HEALTHcareers
@wayland
Alumni tell their
stories about the
benefits of a
Wayland education
in preparation for
medical careers
So you want to make
a real difference?
Many students who come to
Wayland are interested in pursuing
careers in the health professions. If
you are interested in becoming a
physician, dentist, physical or occupational therapist, optometrist,
physician assistant, public health
specialist, or nurse, the hard work
and intentional preparation for these
careers begins long before you enter
a professional school.
Admission into medical school
or other professional programs is a
very competitive process involving a
number of selection factors. Among
these factors are grades, standardized exams like the MCAT, recommendations, and extracurricular
activities such as volunteer experiences. To be successful, students
must make themselves stand out
from the crowd.
The Pre-Health Program at
Wayland is an intentional program
designed to give students every
opportunity to build into themselves
the qualities, skills and knowledge
to excel in health professional
programs. We know that you have
choices as you consider which
university to attend as you prepare
for a career in the health professions, and we hope that you will
choose Wayland Baptist University.
As you make this decision,
there are a number of important
factors to consider that make
Wayland different.
Christ Centered
Small Class Sizes
Personal Attention from the
Faculty Members
Enrichment-Driven Pre-Health
Programs
“
The pre-health
program is an
intentional program
designed to give
students every
opportunity to build
the qualities, skills
and knowledge
to excel.”
Undergraduate Research
Opportunities
Leadership Opportunities
Labs Taught by Faculty
Members
MCAT/PCAT/DAT/GRE
Preparation Workshops
Interview Skills Workshops
Mission Opportunities
Integrated with Coursework
Although we could outline and
describe all of the programs we have
as a part of our pre-health program,
perhaps the best, and the most convincing, illustration of what makes
Wayland special comes from recent
graduates who were a product of the
Wayland experience. A few of their
stories are shared on these pages.
I look forward to discussing
your future plans and how we can
help.
“
My Wayland experience gave me a
good foundation in the biological
sciences to build on in pharmacy school.
I feel I was just as prepared for
pharmacy school as any of my colleagues
who attended larger, big-name schools
prior to entering graduate work.
I believe the personalized attention
you receive at a small school provides a
unique opportunity for you to grow both
academically and as an individual.”
Raelene Trudeau, BS’03
Pharmacotherapy Resident,
Adam J. Reinhart, Ph.D.
Pre-Health Coordinator
Associate Professor of Biology
and Chemistry
Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Mo.
2007 top graduate,
Texas Tech School of Pharmacy
Blevins: WBU prepared
me well for med school
In John Blevins’ opinion, Wayland
Baptist University was a perfect choice with
his career goal of medical missions.
“Wayland was the only Baptist university in the state that would
let me do what I wanted,
which was to be involved
in music, and study
science and religion,” said
Blevins, a 1999 WBU
graduate who is now an
intern at Scott & White
Hospital in Temple after
graduating in May 2007
from the University of
Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Though the medical field was his primary career choice, Blevins felt the religious education was equally important to his
calling. He earned a Bachelor of Science
degree, double majoring in biology and religion and minoring in chemistry.
“
Immediately, he enrolled in Wayland's
Master of Arts in religion program and
earned that degree in 2003.
The next day, Blevins moved to
Galveston to begin coursework toward his medical
degree. Now that his
schoolwork is done, Blevins
will have several years of
residency ahead. He is
considering specializations
in endocrinology, nephrology or cardiology, and would
like to do medical missions
work in either the Rio
Grande Valley or in Central America.
Blevins debunks the myth that smaller
schools like Wayland may not prepare students for continued medical study. In fact,
he feels like he had the advantage in medical school.
“Wayland taught me how to study on
my own, which is a lot of what medical
school is about,” he said. “I learned how to
ask the right questions on my own and study
the material.
“I felt I was better prepared for the type
of work that's being done, hands down. I
was used to the work load and learning and
applying the information rather than just
regurgitating.”
Blevins credits Wayland's science faculty with having a major role in his success
not only in the undergraduate realm but in
his current medical studies.
“I preferred the smaller school where I
had more intimate relationships with the faculty. I think all the professors had my interests at heart, not theirs. They made sure I
was taking the courses that would really
help me,” he said. “I am grateful to have
had the opportunity to get an education at
Wayland. It has really shaped who I am, and
I worked with some great professors there.”
