
Course Content: This seminar course is designed to provide a survey of health-related careers and to teach students about the preprofessional health school admissions process, from opening a file in the SDSU Preprofessional Health Advising (PPHA) Office through the application procedure.
Required Text:
Huntington, Barbara and Masse, Linda, 2003. Writing About Me: A step by
step guide to developing a powerful personal statement for your application
to schools of medicine, dentistry, chiropractic, optometry, pharmacy, physician
assistant, podiatry and veterinary medicine.
Recommended Text:
Iserson, K.V. 2004. Get Into Medical School, Second Edition
AAMC. Medical School Admission Requirements 2008-2009, United States and
Canada. (bookstore- Study/Reference)
There are other admissions requirements books for Dentistry (ADEA), Pharmacy
(AAPC), Veterinary Medicien (AAVMC), etc that can be found on-line through the
college organizations.
Medley, A. Sweaty Palms. 1992. Ten Speed Press.
Sanchez, Carlos, MD. The Soul of the Condor: A Forgotten Holocaust.
1996.
Objectives:
Course Evaluation: C/NC based on:
1) Attendance (based on weekly journal)
Students must attend all class sessions. Submission of your weekly journal will substantiate your attendance. ONLY ONE UNEXCUSEDABSENCE IS ACCEPTED and must be made up by submitting a one-page paper on the missed topic no later than one week after the absence. Excused absences (illness, death in family) must be submitted in writing to Barbara Huntington.
2) Timely submission of assignments and weekly journal.
Homework must be typed and is due at the beginning of each class and the weekly journal must be submitted before leaving class. In cases of excused absences, homework will be accepted up until the next class meeting. Please retain copies of all assignments. Only three late assignments are allowed in order to get credit for the class, and that they are to be turned in up until a week after they are due. The Personal Statement and the Ethics Paper are not included in assignments that are allowed to be late, they must be turned in on time.
Coursework
Health care professionals are held to high ethical standards. Please be aware of the school's policy on academic dishonesty requiring professors to report all cases of academic dishonesty.
| Due Date | Assignment |
| Feb. 4 | Obtain an e-mail address (SDSU or commercial) if you don't already have one. Even if she already has your email address, send Barbara Huntington (bhunting@sunstroke.sdsu.edu) an e-mail stating 1) your major, 2) the year you plan to enter professional school, 3) the field you are most interested in, and 4) which application you plan to obtain. Please cc: Caitlin McAuley and Savilla Tuck Obtain an application from an application service (AMCAS, AACOMAS, VMCAS, AADSAS, PHARMCAS, CASPA, AACPMAS)or a specific allied health school. You are encouraged to e-mail the service or download the application from the World Wide Web. Since part of this assignment is to help you to develop your skills in using computer resources, do not ask the PPHA office to provide a copy. A copy of the completed application will be turned in as part of your final assignment due May 5. Obtain Transcripts (unofficial ok for this class) so that you have a record of every college class you have ever taken (including during high school). Purchase Writing about Me and read Chapter One. |
| Feb 11 |
Read Chapter 2 of Writing about Me and turn in Self Assessment
Step I. |
| Feb 18 | Assignment due (Title: Health Careers): List three health careers that you are most interested in and five attributes/activities important to ensure your acceptance. Do some research! Assignment due (Write 1/2 to 1 page) Title: Personal Statement
Starter #2: What
pivotal experience(s) made you realize you wanted to pursue (or strengthened
your desire to pursue) your chosen health career? |
| Feb 25 | Continue reading Chapter 2 of Writing about Me and turn in Self Assessment Steps 2 & 3. Assignment due (Write 1/2 to 1 page) Title: Personal Statement Starter #3: Describe a personal role model in the health professions. What attributes of that person do you admire? |
| March 3 | Submit all sections of your professional school application other than the personal statement and course work (i.e. biographic information, schools attended, etc). Assignment (Ethical Topic Thesis): 1.) Finish research on the ethical issue you signed up for at the first
