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Choosing a Health Professions Career

Exploring a Health Career

There is a great variety in skills, interests and personal characteristics needed for various health professions. You should plan to spend ample time exploring your future career and gaining a better understanding of the discipline before choosing a particular health career. Job shadowing, community service and health-related work will allow you to gain insights that will permit you to make a more informed decision about the health care you wish to enter. As you decide whether a health career is appropriate for you, consider the following points:

1. How much do I wish to deal directly with people?
A nurse, dental hygienist or occupational therapist will have much more direct contact with people than a medical laboratory technologist, pathologist or surgeon. Are you emotionally able to deal with a wide variety of people? Have you chosen a field that matches your personality type?

2. Am I comfortable studying science?
Some programs require much more science study than others, but preparation for all health careers involves some laboratory science study. All health profession careers have minimum grade requirements in the science prerequisites.

3. Am I prepared to enter an area where I will have to spend time and effort keeping up with the developments in my field?
New developments in research continue to change and evolve how health care is practiced. As exciting as this may be, it also requires health care practitioners to keep up with the developments in their field. A competent provider has an obligation to their patients to give the best care available. If you are not willing to continue studying throughout your career; long after you have passed your board exams and earned your license, then you will not be a competent health care provider.

4. Am I comfortable in a health care setting?
Many students assume they will be working in a comfortable, middle-class setting. However, not all of health care is as glamorous as sometimes portrayed on film and television. In fact, the greatest health care needs are in chaotic inner city neighborhoods and isolated, impoverished rural areas. Some students fail to anticipate the effect of spending much of their life in the company of the sick, disabled or dying people. With the aging of the American population, much of your work may be with the geriatric. With this in mind, are you prepared to work in a variety of settings with people from varying socioeconomic levels?

5. Am I team player?
Health care is increasingly a group activity where a successful outcome depends upon each member of a medical team performing his/her specific function. Cal Poly’s Learn-by-doing philosophy will give you opportunities to work closely with others in laboratory settings and on group projects. However, it is wise to continue seek out other opportunities for collaborative learning to increase your ability to be an effective team member.

6. Why lifestyle do I envision?
Different specialties have varying levels of responsibility. Some health care careers include many emergencies and long hours. Do you wish to deal with life and death situations? Do you want to have a family? A career that involves long hours or high stress leaves you less time and energy for family life and leisure activities. Think about your values and research carefully the lifestyle that your chosen career will entail.

Health Professions Admission Guide: Strategy for success, (2004) National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, Inc. (2-3).

7.What careers are there to choose from?
To learn more about various health profession careers, please visit our Health Professions Links page. Under each career section, there are health profession career profiles for careers such as: medicine, dentistry, nursing, clinical lab science, pharmacy, physical therapy, podiatry, public health, etc.. that list the course prerequisites and gpa and test requirements needed before you can apply.

Choice of Major

Students sometimes worry about selecting the "right" major. For the health professions, there is no particular undergraduate major required or favored for admission to health profession schools. In general, your chances of admission will not be affected by your choice of major. Most Cal Poly applicants pursuing medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy school major in biochemistry or biology, partly because of personal interest and partly because several of the courses in these majors overlap the course requirements for professional school. But professional schools are just as interested in considering qualified individuals who have had training in other areas, with nutrition, business, engineering and liberal arts degrees.

Since you have a wide choice of subjects in which to major, your decision should be based on an honest assessment of your interests and talents. Another consideration is a major that offers an alternate career path if you change your mind about a health career or are unable to gain admission. You are strongly urged to view your undergraduate years as at time for intellectual growth, not solely as a means to an end.

Based on 2007 national data for medical schools (as cited by the Association of American Medical Colleges), here are a sample of majors and their acceptance rates. Note that 42% was the overall average acceptance rate, regardless of major choice.

Medical school applications and acceptance rates compared to college majors
Major Applied Accepted Rate
Biological Sciences 23,786 9,876 42.0 %
Physical Sciences 4,798 2,291 48.0 %
Humanities 1,499 725 48.3 %
Social Sciences 4,487 1,931 43.0 %
Math and Statistics 311 112 36.0 %
Specialized Health Sciences 1,122 355 32.0 %
Other 6,312 2,469 39.1 %
All Applicants 42,315 17,759 42.0 %

 

As you can see, medical schools are interested and accept students from a wide variety of majors. This is also true for most of the other health professions. Your major by itself does not guarantee or eliminate any possibility.