I felt I was
better prepared
for the type of work
that's being done,
hands down.”
ital statistics
pre-health
v
The Wayland Difference:
Christ-Centeredness
Small Class Sizes
Personal Attention from Faculty Members
Enrichment-Driven Pre-Health Programs
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Leadership Opportunities
Labs Taught by Faculty Members
MCAT/PCAT/DAT/GRE Preparation
Workshops
Interview Skills Workshops
Missions Opportunities Integrated into
Academics
Just the FAQs
Q:
Is there a Pre-Med major?
No. While a high percentage of our
biology and chemistry majors are intending
on pursuing careers in the health professions
there is not a “Pre-Med” degree. Most of our
students find a degree in Biology, Chemistry
or Molecular Biology will best prepare them
for professional schools.
Q:
What are the major decision factors
of getting into a health professional
school? Health professional schools seek
individuals who have a high probability of
success in their particular program. This is
determined by a number of factors like a
student’s GPA, entrance test scores (MCAT,
etc.), personal experience, commitment to
the health professions and leadership
qualities.
At WBU, pre-health students are strongly
encouraged to view everything strategically,
building coursework, summer jobs, shortterm missions, internships, and volunteer
opportunities around health care. This may
have the added effect of confirming or
questioning whether a health career track is
right for you.
Q:
What does the Health Careers program at Wayland offer me?
Personalized Attention. You will not
get lost in a crowd at WBU.
In Class. The largest biology or
continued on next page
“
Dr. Ross
taught us to
think critically
through the
process of how
diseases begin.
Until you learn
how to do that,
graduate school
is not going to
happen easily.”
Harvey found physical therapy program
easier with Wayland professors’ help
Miranda Turner Harvey did not initially choose the medical field, fearing the
schooling might be too hard. But after her
future husband suffered major injuries in a
car wreck her sophomore year and she saw
his rehab efforts, she changed her major
and decided to pursue physical therapy.
Six years later, Harvey is now a
physical therapist at Seminole Memorial
Hospital, earning her Bachelor of Science
from WBU in 2003 and her Doctorate in
Physical Therapy from Hardin-Simmons
University in Abilene in December 2005.
Though she admits her graduate work
was challenging, Harvey said the work was
much easier than she expected thanks to
her professors at Wayland.
"The testing was a breeze thanks to Dr.
(Vaughn) Ross," she said. "The best thing
they did at Wayland was beat into your
head that if you're serious about this, then
learn the material now and dig into it."
Harvey said that perseverance has
helped her in the graduate realm as well,
especially in terms of study skills.
"One of my favorite classes was the
parasitology class, because Dr. Ross taught
us to think critically through the process
of how diseases begin," she said. "Until
you learn how to do that, graduate
school is not going to happen easily."
Harvey said she also enjoyed the
expertise that Ross brought to the classroom from having worked in the medical mission field. And while she did
originally fear she might not be prepared
for graduate level training, she was
relieved to find the opposite was true.
"I felt better prepared for anatomy
than most of my class," she said. "I
Miranda Harvey kneels beside the pool and the
knew what questions to ask because of new underwater treadmill at the Seminole
how Dr. Ross taught his anatomy class." General Hospital. Above, Harvey measures the
A few experiences affirm Harvey’s range of motion in a patient’s knee at the
call, including work with a stroke victim therapy offices.
for several months.
ference for people.
“When she came to us she could not
“Through school, my verse was
do anything, and we’ve been able to get
Hebrews 12:12-13, which says, ‘Strengthen
her to move around on her own and function again,” she said. “She told me, ‘Now I the hands which hang down, and the feeble
knees, and make straight paths for your
have the will to live.’ That really chokes
feet, so that what is lame may not be
you up but it makes you feel good.”
dislocated, but rather be healed,’” said
Harvey said she hopes to pursue addiHarvey. “I feel like I'm able to do that
tional education in athletic training and in
manual therapy, wanting to make a real dif- now.”
Research experience helping
Thompson in work at Mayo Clinic
Genetic testing and counseling is at the forefront of
medical care today, as scientists continue to screen human
DNA and determine which
genes lead to certain diseases
or conditions.
