Admission - School of Medicine

Committee on Admissions

Responsibility for selection of entering students is delegated by the faculty to the Committee on Admissions. The Committee will select from among the applicants those considered to possess in highest degree those intellectual and personal attributes necessary for success in the study and practice of medicine.

The School of Medicine participates in the program designated as the American Medical College Application Service, referred to as AMCAS. All applications for admission to the first-year class must be submitted through this service.

Requirements

Attendance for at least three full academic years at a regionally accredited college, and completion of not less than 90 semester hours prior to the date of registration at the School of Medicine. Applications may be made prior to the completion of the minimum requirements. Other qualifications being equal, preference will be given to applicants who will have received the bachelor’s degree prior to registration. B.S. and B.A. degrees are equally acceptable.

Satisfactory completion of the following college coursework is required:

Medical College Admission Test

All applicants must take the MCAT exam. MCAT scores no more than 3 years old are required, i.e., scores must be from a test taken no more than 36 months before registration. We do not require a minimum MCAT score.

Personal Interviews

Some, but not all applicants are invited for interviews at the medical school. These normally begin in October and continue through March. Each applicant has two one-on-one interviews with an individual who has the applicant’s personal statement and biographical data, but not grades, MCAT scores, or letters of recommendation. Each also has an open-book interview with the Dean of Admissions or Admissions Committee Chairman, who reviews the entire application, concentrating on matters not covered in the closed-book interviews.

Factors Weighed in Evaluation of Applicants

High grades and/or MCAT scores are not the only elements taken into consideration for admission. Other factors weighed in the selection process include letters of reference, the personal statement, difficulty of academic courses and course loads taken, trends in grades, extracurricular activities, evidence of leadership and the ability to work in a team, volunteer work, care-giving and healthcare-related experience, research, hardship, evidence of dedication to a career in medicine, life experiences, and other non-cognitive attributes. Impressions from the personal interview are especially important.

Early Decision Program (EDP)

Applicants for Early Decision are bound by rules established by AAMC.

Applicants can submit applications as early as June 1. Applicants will be considered for an interview only when all required information has been received and their file is complete.

Components of a completed file are:

• Verified AMCAS application
• Letters of Recommendation - uploaded via AMCAS Letters
• Submitted Secondary Application, including a non-refundable application fee of $50 or a fee waiver from AMCAS
• Uploaded photo (requested, but not required)

Files for Early Decision Program (EDP) must be complete no later than August 1. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all requirements are met in the allotted timeframe. Selected applicants will be interviewed, and all applicants will be notified by October 1. Successful EDP applicants must accept the school’s offer and cannot apply to any other schools. Non-admission through EDP does not prejudice applicants’ outcome in the regular process.

Transfer with Advanced Standing

With the highly integrated nature of our curriculum, transfer is possible only into the third year, for students who have completed two years of medical school at an LCME-accredited school, and who have passed Step 1 of the USMLE.

The number of places available varies from year to year, as does the number of transfer students accepted. Each applicant is evaluated individually, and while a vacancy in the class is essential, it does not assure acceptance.

Requirements for Transfer with Advanced Standing:

• Applicant must be a student in good standing at an LCME-accredited medical school,
• A letter of intent and a non-refundable application fee of $50,
• Official transcripts from all institutions attended since high school,
• A Dean’s letter including a statement of good standing,
• Letters of reference from three medical school professors,
• A personal interview in Shreveport for those passing an initial screening,
• Copies of MCAT scores and AMCAS application from your school’s Office of Admissions or Registrar, and
• Step 1 of the USMLE test must be taken by the last day of June and a passing score is required.

Deadline: April 1 - All application materials, documentation and letters must be received by this date.

Provisions Governing Acceptance of Applicant

All offers of acceptance are provisional. Conditions of acceptance are described in the Letters of Acceptance.

Accepted applicants are required to fulfill all requests from the Office of the Registrar for additional information and documentation. Prior to registration, students must submit to the Office of the Registrar official transcripts from each college or university attended, regardless of whether credit was earned. Failure to submit transcripts in a timely manner will prevent registration and forfeit the student’s position in the entering class.

As part of the school’s commitment to providing a safe and healthy environment, along with all new faculty and employees, incoming students are required to pass a drug screen and criminal background check prior to matriculation. Offers of acceptance are contingent on passing both.

