Health Professions Informational Meeting Fall Semester

1. Health Professions Informational MeetingFall Semester How to spend your years at Trinity preparing for a career in the Health Professions

2. What It Takes to Be a Successful Healthcare Professional * • Motivation and Intelligence • Evidence of Motivation for Medicine • Evidence of an Interest in Service • Evidence of Leadership • Good Communication Skills *- American Medical Association, 2005

3. What It Takes to Be a Successful Health Professions School Applicant * • Well-rounded College Education • Classes Related to the Study of Human Beings • Good Academic Performance (High GPA) • Completion of Prerequisite Courses • Evidence of Leadership, Initiative, Lifelong Learning, etc… • Strong Letters of Recommendation • Relevant Healthcare Experiences • Laboratory or Clinical Research Experience • Commitment to Community Service • Maturity and Self-reflection • Preparation and Timely Completion of Entrance Exams • Timely Applications to Health Professions Schools *- adapted from American Medical Association (2005) and Self-assessment Guide, Brown Univ. (2011)

4. Curriculum One of the over-riding values that the Deans wanted to see in their applicants was a life-long commitment tolearning…essential for students to develop the information gatheringskills…applicants demonstrate intellectual curiosity and passion for their chosen discipline is really a mechanism for measuring the applicant’s commitment to a life of continual learning and educational renewal. Want their incoming students to have the broadest possible education experience, not just in the sciences, but in the humanities and the arts as well… -taken from the article “Admission Deans’ Roundtable: Medicine as a Liberal Arts” published in The Advisor March 2003

5. Health Care Campusesall within a 10 minute walk Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Hartford Hospital Institute of Living Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center

6. Community Important that students develop broad cultural sensitivity and ability to appreciate customs and values which may differ from their own…through a wide variety of humanities courses and volunteer work with populations different from the student’s own background.

7. Academics • Major • Graduate School Requirements • GPA • Electives • Special Programs • Study Abroad • Health Fellows • Internships

8. “ Speaking for one medical school, students should feel free to study what they wish, be it science or non-science. Demonstrating self-insight (knowing what they like) and ownership of their education is valued by our admissions committee. We don’t care what the major is; we only ask that if the student is a science major, that they take enough non-science so that they learn to think through ethical, cultural, and social issues and complications with the same ease that they determine how mass falls from a tree, and visa-versa. And to this, of course, add the social and interpersonal skills learning so important to health patient/physician relationship that comes from career exploration, service to others, leadership.” David M. Owen, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine “…we are looking for a strong science background (and recommend that non-science majors take at least two upper division basic science courses beyond the minimum premed requirements), depth of academic exploration (in whatever area) and enriching life experiences. Liliano Montano, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Weill Cornell Medical College

9. Majors of Trinity Students Attending Medical School • Biology • Chemistry • Neuroscience • English • Mathematics • Political Science

10. * - PHYS 131L and PHYS 231L (calculus-based physics) can serve as substitute courses; please consult the chair of the HPAC. § - a fair number of schools do not have a mathematics requirement, please consult the chair of the HPAC YEAR BY YEAR ENROLLMENT

11. To Take Calculus or Not? • Only 13% of US medical schools require a semester or more of Calculus (UCLA, Johns Hopkins, Brown, Harvard, UT at Austin, Duke) • Over 40% of US medical schools do not require any college math course (Tufts, Yale, Emory, Columbia, Wake Forest, UVa) Data obtained from the 2010-2011 Medical School Admission Requirements, AAMC, Washington DC The stronger your academic transcript, the better…as long as the grades are good!!

12. Table 24: MCAT and GPA Grid for Applicants and Acceptees to U.S. Medical Schools, 2005-2007 (aggregated) The table below displays the acceptance rates at different MCAT and GPA levels for applicants and accepted applicants from 2005 to 2007. The frequencies are combined totals of all three years. Please e-mail us if you need further assistance or have additional inquiries. Importance of Good Grades and Getting off to a Good Start -data table adapted from original data supplied by AMCAS Source: AAMC Data Warehouse:Applicant Matriculant File, As of 2/22/2008.

13. MCAT/GPA and Acceptance to Medical School Correlation – Percentage of Trinity College Applicants Accepted 2002-2011

14. RESEARCH The Deans’ felt that research was an excellent way for a student to demonstrate intellectual maturity, independence of thought, creativity, love oflearning…all highly desirable qualities in a medical student….the area of research was unimportant. They want the student to demonstrate a genuine passion for the research and a depth of understanding which showed that he or she was not simply a pair of hands…in the lab.

15. Extracurricular Activities

16. Gaining an Understanding of the Profession RESEARCH ASSOCIATES PROGRAM AMSA Seminars Health Fellows Program INTERNSHIPS Summer Experiences (SMDEP)

18. Read up on Profession

19. Trinity’s Health Profession Advising Program • Advising • Informational Seminars • Coordination of Health professions Internships • Summer Healthcare Experiences • Advice and Guidance before and during the Application Process

20. Health Profession Advising Committee • 9 Faculty members • Course planning • Overall Application Advising • Letter of Evaluation The Deans agree that the premedical evaluation letter was one of the most important components of their admission process. They considered it to be the single most valuable means to explain and expand upon the applicant’s important personal qualities that cannot be gleaned from a transcript.

21. HPAC Letter of Evaluation • Required by most medical and dental schools • Written by HPAC Interviewer following Committee discussion • Edited and signed by Chair of HPAC

22. Overall Acceptance Rate – 60% 36% of applicants evaluated as either Outstanding or Superior

23. BEWARE the Pre-med Grape Vine http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/05/science-medical-school.html http://www.get-into-medical-school.com/ Studentdoc.com Utilize “HPAP-approved” Websites http://www.guidetohealthcareschools.com/ https://www.aamc.org/students/ http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/index.aspx http://www.adea.org/GoDental/Pages/default.aspx

24. Developing the Skills Needed in Health Care Excellent interpersonal skills were absolutely essential…emotionaland social maturity was just as important as intellectual maturity. Students who had shown leadership, persistence, empathy, an ability to overcome adversity, and a willingness to accept responsibility for their own lives and the lives of others…they were clearly able to demonstrate that they possessed the requisite maturity. This is where the student who has significant real life experience and achievements has a real advantage over the student who can only present academic accomplishments. At Trinity, real life is lived every day… on and off campus

25. Helpful Things You Can Start Doing Tonight! Keep a journal of “the road traveled” – an e-journal (Coll 119) is ideal Develop Excellent Study and Time-management skills (the Scheduler program available upon request) Read articles in the professional journals: NEJM, JAMA, ADEA, etc. Read Articles in the General Press and Professional Journals ALL THE TIME Sign up for the Health Professions Advising Program (HPAP) - Utilize all of the resources available to you as a result…

27. Thanks for coming and… Don’t forget to register (available on-line)