For Chancey Thompson,
the field is just part of his
everyday work. As a clinical
lab technologist in the molecular genetics division of the
Mayo Clinic, Thompson completes the testing and lab work
to analyze a patient’s DNA for
mutations specific to genes
that cause hereditary diseases.
Thompson earned his
bachelor’s degree at WBU in
May 2006 and a Master of
Science in Molecular
Pathology in May 2007 from
Texas Tech. He first came to
the Mayo Clinic as an intern
toward the end of his master's
degree work, excited to apply.
“It was a great opportunity,” he said. “Mayo is the gold
standard in healthcare, so I felt it
was an important career move.”
Before the internship was
over, he had a job offer. One
who has always found the
research and laboratory side of
medicine a collaborative effort
in patient health care,
Thompson knew Mayo would
provide the ultimate experience for his future in the field.
In his daily work, he now
interacts with expensive equipment and state-of-the-art technology, much of which he
never used until coming to
Mayo. He works closely with
genetic counselors and consulting physicians who finalize the
interpretations of the test
results and work with patients.
“Everything is a shared
effort here, and everyone
works together in this lab. You
don’t deal too much with the
individual patient, but your job
is of utmost importance
because you’re dealing with
life altering issues,” Thompson
said. “Sometimes I look at
what patients are going
through, and I look at their
family history to know for
myself what complications are
associated with these genetic
disorders. I get to see some
pretty rare cases that only happen here at Mayo.”
Thompson said the experience is invaluable. The future
holds possibilities for further
education, work in other labs
or starting his own lab, though
advancement at Mayo is also
quite possible. His experience
at WBU was also valuable in
preparing him for this work.
“Drs. Reinhart and Boyd
offered me great research
experience and exposure to
common techniques that are
the foundation of what I do
everyday,” he said. “Wayland
also supplied the opportunity
to experience science, while
offering personal guidance and
professional interaction.
“But one of the greatest
things WBU offered me was a
great challenge. I was just a
long-haired kid who skateboarded around and played
guitar, and the professors had
compassion for me and
encouraged me, and that’s
what helped me along.
“My personal interest in
science and the complexity of
human design is what drives
me, even to this very day.”
ital statistics
chemistry classes have 30 or less students,
with upper-level courses often having 8-15
students. The laboratory portions of the
courses are taught by professors, not graduate assistants.
Advising. Your academic advisor will
be a faculty member, not an office. Most of
our pre-health students are advised by our
Health Careers Coordinator. Together, you
and your advisor will lay out a schedule of
courses, shadowing, volunteer, work, and
research opportunities designed to give you
every possible opportunity for a successful
application to your chosen professional
school. You can also expect honest assessments of your progress toward your goals.
Accountability. You and your academic
advisor will monitor your progress toward
your goals. If your grades begin to slip, or
mock professional school entrance exams
scores are not competitive, your advisor will
be realistic and honest with advice and ways
to improve.
Workshops and Seminars. Throughout
the year workshops and seminars are conducted, covering a variety of subjects of
interest to students preparing for health
careers. Recent examples include interview
skills, mock interviews, volunteer training,
mock full-length MCAT, PCAT, DAT, NET,
and GRE exams, and a semester-long MCAT
study course. Additionally, we have speakers
from the local medical community.
Q:
What are the prerequisite requirements for my professional school?
Each health professional school has different
requirements, and students should contact
schools of interest for specific prerequisites.
In general, degree-requiring professional
programs require:
8 hours of General Chemistry,
8 hours of Organic Chemistry,
14 hours of Biology,
8 hours of Physics,
Statistics or Calculus, and
6 hours of English.
General prerequisites for other disciplines
are listed in the course catalog.
Ortega excelling in medical
school after JAMP program
Martin Ortega already had a taste of
medical school long before he completed his
undergraduate degree. A May 2007 graduate
who is a first-year medical student at Texas
Tech Health Sciences Center, Ortega was
chosen his freshman year to participate in
the Joint Admissions Medical Program
(JAMP) sponsored by the state of Texas.
As one of only 70 in the program,
Martin traded his summers off for a chance
to attend pre-medical courses at various
schools in Texas, visiting Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston, the University of
Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and
Texas Tech in Lubbock.
