UCI MSTP Student Handbook

3^rd Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2003-2004

Revised by Ali Razmara, Jerry Wong, and Tritia Yamasaki

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Resources…………………………………………………………………………………..	3
UCI-MSTP Traditional Timeline and Program Requirements……………………………	4
Helpful Advice…………………………………………………………………………….	5-6
Re-entry program for MD/PhD and MD/MBA Students………………………………….	7
UCI MSTP Student Organizations……………………………………………….………..	8-9
Research Rotations and Thesis Laboratories………………………………………………	10-12
Tax Issues………………………………………………………………………………….	13

 

 

 

RESOURCES

 

Director:                                Al Goldin (agoldin@uci.edu); 824-5334

 

MSTP Coordinator:                         Chris Varrone (ctvarron@uci.edu); 824-5264

 

Basic Science Advisors:       Frances Leslie (fmleslie@uci.edu); 824-6699

Ed Robinson (werobins@uci.edu); 824-3431

Tallie Z. Baram (tallie@uci.edu); 824-1131

 

Clinical Advisors:                 Ellis Levin (elevin@uci.edu); (562) 494-5748

Anne Spence (maspence@uci.edu); 824-9787

 

Financial Aid:                       Cheryl Hardison (cmhardis@uci.edu); 824-4606

 

Registrar:                              Barbara Lutz (blutz@uci.edu); 824-5283

 

Counseling:                          Marianne Ross (maross@uci.edu); 824-4621

 

Email Lists*:                         MD/PhD Program (Al, Chris, Frances, Ed, Tallie, students)

·      EDUAFF-MD/PhD Students

·      <MDPhDStud@msx.hsis.uci.edu>

 

MD/PhD students only

·      EDUAFF-Mud/PhuD

·      <EDUAFFMudPHud@msx.hsis.uci.edu>

 

*Email lists are administered by Chris Varrone. Please email her, not the msx administrator, if there are any problems or concerns.

 

UCI-MSTP TRADITIONAL* TIMELINE AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

 

	Curriculum	MSTP program requirements
Year 1	Medical school-year 1	Post flyers for MSTP lecture series MSTP lecture series Clinical conferences MSTP retreat Council meetings Advisor meetings
Summer 1	none	1st research rotation
Year 2	Medical school-year 2	Plan MSTP retreat MSTP lecture series Clinical conferences MSTP retreat Council meetings Advisor meetings
Summer 2	USMLE I	2nd research rotation
Year 3	Graduate school-year 1 Ethics course -Microbiology &Biochemistry (Spring) -Pharmacology (Summer)	Write a grant proposal Interview applicants MSTP lecture series Clinical conferences MSTP retreat Council meetings Advisor meetings
Years 4-6	Thesis research Attend conferences	More active roles in council positions Write a grant proposal Interview applicants MSTP lecture series Clinical conferences MSTP retreat Council meetings Advisor meetings
Years 7-8	Medical school-year 3 Medical school-year 4 USMLE II	MSTP lecture series Clinical conferences Help coordinate speakers for clinical conferences MSTP retreat

 

*Alternative timelines are possible (e.g. Anne Marie and Imran).

HELPFUL ADVICE

 

Choosing a rotation:	Define expectations in the rotation (e.g. Do you want to focus on learning a technique or getting a small project done?). Pay attention to the learning and working atmosphere of the lab. Find out how you work within the personalities of the lab and the PI. How happy are the current graduate students? How long have the PI’s previous graduate students taken to complete their PhDs? What kind of projects would you have as graduate student? Make sure that the PI is aware of your time and funding limits as an MSTP student (3 years graduate funding). Remember that you only get out of a rotation as much as you put into it.
Retreat Planning:	Start as early as possible (e.g. Spring of MS-1 for booking speakers). Work with 4th year MSTPs. If keynote speaker is already set for the coming year, invite a keynote speaker for the next year.
Board exams:	NBME requires that all 3 steps of boards must be taken within 7 years; within 10 years for MSTP students by petition.
Medical to graduate school transition:	Do not underestimate the difficulty of this. Transitioning may involve emotional shifts (e.g. moving on from medical school classmates) and/or paradigm shift from medical school to graduate school. Being a graduate student will be a role distinct from others in your lab and different from any previous research experience you have ever had. Be prepared for that. The other students (older students as well as those in your class) in the MD/PhD program can help with the transition—get involved in the program. There are annual advisor meetings in May so that no one gets lost in a shuffle. However, the advisors are always happy to talk with you whenever you need them.
Choosing an advisor and/or graduate program:	Talk to other students, but with a grain of salt—don’t rely over heavily on peer advice. Keep in touch with your MSTP basic science advisor. Choosing a lab involves “working chemistry,” compatibility between YOU and the PI. Consider the number of graduate students in the lab and other commitments the PI has. How much time will he/she be able to devote to mentoring you, and how important is that? As you learn techniques, keep in mind how different projects might fit together for your dissertation. Start thinking about who will be on your advancement committee. For your graduate program, find out course requirements and specific requirements for advancement. Advance as early as you can, and don’t be afraid to use your committee members as sounding boards.
Graduate school:	It's important to complete the required coursework ASAP so that you are able to focus on your thesis research. Keep in mind that you will have a different ID number as a graduate student. Make sure to register for the required units through TELEVISION every quarter so that your fees get paid. Find out minimum credit requirements (usually 12 units). MSTP allows $300 annually for travel expenses to meetings; there is also a specific travel stipend to Society for Neuroscience available from the School of Biological Sciences if you are first author/presenting a poster. Everyone is required to take an ethics course and write a grant proposal. You only need to apply once for extramural funding, not that you receive it.
Graduate to medical school transition:	Some students have done a clinical rotation over the MS-2 summer or during graduate school (e.g. Jade Jeng, Shyam Srinivas, Rob Chen). Consider the pros/cons in context of new back to clinic transition. Different re-entry options are described below. Defense of dissertation is required before returning to the clinics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OFFICE OF CURRICULAR AFFAIRS

RE-ENTRY PROGRAM FOR MD/PhD AND MD/MBA STUDENTS

April 2000

 

The following options will be offered to students that have been away from the normal medical student curriculum for a time period of two years or more.

