1. Lafayette’s Health Professions Advising Program
Prof. Haug
Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) Co-Chair
Sept. 29, 2017

2. Introduction: HPAC Pre-applicant meeting
Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC)
HPAC focuses on medical, dental, optometry, and veterinary students.
Key Advisory members:
Kenneth Haug, Committee Co-Chair, Dept. of Chemistry.
Five other faculty assist in HPAC committee work and applicant evaluations.
Simona Glaus, Committee Co-Chair, Coordinator of Health Professions Program, Scott Hall.
Melissa Schultz, Senior Assoc. Director, Career Services.
Gateway counselors also assist with career planning

3. Application Time-line
For most people, the optimal time to apply to HP graduate school is in spring/summer of the Senior year. This will give you a growth year / gap year between college and HP graduate school.
If you plan to attend HP graduate school the fall semester after graduation, then you will need to apply in spring/summer of the Junior year.
But apply when right for you! Junior, Senior, Alum, …
HPAC will work with you if all components are in place:
(a) completed course requirements by the end of the application year;
(b) have taken / will be ready to take the Admissions Test (MCAT, DAT, OAT, or VCAT/GRE);
(c) have a competitive application profile of research, clinical internships/externships, and suitable extra-curricular experience.
We have a Green Sheet for you to pick up today and fill out for us.

4. Our HPAC Campus application process:
Watch for our November application meeting in which we will walk you through the full process which mimics the health professional school process.
- Personal Information form
- Application Essay
- Interview with HPAC
- Composite letter of evaluation
Today - we have a Green Sheet for you to pick up and fill out for us.

5. Component parts of application
(1) Complete the basic course requirements (with labs).
(Usually 1 year of Biology, 1 year of Physics, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochem, Psych and A&S for premeds, typically Calc and/or Statistics, etc - see the MSAR, ADEA Guide, etc for details – each school can have slightly different requirements)
(2) Be able to document your set of skills – core competencies as an applicant.
(3) Take the appropriate Admissions Test (MCAT, DAT, OAT, or VCAT/GRE) before, during, or just after the Spring Semester of your application year.
(Premeds: MCAT’s take 4 weeks to get back; Primary application takes about 3-4 weeks to verify. Primary application opens about June 1, applications released to schools around late June, Secondary applications ASAP (in July), first interview calls in July. )
(4) Interviews start in August and extend into the following Spring – so start reading widely on the subject of healthcare.
Current popular topics for med-school interviews: healthcare reform issues, euthanasia, obesity, cancer, end of life issues, aging of the population.
Other interview topics: favorite course, book, leisure activity,
or how has …(fill in your particular biography/experiences)… prepared you for a career in medicine?

6. Things you need to do!
Study - keep the grades up – the difference between a B+ and an A- is significant, and especially in the science courses. Good grades are important!
(2) Start preparation for application tests (MCAT, DAT, etc) Top score is important!
We recommend taking the test in Jan - June at the latest, but take it when you are ready! The application services have sample exams available for purchase; take full-simulation tests multiple times. Lights, cameras, fingerprinting,….
In a 2001 study by the NAAHP, the relative percentage of importance of various applicant factors for admission were:
Academic grades and Science grades: 45-55%
Admissions test scores: %
Research experience and health-related experiences 5-15%
Community service and volunteer work: 5-15%
Letters of recommendation: 5-10%
HP school interview: %

8. AAMC = Association of American Medical Colleges
But good grades are not enough! Time to become familiar with AAMC and Core Competencies
AAMC = Association of American Medical Colleges
at:
These are the people who run the MD application process.
They provide lots of info for Pre-Medical Students
( similar criteria for DO, Dental, and Optometry students as well )
The 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students
Successful medical school applicants are able to demonstrate skills, knowledge, and abilities in these 15 areas. Be aware that one experience that you have can illustrate proficiency across multiple competencies.

