Contents 1 Before Starting School 1.1 Relax! 1.2 For School 1.3 For Home 1.4 Miscellaneous But Important Things To Do 1.5 Useful Tips 2 Orientation 2.1 Monday - July 7 2.2 Tuesday - July 8 2.3 Wednesday - July 9 2.4 Thursday - July 10 2.5 Friday - July 11 2.6 Saturday - July 12 2.7 Sunday - July 13 2.8 Monday - July 14 2.9 Tuesday - July 15 2.10 Wednesaday - July 16 2.11 Thursday - July 17 2.12 Friday - July 18 2.13 MSTP Retreat 3 Events 4 Student Organizations 5 People to Know 5.1 Administration 5.2 Curriculum 5.3 Technology 5.4 Facilities 6 Description of Offices 6.1 Admissions Office 6.2 The Office Student Affairs 6.3 Registrar 6.4 Office of Curricular Affairs 6.5 Facilities and Operations 7 Publications 7.1 The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com 7.2 News & Observer 7.3 The Observer 7.4 CodeBlue: A Guide for First-Year Medical Students

[edit] Before Starting School

[edit] Relax!

Seriously, the best thing you can do at this point is relax. Med school will keep you busy for the rest of your life, so enjoy this period of having no responsibility. Travel, do some leisure reading, hang out with friends, etc. Once school starts up, things will start moving very fast.

[edit] For School

• Check out the Book List to see student reviews of which books you will need for Block 1 and Block 7 - Anatomy and Histopath (ask parents to help pay for these)
• Essential Books that EVERY Med Student has:
  1. Robbin's and Cotran: Pathologic Basis of Disease (aka "The Bible")
  2. Ross and Pawlina: Histology
  3. An anatomy text (either Gray's Anatomy or Moore's)
  4. An atlas (eg Netter's Anatomy); optional: Rohen's Dissector (pictures of actual cadavers)

1. Decide on a computer, check out the Guide to Choosing a Computer (coming soon)
2. Buy School Supplies (make sure to hit up your parents for these items as well, they add up!)

• Useful Items for Medial Students (linked items are our recommendations)
  1. Wireless Mouse for laptop
  2. Bookstands
  3. Backup external harddrive - Note: Mac users will have a external harddrive included in their purchase from the school
  4. Color printer
  5. Printing paper
  6. Add money to your printing account

[edit] For Home

• Check the CaseMed Forums for messages from your classmates, including posting about finding roommates
• Find Housing; consult the Cleveland Living portion of the Cleveland Guide for more information.
  • Useful Tips:

1. Heating - Ask how much the heating bill is during the winter months because this can be a hidden expense that can run into the hundreds of dollars. If you are uncertain if they are telling the truth, you can always check with the utility company because they have it on file.
2. Carpooling - Generally, its hard to organizing multiple people's schedules to carpool both to and from school at the same time. Many homes tried to pull this off, only for each student to eventually buy their own parking pass (~$70/month).
3. Set up appointments - many people say you can just call up the landlord and see a place, however, this turns out to be a very inefficient means of seeing apartments, especially if you are limited on time. It is best to look through the listings and drive around then call and setup appointments throughout the day. It will let you get more done in less amount of time.
4. Living Habits - check with your potential roommates about living habits such as if they mind dishes in the sink, smoking, staying up late, playing music, etc. Its good to get these things cleared up in advance!

• Set up utilities
  • Cable/Internet - Time Warner Cable Company
  • Electricity - The Illuminating Company
  • Gas/Heating - Dominion East Ohio Natural Gas
  • Water/Sewer - Cleveland Division of Water
  • Cell phone service
    • AT&T/Cingular: Supposedly the best service around the medical school
    • T-Mobile: Good service around medical school
    • Sprint: Good service around medical school
    • Verizon: Poor service around medical school
  • Car Insurance
    • If you become a member of AMSA, some companies have discounts for members
  • Renter's Insurance (highly recommended!) - Geico, Progressive, etc.
    • You might think you don't need renter's insurance, but as the class of 2011 clearly demonstrated (fires, burglaries, etc), its $100 a year well spent (<$10 per month).
  • License plates and Driver's License - There is a DMV by the Whole Foods on Cedar Road and another one down Mayfield Road in the Golden Gate Shopping Plaza (near BestBuy and Costco).