 

Option 1

Students may defer PDII until the last year of their Ph.D. or MBA program. Students would complete PDII and their research or MBA work simultaneously. Credit for completing the course would be given after completion of the course.

 

Option 2

Students may retake parts of PDII with an emphasis on small groups and physical diagnosis during the last year of their research or MBA work. The students would not receive credit for attending these sessions a second time. Students must commit to the entire process so that they become part of the group.

 

Option 3

Mike Prislin, M.D. will prepare a brief training session with standardized patients in the training center. No credit will be given.

 

Option 4

Students will be directed to enroll in Track 11 or 12. They will be encouraged to take medicine electives during their flexible time at the beginning of the year to improve their skills before taking clerkships.

 

Option 5

Students will be assigned to a third year student mentor.

UCI MSTP STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

 

Student Council

 

Meets approximately quarterly (over dinner at clinical conferences) or as needed. Serves as a forum to discuss program concerns, plan events, and make decisions. Open to all students, and all students are encouraged to attend. Positions are annually elected.

 

General Secretary: Moderates and oversees student council meetings (sets agenda, etc.). Records and distributes minutes. Keeper of the honorary gavel.

 

Steering Committee: Represents student interests on the MD/PhD Steering Committee, the faculty group which sets general program policy.

 

Lecture Series Committee: Coordinates the MSTP Lecture Series. Duties include: inviting speakers to UCI, hosting them on the day of the lecture, and organizing the speaker's lunch and dinner. Students from the program are invited to attend these lunches and dinners. In recent years, there have been 3 coordinators, with one being the coordinator from the previous year. Recent years have also set some speakers for the following year.

 

Clinical/Research Conference Coordinator: Coordinates monthly MSTP “Journal Club.” Arranges speakers and dinners for the conference. The nature of this conference series vary from year to year, ranging from clinical case presentations led by older students in the program to basic or clinical research presentations by UCI faculty.

 

Admissions Committee: Student members on the MSTP Admissions Committee. Helps review applicants to the program. Meets 3-4 times during the spring. Also helps Chris coordinate MSTP student interviewers.

 

Dean’s Advisory Representatives: Represent the interests of MSTP students at Dean Manetta’s monthly College of Medicine Student Advisory Board meetings. Can address concerns such as graduation, etc.

 

AGS Representatives: Represent MSTP in the University-wide Associated Graduate Students council. Can also be elected through the medical school.

 

Webmaster: Maintains and modifies the MSTP website <http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/mdphd/>.

 

Retreat Committee: Organizes the annual Student Retreat held in the winter. Duties

include arranging accommodations, inviting keynote and panel speakers as well as UCI

faculty, and coordinating student presentations. By tradition, this committee is made up of the second-year MSTP class, with guidance from the fourth-year MSTP class.

 

Voluntary Subcommittees

 

Recruitment Committee: Works to improve recruitment and general MSTP admissions

process. Hosts applicants the day of their interview, at lunch, and organizes the Interview Day barbecues, which are held that evening.

 

Transitions Committee: Addresses concerns in the transitions between research and clinical work (e.g. PI orientation, special PD workshops for post-PhD students returning to the clinics).

 

Year 2 Liaison—subset of the Transitions committee: Keeps graduate students who are returning to medical school informed of deadlines and e-mails relevant to the 3rd year of medicine.

 

Big Sib/Little Sib: Assigns sibs to incoming students, organizes program-wide social events.

 

MD/PhD Student Handbook committee: Maintains and modifies the MSTP student handbook online and in print.

 

 

 

RESEARCH ROTATIONS AND THESIS LABORATORIES

 

The following table lists labs in which MD/PhD students have worked (* denotes thesis lab). Please feel free to e-mail students to get their advice on rotations and thesis laboratory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAX ISSUES

 

The following summary of tax tips is courtesy of Ruth Quinnan, Finance & Operations Officer, Office of Graduate Studies:

 

·      If a graduate student has an academic appointment, then the student receives salary payments through the payroll system.

·      In this case, taxes are withheld from the paycheck and reported to the state and federal tax agencies.

·      The student will receive a W-2 form that lists yearly earnings and taxes that were withheld.

·      If a student receives a W-2 form, then it should be attached to the student’s income tax form when it is filed.

·      If a student receives fellowship support, then part or all of the fellowship may be subject to income tax.

·      For domestic students, the university is not required to withhold taxes from fellowship stipends.

·      The IRS considers a fellowship to be a certain amount that is paid for an individual’s benefit in pursuing studies or research.

·      Fellowships that are typically considered tax-free are qualified fellowships paid on behalf of a candidate for a degree at an institution.

·      A qualified fellowship is an amount received as fellowship which is then used to pay for fees and tuition to enroll in an institution.

·      If a part or all of a fellowship is taxable, then the students need to understand that they might be required to file estimated quarterly withholding payments.

·      Students should also be aware that the tax year and the academic year are different.

·      Students should report fellowship income received in the tax or calendar year.

·      The IRS website at www.irs.gov provides a lot of information.

·      Students should be particularly familiar with IRS Publication 520, “Scholarships and Fellowships,” which provides practice worksheets and tips.

·      Finally, everyone’s tax situation is unique and tax professionals should be consulted for advice.