SELECT Medical Education Program Gives Medical Students Exceptional Opportunity

SELECT is a medical education program created by the University of South Florida College of Medicine and Lehigh Valley Health Network. SELECT stands for Scholarly Excellence, Leadership Experiences and Collaborative Training. The SELECT program prepares approximately 50 medical students annually to lead the accelerating pace of change in medicine.

Students will spend their first two years learning in a highly progressive, student-centered medical school, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa, Fla. They will then spend their final two years learning inside a technologically advanced health network – LVHN – that’s recognized nationally for quality, safety and collaborative care.

Angelo had the opportunity to learn at LVHN as a SELECT medical student and has completed three years of internal medicine residency followed by a chief year. She joined the health network in July as a first-year gastroenterology fellow, and in many ways, she feels she is home.

“I attribute many of my successes to my experience at this health network, primarily because of the people I met and worked with, including the residents I keep in touch with, my mentors and the educational experiences I was offered,” says Angelo.

She enjoys the sense of community at LVHN and has frequently been able to reconnect with classmates, mentors and former residents who are still working at the health network.

This program offers a rare opportunity for medical students to live and work in two different areas and hospital systems throughout four years of medical school. Learning to adapt to those situations and have those experiences is invaluable.

Second, this program offers a unique, dedicated training focusing on emotional intelligence and leadership in addition to the core medical school curricula. This is not a common model in traditional medical programs and prepares the SELECT medical students to handle high-stress situations.

Students admitted to SELECT develop leadership skills that will arm them with the knowledge, resources and network to change the health care landscape for the better. These include:

• Making a difference in the lives of patients, peers, community and hospitals
• Applying continuous improvement approaches to optimize health care quality, patient safety and efficient use of resources
• Building resilience to operate efficiently in complex health systems
• Acquiring tools to become a change catalyst
• Becoming a driving force for the evolution of health care quality