Health-Related Professions
FAQ
November 9, 2010
Dr. Bruce Hathaway and Dr. Andreé Elliott
Health Professions Advisors
Topics
Personal and professional development guidance
Undergraduate Research on-campus
Global Health Missions Conference
LEGS/ACL/Dissection Teams
PT/OT and PA
Veterinary School
Pre-JAMP and JAMP
Offshore Medical schools
Upcoming practice tests
Graduate School Seminar
Personality and Personal
Development
Speaking is important as is listening
Take every opportunity to talk and
listen with people that are strangers
You must be able listen and perceive
Make decisions rapidly
Be a team player
Be involved in leadership of an
organization
Grades are important!
Aim for A’s in All Academics
Cum GPA of 3.6 or above preferably 3.8 or greater
A low GPA will keep you out of a professional school
even with an above average standardized test score
No C’s; yet one is not the end of the world
You will report every course and grade you have ever
taken at every college. Course repeats show
motivation but do not help eliminate C, D, or F
grades
Multiple withdrawals are a red flag to evaluators.
Preparing for entrance
Exams
To prepare it is best to keep and study your
textbooks and notes from your key science courses
Memorize the formulas in Physics and General
Chemistry
Enroll and complete a preparation course because
these are targeted reviews and give you extensive
simulated testing conditions including the length of
testing
Take the test when you are best prepared, preferably
near the beginning of the application cycle
Application
Applications will want grades, contact information,
email, picture, money, personal statement, names of
referees/evaluators
Medical School - May 1 after junior year for Texas
and May 1st thereafter
June 1 using AAMCAS for schools in other states.
Please consult your advisor about applying. You may
or may not be ready to apply.
Texas residency means one complete year working
full time in the state while NOT a full time student.
You cannot claim this until after it is fulfilled. The
TMDSAS website has details.
Letters of Evaluation
These are requested from your faculty members and
we then communicate about your cognitive abilities,
character, motivation, and people skills. Work and
volunteer experience, and special circumstances.
This must include a signed release form allowing a
confidential evaluation letter. You will not have
access to this letter, ever. It is to your advantage to
have a confidential letter.
Provide a resume to the person writing each letter.
Please include volunteer and work experiences,
honors, awards, and copies transcripts for ALL of
your college courses from all the institutions you
have ever attended.
Clinical Issues/Observation
You should enroll in Issues in the spring
semester and observation the following fall
semester, then choose when you will
complete the 2nd semester of observation.
Observation is important because you need to
make sure you know the profession before
you commit such time and intensity to get
into professional school.
Some professions require more clinical
experience/exposure; 100’s of hours.
Résumé/Portfolio
Keep a record of experience. (Dates, supervisor,
responsibilities.)
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work
volunteer
extracurricular academic/service
Awards, Honors.
Examples of writing and other projects, such as
research. Use your ePortfolio
References – people who know you well enough to
write professionally about your character, work
experience, and/or academic performance and
abilities.
Altruism
Defined: giving because you just want to
help others for no compensation or
reciprocation. This may be helping someone
learn to read or tutoring without pay. Go on
a mission trip that you pay for yourself.
It should be a consistent pattern of behavior
that truly indicates this is at the core of your
personhood.
What should I do with my
summers?
Clinical work experience
Semester abroad
Biomedical Research
Medical Mission trip
Take some courses to relieve your
course load
Foreign Language
Speaking the language of the patient often
increases the ministry opportunities and the
accuracy of treatment by the clinician.
UT Southwestern Physician Assistant program
requires clinical Spanish throughout the
program.
Mission trips or language immersion are very
beneficial.
Nursing at LETU/UTTyler
Two degrees in 4 years plus 4 summers: Bachelor of Arts, Health Sciences major
(LETU) and Bachelor of Science Nursing (UT Tyler)
Guaranteed admission into the clinical nursing courses as long as prerequisites
are met.
Prerequisites include a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75, grades of “B” or
higher in Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Grades of “C” or higher in
General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Lab I, and 72 percentile on the Test
of Essential Academic Skills
Traditional face-to-face courses plus online courses
Clinical instruction provided by UT Tyler College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Opportunity to gain clinical experience via international experiences along with
the required typical clinical experiences via local clinics and hospitals
Spanish Language and Medical Terminology are part of the required curriculum
Student may remain residential on the LETU campus
All courses will be taught in Longview (except international experiences)
Additional Items of Interest
Undergraduate Research on-campus
Global Health Missions Conference
LEGS/ACL/Dissection Teams
Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy
Physician Assistant
Veterinary School
Pre-JAMP and JAMP
MCAT,DAT, GRA Kaplan Practice Test –
Saturday Nov 14, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m., Berry Auditorium
Graduate School Seminar Nov 19, 6
p.m. Berry Auditorium
Questions?