Transcript Amy Leddy's Pre-Med and Health Professions Advice

OVERVIEW OF THE HEALTH
PROFESSIONS
Amy B. Leddy, Health
Professions Advisor
213 Whitmore Lab
Penn State
814-865-7620
[email protected]
Outline
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Academic Preparation
Allopathic/Osteopathic Medicine
Dental Medicine
Application Timeline
Optometry School
Pharmacy School
PA Programs
QUESTIONS
Is a Career in Health for You??
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Do You Like to Deal with People?
Are You Comfortable with and like the Sciences?
Are You Prepared to Keep Up with Developments in
Your Field?
Are You Comfortable in a Health Care Setting?
Are You a Team Player?
What Lifestyle /Work Ethic Do You Envision?
What should I major In????
 For any of the Health Professions, one can major in ANY major
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provided that one:
Did well in science courses (Biology, Chemistry, Physics , Organic
and Math)
Met prerequisite courses (for medical and dental schools;
typically one year of math and English plus one year of Biology
with lab, General Chemistry with lab, Physics with Lab and
Organic Chemistry with lab.)
Did well on entrance exams such as MCAT/DAT/OAT
Had appropriate health care experiences
Obtained letters of recommendation/committee letter
Strong extracurricular activities
Allopathic (MD) vs Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
 Both are 4 year medical schools with almost identical
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curriculums. Both have residency programs
Both require the same prerequisites and MCAT exam.
MD is more competitive; 3.65 GPA and 130 schools
DOs a bit less competitive; 3.45 GPA and 30 schools.
DOs are trained in manipulation techniques.
Both MDs and DOs can specialize. DOs are now in every
area of medicine, where in the past they mostly were in
primary care areas.
Allopathic Medicine (M.D.)
 Nationally in 2008, 42,231 applied to MD programs, 18,036
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matriculants.
Average GPA of Matriculants- 3.66
Average MCAT Verbal Reasoning 9.9, Physical Sciences
10.3, Biological Sciences 10.7.
131 Medical schools
Students apply through centralized application called
AAMCAS located at www.aamc.org
Osteopathic Medicine (D.O)
 Nationally for the 2008 starting class, 12,875 applied 4,575
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matriculated.
Average overall GPA of matriculants 3.47
Average science GPA of matriculants 3.35
Average MCAT scores; Verbal Reasoning 8.59, Physical
Sciences 8.40, Biological Sciences 9.13.
31 DO schools
Students need a letter from a D.O.
Centralized application called AACOMAS located at
www.aacom.org
Penn State Medical School Statistics
 About 400 students per year come to Penn State with the
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intent of preparing for medical school.
About 200 students per year apply for MD admission.
Another 70 or so apply to DO schools.
About 135 student are accepted to MD schools with another
50-60 or so accepted to DO schools.
ALL PSU ACCEPT RATE IS 65-70%
~70-75 percent of students are from the College of Science,
with the remainder mostly coming from Engineering,
HHD, and Liberal Arts.
Medical Specialties
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Allergy and Immunology (5)
Anesthesiology (4)
Colon and Rectal Surgery (6)
Dermatology (3-4)
Emergency Medicine (3)
Family Medicine (3)
Internal Medicine (3)
Medical Genetics (2-4)
Neurological Surgery (5-7)
Neurology (4)
Nuclear Medicine (3)
Obstetrics and Gynecology (4)
Ophthalmology (4)
Orthopaedic Surgery (5)
 Otolaryngology (5)
 Pathology(3-4)
 Pediatrics (3)
 Physical Medicine and
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Rehabilitation (4)
Plastic Surgery (5-7)
Preventive Medicine (3)
Psychiatry (4)
Radiation Oncology (5)
Radiology (5)
Surgery (5)
Thoracic Surgery (6-8)
Urology (5)
Dental School
 Nationally in 2008, 11,100 applied with 4,770 accepted.
 There has been a dramatic increase in applications and
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competitiveness.
In 2007 the average GPA was 3.48 science GPA 3.54 overall.
Average DAT scores Academic 18.7, PAT 17.
PSU students applying to dental schools has increased almost
30%
Prerequisites include 1 year with lab of the following General
Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics
(though Physics is not on the DAT) Need to check particular
schools for credits required for Organic Chemistry and if
Biochemistry is required
Centralized application service called AADSAS located at
www.adea.org.
We recommend students use our committee to get letters of
recommendation.
Application Timeline Process
 Freshmen/Sophomore Years
 Begin taking prerequisite courses and do well on them.
 Begin getting health care/volunteer experience
 Involvement in extracurricular activities/research
 Junior Year
 Study for and take MCAT or DAT (Both the MCAT and DAT
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exams are offered electronically)
Some student choose to take a review course
Fill out centralized applications
Get letters of recommendation for Penn State’s Committee
letter- try to get them in by the end of March
Send out applications in early summer and have interview
with PSU’s Committee.