Academic Preparation and GPA Expectations

Admissions committees look at BOTH your overall GPA and your science GPA. Your college academic record will be used to assess whether you have the capability to perform at the level required to succeed in the health professions.

Nationally, for allopathic medical school, the overall mean GPA for the 2007 entering class of students was a 3.65 and the science GPA was a 3.59.  In 2007, Cal Poly undergraduate students accepted to medical school had a mean overall GPA of 3.60 and a science GPA of a 3.50

Because of the popularity of the California dental schools, it should be noted that the mean overall GPA for the 2006-07 entering class at California dental schools was 3.52. The mean science GPA was a 3.46 and the Academic DAT score was a 21

For the 2007-08 entering class, Cal Poly graduates accepted to dental school had a mean GPA of 3.55, and an overall DAT score of a 21

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

Pre-medical and pre-pharmacy students intending to apply college credit earned through Advanced Placement (AP) and College Level Examination Placement (CLEP) to meet premedical requirements should be aware that some medical, pharmacy and other health profession schools restrict such use of this credit. Premedical students should carefully review the current Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) and pertinent medical school web sites and publications for additional information. Pre-Pharmacy and all other pre-health students should contact schools individually to determine if AP credit in lieu of prerequisite coursework is acceptable. Note: If you find out that a school does not accept AP credit and you have already used AP credit for lower division prerequisite coursework, check to see if the school will accept advanced upper division coursework in the same subject area in its place.

Personal Qualities Favored in the Health Professions

While professional schools generally do not formally screen candidates based on personal qualities, a fair amount of research indicates that certain variables do seem to be favored in the health professions. Plan to get involved in on and off campus clubs and activities that will allow you acquire and demonstrate these traits. When the time comes, you may want to emphasize through examples such qualities in your personal statement or ask those who write letters of reference to comment on them. Among the qualities to think about are:

  • Character and integrity
  • Leadership
  • Motivation
  • Social competence
  • Adaptability
  • Altruism
  • Orientation to service
  • Compassion
  • Ability to communicate verbally and in writing
  • Experiences with other cultures and bilingualism

How might you show evidence of these traits in your application?

Are these qualities shown in your work or volunteer experiences? Examples of leadership or service may be far more powerful than simply describing yourself as a leader or as "people-oriented." Demonstrate how you have developed these qualities in your school, work and personal experiences.

Self Assessment of Your Application Profile

It is recommended that you do a self-assessment to determine your readiness to apply for a health professions career.

What are the strengths of your application profile? What areas of weakness do you see? What are ways you can improve your overall application?

Consider the following self-inventory. Be honest with yourself as you rate yourself according to the following scale. The results are confidential and for your personal use, so please be honest.

Ratings:
1 = needs considerable improvement
2 = needs some improvement
3 = OK
4 = very good shape
5 = outstanding

Your involvement in health-related experiences 1 2 3 4 5
Your involvement in extra-curricular activities 1 2 3 4 5
Your ability to present yourself in person 1 2 3 4 5
Your ability to present yourself in writing 1 2 3 4 5
How well you relate to others 1 2 3 4 5
Ways you exhibit independence/initiative/perseverance 1 2 3 4 5
Ways you exhibit leadership skills 1 2 3 4 5
Your sense of purpose and motivation 1 2 3 4 5
Your sense of intellectual curiosity 1 2 3 4 5
Your common sense 1 2 3 4 5
Your ability to handle stressful situations 1 2 3 4 5
Your interest in science and biomedical research 1 2 3 4 5
Your breadth of interests 1 2 3 4 5
How you have demonstrated commitment to service 1 2 3 4 5
Your familiarity with current issues in health care 1 2 3 4 5
How you will distinguish yourself as a candidate 1 2 3 4 5
How well your professors and advisors know you 1 2 3 4 5
Strength of your overall undergraduate GPA 1 2 3 4 5
Strength of your undergraduate science GPA 1 2 3 4 5
Strength of your standardized test scores 1 2 3 4 5

 

To develop a plan of action after you complete this profile, you are encouraged to visit the peer advisors or your health professions advisor.

