Medical student counseling: the Rush Medical College Adviser Program.

An adviser program has been instituted at Rush Medical College which utilizes specially selected and trained faculty members and provides comprehensive counseling with continuity of contact between adviser and student through the four years of medical school. In this paper, the authors describe the development of the program and the evaluations used to determine its efficacy. The authors conclude that the personal characteristics and time commitment of the advisers are of primary importance rather than their training discipline, that continuity of contact between student and adviser fosters the development of the most beneficial relationships, that advisers require special training during the entire time of their service as advisers, and that the program and the advisers require continual monitoring so that deficient performance and changing needs can be promptly identified.