A medical school more like Hogwarts

Fortunately,the subtext of this data has not been lost on educators. Some have hired mental health experts,created counseling centres and set up confidential sites and hot lines; others have developed elective courses in meditation and mindfulness,switched from letter grades to pass-fail systems and revamped class schedules to foster better work-life balance. However,their efforts continue to be stymied because students aren’t participating.

But one medical school,Vanderbilt,in Nashville,appears to be succeeding,with a Student Wellness Programme that includes activities like yoga classes,community service events,healthy cooking classes,forums on nutrition and sleep,and a mentoring programme that pairs senior students with newer ones. The key to its success? Empowering those who have the most at stake — the medical students.

“Most ideas are generated by students,” said Dr Scott M Rodgers,the associate dean of medical student affairs,who started the program six years ago and continues to be its guiding force. “We just try to come up with any necessary money.”

One example is the programme’s college system,which assigns students to one of four “colleges,” each with its own set of faculty advisers. Intended simply as an improvement over a traditional but more random advising program,the new system was also set up to allow students to introduce innovations.

Drawing on Harry Potter stories,the students took an active role in naming the colleges after former medical school deans and imbued each with a particular personality. Completing the picture were artfully designed crests,designated college colors and devised mottos in Latin that range from the more noble (“Primus Inter Pares,” or “First Among Equals”) to the tongue-in-cheek put-down (“Commodum Habitus Es,” or “You Have Just Been Owned”).

As college loyalties began to develop,students organised friendly competitions. These events culminated four years ago in the first College Cup,a now annual weekend affair where pride runs deep.