Doctor of Medicine Program - Admissions

Premedical Requirements The premedical requirements are one-year laboratory courses in general biology, general or inorganic chemistry, organic or an organic/biochemistry sequence, and general physics. Accepted applicants who have not fulfilled these requirements prior to the first day of enrollment are not permitted to enter, and their acceptances are revoked. Only individuals who are legal residents of Georgia at the time of application are accepted. Mercer University School of Medicine accepts applicants who have completed a minimum of three years of course work leading to a baccalaureate degree, 90 semester hours, in an approved college or university. Students are advised to balance their work in the natural sciences with courses in the social sciences and humanities. In addition, they are urged to follow their inclincations in choosing a subject to pursue as a major.  Mercer University School of Medicine Bulletin Click here to download your copy Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) All applicants must take the MCAT by the summer of the year in which they apply. Applicants are encouraged, however, to have taken the MCAT by the previous spring. The test scores must appear on the application before it is considered for review, and must be no more than two years old. AMCAS Application MUSM participates in the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) and reviews only those applications initiated through that service. Applications to MUSM should be sent directly to AMCAS, Section for Student Services. The AMCAS-E application may be obtained at the AMCAS web site on the internet at http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/. Mercer's AMCAS application deadlines are August 1st for early decision application and November 1st for regular pool application. The Mercer Medical School Code Number is GA-832.  An applicant rejected in a previous year must file a new application through AMCAS in order to be reconsidered. Falsification of any information results in automatic voiding of the application. It is the applicant's responsibility to check with AMCAS to ensure that the application is complete and has been forwarded to the appropriate school.  It is also the applicant’s responsibility to check with MUSM admission office staff members to ensure that the secondary/supplemental application is complete.  The deadlines for completion of the secondary/supplemental application are August 31st for early decision application and January 15th for regular pool application, but we encourage all applicants to submit their materials as soon as possible. Early Admission MUSM participates in the Early Decision Plan as described in the AAMC publication entitled Medical School Admissions Requirements. Thru this process, a student applies to only one school (prior to August 1st) and in turn, has a definitive decision (prior to October 1st) which, if positive, is binding on both the applicant and the School. If the applicant is not accepted through this process, he/she may then apply to additional medical schools, and the MUSM application is re-evaluated with the general applicant pool. Transfer Students Transfer students will be considered for admission as beginning third year students if there are available positions. The number of transfer students MUSM can accept is very limited and depends on the number of openings available in the class, as well as the qualifications of the applicant. Applicants must be legal residents of the state of Georgia at the time of application, and show high potential for compliance with the school’s mission. Application materials will be sent from the Mercer University School of Medicine Office of Admissions and Student Affairs upon written request. The deadline for receipt of completed transfer applications is May 1. An application is not eligible for committee review unless Step 1 scores are included. Supplementary Applications Materials AMCAS application materials for legal residents of Georgia are reviewed, and supplementary materials are made available for applicants who comply with the Admissions Committee’s screening criteria. The Supplementary Materials Include: Supplemental Essays   Legal Certification of Georgia Residency-obtained at the office of the probate judge in your county of residence. Letters of Recommendation All applicants will be required to have their letter writers submit a minimum of 2 letters (a maximum of 6) of recommendation to AMCAS before an interview invitation is considered. "Below is a description of the types of letters that can be forwarded to AMCAS on your behalf. Committee Letter: A committee letter is a letter authored by a pre-health committee or a pre-health advisor, and is intended to represent your institution’s evaluation of you. A committee letter may or may not include additional letters written in support of your application. Letter Packet: A letter packet is a set of letters assembled and distributed by your institution, often by the institution’s career center. A Letter Packet may include a cover sheet from your pre-health committee or advisor; however, in contrast to a Committee Letter, the Letter Packet does not include an evaluation letter from your pre-health Committee or advisor. Individual Letter: An individual letter is one authored by, and representing a single letter writer. (These can also be included within both a Committee Letter and a Letter Packet.) Many students don’t have pre-health committees or pre-health advisors. In that case, they may submit individual letters to AMCAS. If you are submitting individual letters, Mercer University School of Medicine requires a minimum of 2 individual letters and a maximum of 6. If possible, the Admissions Committee would like to see at least one letter from a science professor. It is also preferred, but not essential that one of the personal letters of reference come from a physician."  (Taken from Page 77 of AMCAS’ 2010 Instructions) AMCAS will receive letters from users of VirtualEvals, Interfolio, and via the U.S. Postal Service. In addition, letter writers who currently mail letters can opt to upload letters directly to AMCAS through the AMCAS Letter Writer Application. http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/amcasletterwriter.htm If your letters are being transmitted by your undergraduate advising office, it is possible that office is using VirtualEvals. Once your letters are posted to VirtualEvals, they will be downloaded by AMCAS, and made available to us. If you have a question about whether or not your advising office uses VirtualEvals, please contact your undergraduate advising office. For additional Information regarding the use of the AMCAS letter writer service, follow this link: http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/amcas2010instructions060209.pdf Mercer University School of Medicine Admission Data Entering Class BCPM AO Total VR PS BS Women Under-Represented Minorities 1999 3.38 3.60 3.48 8.6 8.5 9.2 41% 2% 2000 3.37 3.51 3.42 8.9 8.2 9.0 48% 4% 2001 3.27 3.55 3.39 8.5 8.2 8.6 48% 4% 2002 3.43 3.64 3.52 8.9 8.1 8.8 46% 2% 2003 3.36 3.57 3.46 8.9 7.8 8.7 46% 4% 2004 3.48 3.69 3.58 9.0 7.7 8.4 61% 7% 2005 3.42 3.62 3.52 8.95 8.52 9.17 42% 0% 2006 3.47 3.67 3.55 9.05 8.18 9.12 47% 7% 2007 3.42 3.65 3.52 8.94 8.02 8.59 41% 2% 2008 3.47 3.70 3.57 9.03 8.69 9.44 48% 1% 2009 3.45 3.72 3.53 9.08 8.85 9.67 50% 5%

