Midterm HSCI 101 Lecture 4

Preparing for a Professional Healthcare Career

Five ways in which a director of career development will help students to explore

• Internships

• Ways to get involved

• Student life

• Career fairs & events

• Career advice

Five questions for students’ self-assessment

1. What makes you happy or brings you joy?

2. What inspires you?

3. What does success look like to you?

4. Which classes do you like the subject or the professor?

5. What problems do you want to solve in the world?

Three levels of pre-professional preparation

• Academic credentials

• Non-academic credentials

• Reflection and personal development

Academic requirements

• 3.5 GPA or higher

• Figure out what test you are going to take: MCAT, GRE, LSAT, DAT, OAT, PCAT (ending soon)

Non-academic credentials

• Community service and volunteering

• Undergraduate research

• Shadow/observe

• Campus involvement and leadership

• Field related volunteer work

• Medical job (scribing, CAN, EMT, etc.)

Recommendation Letters

Get to know your future letter of recommendation writes

Build your community: find mentors, get to know faculty, network, make friends

Personal Development

• Work on communication skills

• Practice conversations with people

• Develop your expertise: about your field, your admission test, your applications, ask the hard questions

• Analyze your motivations

• Reflect and prepare for the rigors of professional schools

Look at yourself for your qualifications

Keep a record of what you're involved in/what you do