The experience pitted Ortega against
students from all the major universities in
Texas and has tested not only his own
skills but also his training at Wayland. Both
have proven to be excellent.
“I feel like I'm well-prepared and can
compete with any other students,” he said.
“I wasn't at a disadvantage like I might
“
have feared. I was on equal
footing, not just in academics but also in the awareness
and preparedness for technical things.”
The JAMP experience
provided Ortega with opportunities to explore areas of
interest within medicine,
and he's leaning toward
family medicine and pediatrics. It also gave him
advantages over others
when he graduated. Ortega
was guaranteed admission at
one of the Texas medical schools and was
able to take a free Kaplan course in preparation for the MCAT exam. He credits
Wayland faculty for the experience.
“They really take a personal approach
here. I didn't even know about JAMP until
Dr. (Adam) Reinhart told me about it,” he
said. “Medical school just seemed so far out
there for me until I got this opportunity.”
Ortega said Wayland faculty make for
a quality experience both in the classroom
and in advisory roles.
“They definitely keep up with me and
advise me on courses, and they keep me
focused and centered,” he said. “They've
set me up for an opportunity to succeed.”
The courses in chemistry and math that I took at
Wayland were excellent preparation for the
graduate program in physical chemistry at Rice
University. I was never at a competitive disadvantage with
my peers, and I can say that I felt as well prepared for the
challenge as anyone in the program.
One of the main reasons that I have chosen a career in
academia is the wonderful experience that I had with the
faculty in the Division of Mathematics and Sciences at
Wayland Baptist University. I do not think there is a better
place than Wayland to study science and mathematics in a
truly Christian environment. That is why I chose Wayland
for my undergraduate education, and that is why I am back
at Wayland as a teacher.”
Dr. Joel Boyd, BS’97
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Williams experiences
joy of medicine as PA
Krysta Williams knew the healthcare
field was her dream. She just wasn't sure
exactly which path she might go down to
get there.
After graduating from Plainview
Christian Academy, the Lorenzo native
planned to do her freshman year at Wayland
on the PEP program, taking advantage of the
free tuition. She loved the school so much
she decided to stay and pursue her pre-medical training.
"As time went on, I changed my mind a
million times," she laughs, adding that Dr.
Vaughn Ross, division chair, became a bit
worried that she hadn't selected a career
route. "I was rearranging some materials and
read about the Physician Assistant program
and knew that was what I wanted to do. The
more I found out about it, the more I knew
that's what God called me to do."
Williams said she benefited from the
wise counsel of her professors, who guided
her in the proper coursework to prepare for
entrance exams and the graduate study
required for the PA licensure, a 27-month,
rigorous program of study.
Wayland professors also connected her
with experiences like shadowing a practicing PA to give her some exposure and networking. It paid off when she got to graduate school.
"I felt very prepared going to PA
school; in fact, I felt better prepared," she
said. "The program was more hands-on at
Wayland, and many of my classmates didn't
have that same experience."
Knowing she wanted to return to West
Texas, Williams applied for a position at
Cogdell Clinic in Lockney, the very same
clinic she visited as a child. Shortly after
finishing her degree at the University of
“
The more I found
out about it, the
more I knew that’s what
God called me to do.”
Krysta Williams
Physician Assistant
Texas Medical Branch in August 2006, she
was on the job, working alongside a doctor
who had treated her years ago.
Williams knows she's in the right place,
and she is affirmed in her calling by her
experiences with patients.
"I wanted to help people and be part of
the team, along with the nurses and doctors," she said. "As a PA, I have more freedom to have set hours and still care for people."
Now, as Williams embarks on her medical career, her sister Amber, a May 2007
graduate of Wayland, prepares to follow in
her footsteps. Amber is in her first year of
Texas Tech University’s Physician Assistant
Program in Midland. Her roommate is
another May WBU graduate, Leigha Messer
of Amarillo.
