During the Transition to Medical School course, during the students’ first week at Katz, they are provided with academic support resource information and are encouraged to seek help for any academic concerns. The information is available in the student introductory packet and on the school’s portal. Students are encouraged to contact individual faculty, course directors, and the offices of student support and undergraduate medical education.  

Students can access the deans and directors through self-referral (for example, directly contacting the dean, or director or attending the dean or director’s office hours); referral by a faculty member, course director, academic coach, residency career advisor, or another dean or director or learning support specialist; and/or referral by a peer tutor (peer academic facilitator).  

All students on both campuses are assigned on matriculation to an academic coach who provides longitudinal, academic counseling and individualized support throughout their time in the MD program. Katz clinical faculty members are academic coaches who are selected through a formal application process. Academic coaches provide one-on-one and group coaching for a cohort of medical students through all phases of the curriculum. 

The goals of the academic coaching program are to 

• support students’ academic progress and success throughout their time in medical school; 

• support students’ professional identity development as lifelong learners;  

• develop a trusting, longitudinal coaching relationship with a faculty member; and 

• connect students at academic risk with appropriate resources and support services (refer to more information about these services below).

To ensure that all medical students receive comparable and comprehensive career advising, a structured system of residency career advising was introduced for students on the North Philadelphia and St. Luke’s Regional Campus in the 2023–2024 academic year. Lead RCAs are selected to manage career advising at a departmental level and qualified candidates must be chosen by faculty appointment at the rank of assistant professor or above, manage a clinical practice in a discipline highly subscribed to by medical students, have the ability to provide highly effective and honest feedback, and exhibit a track-record of success in mentoring learners engaged in undergraduate or graduate medical education. 

Lead RCAs were identified for each specialty that more than 10 students from the 5 graduating classes selected for residency training.  At the North Philadelphia campus, lead RCAs are from nine clinical departments.  At the St. Luke’s campus, two members of the dean’s office and a faculty member from the department of surgery serve as the lead RCAs. 

Students meet with their doctoring college academic advisors one-on-one twice a year in the first two years and then once a year thereafter. Together, they review a student’s progress in medical school and set personal goals. Midway through their third year, students are assigned specialty advisors, who are physicians in the specialties for which they plan to apply. These advisors help guide their M4 scheduling and residency application choices. The offices of Student Affairs and Medical Education are available to counsel students individually throughout medical school. 

Student interest groups—representing various medical specialties—host events to introduce students to the specialties. Students may arrange to shadow physicians on their own. 

Internships, Externships and Service Opportunities 

Students can pursue a variety of internships, externships, and service opportunities through many domestic and international programs, including Katz’s Global Medicine Program as well as student-run service organizations.