Support You'll Receive Through Your Journey
Advising
Advisors provide individualized personal and academic support to students. They are available to meet with you to discuss your unique professional, academic and personal experiences, application materials, and your medical school list. In addition, you will participate in mock interviews to ensure you are prepared to succeed in the medical school admissions process. The tailored support continues throughout the glide year and until your professional goal is realized.
Students are encouraged to contribute to a collaborative learning environment by studying together and helping one another as they move through this intensive academic experience.
Beyond the classroom, students share the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library with UVA medical students and take advantage of volunteer and shadowing opportunities through the UVA Health System, which includes a brand new Level 1 trauma center, a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center and a nationally ranked Children's Hospital.
- Additional Support Services
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Academic Support
There are many resources to support your academic journey.
- Academic support is available both through instructors and tutors for hire within each department.
- The Student Disability Access Center is available year-round and exists to support a culture of access and inclusion for students with disabilities across all academic programs and University services.
- The UVA Writing Center is available to provide one-on-one assistance with all stages of the writing process for any kind of writing. Consultants can work with native speakers of English and with English-language learners; several tutors have specialized training in ESL.
Emotional/Mental Health Support
UVA offers a wide array of resources to support the mental and emotional well-being of students.
- Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) is the primary student mental health clinic on Grounds, providing direct care, consultation and referral services for students year-round. CAPS supports both emergency and ongoing concerns. **If you are having a psychological emergency, call 911 or 434-243-5150 & ask to seek with the on-call counselor 24 hours/day.
- Additional, online self-assessments and cognitive behavioral therapy resources include:
- The UVA Contemplative Sciences Center offers an array of activities and resources for students, from free yoga classes, mindfulness sessions, special speakers, and cultural experiences. The Contemplative Sciences Center hosts a wide variety of events both on and off Grounds.
- UVA offers On-Grounds multiple resiliency rooms across grounds, including
- Newcomb Hall Rm 466 (Meditation & Reflection Room)
- Clemons Room 220
- 1515 University Avenue: 2nd Floor Reflection Room
- McLeod 2010 (Compassionate Care Classroom)
- McLeod 2025 (Maria Tussi Kluge Resilience Room)
Physical Support
From recreation centers to healthcare, UVA has many resources to support your physical needs:
- UVA Student Health and Wellness Center offers excellent medical, mental health, and accessibility services, public health education and leadership, and nationally renowned research and institutional partnerships. Services are available to all registered students who are charged comprehensive fees with their tuition.
- The UVA Aquatics & Fitness Center (AFC) is dedicated to fitness on Grounds, offering an Olympic-sized pool with warm water and sauna, state-of-the-art cardiovascular training equipment, three-court gymnasium, indoor walking/jogging track, multi-purpose rooms, along with a café and team store.
- Meet the Program Staff
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Susan Salko, M.S., Program Director
Susan Salko brings extensive experience advising pre-medical students at premier institutions across the country as well as experience serving as a member of a medical school admissions committee. As Program Director, she provides both admissions workshops and one-on-one advising to students as they prepare for the medical school admissions process. In addition, she assists with glide year planning and continually supports students beyond graduation as they move towards their goal of becoming a physician. Susan also oversees the admissions committee for the Post Bacc Pre-Medical Program and develops resources to augment students’ academic and professional experiences within the program.
Jillian Golaszewski, M.A., Academic Advisor
Jillian Golaszewski’s previous experience working in graduate and medical school admissions allows her to use her admissions perspective to work individually with post bacc pre-medical students to prepare their best application to medical school. Jillian acts as the point person for prospective students, serves on the admissions committee for the Post Bacc Pre-Medical Program, facilitates course registration for current students, and offers any other academic and professional support that students might need to be successful in the program and the medical school admissions process.
Robert D. Powers, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Advisor
A professor in the University of Virginia School of Medicine Departments of Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Dr. Powers has spent more than 30 years in academic practice. He sees patients and teaches in the inpatient internal medicine wards, palliative care, and outpatient adult clinics. As part of the Post Bacc Pre-Med Program, Dr. Powers serves on the admissions committee and contributes to program administration and student advising. In addition, Dr. Powers teaches a Post Bacc seminar on the structure, function, financing, and challenges of the American health care system. He also supervises and coordinates clinical orientation and shadowing experiences for students, enabling them to get direct exposure to patient care and medical practice.
Charles M. Grisham, Ph.D, Academic Director
Charlie Grisham is a Professor and Associate Chair in the University of Virginia Department of Chemistry where he has taught biochemistry, introductory chemistry, and physical chemistry for more than 40 years. In addition to teaching a post bacc only section of biochemistry each spring semester, Professor Grisham is taking on the Academic Director role where he will host regular office hours throughout the academic year in order to support each student’s academic success. He is the author of several university-level textbooks and a developer of computer software devoted to teaching and learning biochemistry.