9. Pre-professional Competencies
Service Orientation: Demonstrates a desire to help others and sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings; demonstrates a desire to alleviate others’ distress; recognizes and acts on his/her responsibilities to society; locally, nationally, and globally.
 Social Skills: Demonstrates an awareness of others’ needs, goals, feelings, and the ways that social and behavioral cues affect peoples’ interactions and behaviors; adjusts behaviors appropriately in response to these cues; treats others with respect.
 Cultural Competence: Demonstrates knowledge of socio-cultural factors that affect interactions and behaviors; shows an appreciation and respect for multiple dimensions of diversity; recognizes and acts on the obligation to inform one’s own judgment; engages diverse and competing perspectives as a resource for learning, citizenship, and work; recognizes and appropriately addresses bias in themselves and others; interacts effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
 Teamwork: Works collaboratively with others to achieve shared goals; shares information and knowledge with others and provides feedback; puts team goals ahead of individual goals.
 Oral Communication: Effectively conveys information to others using spoken words and sentences; listens effectively; recognizes potential communication barriers and adjusts approach or clarifies information as needed.
 Ethical Responsibility to Self and Others: Behaves in an honest and ethical manner; cultivates personal and academic integrity; adheres to ethical principles and follows rules and procedures; resists peer pressure to engage in unethical behavior and encourages others to behave in honest and ethical ways; develops and demonstrates ethical and moral reasoning.
 Reliability and Dependability: Consistently fulfills obligations in a timely and satisfactory manner; takes responsibility for personal actions and performance.
 Resilience and Adaptability: Demonstrates tolerance of stressful or changing environments or situations and adapts effectively to them; is persistent, even under difficult situations; recovers from setbacks.
 Capacity for Improvement: Sets goals for continuous improvement and for learning new concepts and skills; engages in reflective practice for improvement; solicits and responds appropriately to feedback.

10. Thinking, Reasoning, and Science Competencies
Thinking and Reasoning Competencies
 Critical Thinking: Uses logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
 Quantitative Reasoning: Applies quantitative reasoning and appropriate mathematics to describe or explain phenomena in the natural world.
 Scientific Inquiry: Applies knowledge of the scientific process to integrate and synthesize information, solve problems and formulate research questions and hypotheses; is facile in the language of the sciences and uses it to participate in the discourse of science and explain how scientific knowledge is discovered and validated.
 Written Communication: Effectively conveys information to others using written words and sentences.
Science Competencies
 Living Systems: Applies knowledge and skill in the natural sciences to solve problems related to molecular and macro systems including biomolecules, molecules, cells, and organs.
 Human Behavior: Applies knowledge of the self, others, and social systems to solve problems related to the psychological, socio-cultural, and biological factors that influence health and well-being.

11. Additional Useful Resources
Pre-med:
Aspiring Docs (the AAMC’s Aspiring Docs website provides resources and inspiration to help pre-med students get started on their path to medicine)
the Premed Navigator (a monthly that includes relevant information, resources, tools, tips, and important dates for pre-med students at every stage of their journey to medical school)
Aspiring Docs Diaries blog
Pre-dental:
ADEA GoDental (The ADEA GoDental website provides comprehensive resources to help prospective dental students get started on their path to dentistry)
ADEA GoDental Newsletter
ADEA Dental Blogs
Pre-vet:
The AAVMC’s portal (provides information, resources and tools to help pre-vet students get started on path to medicine
The Pathways Newsletter (the AAVMC’s monthly newsletter designed specifically for pre-vet students)
Pre-optometry:
The ASCO website (provides information and resources to help students get started on exploring a career in optometry)
ASCO’s Eye on Optometry blog (provides timely and useful information to anyone who is interested in applying to optometry school)

12. Things you need to do … continued
(3) Get additional medical experience over winter break as needed – volunteering, externships, internships – see Career Services for extra information: Career Services – Hogg Hall
Experiences during the application summer can be useful – but you will not have them for the HPAC evaluation and the primary application but you may include them on secondary applications.
(4) Continue with undergraduate research experience – you prefer to have a completed research experience by June 1 of your application year.
(5) Continue with community service / extracurricular experience as well.
You need to be able to show those people skills (leadership, teamwork, communication, social and caring skills) on your application!

13. Things that you need to do … continued
(7) Have a back-up plan – sometimes it doesn’t work out, at least not right away.
Gap Year – needs to be a Growth Year (something professional)
Reapplications plans – what will make your application stronger?
Postbac plans – basic science vs advanced science types?
Master’s Programs, etc. – an advanced degree in something you love.
Professional work using your BS/AB degree – preferably in a health related area (NIH, etc), but you never know … create your story! \
want a foot in the door – the bus leaves Oct. 10th!

14. Lafayette’s Health Professions Advising Program
All of us at Lafayette look forward to helping you succeed in your plans for a career in the health professions. Visit our web site: ,
Please watch for additional events!

15. Upcoming Events
Tuesday, October 3, 2017: Studying Abroad in the Health Professions
Presentation
Noon-1:00pm; 115 Hugel
Thursday, October 12, 2017: Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Presentation
Noon-1:00pm; 103 Hugel
Tues, Oct. 10, 2017: trip to NIH if you can make it and if still room
Student Club Events – I don’t have a schedule, but we want to coordinate – stop by to give us contact info!