Health Professions Informational Meeting

Fall Semester

How to spend your years at Trinity preparing for a career in

the Health Professions

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

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)

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…

One of the over-riding values that the Deans wanted to see in their applicants was a life-long commitment to learning…essential for students to develop the information gathering skills…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.

Curriculum

-taken from the article “Admission Deans’ Roundtable: Medicine as a Liberal Arts” published in The Advisor March 2003

Health Care Campusesall within a 10 minute walk

Hartford Hospital

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center

Institute of Living

Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center

CommunityImportant 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.

Academics• Major• Graduate School Requirements• GPA• Electives• Special Programs

– Study Abroad– Health Fellows– Internships

“ 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

Majors of Trinity Students Attending Medical School

• Biology• Chemistry• Neuroscience• English• Mathematics• Political Science

Medical School Pre-requisite Courses Trinity College Course Equivalent

1 year of Introductory Chemistry with Lab CHEM 111L (fall); CHEM 112L (spring)

1 year of Organic Chemistry with Lab CHEM 211L (fall); CHEM 212L (spring)

1 year of Introductory Biology with Lab BIOL 182L (fall); BIOL 183L (springl)

1 year of Physics with Lab PHYS 101L (fall); PHYS 231L (spring) *

1 year of Mathematics § MATH 131 (fall); MATH 107 (spring)

1 year of English Typically a writing intensive course and a literature course

It is strongly recommended that a course in genetics and/or biochemistry be taken

BIOL 224; BIOL 317

* - 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 Fall Semester Spring Semester

First Year CHEM 111L; BIOL 182L; MATH 131 CHEM 112L; BIOL 183L; English Writing

Sophomore Year CHEM 211L; BIOL 224; English Lit. CHEM 212L; MATH 107

Junior Year PHYS 101L; BIOL 317 PHYS 102L

Senior Year Electives; Internships Electives; Internships

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!!

Acceptance rate for applicants, 2005-2007

(aggregated)

Total MCAT Scores

All

5-14 15-17 18-20 21-23 24-26 27-29 30-32 33-35 36-38 39-45

GPA Total

Acceptance rate %

>3.80 3.6 9.1 19.2 27.9 47.8 74.1 85.5 89.4 91.9 93.0 74.1

3.60-3.79 2.8 4.7 13.2 21.0 35.3 59.6 76.8 83.7 86.0 88.8 58.5

3.40-3.59 2.5 4.1 10.6 16.1 27.5 45.9 63.2 73.3 76.1 83.7 44.3

3.20-3.39 1.1 2.9 8.9 16.2 20.7 32.9 46.2 55.1 61.0 70.9 30.3

3.00-3.19 0.6 2.6 7.3 13.8 18.4 25.8 34.8 38.4 52.1 54.1 21.4

2.80-2.99 0.7 1.9 4.1 13.0 16.8 20.7 25.6 27.4 38.6 54.2 15.1

2.60-2.79 0.3 2.4 6.1 10.2 12.4 16.9 22 26.6 36.4 50.0 11.4

2.40-2.59 0 1.6 2.2 6.7 9.9 11.0 20.3 25.0 16.7 0 7.2

2.20-2.39 0 2.0 3.0 6.7 7.9 7.7 12.8 8.3 16.7 100 4.7

2.00-2.19 0 6.4 0 9.4 0 5.3 8.3 22.2 0 0 3.8

1.47-1.99 0 4.5 6.7 0 6.7 0 16.7 0 0 0 3.8

AllAcceptances 28 119 617 2,088 5,586 12,793 15,208 10,218 4,708 1,483 52,848

Applicants 2,705 3,565 6,602 12,077 19,401 26,164 23,260 13,541 5,715 1,682 114,712

Acceptance rate % 1.0 3.3 9.3 17.3 28.8 48.9 65.4 75.5 82.4 88.2 46.1

Importance of Good Grades and Getting off to a Good Start

-data table adapted from original data supplied by AMCAS

MCAT/GPA and Acceptance to Medical School Correlation – Percentage of Trinity College Applicants Accepted

2002-2011

MCAT

GPA <22 22-24 25-27 28-30 31-33 34-36 >36

>3.8 50 100 83 100 100

3.6-3.79 20 70 67 88 100 67

3.4-3.59 0 20 46 83 71 86 50

3.2-3.39 0 20 10 41 78 67 50

3.0-3.19 0 33 40 29 38 75 100

<3.0 25 33 14 38 50 33 100

RESEARCH

The Deans’ felt that research was an excellent way for a student to demonstrate intellectual maturity, independence of thought, creativity, love of learning…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.

Extracurricular Activities

Gaining an Understanding of the Profession

AMSA

Seminars

Summer Experiences (SMDEP)

INTERNSHIPSHealth Fellows Program

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES PROGRAM

Read up on Profession

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

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.

Health Profession Advising Committee

• 9 Faculty members• Course planning• Overall Application Advising• Letter of Evaluation

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

36% of applicants evaluated as either Outstanding or Superior

Acceptance RateSuperior Rating – 28/32 = 88%

Outstanding Rating – 57/62 = 92%

Combined – 85/94 = 90%

Applicants 261

Accepted (MD/DO) 157

Overall Acceptance Rate – 60%

BEWARE the Pre-med Grape Vine

Studentdoc.com

http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/index.aspx

Utilize “HPAP-approved” Websites

https://www.aamc.org/students/

http://www.adea.org/GoDental/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.guidetohealthcareschools.com/

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/05/science-medical-school.html

http://www.get-into-medical-school.com/

Excellent interpersonal skills were absolutely essential…emotional and 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.

Developing the Skills Needed in Health Care

At Trinity, real life is lived every day…

on and off campus

Read articles in the professional journals:NEJM , JAMA, ADEA, etc.

Read Articles in the General Press and Professional Journals ALL THE TIME

Helpful Things You Can Start Doing Tonight!

Develop Excellent Study and Time-management skills(the Scheduler program available upon request)

Keep a journal of “the road traveled” – an e-journal (Coll 119) is ideal

Sign up for the Health Professions Advising Program (HPAP) -Utilize all of the resources available to you as a result…

Thanks for coming and…

Don’t forget to register

(available on-line)