Events > Web Seminars > 2020 Fall: Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Navigating an Altered Landscape for Successful Selection of Future Health Care Providers

Medical School Admissions in the Time of COVID-19: Maintaining the Integrity of Holistic Review

Presented by Christina Grabowsi, PhD and Leila Harrison, PhD on September 3, 2020 at 12:00 pm

The COVID pandemic is not only impacting educational delivery, it is also impacting how we select future physicians. This webinar will include an overview of changes to medical school application screening and interview processes. Social distancing and safety concerns are pushing interviews to virtual forums which accommodates changing economic circumstances of applicants, while also highlighting concerns about disparities in access to needed technology and interview-ready environments. Presenters will discuss unique considerations along with potential unintended consequences on holistic review and, therefore, diversity in the physician workforce.

Seminar Downloads
Session Slides
Seminar Archive

Presenter Bios

Christina Grabowski is the Associate Dean for Admissions and Enrollment Management, and Assistant Professor of Medical Education, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. Prior to joining UAB, Dr. Grabowski served as founding admissions dean at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine from 2009 to 2017. Before her role at the medical school, she held progressive admissions leadership roles at Oakland University since 1993.

Dr. Grabowski currently serves as the Chair-Elect for the Southern Region Group on Student Affairs (SGSA) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), as student affairs representative on the AAMC Student Surveys Advisory Committee and as a member of the AAMC Situational Judgment Test Pilot Study. Previous experiences include the AAMC National Committee on Admissions, virtual classroom facilitator for the GSA Professional Development Initiative, and workshop facilitator for the Advancing Holistic Review Initiative. Dr. Grabowski holds a PhD in Education from Oakland University.

Dr. Leila Harrison is the Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs at the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. She has held leadership roles at the regional and national levels for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in both the Southern and Western regions through the Committee on Admissions and Enrollment Management Workgroup. She also served as an AAMC Holistic Review facilitator training other medical schools’ admissions committee and GME selection committees on including holistic review in their processes. She leads the participation for the WSU College of Medicine within the national AAMC Situational Judgement Test (SJT) study. Dr. Harrison has been involved in medical education since 2002 within three public medical schools with experiences in diversity and inclusion and student affairs.