1. Is a career IN MEDICINE right for me?
Esmeralda Lozano, Senior Program Coordinator
UT Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine

2. Yes, if… You understand that a medical career must be earned with:
Hard work
Diligent investment of time
Responsibility for self and decisions made
Maturity to understand the reality of setbacks
Accepting facts:
asking for help when necessary
willing to listen to and accept constructive feedback

3. Develop Self Starting Now
Ask yourself:
About Academics: Am I choosing to learn the subject matter or am I memorizing to get the grade, rank, social status?
Example: Do you remember and can you apply the subject matter from a test after you’ve taken the exam?
Grade and rank while factors, dim in comparison to the artful craft of learning; the latter will help you excel in professional school and is critical in propelling you to persevere.

4. Develop Self Starting Now
Ask yourself:
Do you like to read?
If yes: Excellent start…keep it up! It helps develop reading speed, complex comprehension skills, verbal and writing skills.
If no: Start reading as much as you can, regardless of whether or not you want to. This is a part of the “hard work” and the “diligent invest of time.”
“The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking.” –Christopher Morley

5. Develop Self Starting Now
Ask yourself:
Do you like to be of service to others?
If yes: Keep it up. Diversify your volunteer activities and make sure that these activities have meaning for you. This is critical in helping to develop your “human experience” skills and provide a wealth of experiences to share during interviews.
Diversify—pediatric clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, orphanages/foster care programs, hospice
If no: Reach deep and understand your real reasons for pursuing a health professions career. Is it your career choice or someone else’s? What would your dream career be if you had a choice?

6. Develop Self Starting Now
Along with everything else…
Define your moral compass
Define your ethics compass
Recognize the need to:
Respect yourself; Respect others; accept Responsibility for all your actions
Why?
Academia will help you learn your craft skills; your moral and ethics compasses will define who you are as a health professional and will assist you in making tough decisions in life.

7. Define Your Balance
Academic success is critical in achieving your health professions pursuits…so is finding a balance.
Define your balance & work it into your schedule
Family time
Music / Art / Photography
Exercise
Cooking
Sustaining and growing your faith
Writing
Recharging necessary to give your 110% in academics and to future patients

8. High School Course selection
You are now required to take four years of math / science
Which ones will you take?
What path will you follow?
Advanced Placement (AP) vs. Dual (DE)/Concurrent Enrollment (CE)
Focus on basic core classes
If AP with AP Exam: regardless if you can opt out of college class in the subject area, strong recommendation is to take the subject in college to maximize learning and preparation for professional school exams
If DE/CE: be clearly aware that you are creating a college transcript; the grade that you earn in your DE/CE class is permanent.

9. Transition Time  Going to College
Applying for college
Talk to your counselor or college representative
Weigh out all your options
2 year vs. 4 year
4 year: preferred choice for health professions in medicine, dentistry, nursing (BSN), biomedical sciences, pharmacy and more
2 year: for certain health professions, perfect choice; if for financial aid reasons, be sure that classes transfer directly into the degree plan at the 4 year university you transfer to
Apply early
Give yourself choices
Do your homework
Become familiar with your college health professions advisor

10. Transition Time  Going to College
Two-Year versus Four-year Colleges
Medical schools are looking for well rounded, broadly educated individuals
Most medical schools look at your performance in undergraduate sciences as a good predictor of your potential to deal with the medical school curriculum.
Most successful applicants to professional school successfully complete a baccalaureate degree
“Many students choose a school based on the wrong criteria… choose the school where you can become your very best.”
Scott Gunn, Ph.D., Professor of Genetics and Health Professions Advisor, UTRGV-Edinburg

11. Transition Time  AP Credit
(Dr. Scott Gunn)
Acceptance of AP credits to meet the prerequisite requirements is at the discretion of the medical school
Connect with the Health Professions Advisor early and often.
The HPA provides more appropriate advice than any of the general advisors.
“Better to ask twice than to lose your way once.” Danish Proverb

12. Planning is the Key
(Dr. Scott Gunn)
Learn what is required for your major and any prerequisite courses for professional school.
Plan a reasonably paced curriculum
Include time for extracurricular activities and experiences
Take time for yourself.
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would spend six sharpening my ax.” –Abraham Lincoln

13. On the College Campus Choosing a major Prerequisite Courses:
Science vs. Everything else
Biological Sciences
General Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
No specific major is favored or suggested by medical schools; however, applicant must take all pre-requisite classes
Biochemistry
Physics
English
Statistics

14. College Medical School Course Requirements:
Biological Sciences
14 semester hours
12 semester hours of lecture
2 semester hours of formal lab
General Chemistry
8 semester hours
6 semester hours of lecture
2 hours of lab

15. College Medical School Course Requirements:
Organic Chemistry
8 semester hours
6 semester hours of lecture
2 semester hours of formal lab
Biochemistry
3 semester hours Biochemistry course in a traditional science field (introductory classes not applicable)
Course can be taught in the Biology, Biochemistry or Chemistry Department of the university
Examples: pH; Amino Acid Structure; Protein Structure, Enzyme Kinetics and Metabolism; DNA replication (to name a few…)

16. College Medical School Course Requirements:
Physics
8 semester hours
6 semester hours of lecture
2 semester hours of formal lab
English
6 semester hours of college English
Statistics
3 semester hours of Statistics taught in Math or Statistics Department

17. Texas Medical Schools UT Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
Texas A&M HSC, College of Medicine
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Texas Tech HSC School of Medicine
UT Medical Branch at Galveston
UNT HSC Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
McGovern Medical School
Texas Tech HSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine-El Paso
UT School of Medicine at San Antonio
UT Health Science Center Houston
UT Austin, Dell Medical School
Baylor College of Medicine

18. College What do I do with my “spare” time
All the same rules apply, plus:
Research
Check out undergraduate school websites for research opportunities offered to high school students
Mentoring
Shadowing
Internships
Work

19. College Special Programs JAMP (Joint Admissions Medical Program)
APRIME (Accelerated Professional, Relevant, Integrated, Medical Education)
FASTS (Facilitated Admissions for South Texas Scholars)
FAME (Facilitated Acceptance to Medical Education)
EMSAP (Early Medical School Admissions Program)
PHC (Premedical Honors College)

20. Check These Out… UTRGV School of Medicine (UTRGV SOM)
aid/admissions-requirements/index.htm
Texas Medical Dental Student Association (TMDSAS)
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
career/medical-careers/aspirings-docs/

21. Typical first semester of medical school, YOU WILL READ
One More Thing…
READ! READ! READ!
Typical first semester of medical school, YOU WILL READ
Approximately 14,400 pages!

22. --Texas A&M Health Science Center
One More Thing…
“With the vast amount of information to read in medical school, reading quickly, efficiently and with great comprehension and retention is a necessity…”
--Texas A&M Health Science Center

23. Thank You! Esmeralda Lozano, Senior Program Coordinator
UTRGV School of Medicine
Office: