Student Health & Wellness
The Office of Student Health and Wellness extends an invitation to all MCW students to reach out, seek out resources, and share your needs. Your concerns, requests, questions, and ideas are vital in providing appropriate resources and support. Thank you for your continued interest and actions to improve your personal health and wellbeing.
Prioritize You: MCW Student Wellbeing Program
The Medical College of Wisconsin’s “Prioritize You” program supports students by helping them to improve their personal wellness behaviors. The program also functions to promote a culture of wellbeing at MCW through focus on the various wellbeing dimensions (i.e., occupational, intellectual, financial, mental/emotional, physical, spiritual, environmental, and social).
The program provides MCW students with the awareness, education, motivation, tools, strategies, and social support needed to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors as well as support one another.
"Prioritize You" Program Features
Wellbeing Coaching
Informal, confidential, wellbeing check-ins and support provided by Kerri Corcoran MS, LPC, CSAC or the current counselor intern.
Whether it’s stress, relationship, or academic problems, or just wanting to check in on one’s overall wellbeing, sharing concerns and goals with another person can make a positive difference. Prioritize You Wellbeing Coaching provides brief, informal sessions for learners with an individual from the MCW Office of Student Health and Wellness.
Wellbeing Coaching remains “informal” in that it is not therapy or crisis intervention. It does not require setting up additional services or completing any comprehensive paperwork. Coaching does remain confidential, can span a variety of topics, and sessions are limited to about 30 minutes in length. The coach’s role is to assist in exploring students’ current state of wellbeing, listen to any concerns they have, answer questions, and provide support and recommendations for resources and next steps as requested.
Every new MCW student is offered the opportunity to opt in for a 1:1 complimentary wellbeing check-in following their orientation. (Offered in partnership with MCW Student and Resident Behavioral Health.)
MCW Student Assistance Program (SAP)
Benefits include 10 unbilled counseling sessions per presenting issue, financial consultation, legal consultation, and more!
Personal problems, planning for life events or simply managing daily life can affect one’s mental health, educational goals, and relationships. Through the MCW Student Assistance Program (SAP) ComPsych GuidanceResources, students and their family members have access to confidential support, resources, and information to provide guidance through life’s challenges. ComPsych offers guidance resources at no charge to students, including confidential counseling, school-life solutions, legal support, and financial information.
To get started, call (833) 927-1860 (toll free). You’ll speak to a counseling professional who will listen to your concerns and can guide you to the appropriate services you require. You can also visit GuidanceResources online and enter your company ID.
Other Program Components
Support Groups
A group setting can be a great way to build community, receive support from others who are in similar circumstances and validate one’s experiences.
Group support is offered at different times in the academic year, for different groups of learners. Example: A Step 1 Connection Group is available for medical students who are in dedicated time, preparing for the Step 1 examination. Eligible students are invited to participate via email from the MCW Office of Student Health and Wellness.
Students with questions or an idea for a support group should email Kerri Corcoran at kcorcoran@mcw.edu.
MCW Graduate School Connection Groups: These are student-led spaces focused on specific groups of learners (e.g., Student Parent Group, LGBTQ+ Group, International Student Group). Students may email Allison Schneider at allischneider@mcw.edu for more information.
Wellbeing Resource Navigation
Students may use this resource to receive help connecting to resources on or off campus as well as support navigating health insurance.
Managing the world of healthcare is complicated. The Office of Student Health and Wellness offers resource navigation services to assist students who seek health resources on or off campus. The Student Behavioral Health and Resource Navigator will take time to understand their unique circumstances and will help them understand options at MCW and beyond.
Students can email their questions or concerns to Kerri Corcoran at kcorcoran@mcw.edu.
Sessions with Counselor Intern
Short term, supportive counseling for common concerns including anxiety, depression, interpersonal problems, grief/loss.
Sessions with the current counselor intern provide an opportunity for students to explore and learn about themselves within a confidential, professional relationship.
The counselor intern receives supervision from Marquette University as well as their supervisor at MCW. In order to provide students with the best services possible, they will be discussing their sessions with their site supervisor. The counselor intern is also required to participate in an internship class held at Marquette University. This class is taught by a Marquette faculty member and only includes advanced graduate students enrolled in the program. One of the class requirements is to present anonymous client cases to the class for consultation and educational purposes. During these presentations, no identifying information will be presented about students, so students’ confidentiality will be protected. For example, no information will be shared about a student’s name, employer, city of residence, etc.
Student Wellbeing, Health Insurance and Health Services
Partnership with MCW Student and Resident Behavioral Health
A network of psychotherapists with experience working with medical, pharmacy, and graduate students as well as medical residents and fellows, with a clinic conveniently located just 1.4 miles from the MCW-Milwaukee campus.
What To Expect
Your benefit includes 10 unbilled sessions per academic year. These sessions can be talk therapy and/or medication management/psychiatric services.
Contact intake at (414) 955-8933. If you connect to voicemail, please leave your name, phone number, and identify yourself as an MCW student. You can expect a call back within one day. You may also email intake at cbischel@mcw.edu to schedule an initial appointment. Please note that email is not considered a secure mode of communication and we recommend you limit details regarding your needs.
During the intake conversation, you will be asked your name, date of birth, and primary reason you are seeking support. Please be sure to state that you are a student at MCW. You may also share preferences for the provider you work with (ex. a provider of a certain gender or race). We will try to accommodate these preferences.
The first session involves clarifying your reason for coming in, gathering some background information and perhaps setting some broad goals. Sometimes people wonder if the ‘fit’ is right after the first session. We recommend attending a couple of sessions before you make any decisions and then talk to your therapist about it. Some people wonder what the process is like. There is really no mystery about it – talking feels good! And, learning new coping strategies or taking a new perspective can help too.
If you have any questions or concerns about accessing or navigating these services, please contact the Director of Student and Resident Behavioral Health, Dr. David Cipriano, at dcipriano@mcw.edu or your Student Behavioral Health and Resource Navigator, Kerri Corcoran at kcorcoran@mcw.edu.