By Bina Davidson on behalf of Features Staff
Each month, the YU Observer aims to highlight one club available to the YU undergraduate community. For the November issue, the YU Observer is highlighting The Yeshiva University Pre-Medical Society
Club Name: Yeshiva University Pre-Medical Society
Heads: Beren: Mili Chizhik and Rivky Zians. Wilf: David Shifteh and Bryan Lavi
Relevant Campus(es): Beren & Wilf
What is your club’s mission statement?: The mission of the YU Pre-Medical society is to help students who are interested in attending medical school after YU to reach their full academic goals and to have a positive experience at YU. The YU Pre-Medical society also provides a community for Pre-Medical students to network with their fellow Pre-Medical peers.
Why is this club important?: Being a Pre-Medical student at YU is a very challenging and stressful experience that can often leave one feeling alone and unsure of how to best navigate their Pre-Medical pathway. By providing a community for students where one can connect and network with their fellow Pre-Medical peers, we hope to help students feel less alone, as well as to provide a space where students can socialize with other Pre-Medical students to find answers and guidance for any questions and challenges that they may have or face.
What was your pull to get involved in/start the club?: Having received much help and guidance from other older students on how to successfully navigate through and face the various challenges that come along with being Pre-Medical students at YU, we wanted to similarly give some of our time to help other Pre-Medical students to succeed and reach their full potentials Furthermore, we also wish to help eliminate any negative thoughts and disinformation in order to enable students to be confident in themselves. Being involved in a big community of kind and hard-working students is extremely intellectually stimulating, as well as inspiring. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and religious denominations, but we all have the same goal: to enable our fellow citizens to receive the best healthcare possible, thus fulfilling our civic duty of supporting others.
What are some things your club has done in the past? (If the club is not new): Our club has held various events, as well as brought in speakers to talk to students. Last year, we brought in an MCAT prep representative to speak to students about the MCAT and how to achieve the best possible score on the exam. Additionally, we also brought in a medical school admissions representative to speak to students about interviewing for medical school. Lastly, we also organized a fair in which several medical and dental school representatives came to YU to meet with our students.
What are some plans you have for this semester/future semesters?: This year for the first time, the Pre-Medical Society has established a full and diverse board of SCW and YC students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, with majors in biology to history. This was done to give YU and Stern students more opportunities to be involved “on campus” and to increase the connections between our fellow classmates. We have also created a Pre-Health WhatsApp chat which is open for all Pre-Health Students. Additionally, we will also be running a few sessions that will guide pre-medical students in the best direction, as well as provide advice from current Pre-Medical students or alumni in medical school, residency, and beyond. Lastly, we are also working to organize the annual Medical/Dental school fair which will be virtual this year due to COVID-19.
What is your favorite OSL-provided food for club events?: Pizza!
With COVID, how is your club adjusting?: As due to COVID-19, most students are off-campus, all of our events are being held entirely virtually. This includes our upcoming annual Medical/Dental school fair.
What is your advice to someone looking to get involved on campus?: Don’t wait too long to start getting involved on campus, but at the same time, make sure not to spread yourself too thin. Speak to other students about what extracurricular activities are available on campus –– there are extracurricular activities for everyone! One’s college years should be the time that one gets to develop one’s true self, to understand what works best for them, and what they want in life. Focusing solely on academics may give you a great GPA, but you will surely lose out on so many great memories and relationships that extracurricular activities may bring. If none of the existing extracurricular activities interest you, start a new club or chapter of something that interests you.
Anything else to say about your club: “At times, many pre-medical students tend to focus on the academic components of pursuing a career in medicine and lose sight of the other important factors and experiences that are essential to develop and work on. While part of becoming a successful physician requires that one must acquire a vast amount of scientific knowledge and critical thinking skills, it is also extremely important to also work on our bedside manners and how to best talk to and relate with our future patients. Through this society, we hope to emphasize the importance of succeeding in the factors beyond just purely academic and to help our students grow into future knowledgeable and personable physicians.” –– Mili Chizhik
“If you are a Pre-Medical student, or even if you are just considering becoming a Pre-Medical student, I would encourage you to join our society. We have just created a Pre-Health WhatsApp chat that is a general chat for all Pre-Health students. So even if you are not a Pre-Medical student, if you are interested in any of the Pre-Health careers, I would encourage you to join our WhatsApp chat, where other students will be able to provide you with answers to any questions that you may have.” –– David Shifteh
“As a Freshman, I was fortunate to find an upperclassman that helped guide me. I’m very excited to be able to pay that forward with this position. The Pre-Medical Society will be a great asset to all Pre-Medical students, especially the younger ones, and will serve as a tool to help guide our students through their Pre-Medical journeys.” –– Bryan Lavi
“At previous club fairs, students would often approach us and be hesitant to sign up for our society because they might be freshman or maybe even students who are just not sure if they wish to become pre-medical students yet. I would tell these students that even if they are not sure yet of their career path, they should not be reluctant to sign up. The pre-medical society is great because it provides an opportunity to connect with other students in the pre-medical community, as well as offers helpful resources for pre-medical students. This support can be essential in deciding to pursue a career in medicine!” –– Rivky Zians
Are you a YU undergraduate club head interested in seeing your club featured in a future edition? Email us at theyuobserver@gmail.com with your club name and the names of the club heads