Penn State sends packet to indicated schools through the
Virtual Evaluation (VE) process.
Optometry School
 There are 20 schools of optometry in the US including one in
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Puerto Rico
Many of our students go to SALUS ( the old PA College of
Optometry in Philadelphia)
Optometry schools generally require the same prerequisites as
medical school, but include calculus, biochemistry and
microbiology with lab. Each school varies somewhat with
additional prerequisites so it is important to check each one.
Students take the OAT exam typically in their junior year They
are electronically based and taken at a Prometric Test Center.
In 2005 the average GPA was 3.37. The OAT is scaled on a score of
200-400. Students admitted typically have above 330.
Students apply through a centralized process called OptomCAS
Students may use our committee letter for optometry school
admission
http://www.opted.org/info_main.cfm
Pharmacy School
 Penn State does not have a pharmacy program,
however there are routes that students can choose to
prepare for application to a Pharm D. program.
 The Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree program
requires at least 2-years of specific pre-professional
(undergraduate) coursework followed by 4-academic
years (or 3-calendar years) of professional study.
Pharmacy colleges and schools may accept students
directly from high school for both the pre-pharmacy
and pharmacy curriculum, or after completion of the
college course prerequisites. The majority of students
enter a pharmacy program with 3 or more years of
college experience. College graduates who enroll in a
pharmacy program must complete the full 4-academic
years (or 3-calendar) years of professional study to
earn the Pharm.D. degree.
Pharmacy cont
 Students apply either through PharmCas or
individually through the school if the school does not
participate in the centralized application. There are 111
accredited schools
 For the fall 2008 entering class, the average
undergraduate GPAs of PharmCAS applicants offered
admission were as follows: Science – 3.35,and
Cumulative – 3.46. The majority of accepted applicants
completed 3 or more year of college study before
enrolling in a pharmacy degree program. Accepted
applicants had an average composite PCAT score of 65
percent.
 http://www.aacp.org
Physician Assistant Programs
 There are currently more than 140 accredited programs.
 Difficult to advise for. Each school is very different and have
varying requirements. Some are certificate programs. B.S.
programs and M.S programs.
 The typical PA program is 24-27 months long and requires at least
two years of college and some health care experience prior to
admission. The majority of students have a BA/BS degree and just
under 40 months of health care experience before admission to a
PA program. While all programs recognize the professional
component of PA education with a document of completion for
the professional credential (PA), seventy-five percent of the
programs award a master's degree. [102 award master's degrees,
24 award bachelor's degrees, 4 award associate degrees, and 5
award certificates.]
PA cont
 Courses most likely required include chemistry,
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anatomy with lab, physiology with lab, and
microbiology with lab…Again some schools may
require additional courses.
Important for students to have health care
experience. Some schools require up to 1000
hours.
In 2008 there were 10,550 applicants and of those
3,835 matriculated.
Average GPA was 3.25 and a Science GPA of 3.11
Students typically apply through CASPA, a
centralized application
http://www.aapa.org/
Helpful advising resources
 Allopathic Medicine American Medical Association
http://www.ama-assn.org/
 Assocation of American Medical Colleges
http://www.aamc.org/
 Chiropractic The American Chiropractic Assocation
http://www.chirocolleges.com/
 Dentistry American Association of Dental Schools
http://www.adea.org/
 American Dental Association
http://www.ada.org/
 Disadvantaged/Minority Student Programs MEDPREP
http://www.som.siu.edu/medprep/
 NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program
https://ugsp.nih.gov/
 Financial Aid FAFSA http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
 FIRST (Financial Information, Resources, Services and Tools)
http://www.aamc.org/programs/first/start.htm
 Genetics National Society of Genetic Counselors
http://www.nsgc.org/
 Holistic/Naturopathic Medicine American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
http://www.naturopathic.org/
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Optometry The American Academy of Optometry
http://www.aaopt.org/
The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry
http://www.opted.org/
Osteopathic Medicine American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
http://www.aacom.org/
American Osteopathic Association
http://www.aoa-net.org/
Pharmacy American Assocation of Colleges of Pharmacy
http://www.aacp.org/
Physical Therapy American Physical Therapy Association
http://www.APTA.org/
Physician Assistants
American Academy of Physician Assistants
http://www.aapa.org/
Association of Physician Assistant Programs
http://www.apap.org/
Podiatric Medicine
American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine
http://www.aacpm.org/
Public Health
American Public Health Association
http://www.apha.org/
Sports Medicine
American College of Sports Medicine
http://www.acsm.org/
Veterinary Medicine Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
http://www.aavmc.org/