students from U.S. universities and colleges study abroad with DIS (Biomedicine 29, Medical Practice and Policy 107 and Public Health 36). Over and over we have heard that pre-med students cannot study abroad because of the course sequences related to the MCAT. Obviously quite some brave students, that really want to enhance their understanding of the global perspective of the medical profession, overcome the real or perceived obstacles within their undergraduate structure to study abroad. These students and many pre-med advisors and biology faculty truly believe that international engagement and immersion will make the young men and women better medical practitioners in the future.

 Study abroad professionals, pre-health advisors and biology faculty from the United States universities and colleges gathered in Copenhagen October 25-29, 2011 at the International Educators Workshop organized by DIS. One of the many discussion points was the current effort in U.S. undergraduate premedical education to initiate new competencies and a revised MCAT (2015). In particular the Copenhagen group focused upon the relation of the undertaking to study abroad.

 On behalf of the Copenhagen group,

Anders Uhrskov