Baystate Medical Center Begins Registration for Mini-Medical School

SPRINGFIELD — Going back to school has never been so much fun when it comes to your health.

Baystate Medical Center’s Mini-Medical School, which begins its fall session on Sept. 21, will give area residents an inside look at the expanding field of medicine – minus the tests, homework, interviews, and admission formalities. The course runs weekly through Nov. 16.

While it is not difficult to be accepted into the program, slots are limited, and early registration is recommended by calling (413) 794-7630 or visiting www.baystatehealth.org/minimed.

Mini-Medical School program is an eight-week health-education series featuring a different aspect of medicine each week. Classes this fall will include sessions on various medical topics such as surgery, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, midwifery, pathology, and several others, including the current opioid crisis.

Many of the ‘students,’ who often range in age from 20 to 70, participate due to a general interest in medicine and later find that many of the things they learned over the semester are relevant to their own lives. The goal of the program — offered in the hospital’s Chestnut Conference Center — is to help the public make more informed decisions about their healthcare while receiving insight on what it is like to be a medical student.

Baystate Medical Center is the region’s only teaching hospital, and each course is taught by medical center faculty who explain the science of medicine without resorting to complex terms.

All classes are held Thursday nights starting at 6 p.m. and run until 8 or 9 p.m., depending on the night’s topic. 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.

Tuition is $95 per person and $80 for Senior Class and Spirit of Women members. To see a schedule of topics and speakers slated for the fall semester, click here.