During a presentation at the annual Medical Education Subway Summit this week, fifth-year neurosurgery resident Benjamin Hartley, MD, presented the progress made by the new Program for Individualized Mentorship Education Solutions (PrIMES) during its inaugural year.
PrIMES, co-founded in 2018 by Dr. Hartley and Dr. Caitlin Hoffman, Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery, matches under-served and under-represented college students from the New York City area to help them prepare their application for medical school. In its first year, 11 students from Weill Cornell Medical College met regularly with their undergraduate mentees in person and over videoconference. The pairs follow a targeted curriculum that emphasizes practical skills, need-based guidance, and access to resources. The first PrIMES cohort has already made significant progress towards completing their medical school applications.
The Subway Summit is an inter-institutional venue for faculty, staff, and medical students within New York City to showcase their scholarship and share their innovative projects in medical education. This year’s summit, hosted by Weill Cornell Medical College, included Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, CUNY School of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, and Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.
