Megan Deichen Hansen, PhD, is the lead author of the article Traversing Traditions: Prenatal Care and Birthing Practice Preferences Among Black Women in North Florida, published April 15, 2021 in the journal Ethnicity & Disease.  She is a post-doctoral scholar at the Florida State University College of Medicine in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, Center for Behavioral Health Integration. 

The paper shares the results of research that explored prenatal practices and birthing experiences among Black women living in an urban North Florida community. Coauthors at the College of Medicine are George Rust, MD and Joedrecka Brown Speights, MD.

The abstract is available now, as is the full article to subscribers. All Ethnicity & Disease articles are permanently archived in PubMed Central and are available after a six-month period on PubMed Central as well as on the Ethnicity & Disease website.

Congratulations to Dr. Julia Sheffler for receiving a KL2 Scholar award through the NIH National Center for Advancement of Translational Science (NCATS). The KL2 is for two years and offers up to 75 percent protected time for research, $20,000 per year for research-related activity and $2,500 per year for travel.

The KL2 award is a Mentored Career Development Award to support newly trained clinicians appointed by an institution for activities related to the development of a successful clinical and translational research career. 

KL2 Scholars also have a number of other special opportunities and privileges, including:

• • Advice and oversight from the KL2 Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee to support your career development.
• • Opportunity to participate in the Southeast CTSA Consortium Preceptor Program with visits to other CTSA preceptors for advice and assistance with your research.
• • Additional special K Scholar seminars and workshops
• • K to R Boot Camp Programs

Dr. Sheffler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, working in the Center for Translational Behavioral Science as Director of the Integrative Science for Healthy Aging program. 

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• Drop/add will open for students to update their schedules as needed on January 5^th at 5:00pm. The Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences (IMS) Degree Program will be hosting virtual drop-in advising via Zoom from 9:00am to 3:00pm daily starting January 6^th and continuing on January 7^th, 8^th, and 11^th. Remember that the last day of drop/add for Spring 2021 is Monday, January 11! Our academic advisors will not hold scheduled appointments during the drop/add period from January 6-11. Note: IMS will not be having in-person walk-in hours. Please consult the IMS Announcement’s Module on the IMS Homepage for the latest information on Drop/Add procedures. We will be responding to email as time allows.

Chemistry:

• Check Student Central when drop/add opens at 5:00pm on January 5 - all available seats will be shown. To see more information regarding the drop/add schedule please click here.

Biology:

• Check Student Central when drop/add opens at 5:00pm on January 5 - all available seats will be shown. To see more information regarding the drop/add schedule please click here.

English and Math:

• Any student wishing to drop a Freshman Writing course (ENC 1101, ENC 2135) or a Mathematics course (MAC 1105, MAC 1140, MAC 1114, MAC 2311, MAC 2312 or MAC 2313), will need to contact the Division of Undergraduate Studies. The system will allow you to swap these courses for similar courses, but will not allow you to drop them from your schedule. If you wish to drop one of these courses during the drop/add period or during the semester, please contact the Division of Undergraduate Studies at (850) 644-2451 or undergradstudies@fsu.edu.

Upper Division Elective Courses

• Any upper division student having trouble adding an upper division elective course from the IMS approved science or non-science lists posted on our Resources Webpage should email our office at IMSadvising@med.fsu.edu.

AP/IB/AICE Scores:

If you took tests to receive AP/IB/AICE credit during high school you must send those scores directly to FSU.  Scores are not automatically sent from your high school.  If you do not see your scores posted to your student account and you have already sent them you will need to reach out to the Registrar’s Office. The Registrar’s Office can be reached by phone at 850-644-6200 or email at Registrar@fsu.edu.

Departmental Prerequisite Checks:

Many higher-level science and math courses at FSU require prerequisite coursework.  Departments such as Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics are currently running prerequisite checks for their courses to ensure that all students enrolled have the correct prerequisite coursework completed. If you have taken a course over the summer as a transient student, or have received AP credit for a course that should cover a prerequisite, but you still receive communication that you will be dropped to due non-prerequisites, you will need to reach out to that department directly and provide proof that you have completed the necessary prerequisite course(s). You will need to show them an unofficial transcript or AP/IB score report with the grade to see if they can work with you to remain in your course.

Fall 2020 Transient Students:

If you were a transient student in fall 2020 at another institution you need to request to have your final transcript sent to FSU for processing. You can request official transcripts from the Registrar’s office at the school you attended this summer. Some offices have this form online, and some require you to fill out the form in person; you will need to check with them to find out which you need to do.  You need to request that a final, official transcript is sent to FSU to the Office of Admissions. Once the FSU Office of Admissions staff receives the final transcript, they will post your final grades to your student account here at FSU.

Be sure you request a final transcript to ensure it has your final official grade.  The transcript must come directly from the other institution in order for FSU to accept it.

• The Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences (IMS) Degree Program will NOT be holding in-person walk-in hours during the drop/add period. Additionally, IMS academic advisors will not be taking appointments during the drop/add period of Wednesday January 6- Monday January 11. Please consult the IMS Announcement’s Module on the IMS Homepage for the latest information on Drop/Add procedures. For assistance please read the below. We will be responding to email as time allows.

1. You can find more information about our program here. You may email IMSadvising@med.fsu.edu for general information.

2. You will need to be on track with our mapping milestones to be approved for a major change.

a. To view the Clinical Professions academic map click here.

b. To view the Community Patient Care academic map click here.

c. To view the Health Management, Policy, & Information academic map click here.

3. Submit our IMS Experiential Seminar Placement Form. Please click here for more information.

4. After your IMS Experiential Seminar Placement Form has been reviewed by our office, you will be notified by email regarding your next steps. Note that this can take several business days, and we cannot guarantee that you will be approved for a major change prior to the end of drop/add. We appreciate your patience in advance.

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“The Special Meeting of the House of Delegates took the place of the normally occurring Interim meeting originally set to be held in San Diego. Although this meeting was held virtually, the House of Delegates would still hear resolutions on topics deemed urgent and timely. The Medical Student Section (MSS) submitted several resolutions that met this criteria and attended the requisite Reference Committee hearings where they provided impassioned testimony on the subject matter and the importance of adoption. The support that was garnered for the issues introduced and championed by medical students was so immense that nearly all the resolutions introduced were recommended for adoption with minor amendments. These policies included the recognition of racism as a public health crisis, denouncing racial essentialism in health care and medical education, recognition of police brutality as a manifestation of structural racism, advocating for equitable access to telehealth, the expedited retirement of USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills, and support for a Public Option. These are just some among the many important resolutions adopted to help make medicine more equitable and safe for our fellow medical students, physicians, and patients.”

Respectfully,

Ian Motie

Ian Motie

Florida State University College of Medicine

MD Candidate | Class of 2021

Region 4 Chair, AMA Medical Student Section