[edit] Miscellaneous But Important Things To Do

• Get a CaseID card
  • If you arrive on campus early, get a CaseID card and bring $5 to activate Case Cash
• Get a parking permit EARLY
  • If you are getting parking, when you get your parking pass, be sure to activate your CaseID card to have after-hours access to the School of medicine. To do so, simply tell the person that gives you the parking permit that you are a medical student and that you would like to activate your CaseID (the card you use to park in Veale is different and uses a proximity sensor instead of a card swipe) to park in the SOM building.
• Open a banking account, see the Cleveland Guide for information about local banks; in order of popularity (Key Bank, Fifth-Third, and Chase Bank).
• During orientation, be sure to dress nicely for your SOM photo - it will be used extensively over the next 4 years!

[edit] Useful Tips

• Managing Finances
  • Start building your line of credit, if you haven't already done so
  • Stay on top of your debt (personal and student loans)
    • Yodlee.com - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR PERSONAL USE: Free online service that hooks up to all your online banking accounts and shows you the balance on each of them. Helps to track how you are spending your money and it helps to have all the information in one place rather than having to log on to each account individually.
    • Buxfer.com - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR GROUP/ROOMMATE USE: Free online service that lets you track shared expenses, such as those you incur with roommates. Input your monthly bills, dinner receipts, etc and Buxfer automatically calculates how much everyone owes. You can even transfer money using Amazon.com Payments or cut a check to your friend/roommate and mark it as a "Balance Settlement." This service will save you lots of time having to calculate who owes what.

• In 2007, we were able to get a free copy of Netter's Atlas by signing up for the Bank of America AMSA Credit card. They should offer this again to save you about $70. Opening a credit card does not hurt your credit. Keep it open for 6 months, use it once or twice (paying it off immediately after) and then close it.
• Chase Rewards Credit Card - This credit card offers one of the lowest rates and offers 3% cash back on purchases in your top three expenditures (food, gas, books) and 1% on everything else. Easy to use website. We highly recommend going with this card, as most medical students have caught on and use this card. As with any credit card, pay it off as soon as you can - preferably the same month you make the purchase and collect the rewards (credit card companies hate when you do this because you are making money off them!).

[edit] Orientation

Orientation Schedule

Monday - July 7

Computer Orientation

Tuesday - July 8

Computer Orientation

Scavenger Hunt

Party @ Panini's (Hosted by ISC)

Wednesday - July 9

Computer Orientation

Thursday - July 10

Continental Breakfast

Dean's Welcome

Society Sorting

PeerHandoff Activities

Lunch (provided)

PeerHandoff Activities

Student Photos

Locker and Desk Assignment

Get CaseIDs

Friday - July 11

Continental Breakfast

Professionalism Workshop

Construct Hippocratic Oath

PeerHandoff Activities

Get CaseIDs

Saturday - July 12

Nothing scheduled

Sunday - July 13

White Coat Ceremony

Class Photo

Dean's Reception

Monday - July 14

HIPAA Traning

TB Testing

Robbins IDs and Background Check

Tuesday - July 15

Financial Aid and Registrar

Blackwell IDs and Background Check

Wednesday - July 16

Health Services & Wellness

TB Readings

Satcher IDs and Background Check

Thursday - July 17

OHSA Traning

Wearn IDs and Background Check

Friday - July 18

Make-up day for missed events

Please note that this is an unofficial schedule and description of events. For more/updated information, please refer to the e-mails that you will recieve with instructions and further details.

[edit] Monday - July 7

• Computer Orientation and Distribution - David Pilasky will give out computers and give you instructions about how to log on to your computers. We're still working out how much information will be provided to you at this session, but there will probably be future sessions about how do do certain things on your computer.
• MSTP students will be at the summer retreat during this day.

