If there was a Pre-Med/Pre-Health honors program, what would YOU want it to include?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>I spoke to Dr. Sharpe about a week ago about the possibility of starting another Honors Program - one for Pre-Med and/or Pre-Health students.</p>

<p>Bama is in a unique situation. It offers fab scholarships for student with high stats - many of which are pre-med majors. Such an honors program will help Bama get more high stats OOS students who are seeking pre-health degrees and want to save money for their professional degrees.</p>

<p>I was surprised by how welcoming he was about the idea and has asked to talk more with me about it.</p>

<p>So, I’ve been doing some research, talking to the Pre-Med advisors, looking at what other colleges are doing, etc. I’m trying to put together a strong proposal describing what such a program should look like, who should qualify, how students would benefit, etc.</p>

<p>The purpose of such a program would be have more assured opportunities for research and shadowing opportunities for those who are Pre-med. This would assure those who aren’t in CBH that they, too, will have beneficial research opportunities. :)</p>

<p>The program would probably have to coordinate with the existing pre-med honors society, so as to not conflict with their purposes. </p>

<p>Now, I’m asking for your ideas…</p>

<p>Keep in mind that…</p>

<p>1) Not sure if the program should first start as Pre-Med honors and then later expand to Pre-Health (including pre-dental, pre-Pharm, pre-vet, etc) or if it should be Pre-health from the beginning.</p>

<p>2) not sure if sophomore status should be required (to eliminate all those who start as pre-med, but then quickly drop when they find Bio or Chem too hard). Using AP credits for soph status would be fine.</p>

<p>3) not sure to require a GPA …such as 3.5 or higher. One of the med advisors didn’t like a GPA req’t, but I think one might be necessary.</p>

<p>4) don’t want a CBH/UFE interview process. Want kids to qualify by stats, credits, etc. </p>

<p>5) would want specific Bama profs to be included for research opportunities - especially those who are involved in medical type of research</p>

<p>6) may want to somehow include what is going in Primary Care at the Bama College of Medicine building. </p>

<p>7) may want to include something (I don’t know what) with UAB medical school.</p>

<p>8) may want to include something with the nearby DCH Medical Center.</p>

<p>9) coordinate shadowing opportunities with local physicians.</p>

<p>10) Pre-med/pre-health majors can be found in many, many disciplines. Not all are bio majors or chem majors. </p>

<p>11) I’m thinking that it would be more like UFE (without a bunch of required classes), but might have some classes.</p>

<p>Lastly, I’d like the pre-med honors program to have a clever name. Maybe an acronym that is also a word. This isn’t important, but I think it’s nice to have a clever name. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Ok dear friends…what are YOUR thoughts. I plan on stealing every good idea (just kidding. I will credit all ideas that I use.)</p>

2

<p>M2CK, sophomore standing, at the very least, is a good idea. There are plenty of students who go to college with the intention of being pre-med or any other math/science-based major, but quickly realize that physics, organic chem and calculus are tough subjects. A strong GPA (3.5 and above) is also needed – after all, medical schools primarily look at GPA and test scores.</p>

3

<p>I agree that many decide against pre-med once they don’t do well in those early science classes. That’s why I came up with the idea of Soph standing. </p>

<p>As for the GPA req’t, I agree with that, too. The lower the GPA the less likely for med school acceptance. </p>

<p>What other ideas do you (and everyone else) have?</p>

4

<p>I had a discussion with Dr. Sharpe last week too and this topic (along with CC) came up. I’d like to see something that involves volunteering with underprivileged communities much like UFE. One of the Honors College’s focuses is community service, so I could see it being an integral part of the program. If UA could work something out with Regina Benjamin’s (US Surgeon General who’s from AL) office, the program could prove very popular.</p>

5

<p>I think a great part of the program would be a class involving cadaver dissection. Just met a young man today who was premed, but then volunteered on autopsies one summer and realized it was not for him. My son attended a National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine program a couple of summers ago, where the kids went into an anatomy lab and got to work on cadavers. Some colleges do have courses that involve cadaver work at the undergraduate level. This would probably be something that would have to be done in association with UAB, and I’m sure would be very expensive, but it may be doable if there’s a limit on enrollment.</p>

6

<p>If Bama doesn’t have a human anatomy & physiology class that includes cadavers, then that should be something that it needs to offer at least to those in honors. </p>

<p>Bama has over 500 pre-med students at any one time. This is a class that could be offered to those in the pre-med honors program.</p>

7

<p>I think that cadavers are pretty pricey, so there would at least have to be a hefty lab fee.</p>

8

<p>I like the idea! An honors program like this might be the deciding factor in my son choosing Alabama. I think it would be excellent. I don’t have any specific ideas for it at this point but will think about it some more. Although I do like the sophomore standing and minimum GPA requirements.</p>

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<p>If you go with pre-health, you could also invite business majors to join the organization – remember, hospitals are more than doctors and nurses. They need financial people, etc., and while that it not from a math/science view, it is important that they are exposed to the field of health care administration.</p>

10

<p>I think that cadavers are pretty pricey, so there would at least have to be a hefty lab fee.</p>

<p>I think there’s a difference (price wise) between watching an intact cadaver being dissected and one that is preserved, already dissected, and used over and over again. That would be less expensive.</p>

