The Montpellier Health Tutoring Association, made up of 2nd and 3rd year medical students, is organizing mock exams, this Thursday, December 19 and Friday, December 20, for 1st year students in health studies.
“Without the support of the Montpellier Health Tutoring Association (ATSM), we would not make it.” The observation of a medical student is clear. It is very difficult to pass the first year of health studies, whether PASS or LAS.
Organized in one post-baccalaureate year, the PASS (Specific Health Access Pathway) is structured around a major health (discipline) and a minor non-health. The LAS (“health access” license) is structured around a non-health major (discipline) and a health minor.
“A very intense first year”
“It’s a very intense year for first-year health studies students”explains Lucie Fakhreddine, vice-president in charge of communications for the Montpellier Health Tutoring Association (ATSM). Based at the new Faculty of Medicine, this non-profit association is made up of 2nd and 3rd year students in medicine, midwifery and odontology.
“We try to support them throughout the year, both educationally and psychologically, in a spirit of equal opportunities and inclusiveness for students with disabilities. This is why registration for our tutoring is completely free.”
They testify
“Tutoring really helped me during my first year of LAS, testifies a student. It allows me to stay motivated and give a rhythm to my revisions thanks to the sessions it offers. Beyond helping us better understand the lessons, the tutors also provide us with moral support. They share their experience with us, which is reassuring since they were able to succeed in their year by following the same journey as us.”
“From the start of the pre-school course organized by the ATSM, I understood that the tutoring was not just there for exercise sessionscontinues a PASS student. They support us thanks to their advice, their kindness and their good humor. I had a lot of apprehension before starting my year in PASS, which was known to be difficult. Tutoring helps me manage classes and overcome the challenges of student life.”
“Not only is the tutoring free, but it offers a relevant educational offeringunderlines Professor Lionel Le Gallic, one of the teachers responsible for tutoring at the Montpellier-Nîmes medical faculty. The tutors are trained and supported through constant interaction with teachers in each discipline. So the sessions they carry out are perfectly in line with what will be required for the exams. In addition, these second and third year students have just had the practical experience of PASS/LAS and can provide organizational and methodological advice adapted to each person’s personality, which is decisive.”
“Our tutors are recruited, trained and evaluated”
The ATSM has set up a sponsorship campaign and wellness events promoting sharing between students from different promotions and sectors. The association also has an orientation and reorientation center, as well as a health, social and support center, to support foreign students or students in precarious situations.
“Our association is the only one recognized and supported by the faculty. Our tutors are recruited, trained and evaluated by professor-researchers, and our educational materials (MCQs, worksheets, common glue topics, practice exam topics) are re-read and validated by the teachers designing the tests for the grading exams.”
Mock exams on December 19 and 20
This final week before the school holidays is very important for first year students. It is in fact on Thursday December 19 and Friday December 20 that they take the mock exams organized by the ATSM, as part of its support program.
This full-scale test, which covers the entire semester program, serves as a dress rehearsal before the ranking exams, which will take place from January 7 to 9. In between, the Christmas holidays will be like an intense period of revision.