[edit] Tuesday - July 8

• Computer Orientation and Distribution, as described above.
• Scavenger Hunt (Hosted by CSR) - Get to know your classmates while you learn about Cleveland! Groups of students will break up and scour the city in search of a number of items. The winning team will win a prize.
• Party at Panini's (Hosted by CSR) - You all have arrived! Get to know your whole class over food and drinks at Panini's in Coventry. Don't drink too much because you don't want to be 'that' guy/girl!
• MSTP students will be returning from the summer retreat in the afternoon and will probably miss the scavenger hunt.

[edit] Wednesday - July 9

• Computer Orientation and Distribution, as described above.

[edit] Thursday - July 10

• Continental Breakfast - Eat some free food.
• Dean's Welcome - The deans will welcome you and pass on some words of advice.
• Society Sorting - First-year students will find out to which of the four societies they are now a member. Kind of like Harry Potter at Hogwarts.
• PeerHandoff Activities - Schedule will be emailed to you.
• Lunch (provided)
• PeerHandoff Activities - Schedule will be emailed to you.
• Student Photos - These photos will be used for eCurriculum, including 3rd and 4th year rotations. Not to mention that it gets added to the class facebook on eCurriculum - so dress nicely!
• Locker and Desk Assignment
• Get CaseIDs - Make a hike over to Crawford Hall and get your IDs and parking passes. Be sure to bring $5 to activate your CaseCash account.

[edit] Friday - July 11

• Continental Breakfast - Eat more free food; enjoy it while it lasts.
• Professionalism Workshop
• Construct Hippocratic Oath - Volunteers from each IQ group will get together to discuss and draft the class' Hippocratic Oath to be read at the White Coat Ceremony.
• PeerHandoff Activities - Schedule will be emailed to you.
• Get CaseIDs - It gets annoying having to ask people to let you into your own school. Go get your ID at Crawford already and bring $5 to activate your CaseCash account and/or parking.

[edit] Saturday - July 12

• Nothing scheduled

[edit] Sunday - July 13

• White Coat Ceremony - Hosted at Severance Hall, this is where you will get your white coat and your parents will embarrass you by taking lots of pictures.
• Class Photo - On the steps of Severance Hall.
• Dean's Reception - Mingle with the deans and your peers' family members over some light snacks.

[edit] Monday - July 14

• HIPAA Training - Painful, but necessary to sit through this talk.
• TB Testing - If you haven't been screened before, they will test you by injecting some fluid subcutaneously and then measure it a few days later (see Wednesday). If you've tested positive before, its a good idea to bring the paperwork on this day.
• Robbins IDs and Background Check

[edit] Tuesday - July 15

• Financial Aid and Registrar - Get your finances in order.
• Blackwell IDs and Background Check

[edit] Wednesaday - July 16

• Health Services & Wellness - Hear about the many services offered to students about staying physically and mentally healthy.
• TB Readings
• Satcher IDs and Background Check

[edit] Thursday - July 17

• OHSA Traning - More fun required presentations!
• Wearn IDs and Background Check

[edit] Friday - July 18

• Make-up day for missed events - slacker.

[edit] MSTP Retreat

• All MSTP students are required to attend the annual summer retreat which occurs early in July. The MSTP office will be in contact with you to provide you with more details. Get in contact with the other incoming first-years or some upperclassmen that you might know to arrange rides.
  
• The annual MSTP retreat is a two-day student organized event focusing on professional development and program planning for the upcoming academic year. The retreat is typically held at one of Ohio 's beautiful state parks. On the first day, students, faculty and staff typically attend lectures and participate in workshops on such topics as Grant Writing, Financial Planning, and Research Techniques. Students in the PhD phase have the opportunity to present their own research. The afternoon is often spent participating in sports or just relaxing by the pool. The evening of the retreat is topped off by a nice dinner usually accompanied by a speaker invited to talk about a general interest topic. Then, students collect for their favorite event of the year: MSTP karaoke! You'll get to see program director Dr. Cliff Harding perform his karaoke rendition of The Allman Brother's "Melissa", or take part in the annual bashing of faculty by students at the softball game. The last day of the retreat centers around the annual discussion between students, faculty, and staff about program goals, issues, and future plans. The afternoon is then free for outdoor activities including fishing, swimming, and golf.