<p>When I took A&P, the cadaver was used over and over again. It was heavily preserved with formaldehyde. We didn’t do the dissection, it was already done. So, that wouldn’t cost as much.</p>

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<p>Building on what Momreads said, I think it would be good to have a requirement to attend a certain number of 1 hour lectures/events that focus on health care. I know that a number of LACs have this type of requirement for graduation (Belmont calls it convocation; Birmingham Southern has a similar program.) There are so many facets of health care outside of biology & anatomy & physiology that are important to think about (business, public health, etc.) That coupled with the community service aspect would give a more holistic view of health care.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>Are these lectures/events on their campus or are they somewhere else? Are they during regular class time or weekends/evenings?</p>

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<p>If I recall correctly, they were all held on campus. Different LACs handle this type of requirement differently but they all said each student had to take part in x number of these events before graduation. It wasn’t a graded requirement. </p>

<p>Birmingham Southern calls it Cultural Events (see [Frequently</a> Asked Questions About Cultural Events](<a href=“http://www.bsc.edu/academics/foundations/faq.htm]Frequently”>http://www.bsc.edu/academics/foundations/faq.htm) for more info) I liked the idea that students could dip their toes into different areas without committing to a whole semester and/or worrying about a grade. If there was a narrower version of this type of program with a holistic health care view it could help students that are pre-med/health focused to be exposed to ideas/issues/careers beyond “becoming a doctor.”</p>

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<p>Oh, mom, that’s great about the cadavers. When I worked at Tulane Med School after college, the professors always talked of how expensive cadavers were. Of course, this was 25 years ago. </p>

<p>I really do think exposing premeds to cadavers is very important. Many people don’t go into medicine because of the fear of dealing with cadavers, and if they can get over that “hump”, they would pursue that med school dream. Also, those that can’t handle that facet of medicine, but may want to still work in health care, could perhaps pursue other options, like those discussed above. </p>

<p>I was thrilled to hear on my tour that doctors do train on the Tuscaloosa campus. I think working/volunteering or even doing “clinical”, like the nurses do, at the health center would be a great feature for the premed program. I also think doing volunteer work at a geriatric facility would be a big plus, as us baby boomers are going to need those geriatric doctors in the next decade or so.</p>

15

<p>*
I was thrilled to hear on my tour that doctors do train on the Tuscaloosa campus.*</p>

<p>Yes, the UAB med school has doctors training at UAB, UA (for community health) and Huntsville Hospital (for Family Medicine). </p>

<p>From wikipedia</p>

<p>UA B</p>

<p>The main campus of the University of Alabama School of Medicine is located at UAB in Birmingham. All UASOM students complete their first two years at the main campus in Birmingham. The remaining two years can be completed in Birmingham or at one of two branch campuses.</p>

<p>Tuscaloosa</p>

<p>In 1974 the University of Alabama created the College of Community Health Sciences. This is a college organized under the University of Alabama located in Tuscaloosa, and in conjunction with the UA School of Medicine provides medical education for the 3rd and 4th years of students who choose to study in Tuscaloosa.</p>

<p>Huntsville</p>

<p>The UA School of Medicine maintains a branch campus in Huntsville affiliated with Huntsville Hospital. The Huntsville campus was originally a part of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, however in 1974 UAB assumed control over the Huntsville program.</p>

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<p>This is an interesting proposal…</p>

<p>My D is a current freshman and so far she has been more than pleased with the pre med department…</p>

<p>Her advisors responses have been quick and thought out.</p>

<p>She shadowed at the UA Family Health Center, and those that she worked with were very supportive. They seemed to ask alot of questions concerning her plans etc.</p>

<p>Alpha Epsilon Delta the pre med honorary hosts weekly (if not more) programing. It is impressive including gueat speakers, volunteer opportunites, MCAT prep and Med school interviewing review and prep.</p>

<p>If your student is thinking about UA the Pre Med program and opportunites are there!
If they would be better served under one umbrella is a interesting question…</p>

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<p>^^^
My pre-med son has been impressed by the guest speakers and such. </p>

<p>Ask your D what she would want in a pre-med honors program.</p>

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<p>I will…she is in the midst of a tough week so it will wait until weekend…</p>

<p>I just wanted to assure potential students (or those on the fence) that there are lots of opportunites @ UA!</p>

<p>I also went to UAs web page and can’t find supporting facts; but I do recall during our tour mention of those doctors finishing up in Tuscaloosa or in Rural Health @ Tuscaloosa getting the last two years of Med School free… Does anyone have any info? </p>

<p>M2 will get more input ASAP!</p>

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<p>[Rural</a> Medical Scholars | College of Community Health Sciences](<a href=“Rural Programs – College of Community Health Sciences | The University of Alabama”>Rural Programs – College of Community Health Sciences | The University of Alabama)</p>

<p>Rural Health Scholars info</p>

20

<p>I think the Pre Med Honors is a great idea as well. I do however think it should start with Freshman year. While there maybe be a drop off in enrollment after freshman year, I think the idea of a learning group or cohort to support each other may improve retention in the program. I am familiar with Miami and USC and both have special premed options that start right away. In fact the first courses are so important that I think it maybe more significant for freshman to have this option. If you are not at a 3.8 or so after freshman year it becomes rather unrealistic to think Med school. The first year chem, bio, calc and physics are deciding factors for many pre med students I think.
Having students taking the same program as you and maybe in the same classes could help.</p>