Rush Medical College

Welcome from the Dean
It is a true privilege to serve as dean of the medical college where I graduated. I graduated from Rush Medical College in 1979. Following a residency in ophthalmology, I returned to Rush in 1984 and became the third generation in my family to serve on the medical staff here. I was appointed chairperson of the Department of Ophthalmology in 1996 and became the dean of Rush Medical College in 2002 and the provost of Rush University in 2004. I hope you will become as much a part of the Rush family as I have.

Chartered in 1837, Rush Medical College has been a part of the Chicago landscape longer than any other health care institution. Since then, some of our educational tools have changed, but Rush's best traditions continue: hands-on learning, an unparalleled commitment to community service, and classrooms full of clinical role models.

Welcome to Rush Medical College, a world of over 2,600 faculty and staff, 525 medical students, and 620 residents and fellows. Rush Medical College encompasses the Office of Medical Student Programs, Office of Graduate Medical Education, and the Office of Continuing Medical Education.

Among the most popular aspects of Rush Medical College are our co-curricular opportunities. The Rush Community Service Initiatives Program (RCSIP) is an opportunity to participate in community service projects, including care at free clinics, tutoring and health care teaching. Over 85% of our students are involved. In collaboration with the Salvation Army, our students recently held a Saturday health fair at the United Center and served nearly 400 people with free health screenings across a variety of specialties. In addition, approximately one-quarter of our first year students are involved in Dean's Office Summer Research Fellowships. We look forward to seeing the posters each summer's students present at the following year's Rush Research Forum.

Rush has produced skilled leaders in medicine and science and thousands of excellent physicians. Explore our Web site and that of Rush University Medical Center to discover the myriad opportunities that Rush Medical College offers in medical education, in clinical care, and in biomedical research. Please let us know if we can help you in any way.

Careers in Medicine
Careers in Medicine (CiM) is a career planning program designed to help our medical students manage their career, explore options, choose a specialty, select and apply to residency programs and make decisions regarding their career path. This program begins in the first year of medical school and continues through the fourth year.

M1 Year
In the M1 year, the focus of CiM is getting started. During this year, we focus on career assessment and counseling which includes such topics as: self assessment, career exploration, decision making and implementation. Our workshops work in conjunction with the CiM Web site through the AAMC -- http://www.aamc.org/students/cim/start.htm

In addition, the student specialty interest groups, such as the Emergency Medicine Interest Group, Student Interest Group in Neurology, and the Family Medicine Interest Group, to name a few, provide ongoing opportunities for students to learn more about a specific field of medicine through lectures, small group panels and hands-on clinics.

M2 Year
During the M2 year, CiM focuses on career exploration and USMLE Step I. We discuss how USMLE Step I scores match with particular specialty opportunities, strongly encourage students to begin actively participating in shadowing experiences and begin conversations regarding Early Match specialties. In addition we reiterate how important core rotations are in the career exploration phase, and how the sequence of these cores does not impact which specialty one may ultimately choose to pursue.

M3 Year
The M3 year is focused on getting geared up for the Match. During this year, CiM will help students finalize their career selection and begin discussing residency applications, the Match, ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) and the NRMP.

Late in the third year, we host a series of residency-focused sessions with attendings, residents, interns and recently matched four year students. During these meetings, first and second year students will learn what a particular specialty is like and how competitive it might be, while third year students will discover specifics regarding the application process.

M4 Year
CiM culminates with the fourth year: The Match.

During this year, CiM will focus on MSPEs (Medical Student Performance Evaluations), the timeline for the residency application process, ERAS and San Francisco Match (for early match specialties) and the NRMP.

Rush Medical College Degree Programs :

Medicine

Nursing

Video Presentation

Rush University: Rush Medical College | Student Profile

Learn what makes Rush University unique through a day in the life of Gabriella Ode, a Rush medical student: on campus, in the clinic, with patients, with a preceptor, on the unit.