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Courses of Study at Wayland
for Pre-Health Careers
Bachelor of Science Degree
Majoring in
Biological Sciences
Course Requirements:
BIOL 3402: Genetics
BIOL 3404: Vertebrate Biology
Four hours from:
BIOL 3401: Invertebrate Zoology
BIOL 4404: Parasitology
Four hours from:
BIOL 3407: Ecology
BIOL 4400: Plant Taxonomy
BIOL 4405: Plant A&P
Four hours from:
BIOL 4406: Vertebrate Natural History and
Taxonomy
BIOL 4408: Cell and Molecular Biology
Twelve hours of biological science electives
Bachelor of Science Degree
Majoring in Chemistry
Course Requirements:
CHEM 1402: General Chemistry II
CHEM 2402: Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 3403: Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 3404: Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 4405: Physical Chemistry I
CHEM 4406: Physical Chemistry II
Eight hours of chemistry electives
Bachelor of Science Degree
Majoring in
Molecular Biology
Course Requirements:
BIOL 3402: Genetics
BIOL 4401: Microbiology
BIOL 4408: Cell and Molecular Biology
CHEM 4402: Biochemistry I
CHEM 4403: Biochemistry II
12 hours from the following:
BIOL 3408: Anatomy and Physiology I
BIOL 3409: Anatomy and Physiology II
BIOL 3404: Vertebrate Biology
BIOL 3403: Developmental Biology
BIOL 4404: Parasitology
BIOL 4405: Plant A&P
BIOL 3407: Ecology
BIOL 4400: Plant Taxonomy
CHEM 3407: Instrumental Analysis
* The Bachelor of Science is a minimum 124semester hour degree, with 68-70 hours of core
coursework required in various disciplines. For
additional requirements, consult the catalog.
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Godino found
encouragement
in pursuit of
pharmacy role
A light bulb led Dr.
Marcelino "Junior" Godino to
a career in pharmacy, though
he never would have dreamed
it would happen.
"I was working at Kmart
as a stocker while in high
school, and one day I went to
change a light bulb in the pharmacy," he recalls. "The atmosphere there was so calm and
the people were so nice. The
pharmacist there said I should
consider going to pharmacy
school."
Godino soon went to work
at Kmart as a pharmacy techni-
“
Missions Opportunities
cian, figuring the job was as
close as he'd get. His supervisor had other ideas, and not
only encouraged him to pursue
pharmacy but also took him to
Wayland to enroll.
He earned his bachelor's
degree in 1999, then was
accepted to the Texas Tech
School of Pharmacy in
Amarillo. He earned his
Doctor of Pharmacy degree in
December 2003.
Today, Godino is pharmacist in charge at Pinnell
Medical Center Pharmacy in
Plainview. He said he regularly
draws on the skills and knowledge learned at Wayland and
appreciates the professors there
who encouraged him on his
way.
“They really give you the
one-on-one help and interaction you need. If you didn't
understand something, you
could always go ask and learn
more. The professors were
good to make sure you learned
everything well," he said.
"They kept on encouraging me
and sent letters of recommendation for me. They knew what
I really wanted to do."
Wayland was a safe place for me to find myself. Not
really knowing what I wanted to do but knowing what I had
a heart for, the professors were all really open to helping
me figure out my plan and not just their agenda. They had
my best interest in mind.
Wayland was a place I could dream my biggest, and
they could help me see how to get there.
Emily Hogue Smith, BS’03
Clinical Research Coordinator, Research Program Assistant
Scott and White Hospital, Temple, Texas
Pre-Health Program
1900 W. 7th Street, CMB 444
Plainview, Texas 79072
Besides the usual learning experiences in
classrooms and labs, Wayland’s science
department is committed to helping develop
a program for medical missions efforts for
students who may feel called in that area.
After spending 18 years in Kenya working
with community-based health programs as a
missionary using his scientific training,
biology professor Dr. Vaughn Ross knows
the scenario, and he’s seen many students
come through the Wayland pre-health
program with missions in mind.
To encourage that, Ross is helping
students plug into opportunities and
resources in order to give students missions
experiences before they get out of Wayland.
Using partnering agencies as well as
personal contacts, Ross is able to connect
students with mission work.
Contact Us
For more information about health
careers and studying pre-health at Wayland,
contact Dr. Adam Reinhart:
1900 West 7th Street, CMB 444
Plainview, Texas 79072
(806) 291-1124
(806) 291-1968 fax
reinhart@wbu.edu