Geisinger Commonwealth Secondary Application

Geisinger Commonwealth Secondary Essay Prompts

(If you have updated prompts, please submit them at updatesecondaries.com)

These prompts are from the 2021 Application Cycle. (Older essays, if available are below)

All prompts have a 1,500 character limit.

Prompts:

• Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution. | How to Write About How You Fit a Medical School’s Mission
• List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. Please choose one that you feel you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait.
• Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion? | How to Write About Diversity in Your Secondary Essays
• If you have previously applied to Geisinger Commonwealth’s Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this year’s application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, “N/A” in the response area. | How to Write About Being a Reapplicant in Secondary Essays
• Are you currently enrolled or a graduate of Geisinger Commonwealth’s Master of Biomedical Sciences program? (yes/no)
• Request Fee Waiver (yes/no)

Primary Deadline: Usually around Dec 15th
Secondary Deadline: January
Secondary Fee: $100
FAP Waiver: Full Fee Waived
Casper Required: No
PREview Required: Yes
Screens Applications: Yes
Accepts Application Updates:

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Mission:

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine educates aspiring physicians and scientists to serve society using a community-based, patient-centered, interprofessional and evidence-based model of education that is committed to inclusion, promotes discovery and utilizes innovative techniques.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Values:

• Integrity/transparency
  We operate as a community trust, supported and established by the citizens of northeastern Pennsylvania. We will conduct our business with integrity and steward our resources in an ethical manner.
• Respect
  We respect our colleagues, our students and our communities. We treat others and their ideas in a manner that conveys respect as we discuss our differences. We teach our students to respect their patients, other members of the healthcare team and their colleagues by modeling that behavior.
• Compassion
  Compassion defines a good physician; it is at the very center of all we do. We will seek students and faculty role models who have this trait and work to enhance it through education, research and service.
• Collaboration/generosity/partnership
  We value what everyone in the region has to offer and believe our collaboration strengthens all. We will work to create partnerships with educational and health-related organizations that support our mission – to provide our students an interprofessional education and to improve the health of the citizens of northeastern Pennsylvania. We will share what we have learned with others and assist whenever possible to serve the people of our state, nation and beyond.
• Discovery and scholarship
  Discovery and scholarship are what differentiates academic medicine. We will encourage faculty and students to continuously seek and advance the creation of knowledge to improve the human condition.
• Student-friendly
  We are committed to students having an exceptional educational experience. We will seek feedback from students about improving the process of education and learn from their ideas. We will provide educational services in a manner that respects students, supports their efforts to be good doctors and scientists and provides a quality educational experience. Students will be partners in their education. We will seek to encourage students to develop a balance between work and activities to promote a healthy lifestyle.
• Community health
  We are committed to playing a role in improving the health status of the community and making a contribution to the community. We will involve students, faculty and staff in creating projects and awareness of community health and work with other organizations who strive for the same goal.
• Social responsibility
  Our students, faculty and staff are part of a community, region, state and world. We will encourage all to get involved with their neighborhoods and communities, contribute to its well-being and be active volunteers in bettering life. Our educational focus will emphasize service to the community.
• Best practices
  We will not only teach our students that medicine is best if supported by sound scientific evidence, we will disseminate information to faculty and community physicians that will enable them to change practice as evidence dictates through the provision of access to library resources and continuing medical information.
• Quality
  We seek to produce an educational experience of quality: quality in the delivery of patient care and quality in our research and service efforts. Additionally, we want to prepare our students to understand the process of quality improvement in the practice of medicine.
• Innovation
  Innovation is the heart of our school. We are open to new ideas from faculty, students, staff and others. We seek out new ideas and will evaluate them with open minds in order to continue to improve the efficacy of health care and the health system.
• Stewardship
  We have been entrusted with a great responsibility – the education of the next generation of physicians. This mandates that we live our values and focus on our mission to serve through education, research, clinical care and community service.
• Communication
  We want to instill in our students an understanding that good communication is a large part of being a good doctor. We will work to develop communication skills in students. We will also remember that many people support the school from throughout the region and work to not only communicate our progress but to listen to their feedback and hopes for the school. We will communicate also with our students, faculty, other members of the healthcare team and staff both by listening to ideas and sharing our plans.
• Lifelong learning
  We want our students to understand the process of growth and learning is continual. We will seek faculty who model the desire to learn and improve practice. We will develop continuing medical education offerings to the region and we will prepare students to modify practice based on new evidence.

Older Essays:

• Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution.
  How to Write About How You Fit a Medical School’s Mission
• List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. Please choose one that you feel you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait.
• Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion?
  How to Write About Diversity in Your Secondary Essays
• If you have previously applied to Geisinger Commonwealth’s Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this year’s application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, “N/A” in the response area.
  How to Write About Being a Reapplicant in Secondary Essays