By MARY SHEDDEN | The Tampa Tribune Published: June 18, 2012 Updated: June 18, 2012 - 7:00 AM

A University of South Florida medical school program highlighting leadership, empathy and business wherewithal will nearly triple its number of students this fall.

In August, 48 first-year Morsani College of Medicine students will join the 18 original participants in SELECT. The program targets students with strong self-awareness and self-management skills, as well as those showing an enhanced empathy toward patients and community.

A warning for new students: The five extra hours a week of discussions and self-reflection about communication, healthcare systems and management are intense, said first-year SELECT veteran Chris Pothering.

But these opportunities to meet with healthcare executives and other leaders make the commitment worth it, he said.

"It's almost like you forget you're in medical school when you sit down and have these interactions with people who are professionals in communication or in leadership," said Pothering, 28.

SELECT, or Scholarly Excellence, Leadership Experiences and Collaborative Training, has been brewing within the college for years. Positive feedback from the inaugural group of students and faculty mentors led to its sudden growth, said Alicia Monroe, the college's vice dean for educational affairs.

Eventually, the college will admit 56 SELECT students a year, in addition to a core medical class of 120 students. It highlights the importance in training new doctors to care for patients beyond the physical symptoms, Monroe said.

"We always have to be mindful of tasks, but also how it affects others," she said.

SELECT students often don't fall within the traditional medical admissions profile. Some of the students have other professional experience. Others have spent time in the military.

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