Baystate Medical Center Begins Registration for Mini-Medical School

SPRINGFIELD — Thinking of going back to school, but don’t want the hassles of homework, tests, and endless reading and writing?

Baystate Medical Center’s Mini-Medical School, which begins its fall session on Sept. 27 and runs through Nov. 15, will give area residents an inside look at the expanding field of medicine.

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. Tuition is $95 per person and $80 for Senior Class and Every Woman members.

The 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, pathology, and several others.

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 comfortable environment of the hospital’s Chestnut Conference Center — is to help members of the public make more informed decisions about their healthcare while receiving insight on what it is like to be a medical student — minus the tests, homework, interviews, and admission formalities.

Baystate Medical Center is the region’s only comprehensive 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.