Baystate Medical Center Begins Registration for Mini-Medical School

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Medical Center’s Mini-Medical School, beginning its fall session on Sept. 26, will give area residents an inside look at the expanding field of medicine. The 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, genetics, pharmacy, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, and pathology.

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 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 Thursdays 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. The fall session runs through Nov. 14.

Tuition is $95 per person and $80 for Senior Class and Baystate Health Every Woman members, as well as Baystate Health employees. Click here for a list of topics and speakers and to register. Students may also register by calling (413) 794-2413. While it is not difficult to be accepted into the program, slots are limited, and early registration is recommended.