Technical Standards for Medical School Admission
Medical education requires that the accumulation of scientific knowledge be accompanied by the simultaneous acquisition of skills and professional attitudes and behavior. Medical school faculties have a responsibility to society to graduate the best possible physicians, and thus admission to medical school has been offered to those who present the highest qualifications for the study and practice of medicine.

Graduates of medical school must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. The Admissions Committee of Mercer University School of Medicine acknowledges Section 504 of the 1973 Vocational Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and asserts that the ability to meet certain essential technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations must be present in the prospective candidates. Disclosure of a disability is voluntary; however, applicants who want to request accommodations during the admissions process should, upon being accepted, contact the Mercer University School of Medicine Office of Admissions and Student Affairs.

A candidate for the M.D. degree must have aptitude, abilities, and skills in five areas: observation, communication; motor; conceptual, integrative and quantitative; and behavioral and social. Technological compensation can be made for some disabilities in certain areas but a candidate should be able to perform in an independent manner.

Candidates for the M.D. degree must have somatic sensation and the functional use of the senses of vision and hearing. Candidates’ diagnostic skills would be inadequate without the functional use of the senses of equilibrium, smell, and taste. Additionally, they must have sufficient exteroceptive sense (touch, pain, and temperature), sufficient proprioceptive sense (position, pressure, movement, sterognosis, vibratory) and sufficient motor function to permit them to carry out the activities described in the section below. They must be able consistently, quickly, and accurately to integrate all information received by whatever senses employed, and they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze, and synthesize data.

Observation
The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and participate in experiments in the basic sciences, including but not limited to physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and other sensory modalities. It is enhanced by the functional use of the sense of smell.

Communication
A candidate should be able to speak, to hear, and to observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications.

Motor
Candidates should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpitation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers. A candidate must have the ability to perform both a complete and an organ system specific examination, including a mental status examination. Additionally, candidates must have the ability to perform routine technical procedures, including but not limited to, venipuncture, inserting an intravenous catheter, arterial puncture, thoracentesis, lumbar puncture, inserting a nasogastric tube, inserting a Foley catheter, and suturing lacerations. A candidate should be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatments include, but are not limited to, adult and pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (including two-rescuer scenarios and use of the bag mask), the opening of obstructed airways, automated external defibrillation, the administration of intravenous medication, application of pressure to stop bleeding, and the performance of simple obstetrical maneuvers. Such actions require quick and immediate reaction. Coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision are required.

Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities
The abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physicians, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the candidate should be able to comprehend three dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.

Behavioral and Social Attributes
A candidate must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients.  Candidates must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively when stressed.  They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients.  Empathy, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities that should be assessed during the admissions and education processes.

The Admissions Committee of the Mercer University School of Medicine will consider for admission to medical school any applicant who demonstrates the ability to perform or to learn to perform the skills listed in this document.  Students will be judged not only on their scholastic accomplishments, but also on their physical and emotional capacities to meet the full requirements of the school’s curriculum, and graduate as skilled and effective practitioners of medicine.

Applicants should become aware of the relevance of acquiring HIV infection to their career goals.  Individuals who believe that they are at risk for HIV infection are encouraged to seek HIV testing and counseling prior to admission.  Although symptomatic HIV-infected persons currently have a poor prognosis, a number of uncertainties remain concerning the natural history of infection and disease progression and the development of therapeutic options, especially for asymptomatic persons.  Applicants known to be HIV infected are encourage to seek counseling relative to their career choice and the impact that their HIV status could have on their potential for completion of their education, clinical training, and eventual professional practice.

 -- Contact Admissions Today!