Elizabeth Abram, MD ’11

UB stood out as a well-rounded school where I could learn directly from physicians in a great environment. The spectacular clinical skills instruction and flexible rotation schedule didn’t hurt, either!

The first week of school we have our first standardized patient encounters in the Clinical Competency Center. By the second, we’re sent to community preceptors. That means that by the time third year rolls around, we’re well equipped to hit the ground running. We’re then fortunate to maximize the instructional time in our rotations rather than learn how to conduct a basic history and physical.

We also have the opportunity to take two electives during third-year rotations rather than wait until the fourth year. This is incredibly helpful if you want to try out a specialty that is not one of the required clerkships or focus on a topic that is important to you.

The faculty respect us as future peers and encourage our participation on many major committees. Our deans are always available to help, and they respond to our concerns as they arise.

UB’s medical school is the only game in town, so you won’t find yourself competing with students from other medical schools for rotations, mentors or research opportunities. Buffalo is small enough to navigate easily yet large enough to see a wide and diverse array of pathology.

I had never participated in student government until I came here, and it’s where I ended up standing out as a student. UB encouraged me to excel in areas I didn’t know I could, such as diplomacy and running an organization. As a result, I was elected to the Gold Humanism Honor society because of my work for the school.

Not only that, I served on one of the self-study subcommittees for the LCME, the national medical school accreditation body, and was then selected to be one of the 17 members of the LCME. I truly believe that none of this would have happened had it not been for the school, and it’s one of the reasons I’m most grateful to have been accepted here.