Additional Student Support Services

Student Academic Support Services 

LKSOM is committed to students having access to academic support services. Staff members in the Offices for Student Affairs (OSA) who have no evaluative role, collaborate with the faculty and fourth year students to provide academic support.

Pre-clinical Years

All students are encouraged to seek help as soon as possible. Information about academic support resources and tutoring are provided at the beginning of each curricular block and Doctoring, are distributed through e-mail, and posted in Canvas, Google Docs, and each class Facebook page. 

Resources include:

• Block Directors and designated Faculty who sit on the Pre-clerkship Academic Support Committee
• Staff in Student Affairs and Medical Education
• Fourth Year Student Study Assistants / Mentors / Tutors
• Doctoring College Advisors
• Study Tip Resources located in Canvas, Google Docs, Facebook

1. Block directors and pre-clerkship faculty are available to assist students regarding material in the pre-clerkship curriculum. Help includes: assessing student issues and concerns, ensuring study assistance / tutoring availability, and facilitating study sessions.
2. Staff in the Office for Student Affairs and pre-clerkship faculty members collaborate with fourth year students to coordinate study assistance. Fourth year students serve as mentors and tutors, meet with students individually to assess and review academic issues, address study strategies, and provide follow up to ensure students are meeting their academic goals.
3. Staff in Student Affairs and Medical Education are available, to address student concerns, issues and questions regarding academic support.
4. Each student also has a doctoring college advisor who receives exam scores, grades and monitors academic progress. Advisors serve as a resource for students seeking academic support.
5. Grades are monitored by doctoring college advisors and staff in student affairs and medical education. They coordinate efforts to reach out to students if there is concern about academic progress. 
    

Clerkship Years

If students need academic support during their third and fourth years, they are encouraged to meet with the clerkship directors as soon as possible. Additionally, staff in student affairs and medical education are available to assist them with resources information. Resources and study tips are available in Canvas, Facebook, and Google Docs. The clerkship directors and dean’s office directs students to appropriate help, as needed. 

Post First Year Summer Academic Support Program

During the summer between the first and second curricular year, faculty and fourth year students provide a Summer Academic Support Program (SASP) for rising second year students seeking assistance with study skills in order to be well prepared for second year. The program, which is voluntary, offers the following:

1. Assessment of first year student academic issues;
2. Development of an individualized study plan;
3. Assignment of an upper year mentor who meets with the students to discuss questions, review progress, and coordinate study sessions as requested.
4. Opportunities to take practice exams which are reviewed to assess progress.
5. Ongoing academic support / mentoring throughout the second year.

Disability Accommodations

The Lewis Katz School of Medicine in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended (ADAAA) of 2008, provides appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities in order to facilitate equitable access to education.

When a qualified student with a disability requests accommodation, every reasonable effort will be made to provide the accommodation, adjustment, and/or auxiliary service, as long as the accommodation(s) does not alter the fundamental objective of a course or violate the program’s technical standards: https://medicine.temple.edu/education/md-program/admissions/technical-standards.

Students with documented disabilities are responsible for contacting the Office of Disability Resources & Services: [click-for-email] to schedule an appointment for an initial consultation. Students should make these arrangements as soon as possible so accommodations can be made in a timely manner.  In order to determine eligibility for academic accommodations, students must provide the required documentation from a physician or other licensed healthcare professional, verifying the nature of their condition and its impact on their academic pursuits. The student will be contacted to confirm receipt of the submitted information; once the submitted information has been reviewed and approved, the student will be assigned to a DRS Coordinator in order to determine the appropriate accommodations. Students can also opt to initiate the registration process online independently, by following the steps indicated below.

Step 1: Log into MyDRS. Complete the “Student Information Form” and upload any additional current and relevant information that supports your request for accommodations. These materials can also be mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered.

Step 2: You will then be contacted to schedule an initial meeting at DRS after your materials have been received. Please note that it could take up to 3 weeks before you meet with a coordinator.

Step 3: Meet with your assigned DRS Coordinator to discuss needed accommodations, after which time a letter of accommodation (LOA) will be provided electronically to both the student and to the Director of Diversity and Inclusion who serves in the role of the LKSOM DRS Liaison.

For additional information regarding documentation, you can access DRS via the following link: https://disabilityresources.temple.edu/

Students who have had accommodations in the past for standardized exams such as the SAT or the MCAT and think accommodations will be necessary for the USMLE Board exams should contact the DRS Associate Director of Student Services and the Senior Associate Dean for Education as early as possible.

