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. The application process for this School of Medicine is divided into two stages. The first stage is of preliminary nature and handled by AMCAS. The second stage is an exclusive relationship between the School and those applicants who have completed Stage-1.

Stage-1

The initial application through AMCAS is available exclusively through the web site of the American Association of Medical Colleges web page: www.aamc.org. Students are encouraged to begin their applications early. All questions about the initial application must be addressed to the AAMC because LSUHSC has no additional information about this process.

Stage-2

All Louisiana applicants are sent a Stage-2 application when the medical school receives a verified Stage-1 application from AMCAS. The Stage-2 is brief and asks for certain supplemental information.

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 courses:

Psychology and sociology courses can be counted for up to one-third of the Humanities requirement.

Only applicants who can meet the school’s Technical Standards will be considered.

Selection of College Courses

Aside from required courses it is recommended that prospective applicants pursue their own particular interests and develop their own special talents. A broad educational background is desirable. The counsel of faculty advisors should be sought. Applicants may also, upon request, obtain advice from the Office of Student Admissions or from faculty members.

Medical College Admission Test

Candidates for admission who have not taken the MCAT prior to submitting applications should take this test in the fall. The MCAT is given at colleges throughout the nation in April and August, under the sponsorship of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Students may obtain information about this test and the dates on which it is given from the AAMC web site, www.aamc.org and their premedical advisors.

Personal Interviews

Some, but not all applicants are invited for interviews at the medical school. These normally begin in late 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 Assistant Dean or Admissions Committee Chairman, who reviews the entire application, concentrating on matters not covered in the closed-book interviews. Applicants are encouraged to ask questions at every step.

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 who apply for admission to LSUHSC-S through the EDP are bound by rules established by AMCAS. The earliest date to apply is June 1, and only files containing a completed Stage-2 and the required letters of reference by August 1st will be considered further under the EDP. Selected applicants will be interviewed, and all applicants will be notified by October 1st. Successful EDP-applicants must accept the school’s offer and cannot apply to any other schools. EDP-applicants that are not accepted will be considered without prejudice as regular applicants, and they are free to apply to other schools. Normally, only applicants with above-average grades and MCAT scores will be admitted through this program.

Transfer with Advanced Standing

The School of Medicine has a program whereby medical students enrolled at LCME-accredited schools of medicine may be accepted for transfer with advanced standing. Students from non-LCME accredited institutions cannot be considered for transfer with advanced standing.  Students will be considered for transfer positions pending fulfillment of the following:

Letter of Intent: A typed letter of intent, detailing the reasons why he/she wishes to be considered for transfer with advanced standing begins the process.

Application Form: A Stage-2 form must be completed and returned with the letter of intent. The requested fifty-dollar check must accompany the letter of intent in order to open a file with this office.

Dean’s Letter: A letter of good standing from the Dean of his/her medical school.

References: Letters of reference from two medical school professors.

Transcripts: Official transcripts from his/her current medical school and from all other academic institutions he/she has attended since graduating from high school must be sent directly to this office.

MCAT Scores: Scores from Medical College Admissions Test must be furnished.

USMLE Scores: Scores: Scores from Step-1 of the USMLE must be sent. If they are not available, then he/she must state this in his/her letter of intent.

Other: In some cases, other supporting documents may be required. If so, these will be requested as the need is identified.

Deadline: All applications and support materials must be received by April 1.

Some, but not all, applicants will be invited to interview at the medical school in Shreveport. This personal interview is required before permission to transfer will be approved.

Preference will be given to Louisiana residing residents, and only students who are in good standing at their present medical school will be considered. The number of students approved will vary from year to year, each case being evaluated individually.

Transfers are allowed only at the end of the second year of medical school.

The Assistant Dean for Student Admissions and an ad hoc committee will evaluate applications for transfer, and the student will be notified of the decision as soon as it is made.

Provisions Governing Acceptance of Applicant

All offers to accept an applicant for admission to the School of Medicine are regarded as provisional acceptances. These are based on evidence to be submitted at the appropriate time after all required course work has been completed prior to the time for registration. The applicant must also demonstrate a continuation of a satisfactory personal performance and a level of academic achievement which is consistent with ability previously demonstrated at the time of the interview.

Prior to registration students must submit to the Office of Admissions official transcripts from each college or university attended, regardless of whether credit was earned or is desired. 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. Further details can be obtained from the Department of Human Resources at LSUHSC-S.

Applicants must notify the Office of Admissions of their desire to accept a place in the class within the time specified in the letter offering acceptance. Failure to notify the office promptly will be considered as sufficient reason to withdraw the offer.

It is considered improper for an applicant to hold more than one place of acceptance at any one time. An applicant who accepts a place in the class is considered to be under obligation to cancel the acceptance of places that may have been established previously with other schools. It is also understood that an applicant who has accepted a place with the School of Medicine who subsequently decides to attend another school, the applicant will provide prompt notification of the change in the acceptance status. These and other rights and responsibilities are found in the AAMC publication: Medical School Admission Requirements and on their web site.

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.