Core MSU CHM mission — Flint, Detroit, Grand Rapids distributed sites
UP and rural Lower Peninsula access gaps, physician workforce
"MSU CHM is a socially accountable medical school — we want to see genuine commitment to Michigan's underserved communities, not scripted altruism."
Flint water crisis legacy, pediatric lead exposure, community trust
Detroit racial health disparities, Medicaid dependency, structural racism
Grand Rapids Somali and Burmese communities, cultural competence
Rural opioid use, prescription monitoring, harm reduction
Medicaid capacity, uncompensated care, triage ethics
MSU's community campus model across six cities
Rural behavioral health deserts in Michigan
Role of doctors in environmental and health policy reform
Resource allocation in a safety-net clinic, confidentiality with a minor, end-of-life decisions in a family with language barriers.
Environmental health crisis response, navigating community distrust, refugee family care.
Two-person station simulating interprofessional communication with a standardized nurse or social worker.
Motivations for primary care, experience with underserved communities, resilience under adversity.
Medicaid expansion tradeoffs, rural health workforce incentives, environmental regulation and health.
"Expect scenarios grounded in real Michigan health issues: Flint's lead crisis, Detroit's uninsured populations, rural Upper Peninsula access gaps."
"Your family medicine preceptor in Grand Rapids sees a Somali refugee family whose child has elevated blood lead levels. The mother speaks limited English and distrusts government agencies after the Flint crisis. How do you approach the encounter?"
Practice this scenario with AI →especially relevant post-Flint — when discussing patient communication scenarios.
"In 14 years of examining I have never failed a candidate for giving the 'wrong' answer. I have failed candidates for how they treated the person in the room with them."
Read about the Flint water crisis beyond headlines — understand community trust, systemic failure, and the medical response.
Know MSU CHM's six community campuses and what each serves (e.g., Saginaw's Hispanic community, UP's rural Indigenous populations).
Be ready to discuss why primary care in Michigan is underfunded and what drew you to that specialty landscape.
MSU CHM distinguishes service with communities from service to communities — frame your experiences as partnerships, not charity.
Reflect on structural causes of health disparities, not just individual behaviors, in scenario responses.
If you have lived experience in underserved communities, share it authentically; if not, demonstrate intellectual humility and genuine curiosity.
Use your 2-minute reading time to identify the social determinant or equity angle — almost every CHM scenario has one.
In collaborative stations, take an explicitly interprofessional stance — ask for the nurse's or social worker's input before prescribing solutions.
Close each station by connecting back to MSU CHM's mission; brief callbacks show fit without sounding rehearsed.
My whole interview was about Flint and Detroit. Know the difference between clinical response and systemic advocacy — they want both.
They gave me a scenario about a rural UP patient who drove 3 hours for a visit. Know the geography and what telemedicine can and can't fix.
Station on interprofessional care — I was roleplaying with a standardized social worker. The point was collaboration not diagnosis. Don't try to solve everything medically.