Disability Resources and Services

Temple University
100 Ritter Annex
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19122
215-204-1280
http://www.temple.edu/studentaffairs/disability/

Student Well-Being and Impairment 

The Lewis Katz School of Medicine is committed to promoting and facilitating student well-being and adjustment to the intellectual, physical, and emotional rigors of medical school. Similarly, it is each student’s professional responsibility to be attentive to well-being as it relates to the academic, personal, emotional, and social aspects of medical school. Self-assessment, the ability to build and sustain personal and professional relationships, awareness of others, capacity for listening well, reflective practice, and empathy are keys to developing a solid medical knowledge base and good clinical skills. Students are urged to utilize the resources that are listed below to address any issues that may arise and prevent optimal performance in medical school.

IMPAIRED STUDENTS

• LKSOM is motivated by a humanitarian concern for the impaired student, the student’s family, and the public.
• As future practitioners of the healing arts, we, more than any other group, favor treatment and/or rehabilitation of our afflicted colleagues whenever possible.
• All actions taken by the LKSOM on behalf of impaired students will preserve the student’s right to continue in the educational program upon recovery or remission.
• Alcoholism and drug abuse represent forms of illness that may be unrecognized, ignored, or untreated.
• We encourage all impaired students to seek help and cooperate in treatment using all means at the disposal of Temple University and the LKSOM.
• We favor the earliest possible intervention in cases of student impairment, while personal, financial, mental, and physical resources are intact and before damage has been done to self or the public.
• All actions taken in the area of impaired medical students by the LKSOM are intended to protect the public interest and the integrity of the medical profession.
• Referral of a student to the Academic Standards and Promotions Committee for further action will only be considered when the impaired student refuses assistance as prescribed. 

CASE IDENTIFICATION

The process of identifying alleged impaired students must be conducted with strict confidentiality.

SELF-REFERRAL

An impaired student seeking help may call or contact in person any member of the Office of Student Affairs, or (s)he may go directly to the Temple University or LKSOM counseling service. The student may be recommended for evaluation and treatment by the Physicians’ Health Program.

INVOLUNTARY REFERRAL

The Office of Student Affairs accepts from any reasonable party (e.g., physician, medical school administration, medical student, other medical school professional staff, patient, student’s spouse, etc.) information concerning an allegedly impaired student. Said party shall call or contact a member of the Office of Student Affairs. The contact will be asked the name of the student thought to be impaired and the general nature of the complaint. The contact will be assured (s)he may remain anonymous.

CASE EVALUATION

In the case of involuntary referral, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs or his/her designee will reach out to the student within 30 days of the contact. The person evaluating the case will treat all information as confidential. 

INTERVENTION

In the case of involuntary referral, if sufficient cause exists to justify contacting the student thought to be impaired, a counselor or a member of the Office of Student Affairs will be designated to speak with the student, family members and others in an appropriate setting with the permission of the impaired student, to present that student with the documentation that impairment exists, and to express the concerns of his/her colleagues and family. 

Regardless of the referral source, the Office of Student Affairs will:

• Encourage the impaired student to seek help voluntarily, or assist him/her into active treatment;
• Maintain and encourage his/her cooperation in treatment;
• Make every effort to assist the impaired student to continue his/her education insofar as (s)he is considered able to do so by the physician in charge of the treatment;
• Refer the impaired student to the Physicians’ Health Program for assessment and treatment recommendations.
• Support the impaired student to request a leave of absence if treatment requires a leave of absence; the Office of Medical Education shall not be informed as to the specific reason for the leave.

CASE FOLLOW-UP

The Associate Dean for Student Affairs or his/her designee will request appropriate follow-up from the Physicians' Health Program (through the Pennsylvania Medical Society) as deemed necessary. This may take the form of requesting no contact unless a problem arises or requesting periodic monitoring, depending on the nature of the case. Monitoring may be requested verbally or in writing.

When a student is considered rehabilitated, restored, and able to continue the educational process, the intervention is concluded. This may require several years. All records shall be maintained until the conclusion of the case follow-up. The Physicians' Health Program will serve as a resource to the impaired student for assistance with issues related to applying for residency and obtaining medical licensure.

When all efforts fail and the degree of impairment of the student's performance threatens the public trust, the matter will be reported to the Academic Standards and Promotions Committee for management in accordance with the grading and promotional policies of the LKSOM.

Return to the Student Affairs page of the Medical Student Handbook