Thursday, May 13, 2021 at 7:30 PM ET

Join the Pre-Health Society on Thursday night to explore non-MD careers! Expect to hear from a CT nurse, vet-tech, DO, dentist, and more!

The Army Medical Department is hosting a virtual career fair on May 12, 2021 from 12-9PM.  The fair will feature Scholarships and fully-funded professional education and financial aid options for:

*    Medicine
*    Nursing
*    Dentistry
*    Veterinary Medicine
*    Clinical Psychology
*    Social Work
*    Occupational & Physical Therapy
*    Dietetics
*    Biomedical Science & Engineering
*    Other allied health career fields, including Optometry, Audiology, Pharmacy, and many more!

Additionally, Uniformed Services University Medical School Admission representatives will be available to answer questions.

The career fair will also feature guest speakers lecturing on topics such as the Army’s Coronavirus Vaccine Development and 12 Tips for Applying to Medical School.  The attached seminar schedule contains the full list of speakers and topics.

By Andrew Jacob, May 9, 2021

It’s been a long, strange trip in the four decades since Rick Doblin, a pioneering psychedelics researcher, dropped his first hit of acid in college and decided to dedicate his life to the healing powers of mind-altering compounds. Even as antidrug campaigns led to the criminalization of Ecstasy, LSD and magic mushrooms, and drove most researchers from the field, Dr. Doblin continued his quixotic crusade with financial help from his parents.

Dr. Doblin’s quest to win mainstream acceptance of psychedelics will take a significant leap forward later this month when the journal Nature Medicine is expected to publish the results of his lab’s study on MDMA, the club drug popularly known as Ecstasy and Molly. The study, the first Phase 3 clinical trial conducted with psychedelic-assisted therapy, found that MDMA paired with counseling brought marked relief to patients with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

The results, coming weeks after a New England Journal of Medicine study that highlighted the benefits of treating depression with psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, has excited scientists, psychotherapists and entrepreneurs in the rapidly expanding field of psychedelic medicine. They say it is only a matter of time before the Food and Drug Administration grants approval for psychoactive compounds to be used therapeutically — for MDMA as soon as 2023, followed by psilocybin a year or two later.

After decades of demonization and criminalization, psychedelic drugs are on the cusp of entering mainstream psychiatry, with profound implications for a field that in recent decades has seen few pharmacological advancements for the treatment of mental disorders and addiction. The need for new therapeutics has gained greater urgency amid a national epidemic of opioid abuse and suicides.

“Some days I wake up and can’t believe how far we’ve come,” said Dr. Doblin, 67, who now oversees the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a multimillion dollar research and advocacy empire that employs 130 neuroscientists, pharmacologists and regulatory specialists working to lay the groundwork for the coming psychedelics revolution.

The nation’s top universities are racing to set up psychedelic research centers, and investors are pouring millions of dollars into a pack of start-ups. States and cities across the country are beginning to loosen restrictions on the drugs, the first steps in what some hope will lead to the federal decriminalization of psychedelics for therapeutic and even recreational use.

“There’s been a sea change in attitudes about what not long ago was considered fringe science,” said Michael Pollan, whose best-selling book on psychedelics, “How to Change Your Mind,” has helped destigmatize the drugs in the three years since it was published. “Given the mental health crisis in this country, there’s great curiosity and hope about psychedelics and a recognition that we need new therapeutic tools.”

The question for many is how far — and how fast — the pendulum should swing, and even researchers who champion psychedelic-assisted therapy say the drive to commercialize the drugs combined with a growing movement to liberalize existing prohibitions could prove risky, especially for those with severe psychiatric disorders, and derail the field’s slow, methodical return to mainstream acceptance.

Wednesday April 28, 2021, 7:00-8:00 PM EST

How does one afford medical school? Do medical schools offer loans, financial aid and merit scholarships? What do medical schools look for in an applicant? What makes for a compelling personal statement? How do medical schools build a class? How do I know if a medical school is right for me? 

Please join Thomas Regan, MD, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Aileen Panitz, Director of Admissions, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine and Dino Koff, Director of Financial Aid at Dartmouth for a robust conversation on the medical school admissions process, with special attention to affording a medical education.

Are you taking the MCAT this year? Do you benefit from peer support? If so, fill out this google form and you will be added to a group chat where you can get tips, ask questions, and find times to meet and study with other Middlebury Students (sponsored by Pre-Health Society).