Program helps students prepare for entrance to medical schools
Universities and colleges throughout Utah and the nation each try to push a certain image to graduating high school seniors and their parents.
While Utah State University may be best known for agriculture and engineering, more programs are on the rise to add to that image. Under the direction of the department of biology comes one of the lesser-known programs at USU, the pre-medical, pre-dental and pre-health program.
The advising for this program is done out of the Biology/Natural Resources Building. Liz Heffernan, the full-time academic adviser, assists students with the program.
“We try to get them as freshmen. There is a lot to do, like community service, specific classes to take and other requirements that we try to get them into, so they’ll be ready to apply for a medical school,” she said.
The work to complete the program is demanding, but the results represent its effect. From the statistics on their Web site, the ’02-’03 school year had 83 percent of pre-med and 64 percent of pre-dental students getting accepted into their choice of schools. The ’03-’04 class had 75 percent pre-med and 65 percent of pre-dental students being admitted.
Depending on the year, the percentages of students getting accepted into medical and dental school is well above the national average of 45-50 percent, Andy Anderson, the pre-health adviser, said.
A list of minimum required classes in the sciences includes high level courses in biology, physics and chemestry.
“A variety and number of carefully selected courses in the humanities and social sciences should be elected beyond those required for the University Studies requirement. This provides and eclectic background that is generally favored by medical and dental school admission boards,” an information sheet for the program stated.
That’s just the goal the program has.
In response to the success rate of students entering nationally recognized schools, Anderson said, “It seems to be no amazement when you look at what our students do. We’re not like a large, impersonal program like the University of Utah. With the numbers we have, we are able to work closely with our people.”
During a student’s junior year, they are given the opportunity to sit down at a special board of review.
“We have set standards they need to meet to even sit in on the panel and when they are ready, it provides a wealth of experience and helps them to have a portfolio ready when they apply for school,” Anderson said. “After taking these classes, doing the community service and their shadowing, plus everything else, we sit them before a panel of professors and health professionals from the community.”
About the review, Heffernan said, “It’s quite helpful, really. We draw interviewers for the panel from all departments of the university. We try to match up professors from a department with students who majored in that particular area so they can be better understood.”
Students who participate in the interviewing process receive experience presenting themselves before professionals who really understand their goals. They also get letters of recommendation to accompany them as they move on.
In addition to the program, students are provided with the opportunity to join extra-curricular clubs that put them in contact with other people who share their interest. Some of which include the Pre-Dental, Women in Medicine and Pharmacy clubs.
“Before I started here, there was one professor who did all the work on the letters of recommendation. It wasn’t really a problem because there were very few students. It’s great to see the program grow and that we can offer them an experience that makes them special to their desired schools. We just want to get [students] at the beginning so they can take advantage of the program,” Anderson said.
For questions regarding the program, Liz Heffernan can be contacted at 797-2577 in the BNR Building in Room 101.
-nebutler@cc.usu.edu