JSMBS Unofficial Handbook

• Parking

 

You may think that parking is not an issue during your first three weeks of school before all the other students come back to south campus. Once the other students return, you will lament the loss of easy parking. To get a spot in Sherman Lot, get to class on time! If you think you can sleep in and waltz into your 9 a.m. class, think again. Don’t count on finding a parking space after 7:50, at least not in Sherman Lot. You will find at least five cars circling the lot like sharks waiting for people to leave. However, if you can’t find a spot in Sherman Lot, there are other options. You can also park in the Bailey lot at the north end of campus or in the new Clark lot across from Clark Hall. Some people park far away in the Parker lot near the Winridge Road entrance, or in the NFTA lot by the Metro rail station.

Wherever you decide to park, DO NOT park in the VA lot, or in spaces designated for clinical patients or service vehicles. It is almost guaranteed that you will get a ticket. Avoid the faculty lots: Michael Lot and Diefendorf Lot. You will be ticketed. Oh, one more thing: after 4 p.m. and all weekend long, you can park in faculty lots without getting a ticket. This is handy for those occasional review sessions on early Saturday mornings.

The city of Buffalo itself also has a lot of parking restrictions. There are odd/even rules on many streets, so make sure you look out for signs before you park your car. Don’t assume that the cops are lax on parking regulations: you WILL get ticketed if you break the rules. (Before coming to Buffalo, I had only received one parking ticket in my seven years of driving. In the past year, I have gotten at least six parking tickets, both from the school and the city. So watch out. Don’t be like me.)

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• The Lounge Trap

 

The student lounge can be an inviting place to spend your breaks and lunch hours and, for some, your Friday nights. Shortly into the semester, you will find certain groups of people inevitably located at the foozball, the pong, or the pool tables. And these groups are here ALL THE TIME (they inevitably get very good at these games, so don’t play against them!). These games are a great way to relieve stress and take study breaks. But beware: many students get quickly addicted to the games and find them to be a great way to blow off studying for hours at a time.

The lounge has a fridge and a microwave. There is no guarantee that they’ll be clean, but they work. This is your lounge, people - SO KEEP THE DAMN PLACE CLEAN!

 

• Electives

 

During your spring semester, you have the opportunity to take one of two electives. (You can take both at the same time as well, or you can take one in your second year if you like.) Your two choices are usually Introduction to Emergency Medicine or Medical Spanish. Both electives are generally enjoyed by students. Don’t feel like you have to take an elective if you don’t want to! Electives are fun and very low-stress, but some people don’t want anything else on their plate second semester. So take electives only if they interest you.

The ER elective allows you to get a lot of hands-on experience. You are assigned a preceptor who, for the most part, is extremely interested in teaching you. You are expected to put in twelve hours of observation time throughout the semester, but you can arrange those hours however you want. Most people who took the elective got to do a couple of procedures in the ER, including suturing and putting in IVs. It’s a great way to try out your new history-taking and physical exam skills.

Medical Spanish is also a great class. The professor, Karen Gutierrez, is a nurse practitioner who works with a local internal medicine group. She is an excellent instructor, and her class is very laid back. Even if you’ve never learned a word of Spanish before, you’ll have no problem with the difficulty level of the course. Karen starts off by introducing students to the principles of the Spanish language, and then she teaches the relevant medical terminology. She also gives you a chance to go to her office and to practice speaking Spanish with her patients. She’ll bring Spanish-speaking health profession students into class toward the end of the semester so that you can practice your vocabulary and pronunciation. The class is a great opportunity to learn a language that is widely spoken by patients - even if you can only speak a few words of Spanish, your Spanish-speaking patients will really appreciate it!

 

• Where Are My Grades?

 

After you take an exam, the exam is scored, and the results are analyzed by the course faculty. Once the analysis is complete, your grades are emailed to you. After your last exam in a course, your final grade is emailed to you along with your exam score. The amount of time that it takes to email grades is variable, so don’t be surprised if you don’t see your grade for a couple of days. (Also, don’t be surprised if you get your grade a few hours after you’ve taken your exam!) Final grades can also be found on UBLearns and the HUB (from MyUB).

 

• Financial Aid

The Financial Aid office handles all your financial worries and helps you to the best of their ability. They are located in Harriman Hall, and are most often available to answer questions. You should expect to not have a lot of money to play with unless you get it from alternate sources. The government loans only allow for a minimal stipend that is budgeted for nine months, so, if this is the only money you are receiving, plan accordingly! Also, pay attention to deadlines, as you will have to fill out the FAFSA every year. Usually, the FAFSA is available in late January or February at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. When you do get all your financial aid straightened out, you can have the money deposited in your bank account directly by filling out a form (http://src.buffalo.edu/pdf/DirectDeposit.pdf) and mailing it in.

For those of you who are not New York state residents, it is fairly easy to get state residency. All you have to do is get a New York state driver’s license, register your car (or become a registered voter), sign a lease for an apartment, and have two utilities in your name. Then you can prove to the school that you are a New York state resident. You can access the information to apply for state residency at http://studentaccounts.buffalo.edu/policies/residency.php

 

• What Am I Gonna Do This Summer?

 

The summer is YOUR time and YOUR time alone. You may choose to do whatever you wish. Some people choose to go home and bum around (you DO deserve the time off, after all); others work for much needed moola. Some people also choose to do research or apply for an externship program (both of these usually pay [though not always], so it’s more like a job than anything else). Just remember: you’re almost in the REAL working world - this may be the LAST real summer you’ll get to enjoy - for life!

Whatever you may be interested in, YOU need to take the initiative sometime during the spring semester. OME will have some lunch sessions throughout the spring semester educating you on the opportunities for research, but it is still your responsibility to obtain a position. If you’re interested in research, you can also get leads from professors who teach in the field in which you want to work. International health  info  is  available  on  the  Web:  one  good  starting  point  is  AMSA’s  web  site (http://www.amsa.org/). There’s also a program in Ecuador run by a UB Med grad for which many students apply. The Primary Care Externship is popular with a lot of UB students, but there are plenty of other choices.  OME also has a binder in their office with information on a lot of research programs in which prior students were involved.  

If you’re interested in applying for research, you may have to meet with Dr. Severin: many programs require a dean’s letter of recommendation. Dr. Severin will send you emails throughout the year regarding research, and he will tell you at the end of first semester to set up a meeting with him if you need a dean’s letter. He absolutely refuses to meet with people before January to discuss research, so you’ll have to hold your horses if you’re gunning on summer research apps. If your programs don’t require a letter, you don’t have to meet with Dr. Severin. Some people like to meet with him just to get career advice, which is fine. However, the meeting isn’t mandatory, and it’s nothing to stress about. Dr. Severin will tell you a lot about summer research as the year goes on. As he talks to you, keep in mind that you don’t have to do research if you don’t want to! So, to reemphasize, don’t stress about research!

Definitely talk to second years for ideas. Good luck, and remember to include plenty of fun in your summer! Important note: the medical malpractice insurance offered by the school MAY NOT cover you during your summer activities, or it may not be needed. Talk to Dr. Severin for details.

DO NOT STRESS about the fact that you don’t know what you want to do, or that you would rather take the summer to travel and drink mojitos on the beach. There should never be pressure to do research unless you really want to do it. If you do research against your will, you can count on one hell of a miserable summer!

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