2/6/18 DIG Meeting Minutes

Thank you to all DIG members who were able to attend last night's meeting as well as congrats to the newly elected Officers!

• Officer Elections
  • President
    • Keith Wagner (MS3)
  • Vice President
    • Michael Ryan (MS2)
  • Stay Shady Committee
    • Co-chairs: Alec DeJong (MS1) and Eunice Ko (MS1)
    • Senior Adviser: Daniel Burkholder (MS3)
  • Psoriasis Committee
    • Co-chairs: Mai-Anh Vu (MS2) and Matt LaCour (MS3)
    • Senior adviser: Tyler Marion (MS3) and Jacob Benavidez (MS3)
  • AIM Melanoma walk Committee
    • Chair: Caitlin Pekowski (MS2) and Drew Armenta (MS3)
    • Senior advisers: Ryan Lawrence (MS3) and Priscilla Ly (MS3)
  • Fundraiser Committee
    • Co-chairs: Caroline Crain (MS2) and Catherine Hazen (MS2)
  • Diversity Committee
    • Co-chairs: Maureen Ezekor (MS2), Uloma Ibezim (MS3) ,and Jacob Benavidez (MS3)
• Spring Stay Shady dates
  • There are 4 current dates for the spring semester for Stay Shady with a possible 2 more in the works!
  • Current dates include: February 27th, March 8th, March 9th, and March 20th
  • Check your email or watch the DIG blog for a post with a link to sign up
  • Talk to Michael Ryan or Caroline Crain for more information!
• Spring Bake Sale
  • This event will occur in March. More information TBD at this time!
  • Please help and provide baked goods so that we can continue using these funds for the Stay Shady supplies!
• Upcoming Volunteer opportunities
  • Be Joint Smart: This Saturday from 9am-3pm. For those volunteering, dress is business casual. Contact Jacob Benavidez for more information
  • Houston Psoriasis walk: Date is still Saturday, March 10th. Contact Jacob Benavidez for more information
  • AIM Melanoma 5K: Date has tentatively been set for Saturday, March 31st! More information TBD. Contact Ryan Lawrence or Paige Hoyer for more information!
• Upcoming Research events
  • National Student Research Forum this upcoming April
    • Abstracts for acceptance are due 3/1/18
    • Contact Joshua Hays for more information
  • Spring Texas Derm Society this upcoming April
    • Going to be in Austin, TX this spring
    • Great opportunity to work with residents and present a case report (or 2 or 3!)
  • AAD Annual meeting 2019
    • Although early for this, check the online dates around April or May because abstracts are due much earlier than the event will be (March 1-4, 2019)
• VSAS/Course recommendations
  • Course recommendations
    • Always feel free to talk to the upperclassmen about what courses they did and what they thought about each of them! They are an invaluable resource for lowerclassmen
  • For MS1s: if possible, take the summer clinical experience in Dermatology (4 weeks). It's a good way to meet the department and get your foot in the door.
    
    • If you sign up for this, you should take a peek at the AAD Learning Modules to get a solid foundation in Dermatology.
  • For MS2s: with track selection, try to have your elective in the first half of third year. This way, you can meet the department early (if still interested in Dermatology) and get started on making those crucial connections.
    • Great courses include: Clinical dermatology, Dermpath, Derm Consult, and Cutaneous Oncology services. You can work with multiple faculty, mutliple residents, and possibly get research!
    • If desired, you can do an elective over period 13 (either one of the electives listed above or Derm Research)
  • For MS3s:
    • General consensus from the present MS4s was try to do your AI (or some Derm rotation in Galveston) during periods 1-4. There are 2 spots per period and this is the time to ask UTMB for your letters! You have some time after ERAS application is sent out (usually Sept. 15th) to get additional letters of recommendation (try to have them done by October 1st!)
    • For away rotations, it is recommended that you do 2-3. Work together to make sure the programs chosen are all different so not everyone is at the same place! In addition, choose programs that offer away rotators interview invites! Be careful because NOT ALL PROGRAMS ARE ON VSAS. You may need to call a program's coordinator to learn how to apply to a specific program!
      • You can apply for multiple aways during the same period and for the same program over multiple periods. Make sure to have all the requirements uploaded and ready the date that they start accepting applications (because most are first come, first serve)
      • To see requirements, click "learn more" to see what needs to be done for that election and click the school's name to see the dates they start accepting applications
      • Talk to upperclassmen, residents, or faculty for their recommendations on away rotations and to critique your CV/resume
    • The other required 4th year classes include: ACS, BSHS, EM, and Neuro. For ACS, there is an ACS Dermatology that you can sign up for. For BSHS, there are multiple classes with Dr. Wagner which are available or classes with Dr. Karnath. In addition, if you are working on your honors thesis, you can use this time for that paper for the credit! You may alsowant to take this class during Period 6. For EM, if you can, try to stay in Galveston! Also, be flexible with Neuro because there are multiples timeslots.
    • For Step 2, there are multiple views on when to take this. So don't hesitate to ask upperclassmen their thoughts