Health-Related Professions FAQ

1. Health-Related ProfessionsFAQ November 9, 2010 Dr. Bruce Hathaway and Dr. Andreé Elliott Health Professions Advisors

2. Topics • Personal and professional development guidance • Undergraduate Research on-campus • Global Health Missions Conference • LEGS/ACL/Dissection Teams • PT/OT and PA • Veterinary School • Pre-JAMP and JAMP • Offshore Medical schools • Upcoming practice tests • Graduate School Seminar

3. Personality and Personal Development • Speaking is important as is listening • Take every opportunity to talk and listen with people that are strangers • You must be able listen and perceive • Make decisions rapidly • Be a team player • Be involved in leadership of an organization

4. Grades are important! • Aim for A’s in All Academics • Cum GPA of 3.6 or above preferably 3.8 or greater • A low GPA will keep you out of a professional school even with an above average standardized test score • No C’s; yet one is not the end of the world • You will report every course and grade you have ever taken at every college. Course repeats show motivation but do not help eliminate C, D, or F grades • Multiple withdrawals are a red flag to evaluators.

5. Preparing for entrance Exams • To prepare it is best to keep and study your textbooks and notes from your key science courses • Memorize the formulas in Physics and General Chemistry • Enroll and complete a preparation course because these are targeted reviews and give you extensive simulated testing conditions including the length of testing • Take the test when you are best prepared, preferably near the beginning of the application cycle

6. Application • Applications will want grades, contact information, email, picture, money, personal statement, names of referees/evaluators • Medical School - May 1 after junior year for Texas and May 1st thereafter • June 1 using AAMCAS for schools in other states. • Please consult your advisor about applying. You may or may not be ready to apply. • Texas residency means one complete year working full time in the state while NOT a full time student. You cannot claim this until after it is fulfilled. The TMDSAS website has details.

7. Letters of Evaluation • These are requested from your faculty members and we then communicate about your cognitive abilities, character, motivation, and people skills. Work and volunteer experience, and special circumstances. • This must include a signed release form allowing a confidential evaluation letter. You will not have access to this letter, ever. It is to your advantage to have a confidential letter. • Provide a resume to the person writing each letter. Please include volunteer and work experiences, honors, awards, and copies transcripts for ALL of your college courses from all the institutions you have ever attended.

8. Clinical Issues/Observation • You should enroll in Issues in the spring semester and observation the following fall semester, then choose when you will complete the 2nd semester of observation. Observation is important because you need to make sure you know the profession before you commit such time and intensity to get into professional school. • Some professions require more clinical experience/exposure; 100’s of hours.

9. Résumé/Portfolio • Keep a record of experience. (Dates, supervisor, responsibilities.) • work • volunteer • extracurricular academic/service • Awards, Honors. • Examples of writing and other projects, such as research. Use your ePortfolio • References – people who know you well enough to write professionally about your character, work experience, and/or academic performance and abilities.

10. Altruism • Defined: giving because you just want to help others for no compensation or reciprocation. This may be helping someone learn to read or tutoring without pay. Go on a mission trip that you pay for yourself. • It should be a consistent pattern of behavior that truly indicates this is at the core of your personhood.

11. What should I do with my summers? • Clinical work experience • Semester abroad • Biomedical Research • Medical Mission trip • Take some courses to relieve your course load

12. Foreign Language • Speaking the language of the patient often increases the ministry opportunities and the accuracy of treatment by the clinician. • UT Southwestern Physician Assistant program requires clinical Spanish throughout the program. • Mission trips or language immersion are very beneficial.

13. Nursing at LETU/UTTyler • Two degrees in 4 years plus 4 summers: Bachelor of Arts, Health Sciences major (LETU) and Bachelor of Science Nursing (UT Tyler) • Guaranteed admission into the clinical nursing courses as long as prerequisites are met. • Prerequisites include a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75, grades of “B” or higher in Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Grades of “C” or higher in General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Lab I, and 72 percentile on the Test of Essential Academic Skills • Traditional face-to-face courses plus online courses • Clinical instruction provided by UT Tyler College of Nursing and Health Sciences • Opportunity to gain clinical experience via international experiences along with the required typical clinical experiences via local clinics and hospitals • Spanish Language and Medical Terminology are part of the required curriculum • Student may remain residential on the LETU campus • All courses will be taught in Longview (except international experiences)

14. Additional Items of Interest • Undergraduate Research on-campus • Global Health Missions Conference • LEGS/ACL/Dissection Teams • Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy • Physician Assistant • Veterinary School

15. Pre-JAMP and JAMP • MCAT,DAT, GRA Kaplan Practice Test – Saturday Nov 14, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Berry Auditorium • Graduate School Seminar Nov 19, 6 p.m. Berry Auditorium

16. Questions?