It is expected that an applicant who has accepted a place with LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine and subsequently decides to attend another school, notify the Office of Admissions. These and other rights and responsibilities are found on the AAMC website.

Technical Standards for Medical School Admission, Academic Progression and Graduation

Medical Education requires that the accumulation of scientific knowledge be accompanied by the simultaneous acquisition of skills and professional attitudes and behavior. Medical school faculties have a responsibility to society to matriculate and graduate the best possible physicians, and thus admission to medical school has been offered to those who present highest qualifications for the study and practice of medicine. Technical standards presented in this document are pre-requisite for admission, progression and graduation from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Shreveport. All courses in the curriculum are required in order to develop essential skills required to become a competent physician.

Graduates of medical school must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Shreveport acknowledges Section 504 of the 1973 Vocational Rehabilitation Act and PL 101-336, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but has determined that certain minimum technical standards must be met by prospective candidates and students.

A candidate for the M.D. degree must have aptitude, abilities, and skills in five areas: observation; communication; motor function and coordination; intellectual abilities of conceptual, integrative and quantitative; and behavioral and social attributes. Technological compensation can be made for some handicaps in these areas, but a candidate must be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner. The use of a trained intermediary would mean that a candidate’s judgment must be mediated by someone else’s power of selection and observation. Therefore, third parties cannot be used to assist students in accomplishing curricular requirements in the five skill areas specified above. Reasonable accommodation can be made for some disabilities.

Observation

The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and participate in experiments in the basic sciences, including, but not limited to, physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations in animals, microbiology cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and other sensory modalities. It is enhanced by the functional use of the sense of smell.

Communication

A candidate should be able to speak, to hear, and to observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. A candidate must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech, but reading and writing. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written forms with all members of the health care team. A candidate must possess reading skills at a level to be able to independently accomplish curricular requirements and provide clinical care for patients.

Motor Function and Coordination

Candidates should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers. A candidate should be able to do basic laboratory tests (urinalysis, CBC, etc.), carry out diagnostic procedures (proctoscopy, paracentesis, etc.) and read EKGs and X-rays. A candidate should be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients.

Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physicians are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the administration of intravenous medication, application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways, the suturing of simple wounds, and the performance of basic obstetrical maneuvers. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.

Intellectual Abilities: Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative

These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physicians, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the candidate should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.

Behavioral and Social Attributes

Candidates must possess the emotional health required for full use of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients. Candidates must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively when stressed. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Empathy, integrity,concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that should be assessed during the admission and educational processes.

Candidates for the M.D. degree must have somatic sensation and the functional use of the senses of vision and hearing. Candidates’ diagnostic skills will also be lessened without the functional use of the senses of equilibrium, smell and taste. Additionally, they must have sufficient exteroceptive sense (touch, pain and temperature), sufficient proprioceptive sense (position, pressure, movement, stereognosis and vibratory) and sufficient motor function to permit them to carry out the activities described in the section above. They must be able to consistently, quickly, and accurately integrate all information received by whatever sense(s) employed, and they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data.

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Shreveport will consider for admission to medical school any applicant who demonstrates the ability to perform or to learn to perform the skills listed in this document. Students will be judged not only on their scholastic accomplishments, but also on their physical and emotional capacities to meet the full requirements of the school’s curriculum, and to graduate as skilled and effective practitioners of medicine. The following technical requirements apply:

1. Is the candidate able to observe demonstrations and participate in experiments in the basic sciences?
2. Is the candidate able to analyze, synthesize, extrapolate, solve problems, and reach diagnostic and therapeutic judgments, and to accomplish this in a timely manner?
3. Does the candidate have sufficient use of the senses of vision and hearing and the somatic sensation necessary to perform a physical examination? Can the candidate perform palpation, auscultation, and percussion?
4. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to relate to patients and establish sensitive, professional relationships with patients?
5. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to communicate the results of the examination to the patient and to his colleagues with accuracy, clarity and efficiency?
6. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to learn and perform routine laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures?
7. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to perform with precise, quick and appropriate actions in emergency situations?
8. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to display good judgment in the assessment and treatment of patients, and to accomplish this in a timely manner?
9. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to possess the perseverance, diligence, and consistency to complete the medical school curriculum and enter the independent practice of medicine?
10. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to accept criticism and respond by appropriate modification of behavior?

Adopted by unanimous vote of the General Faculty, May 1996.