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Message from the GSA National Chair
I want to welcome new and old to the Group on Student Affairs and
our website. I am honored to chair the GSA over this next year.
These are exciting times to be involved actively in student services
and medical education, the AAMC, and national health care reform.
With increasing class sizes and the development of new models of
medical education, many of us will be challenged to continue to
provide outstanding services to our medical students within certain
staffing and financial constraints. We are also experiencing significant
changes in the structure of our organization that includes the development
of the new Group on Diversity and Inclusion within the AAMC as well
as the Committee on Diversity Affairs within the GSA. Finally, national
health care reform will surely test us as new and innovative models
of medical education and health care delivery are developed across
the nation. The exciting part is that we have a significant and
profound role to play in all of these areas. How we deliver services
and advocate for our students will truly have an impact on how they
practice medicine well into the future.
As we tackle the challenges ahead, I ask that each of us focus
on two themes over the next year. The first is inclusiveness. We
need to not only strive for a diverse physician workforce, but to
reach out to new members and to other groups within the AAMC, and
to also listen to the ideas that they and you bring forward to the
national leadership. The second theme is partnership. With the challenges
ahead, we must begin to form new, working partnerships not only
among our own members, but with key groups such as the Group on
Diversity and Inclusion, the Group on Resident Affairs, and others
in order to enhance the quality of our services to students. Again,
I welcome everyone to take an active role in this process and I
look forward to hearing from and working with all of you over this
next year!
GSA Committees
The Group on Student Affairs is one of 14 professional groups within
the AAMC. Established in 1958, the mission of the GSA is to advance
medical education and to represent the interests of medical schools
and medical students in five areas of practice and expertise: Admissions,
Financial Aid, Diversity, Student Records, and Student Affairs.
Each of the five areas has its own committee and detailed information
about each of these committees is included on this site. A few of
the priorities in each area are summarized below:
Committee on Admissions (COA)
priorities include:
- Updating the Handbook for Admissions Officers and making it
available on-line
- Implementing the use of tools developed to assist medical schools
in performing holistic review of their applicants
- Expanding the system developed for submitting letters of evaluation
to medical schools electronically
Of note, the AAMC is launching a review of the MCAT examination
with a 21-member committee including representation from the GSA.
This will be the first comprehensive review in 15 years. There will
be a revamped version of the examination within the next few years
(no sooner than 2013).
Committee on Student Financial
Assistance (COSFA) priorities include:
- Comprehensive new Web site FIRST (Financial Information, Resources,
Services, and Tools) for applicants, medical school students,
residents, advisors, and financial aid officers; it was created
by the AAMC in collaboration with the medical school financial
aid community and the Organization of Student Representatives
to help members of the academic medicine community navigate the
complexities of student debt
- Visiting medical schools throughout the country to help educate
the medical community about financial aid services including loan
repayment programs
Committee on Diversity Affairs
(CODA): This new committee will address:
- Recruitment, enrollment, retention, and postgraduate education
of medical students of diverse backgrounds
GSA strongly supports this ongoing strong linkage between diversity
and student affairs.
Committee on Student Affairs
(COSA) priorities include:
- Updating the Handbook for Student Affairs Officers
- Surveying student affairs officers on the compensation, staffing
and funding of their offices
- Concerns about issues of mental health in our medical students
- Developing a best practices document supporting students during
the Scramble
Committee on Student Records
(COSR) priorities include:
- Advocating and expanding the use of the Visiting Student Application
System (VSAS) so that the system is an effective tool for all
students and administrators in the medical school community
- Developing relevant professional development opportunities
and programming for medical school records administrators
These are just a few of the activities of the Group on Student
Affairs. Do take this opportunity to visit each of the committee
Web sites for additional information.
Regional GSA Groups
In addition to the activities of the GSA committees, the Web site
has additional information from each regional student affairs group:
Central Region Group on Student Affairs (CGSA), Northeast Region
Group on Student Affairs (NEGSA), Southern Region Group on Student
Affairs (SGSA), and Western Region Group on Student Affairs (WGSA).
Contact information for regional leadership and upcoming meetings
and activities is all available on the regional group sites. This
input from the local level continues to communicate substantive
issues, concerns and recommendations to the GSA steering committee.
GSA Resources
This site offers a wealth of additional information, handbooks and
documents including information on student health, chemical dependency,
financial literacy, crisis management, the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) and preparing for the National Residency Matching Program,
e.g. "The AAMC Roadmap to Residency: From Application to the
Match and Beyond."
Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can assist
you in any way over this next year.
Michael G. Kavan, Ph.D.
Professor of Family Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Creighton University School of Medicine
2500 California Plaza
Omaha, NE 68178
(402) 280-2905; Fax: (402) 280-2599
email: michaelkavan@creighton.edu
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