Some things to think about after you've completed the assessment:

  1. What are three major areas you think you need to develop?
  2. What are some concrete steps you can take to develop in those areas?
  3. What is a realistic time frame for your game plan?
  4. What resources do you need access to in order to achieve your goals?
  5. When would be the optimal time for you to apply to a health professions school?

The preceding self assessment was created by David Verrier, Ph.D., at Franklin and Marshall College and Gale Lang, MSW, at University of Pennsylvania. Many thanks for their permission to use this valuable tool.

General Four Year Time Line

Preparing for professional programs is a long process. The most important thing is that you have the strongest possible application when it comes time to apply. In planning your time as an undergraduate, consider the following as a suggested timeline. The timeline outlines the recommended sequence of steps involved in the preparation and application process.

NOTE: The following four year timeline is only a guide. Depending on your chosen profession, your entrance exam and application period may require a different timeline. Please plan accordingly. If you need assistance in planning, visit the Health Professions Advising Office or your faculty health professions advisor.

First Year

  • Become familiar with Cal Poly's health professions advising services and resources
  • Visit the Health Professions Peer Advisors in Bldg. 53, Room 219 during walk-up window hours.
  • Join the health professions blackboard site to find out about health profession opportunities and guidance. Stop by Bldg. 53, Room 219 or email: rmwestmo@calpoly.edu
  • Take required courses for admission to a health professions school at a reasonable pace
  • Concentrate on developing a good academic record
  • Start researching information about your health professions
  • If undecided, take SCM 0101: Intro to health professions offered in Spring Quarter. - Not offered Spring 2010
  • Begin developing mentoring relationships with both faculty and professionals in the field.
  • Join a health professions club -see the Services page for club contact info!
  • During summer months, begin gaining health profession and/or community service experience

Second Year

  • Concentrate on maintaining a good academic record
  • Consider incorporating a minor into your degree program
  • Continue gaining related health professions and relevant community service experience
  • Continue researching professions through job shadowing, informal interviewing, the internet, professional associations, etc...
  • Put yourself on a BUDGET and keep credit card debt at a minimum!
  • Continue fostering mentoring relationships with faculty and professionals in your field of interest
  • Consider study abroad, research and/or other summer possibilities

Third Year

Fall Quarter
  • Speak with a health professions advisor
  • Check dates of admissions tests (register early!)
  • Check application deadlines for schools
  • Decide whom to ask for letters of reference
  • Form a support/study group for entrance exams
  • Open a letter of collection reference file with HP Advising Office in 53-219
  • Begin personal statement essay(s) for application
  • Visit professional schools during sponsored visitation days
  • Plan summer possibilities early
  • Examine and save for application costs for summer/fall (application fees, interview attire, travel, lodging)

Winter Quarter

  • If you have not already, open up a letter of reference file through the CSM Advising Office in 53-219.
  • Request letters of reference from faculty/professionals
  • Take prep course/practice exams and create a STUDY plan
  • Continue revising personal statement for application
  • Have all prerequisites completed before taking admission test

Spring Quarter

  • Take the standardized admissions test (This is discipline-specific).
  • Attend the meeting on the application process, if offered.
  • Finalize personal statement essays- Have final draft critiqued - THIS IS A MUST!!
  • Consider school choices
  • Obtain an official transcript after grades post-check for accuracy.
  • Send thank you letters to those who wrote letters of evaluation for you
  • Obtain the application

Summer Quarter

  • Request that official transcripts be mailed to the individual schools/centralized application service (This is discipline-specific).
  • Complete your application. Print copy and check for typos.
  • Submit error-free applications early in application process to centralized application service/individual schools (This is discipline-specific).

Fourth Year

Fall Quarter

  • Speak with your health professions advisor
  • Complete supplemental (secondary) applications and send directly to schools
  • Arrange for letters of evaluation to be mailed.
  • Send an updated transcript directly to schools at the end of the fall quarter
  • Prepare financial aid information
  • Interview arranged at the discretion of the schools

Winter/Spring Quarters

  • Interviewing may continue
  • Submit financial aid applications-Fill out FAFSA by March 1 priority deadline!  Go to the FAFSA website.
  • Inform the Health Professions Office and your letter writers of your acceptances
  • Choose a school
  • Graduate from Cal Poly!
  • Make alternative plans if not accepted

Fifth Year

Begin professional school in late summer/early fall