[edit] Events

There will be numerous events hosted throughout the year by the SOM, Case, and people you know. Below is a brief listing of some of the events that you can look forward to over the coming year.

• Doc Opera
• HippoBall
• Relay For Life
• End of Block Parties
• Research ShowCASE
• Lepow Day
• Residency Fair
• Match Day Party
• End of First-Year Party, hosted by admins
• Summer Retreat (MSTP)
• Winter Retreat (MSTP)

[edit] Student Organizations

A complete listing of CaseMed Student Organizations is maintained by CSR (Committee of Student Representatives). Please visit their website for more information.

• American Medical Association (AMA) - Medical Student Section
• American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
• American Medical Women’s Association
• Anesthesiology Interest Group
• Asian Pacific American Medical Association (APAMSA)
• Business in Health
• Case for Life
• CASE-IMANA
• Case Medical Journal Club
• The Case Medical Musicians
• Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA)
• Community Health Initiative (CHI)
• Dermatology Interest Group
• Doc Opera
• Emergency Medicine Interest Group
• Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG)
• Holden Surgical Interest Group
• Internal Medicine Interest Group
• International Health Interest Group
• Intersociety Council
  • The Robbins Society
  • The Wearn Society
  • The Blackwell Society
  • The Satcher Society
• Jewish Medical Student Association
• Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)
• Medical Students for Choice (MS4C)
• OB/GYN Interest Group
• Ophthalmology Interest Group
• Otolaryngology (ENT) Interest Group
• Pathology Interest Group
• Pediatrics Interest Group
• People of Every Orientation Protecting Liberty and Equality (PEOPLE) in Medicine
• Phi Delta Epsilon (PDE)
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) Interest Group
• Student Committee on Admissions (SCA)
• Student Interest Group in Neurology (SIGN)
• Student National Medical Association (SNMA)
• Tar Wars
• Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM)

[edit] People to Know

[edit] Administration

• Pamela Davis MD, PhD Dean of the School of Medicine
  • Location: Dean's Office - BRB 1st Floor, by the Starbucks
  • Email: pbd@case.edu
  • Description: As you might expect, Dr. Davis runs the show. She's in charge of the medical and academic departments, including the School of Medicine proper.

• Dan Ornt MD, Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs
  • Location: Dean's Office - BRB 110
  • Email: dbo@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.1948
  • Executive Assistant: Carol Jenkins
  • Description: Dr. Ornt works with SOM administrators, faculty and students regarding academic issues, such as the curriculum and any other concerns that may arise. He meets with SCME to discuss changes and evaluate the implementation of WR2. He also provides a line of communication with the Dean.

[edit] Curriculum

• Terry Wolpaw MD, MHPE, Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs
  • Location: SOM-T402
  • Email: terry.wolpaw@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.6986
  • Description: Dr. Wolpaw is the primary person in charge of design, implementation, and execution of the WR2 curriculum. She oversees how blocks are organized, IQ sessions, Anatomy and Histopathology, etc.

• Minoo Darvish MEd, Executive Director, Office of Curricular Affairs
  • Location: SOM-T402
  • Email: minoo.darvish@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.3356
  • Description: Minoo works with Dr. Wolpaw to help organize and implement the WR2 curriculum.

[edit] Technology

• David Pilasky, Director of Administrative Computing
  • Location: E-406, School of Medicine
  • Email: david.pilasky@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.4669
  • Description: Mr. Pilasky will be the person who helped distribute computers and your initial orientation to computing at Case. His department is responsible for fixing computer issues that arise, including networking problems and some software administration (printing accounts, web servers, Virtual Microscope, etc). If you're having a problem with your computer, take it to the guys across from E301 - Paul and Willie, who are Dell certified and will know what to do with your machine.

• Dr. Irene Medvedev, Director of Academic Computing
  • Location: E-403, School of Medicine
  • Email: irene.medvedev@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.6209
  • Description: Dr. Medvedev does most of the programming for eCurriculum, ePortfolio, and eAssessment. In addition, she does much of the coding for the CPCP and PD modules. If you have a concern regarding one of software/online aspects of these features of WR2, she would be a good person to contact.

