Medi-Futures NSU Fall 2023 syllabus

Medi-Futures NSU Virtual Shadowing Program – Fall 2023 
Run through the UF College of Medicine Department of Neurology 
September 22nd, 2023 – November 8th, 2023
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:35am – 10:25am & 10:40am – 11:30am

Delivery Format: Synchronous and Asynchronous through Zoom 

UF Program Coordinators:  
Executive Director: Alyson Moriarty, alysonmoriarty@ufl.edu 
Faculty Director: Pouya Ameli, pouya@ufl.edu 
Institution Development Director: Elizabeth Eberley, eberleye@ufl.edu

NSU Program Coordinators:
Faculty Director: Dr. William R. Kochen
Student Director: YingYing Zhu
Assistant Director: Esperanza Barrios
Treasurer: Joshua Dantes
Secretary: Amanda Perez
IOC Chair: Jaylon Sharpe

Preferred Communication: Email medigators@health.ufl.edu with general questions. You can expect a response within 48 hours. Please refrain from contacting us through Canvas mail.

Program Description: The Medi-Futures Virtual Shadowing Program provides participants the opportunity to interact (through Zoom) with healthcare professionals (Doctors, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Nurses, Dentists, Pharmacists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Veterinarians, and more) within various fields and specialties as they present patient cases, display pictures/videos of procedures, discuss anatomy, diseases, and disorders relevant to their specialty, and more. Students participate in a Q&A with each presentation. Medi-Futures speakers are from the UF College of Medicine/UF Health. The Medi-Futures Virtual Shadowing Program is open to students/affiliates of the University of Florida, Santa Fe College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Nova Southeastern University, and the University of North Florida.

Program Goals: Students will get a look into the realities of being a healthcare professional in order to make informed decisions on which path in healthcare, if any, best suits them. Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about a particular career path of interest, as well as learn more about career paths with which they may not be familiar. Participants may connect with our speakers for mentorship, volunteer opportunities, research, and more.

During the Fall 2023 session, Medi-Futures will expose participants to 40 healthcare careers and specialties in just a 7-week period while aiming to provide an experience comparable to in-person shadowing with each presentation.

Medi-Futures aims to improve access to shadowing, mentorship, and other health-related opportunities for all students, including students of underrepresented racial, ethnic minority, and underprivileged backgrounds. Participation in Medi-Gators is not dependent on who you know, does not require a specific wardrobe, and overcomes worries about transportation challenges or cost – this is a free program compatible with any device with internet access. We hope that increased diversity in the healthcare pipeline will lead to increased diversity in health professions and put us in a better position to address the health disparities that are a reality for so many.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills: There are no prerequisite courses for this program; however, understanding basic anatomy and medical terminology may be helpful when viewing presentations. 

Program Format: All program materials will be housed in a UF Canvas course. Students will view presentations, either synchronously or asynchronously. There will be six presentations each week – two every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

All presentations can be accessed live via Zoom or through recordings posted on Canvas.

Attendance: There are two ways to attend and participate in Medi-Futures with the intention of earning a certificate: through synchronous (live) attendance and through asynchronous (recorded presentation) attendance. It is HIGHLY encouraged for you to participate synchronously if your schedule allows.
Synchronous participants attend at least 75% of presentations (30 out of 40 presentations) live through Zoom at the set M/W/F times. Synchronous students will complete an attendance quiz (during each presentation) and a content quiz after each presentation (due at the end of the week). All presentations not attended live must still be viewed asynchronously (through the recording) and the corresponding content quiz completed. Attendance quizzes do not need to be completed when viewing the recordings.Asynchronous participants view all recordings of each presentation at any time during the week. Students will complete a content quiz for each presentation (due at the end of the week). Asynchronous participants are welcome (and encouraged) to attend live presentations if their schedule allows. No attendance quiz is necessary for asynchronous participants at any point.

Attendance Requirement for Certificate: Regardless of your attendance type, you must watch (either synchronously or asynchronously) 100% of the presentations and successfully complete each corresponding content quiz to earn a certificate.
Synchronous students are required to earn at least 70 points, 40 points from content quizzes and at least 30 points from attendance quizzes, in order to earn a certificate. Synchronous certificates state that attendance was through attending live presentations.
Asynchronous students are required to earn 40 points from content quizzes only in order to earn a certificate. Asynchronous certificates state that attendance was through viewing recorded presentations

Earning Virtual Shadowing Hours Without a Certificate: Students are not required to participate in Medi-Futures with the intention of earning a certificate, though a certificate is highly encouraged. Virtual shadowing hours are earned based on content quiz points. For every presentation viewed (whether live or through the recording) and every corresponding content quiz completed with quiz points earned, virtual shadowing hours will be awarded. For example, if a student has 12 content quiz points by the end of the fall program, they have earned 12 virtual shadowing hours.

We encourage students to include their certificate and/or virtual shadowing hours on applications to graduate/professional schools.

Orientation Presentation and Quiz: All students must view the orientation presentation and complete the corresponding quiz by the end of the first week of the program. Students can view this presentation live via Zoom, live in-person, or through the recording. This presentation does not count toward the 40 total presentations for the fall session – synchronous students do not need to attend this presentation live. An orientation quiz with questions from both the orientation presentation and the syllabus must be completed for students to be eligible for a certificate at the end of the program. The quiz will be worth 0 points but must be completed.

Quizzes: 

Content Quizzes: One content quiz for each presentation must be completed on Canvas by every student (synchronous and asynchronous). Each content quiz will contain 2 multiple choice questions based on the content of the corresponding presentation. These quizzes will be timed (8 minutes), and 2 attempts on each quiz will be allowed. The answers to the quiz questions will come directly from the presentation. Searching a question online may provide a different answer than that mentioned in the presentation, which would be incorrect on the quiz.
Total: 40 content quizzes, 1 point total for each quiz (0.5 points for each question) – the attempt with the highest score will be counted.
Due: Content quizzes will be due on Sunday at 11:59pm of the week that the presentation occurred live. All content quizzes will open at the time the corresponding presentation is set to end (i.e. 10:25am and 11:30am).

Attendance Quizzes: Attendance quizzes are only completed on Canvas by students participating synchronously with the intention of earning a certificate. There will be one attendance quiz for each presentation. Each attendance quiz will contain 1 ‘fill in the blank’ question where students will input a code displayed in the zoom chat during each live presentation. Students must keep track of this code (take a picture or write it down) so it can be entered into the quiz once the attendance quiz opens. Attendance quizzes will only be available in Canvas for 10 minutes: each quiz will open at the set time that each presentation is scheduled to end and will close 10 minutes after the presentation is set to end. Once a student begins the attendance quiz, they will have 10 minutes to enter the code and submit the quiz. 
Total: 40 attendance quizzes, 1 point for each quiz 
Due: Attendance quizzes will be due 10 minutes after the set end time of each presentation (i.e. due at 10:35am for the 9:35am presentation, and due at 11:40am for the 10:40am presentation).

Bonus Quizzes: Three bonus presentations and quizzes will be offered throughout the fall session. The bonus presentations and the associated bonus quizzes will be optional; however, any points earned from these quizzes can be used to make up for quizzes for which students may not have received the full point. The bonus quizzes will be in the same format as content quizzes (2 questions, 2 attempts)
Total: 3 bonus quizzes, 1 point total for each quiz (0.5 points for each question)
Due: To be announced during fall program

Note: This program is free to all students – our goal is to make it as accessible to everyone as possible. If you are registered with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) or if you would like to request an accommodation for any reason, please contact our team at medigators@health.ufl.edu.