Baystate Begins Registration for Mini-Medical School

SPRINGFIELD – Area grammar and high schools aren’t the only academic institutions opening their doors once again in September. Baystate Medical Center’s Mini-Medical School, which begins its fall session on Sept. 20, is now accepting registrations for the eight-week health education series.

Offered in the hospital’s Chestnut Conference Center, the program is designed to help the public make more informed decisions about their health care while receiving insight on what it is like to be a medical student — minus the tests, interviews, and admission formalities.

Mini-Medical School, designed for an adult audience, features a different aspect of medicine each week. Classes this fall will include sessions on various medical topics, including surgery, pathology, psychiatry, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, and the business of health care.

Each class is taught by Baystate Medical Center faculty, who explain the science of medicine without resorting to complex terms. Baystate Medical Center is the western Campus of Tufts University School of Medicine and is the region’s only teaching hospital.

All classes are held Thursday nights starting at 6 p.m. No basic science knowledge is needed to participate. Each participant is required to attend a minimum of six out of eight classes in order to receive a certificate of completion. Among the topics and speakers slated for the fall semester are:

• Sept. 20: “Hey, I Finally Got into Medical School!” with Dr. Michael Rosenblum, co-medical director of Baystate High Street Health Center, including a general tour of the hospital.
• Sept. 27: “Pathology” with Dr. Richard Friedberg, chair of the Department of Pathology at Baystate Medical Center, including a tour of the lab.
• Oct. 4: “Anesthesiology” with Dr. Michael Bailin, chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Baystate Medical Center.
• Oct. 11: “The Business of Health Care” with Dr. Mark Keroack, president of Baystate Medical Practices.
• Oct. 18: “Emergency Medicine” with Dr. Joseph Schmidt, chief of Emergency Services at Baystate Medical Center.
• Oct. 25: “Vascular Surgery” with Dr. Mark Hirko, chief of Vascular Surgery at Baystate Medical Center.
• Nov. 1: “Surgery” with Dr. Richard Wait, chair of the Department of Surgery at Baystate Medical Center, including a tour of the Simulation Center and Goldberg Surgical Skills Lab.
• Nov. 8: “Psychiatry” with Dr. Benjamin Liptzin, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Baystate Medical Center, also including a graduation ceremony.

Tuition is $95 per person and $80 for Senior Class and Spirit of Women members.

Registration is now in session by calling Baystate Health Link at (413) 794-2255 or (800) 377-4325.

For more information on the program, visit baystatehealth.org/minimed.