[edit] Facilities

• Richard Masely
  • Location: E429 C
  • Email: ram5@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.2485
  • Description: Mr. Masely will distribute keys to your desks and assign lockers. He is also the person to contact if you see something not working around the school (eg burnt out light bulb, broken fixture, etc.).

[edit] Description of Offices

[edit] Admissions Office

• Location: SOM-T308
• Staff: Ellen Rosenblum (Manager of Admissions), Eileen Billey (Office Assistant), Troy Frazier (Analyst/Programmer)
• Description: You are already familiar with most of what the Admission Office does, which is to admit students into the SOM. However, what you may not know is that the Admissions Office also works with the Student Committee on Admissions (SCA) to coordinate interviewing, tour guides, and student hosting. They will be in contact with you over the year to request your help.

• Lina Mehta MD, Associate Dean of Admissions
  • Email: lina.mehta@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.3450
  • Description: Dr. Mehta oversees the admissions process, so you're probably already pretty familiar with her role. She also works with students to help put together Second Look Weekend.

• Christian Essman, Director of Admissions
  • Email: christian.essman@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.3450
  • Description: Christian works very closely with Dr. Mehta. He reviews applications, interviews, and recruits. On interview days you may see him sneaking interviewees into your lectures and IQ groups. Please welcome them! He communicates frequently with the Student Committee on Admissions (SCA) members who help us run the interview days. They encourage referrals of your friends who may be applying to CWRU! Don't be shy about stopping by to say 'hi'!

[edit] The Office Student Affairs

• Location: E423
• Staff: Celena Howard-Townsend
• Responsible for student affairs, go figure.

• Charles Kent Smith MD, Senior Associate Dean for Students
  • Email: cks@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.3450
  • Description: Dr. Smith, along with the other society deans, one of the main points of contact for students regarding any issues they may be having in their academic or personal lives.

[edit] Registrar

• Location: School of Medicine, T408
• Staff:
• As you might expect, the registrar handles your registration for required medical school classes as well as electives. MSTP students should arrange their schedules through the MSTP office. They also maintain a stocked bowl of candy outside their window.

• Joe Corrao, Registrar
  • Email: jxc37@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.6137
  • Mr. Corrao will register you for classes as well as provide useful advice about scheduling and options.

[edit] Office of Curricular Affairs

• Location: T402
• Staff: Jennifer Lennon, Carol Chalkey

• Terry Wolpaw MD (See above in "People to Know")
• Minoo Darvish MEd (info above in "People to Know")

[edit] Facilities and Operations

• Location:
• Staff: Suzanne Ziats, Richard Masely

• Jill Stanley
  • Email: jill.stanley@case.edu
  • Phone: 216.368.5487
  • Mrs. Stanley works with students with regard to space and facilities. Her office helped come up with the plans and execution of the 4th floor entertainment lounge and will continue to work with students for future projects. You may also contact her about concerns you may have with facilities, in addition to contacting Richard Masely (see above).

[edit] Publications

[edit] The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com

• Website: http://www.cleveland.com
• Description: Ohio's largest newspaper contains daily news about both local and national topics. They are also run by the same company that manages Cleveland.com, so all their articles can be found online.

[edit] News & Observer

• Website: http://www.newsobserver.com
• Description: The N&O is one of the local daily newspapers published in the Cleveland area. It has what you would expect out of any newspaper and most of its content is available online.

[edit] The Observer

• Contact: Editor is your best bet or check website
• Website: http://observer.case.edu
• Description: This is the weekly student newspaper publication that contains news and stories about Case Western Reserve University.

[edit] CodeBlue: A Guide for First-Year Medical Students

• Contact: Kumar Sukhdeo (kxs321)
• Website: http://wiki.case.edu/SOM/CodeBlue
• Description: This online guide was initially created by Kumar Sukhdeo (R'11), who also made the web-versions of the Cleveland Guide and the Campus Guide for CWRU. Working with a number of students, this online booklet is to be updated every year by rising second-year medical students in the hopes of making the transition to medical school as easy as possible. Furthermore, contributions from 3rd and 4th year students will be added to provide information to current students preparing for boards, clinics, or residency.