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:

• To give students a realistic idea of what is required for admission to health profession schools.

• To provide students with a timeline for the preprofessional health undergraduate process.

• To explain what opportunities exist for gathering experience in medicine from the Preprofessional Health Advising Office.

• To provide role models in health professions and give information regarding the variety of health-related fields.

• To provide other career options for students who are not accepted into their first choice professional health school

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

• Writing Assignments: The writing assignments will be collected at the beginning of each class period and will require the following formatting:
  · Times New Roman Font Size 12
  · Margins 1”
  · Double Space
  Please retain copies of all assignments.
  
• Guidelines: Papers must include references to peer-reviewed journals. Wikipedia or other mass media may be used originally for background material, but should not be quoted or otherwise used as references. Guidelines for Writing Papers for this class. To find out what a peer-reviewed journal is, go to the Applied Health Sciences Library or http://www.systems.wsu.edu/bin/libdocs/instruction/PeerRevJourn.pdf
  

• Speaker Review Sheet: You will be given five minutes at the end of each class period to write complete the speaker review sheet found on Blackboard or at this link.
  

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. Assignment due (Write 1/2 to 1 page) Title: Personal Statement Starter #1: What special attributes/skills/experiences/languages make you unique? (This will help you get started with the personal statement)
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. 2.) Find and list three sources on your ethical issue. (Record in APA format) 3.) Write a thesis statement on your ethical topic. (1 paragraph) 4) Keep a copy of your topic thesis to assist you in preparing for the ethics discussion and your rough draft. Be sure that your references are from authors with opposing viewpoints.
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 Submit your portfolio for this class. It should include: Your completed health professional school application (AMCAS, AADSAS, AACOMAS, etc.) including a revised applicant essay and all completed and planned coursework. A paragraph delineating other careers that could be pursued by someone with a prehealth curriculum background. Re-evaluate the list of the top three career choices you made at the beginning of this class. Have they changed? List your top three choices today. Create a list of the top three professional schools you would like to attend. For each school list: 1.)The average standardized test scores for accepted applicants 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.

*Please retain copies of everything you turn in. Be sure your name is on each page!

Topics for Spring

Date	Speaker	Topic
January 28	Introductions of Class Coordinators	Expectations for the course. Sign up for ethical paper topic.
February 4	Rita Tomlin	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 from UCSD)
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	Keith Jeffers, D.C.	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	Physician Assistant
May 5	Ethics Discussion Panel
May 12	Speaker evaluations	4:00-4:30 pm in regular classroom. Pick up all papers