PEP focus areas:
PEP objectives, curriculum, assignments, and deliverables will link to AHEC’s eight broad focus areas:
- Behavioral Health Integration: services that better address the needs of individuals with mental health and substance use conditions, including training for health professionals to address burnout and resiliency
- Interprofessional Education/Interprofessional Practice: team-based care delivery, patient-centered care, effective teamwork
- Connecting Communities and Supporting Health Professionals/Community Health Workers (CHWs): increase training and development of paraprofessionals who serve as connectors between health professionals and the community
- Virtual Learning and Telehealth: leverage technology to improve curricula and community-based experiential training
- Social Determinants of Health: economic stability, education, social and community context, health and health care, neighborhood and built environment
- Cultural Competency: recognize and address the unique culture, language and health literacy of diverse consumers and communities, diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Medical Practice Transformation: quality improvement, care coordination, cost containment, rural healthcare, primary care, care for underserved/disadvantaged populations, patient-centered care, team-based care
- Current and Emerging Health Issues: opioids and substance use disorders, oral health as part of overall health, oral health integration, COVID-19
PEP Assignments/Deliverables
PEP requires a commitment of time and effort. PEP participants are required to attend at least 20 hours per semester of a combination of job shadowing, individual study and educational and discussion sessions. The curriculum includes required and elective components. PEP students are required to write reflection essays each semester. Guidance regarding the reflection essay is provided.
Application to PEP
PEP has a holistic selection process during the fall of the second year at UVM. Applicants are notified of their status by early January.
Application materials and requirements. For more information and to apply, click here.
In addition to a strong academic performance, the PEP Selection Committee expects candidates to demonstrate: an interest in pursuing a career in healthcare; maturity and professionalism; a passion for community service; and a genuine desire for learning more about health care delivery systems, population health, and the social determinants of health.
We recommend that all applicants complete the AAMC’s Anatomy of an Applicant Self-Assessment Guide to reflect on the Core Competencies that represent the skills, knowledge and abilities that health care providers should possess.
Acceptance to PEP
Up to twelve qualified applicants will be accepted into the program each year.
PEP applications are reviewed by a Selection Committee that may include faculty members from Larner College of Medicine, Honors College, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, and the Health Professions Advisor from the Career Center. Final decisions are announced after fall grades are posted.
Selection decisions are based on a combination of application materials, GPA and an interview with PEP Selection Committee members.
To Remain in PEP
Students are expected to sustain a positive academic trajectory that prepares them for a successful application to medical school. If a student’s GPA falls below the admissions standard, the PEP AHEC faculty lead will communicate with the student directly. Together, we will evaluate if PEP is contributing to them being overextended and we will encourage students to access resources UVM provides to support their success. Likewise, each semester the PEP required activities will be clearly communicated and if student is not meeting the minimal expectation, we will reevaluate the student’s commitment and bandwidth to remain in PEP.
Consideration for admission to UVM LCOM
The benefit of participating in PEP centers on the mentored exposure to medicine received over two and a half years. These experiences are likely to enhance and strengthen an application to medical school.
UVM students who apply to UVM LCOM are eligible for a guaranteed admissions interview if:
- All science prerequisites are completed prior to application
- All LCOM application requirements are met and the AMCAS application is submitted by August 15th (preferably by the end of July)
- Student’s cumulative GPA is ≥ 3.5
- Student’s MCAT result is ≥ 80th percentile (~509, though subject to change annually based on input from LCOM Admissions Committee)
LCOM policies and application requirements are subject to change. Refer to the LCOM Admission web page for official information.
LCOM admission decisions are made solely by the Admission Committee.