class. |
March 10 |
Finish reading Chapters 2 & 3 of Writing about Me and turn in Self Assessment Steps 4 & 5. Assignment due (Write 1/2 to 1 page) Title: Personal Statement Starter #4: How did you test your desire to be a physician/dentist/nurse/etc? (Research? Volunteering? Clinical Work? Shadowing?...) Include any special intances where you felt inspired or enthusiastic about medicine. |
| March 17 |
Submit the coursework section of your application to professional school. This should include past, present, and planned work. Use the application that you downloaded previously. |
| March 24 | Submit a draft of your Applicant Essay/Statement of Purpose. (2-3 pages, double-spaced). If you feel your life experiences are limited, you may include those you plan for the future. |
| March 31 | Spring Break! (Read Chapters 4-6 of Writing about Me --continue to work on ethics paper |
| April 7 | Assignment due -Ethics Paper: Submit a three to five page (double spaced, 12 pt.) essay on a current ethical issue in healthcare. Be sure to provide citations for all ideas and quotes within the text with a list of references at the end. Regular and/or on-line journals may be used. A minimum of three references must be used. Be sure to include references from both sides of the issue (not one side's viewpoint of the other side). Include at least one reference from an on-line source. Be sure to follow the guidelines for listing a web source. Note: Refer to "Writing a Paper for the PPHA Office" and "Ethics in the Age of the Web" for information on research and writing a paper. Remember, do not cite Wikipedia or other mass media. |
April 14 |
No assignments due--Continue working on your final portfolio. |
| April 21
|
Assignment due (Write 1-2 pages) Title: Where Do I see Myself in 10 years? (A common secondary application question.)Where do you see yourself in ten years from the time you apply to medical (pharmacy, dental, veterinary, optometry) school? Where are you practicing? (Area, specialty, location, hospital/private or group practice?) What about your personal life? What will you have accomplished? do you know exactly what you want to do? Why or why not? Keep an open mind when explaining where you thik you will be. don't limit your future by narrowing your options. You will probably see this question again on your secondary applications. |
| April 28
|
FINAL ASSIGNMENT
2.) The average GPA for accepted applicants 3.) Does the school have any specific scholastic, volunteer, or other requirements? 4.) Does the school subscribe to a common application is a secondary application required if they do? 5.) What is the approximate tuition cost for one year? |
| May 5 | Ethics Discussion Panel--Class Evaluations |
| May 12 | (4 pm.) Finals--Come to class, pick up any remaining assignments, and complete evaluation of speakers. |
Topics for Spring
| Date | Speaker | Topic |
| January 28 | Introductions of Class Coordinators |
Expectations for the course. Sign up for ethical paper topic. |
| February 4 | Writing a scientific paper |
|
| February 11 | Marjan Hovaida & Chris Reid--First year medical students (MS1)
at UCSD (and possibly one or two 2nd year Pharmacy students--also |
|
| February 18 | Sean Hancock | Cardiovascular Technician |
| February 25 | Dr. Joel Lees,
Navy Medicine See The Gulf Between Us : Love and Terror in Desert
Storm by Cynthia B. Acree and Cliff Acree (Barb's been googling) |
Military Medicine |
| March 3 | Daniel Hull, D.O. |
Osteopathic Medicine |
| March 10 | Nick Selby, OD | Optometry |
|
March 17 |
Chiropractor |
|
| March 24 | Monica Gabourel (SDSU Alum), Animal Emergency Medicine |
Veterinary Medicine |
| March 31 | Spring Break | |
April 7 |
Neelima Chu, MD (endocrinology) and Brian Chu, MD (pediatrics)--Medical
Marriage (The following site discusses the problems that may arise when
in a medical marriage: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/181_07_041004/mye10372_fm.html
) |
Relationships--Allopathic Medicine--Specialties |
| April 14 | Dan Tarango, DPM | Podiatry |
| April 21 | Stanley Maloy, PhD --Dean of the SDSU College of Sciences |
Biomedical Research |
| April 28 |
Nancy Nielson-Brown, PA | |
| May 5 |
Ethics Discussion Panel |
|
| May 12 |
Speaker evaluations |
4:00-4:30 pm in regular classroom. Pick up all papers |