Student Updates

4th-year Medical Student Requirement Changes


Dear 4th-year Students,

I am writing to update you on changes approved by the Medical Education Committee (MEC) in regards to your requirements given the current COVID-19 pandemic.  MEC voted to allow changes to the surgical subspecialty, geriatrics, medicine 2 and subinternship requirements with broadened definitions allowing previous experiences to fulfill credit requirements. We have also reduced the degree requirements in 4th year from 36 to 32 weeks. Therefore, all 4th-year students will meet the degree requirements at the end of Block 19. If you have questions, please contact the Registrar’s Office about your individual requirements and the changes that have taken place to fulfill them. All changes to the requirements will be documented on the transcript.

Regards,

Priya

Priya Garg, MD
Associate Dean, Medical Education
Boston University School of Medicine

Please Donate PPE to BU, BMC

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, disposable gloves and gowns, N95 respirators and face shields. Areas of Boston University and Boston Medical Center are in need of them. Please email Heather Gillis hmg@bu.edu of BU Sourcing & Procurement if you have surplus PPE to donate. Include the subject line: PPE Donation. The PPE will be redirected to other areas of BU and BMC that critically need them. Thank you for your assistance and support.

Securing BUMC Buildings

All BU owned buildings will become card access only. (The X-building, 670 Albany Street and Crosstown are not BUMC buildings.) Internal BUMC spaces will also require card access. Please carry your ID.

Deliveries for the Medical School LBER complex will continue to be made through the Stoughton Street entrance and through the loading dock for the W building. To arrange entrance during regular business hours, delivery personnel should call the Control Center at (617) 358-4144; after hours, call Public Safety at (617) 358-4444.

Buildings will be marked with these signs.

3/21 BUSM 3rd-Year Shelf Delay

Dear 3rd-year students,

I hope all of you and your families are well. Thank you for your patience during this time. I wanted to let you know that we will be delaying the shelf exam and it will not be given as scheduled for the 6 week clerkships. The shelf will not take place this Friday. This is largely due to the fact that the NBME has developed a remote-proctored format for the shelf exam, but it will not be available until April 7. We hope to administer the shelf in as close proximity to that date as possible, but we are planning the details and date as we have not heard more information from the NBME. I hope this answers questions and gives you your weekend back. Stay well.

Warmly,
Priya

Priya Garg, MD
Associate Dean of Medical Education

3/19 Updated Availability: Alumni Medical Library, Instructional/Study Space

Effective at 6 a.m. Friday, March 20:

  • L1101 Testing Center and L1110 classroom will be open as student study space Monday-Friday from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Access to the floor during scheduled hours is available via L-building elevators and emergency stairwells, and
  • The Alumni Medical Library L12-13 floors will be closed.

Remote reference, education and research services will be provided seven days per week from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. via refquest@bu.edu and Zoom. Interlibrary Loan borrowing of e-journal articles and e-book chapters will be provided remotely Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

 What’s Open – In addition to L11, available instructional and student study space (while maintaining physical distancing):

  • Instructional (L) Building – L109ABC, L107, L112, Hiebert Lounge
  • A Building – A4 Medical Student Lounge and adjacent small rooms (medical students only)
  • Housman 1 – McNary Learning Center Classrooms

All faculty, staff and students should have their BU ID with them at all times, in case spaces are card-access only.

3/19 Status of BUSM

To:      BUSM Students, Faculty, Staff and Alumni
From:  Karen Antman, MD, BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean
Re:      3/19 Status of BUSM
Date:   March 19, 2020

As we complete our first week of virtual education and research, I want to thank all of our faculty, staff and students for their collaborative and collegial teamwork in rising to the occasion. Particular kudos go to our IT team for getting us up to speed on previously unfamiliar platforms that support our virtual instructional, academic and administrative work, and to our students for their strength, resilience and commitment to their education – especially those who are completing their requirements for graduation in a few months. Students have been joining together to help each other, especially those serving on the wards, by volunteering to run errands or providing childcare.

Our academic medical center is now truly working on the frontlines of medicine and science. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve and we are adapting to almost daily changes. Our physician faculty are already caring for increasing numbers of presumed coronavirus patients after several weeks of intense planning. Our teachers are providing their course material online. Deans are assessing each student's curriculum requirements to ensure their successful progression toward their degrees. GMS has many students preparing to defend their dissertations in the coming weeks that have been moved to an online format with digital signatures.

Labs have implemented protocols for social distancing, minimizing the number of individuals in their labs at any given time, developed best practices to ensure the safety of lab personnel and to preserve the integrity of their experiments. NEIDL and other faculty are ramping up COVID-19 research.

We thank our Facilities team for ramping up cleaning the School and Medical Campus classrooms, restrooms and buildings. We have taken a number of large classrooms off line so that cleaning can be concentrated on the remaining spaces.

Thank you, all, for your commitment to our shared mission to meet these challenges. Please send suggestions or issues to BUSMDean@bu.edu.

Please check the BUMC and BU websites for the latest University information regarding COVID-19.

3/18 GSDM Update on Research Activity

Dear colleagues,

We are continuing to monitor rapidly evolving developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our priority is to safeguard the health of the GSDM community and beyond while limiting the impact on research resources and progress.

We are asking all GSDM researchers to minimize research activity to the greatest extent possible, and to plan for this period of minimal activity to last for several weeks. Our primary goal is to minimize social interactions and the density of personnel on campus. As such, as much research-related activity as possible should be conducted remotely.

To ensure continuity of activities, please complete a Continuity of OperaLons Plan (COOP) form and have copies available for your lab staff and the Research office.

Please continue to decontaminate your lab space as usual. Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) is finalizing guidelines for labs and facilities to follow when disinfecting spaces, if there is a positive case in the lab.

In addition to the University's requirements for academic-related activities, below are specific considerations outlined for BUMC researchers:

  1. Update contact numbers for lab members, and include those numbers in the COOP;
  2. Update the contact information on freezers and instruments that have alarm points;
  3. Determine who needs to be present in the lab. If there are tasks that can be done remotely, then these lab members do not need to be on the campus;
  4. If possible, rotate or alternate lab member schedules in the lab; 5. Plan for sudden changes in the work force;
  5. Consider not starting new projects, or training new lab members;
  6. Conduct web-based lab meetings; and
  7. Be prepared for any possible disruptions in deliveries, and services including access to core facilities.

Further resources are available on the Boston University Research Support website, including information to help plan for disruptions to laboratory operaLons and research. This website also has links to relevant guidance from sponsor agencies. Please note that the NIH has specific guidelines and FAQs, Page 2 of 2 including a late application policy and information on award management under the current circumstances.

Please be reminded that the Boston University, BUMC, and GSDM COVID-19 websites also provide important information and are updated on a regular basis.

We appreciate the unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic is creating. Please continue to follow CDC guidelines for preventive measures to ensure the health and safety of you, your families, and your colleagues.

Best regards,

Maria A. Kukuruzinska, Ph.D.
Professor and Interim Chair
Department of Translational Dental Medicine
Associate Dean for Research
Director, Predoctoral Research Program
Goldman School of Dental Medicine
Director, Head and Neck Cancer Program

Boston University W201, 700 Albany Street Boston, MA 02118 Tel: 617-358-9690 hgp://www.bu.edu/dental-research