Program Overview

The Advisory Colleges is an advising and career and professional development program which was established in 2008 at the UNC School of Medicine.  The program was developed in order to create an organized and structured system of advising whereby students benefit from the ongoing support and wisdom of experienced faculty, educators and role models of professionalism at our institution.  The goal of this program is to foster a relationship between each student and a faculty member where students  receive guidance and counseling in order to be successful in their endeavor to create their own physician identity. For an overview of how the advisory colleges are structured, including which students and advisors are in which college, see the advisory colleges organizational chart.

The Advisory College system provides a pool of diverse and well trained faculty to serve as advisors for medical students. It seeks to foster a relationship between each student and a faculty member where students can receive guidance and counseling in order to be successful in their endeavor to create their own physician identity.  It also promotes relationships which are free from conflicts of interest which might preclude open and honest communication. 

Advisors assist students in several ways:

• Assist students in creating his or her personal physician identity with regards to career choice and professionalism.
• Assist students in maximizing their academic potential and guiding them to appropriate resources when necessary.
• Assist students in maximizing their personal and emotional well-being and guiding them to appropriate resources when necessary.
• Act as a liasion/sounding board for students who have experienced mistreatment when the student does not feel comfortable approaching administration or the mistreatment liaison.
• Assist students in reviewing their “Career and Professional Development Portfolio” to aid in the development of the advisor/advisee relationship and to ensure discussion of topics of interest to the student.

Advisors are specialty neutral in their advice regarding career choice in order to objectively assist students in their specialty choice. With students’ permission, advisors receive grade and evaluation information in order to assist students who may be having some academic difficulty in a timely fashion.