Earlham College Health Careers Advising

Health Careers Advising

Overview of Health Careers Advising

We're proud of the health pre-professional students at Earlham. These young women and men are looking toward careers in various aspects of the health sciences: in professions that range from audiology, to medicine, to dentistry, and to specialized areas of veterinary science; in fact more than 175 different career paths!

These pre-professional students major in any academic discipline, from art to psychology, with almost every academic field represented. Some students will major in a science, such as physics, geology, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, or math, but the choice is really the student's choice as there is no "correct" major for these career paths. Earlham students interested in health careers study on campus in Richmond and at our off-campus study locations around the globe, including Kenya, Galapagos, Southwestern U.S, Ecuador, Bahamas, London, Oak Ridge National Lab, The University of Aberdeen, and numerous other sites.

On the Earlham campus students learn in a liberal arts environment where they are exposed to the intellectual contents and methodologies of the social and physical sciences, languages, religion and philosophy, fine arts, humanities, and sports and physical fitness. Academics at Earlham are rigorous and challenging, and students have learned that much can be accomplished by cooperative learning within this community of scholars, where students and faculty learn together.

These broadly trained individuals with cooperative learning skills are the kinds of persons that the professional schools are looking for in their successful applicants. The health career path is a challenging one, and Earlham, through its counseling and supportive services, works with students in meeting their career goals. We are glad that you are interested in this path of study. Let us help you reach that goal.

Courses and Requirements

The following four year plan incorporates the minimum admission requirements of all American medical, dental and veterinary schools. It is also a suitable guide to coursework for most other health sciences pre-professional programs. This may be helpful as you plan your four year program of study at Earlham in the major of your choice. THERE IS NO CORRECT MAJOR FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN HEALTH CAREERS!

There is a good deal of flexibility here, but one should strive to complete the biology, chemistry, physics, and math minimum requirements prior to the MCAT, DAT, or GRE exams in the spring of the Junior year. Please discuss this program of study with your advisor and DO talk with Michael Deibel, Chief Health Careers Advisor or William Harvey, Advisor-Consultant as EARLY AS POSSIBLE in your academic career. Early planning promotes flexibility and makes exciting academic programs possible!

Sample Health Careers Pre-Professional Four-Year Course Plan

Year One		Year Two		Year Three		Year Four
Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring
Earlham Seminar or IP	Interpretive Practices or ES	Bio 341 Cell Physiology	Calculus or Math Elective	Upper level Biology	Upper Level Chemistry	Possible Off-Campus Study
Chem 111 Principles of Chemistry	Chem 221 Organic Chemistry I	Chem 321 Organic Chemistry II	Chem 331 Equilibrium & Analysis	Physics 120 or 125	Physics 230 or 235
Intro to Psych course	Bio 112 Cells, Genes and Inheritance		Upper level Biology
				MCAT or DAT or GRE, etc. preparation	MCAT or DAT or GRE exams		Senior Comprehensive Exams

*Recommended choices for Upper level biology - Anatomy and Physiology I/II, Microbiology, Immunology, Advanced Cell Physiology, Parasitology.
*Recommended choices for Upper level Chemistry - Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Thermodynamics and Kinetics, Advanced Organic Chemistry, Advanced Instrumental Analysis.

Students applying to medical, dental, or veterinary schools are required to have completed two full years of chemistry with labs, one full year of physics with labs, calculus, and one year plus of biology. Questions concerning this schedule should be directed to Michael Deibel, William Harvey, Peter Blair, or Jeff Justus, who constitute the Health Careers Advisory Committee. First year students who are looking toward health careers should contact Michael Deibel or William Harvey as soon as possible.

Michael A. Deibel, Chief Health Careers Advisor, phone ext. 1459 - email "deibemi@earlham.edu"

William H. Harvey, Advisor-Consultant, phone ext. 1240 - email "billh@earlham.edu"

Timetable for Applying to Professional Schools

The following timetable is for students planning on matriculating into MEDICAL SCHOOL in the Fall of 2009. For those going directly to medical school after graduating from Earlham, this would be those students entering the JUNIOR YEAR in the Fall of 2006. As you can see, you must start applying to medical school more than a year before you intend to start.

Fall semester, 2007:

Obtain a packet of materials from the Health Professions and Chemistry Secretary, Terry Shipley, in the Chemistry Department Office, or download and copy the committee application in your choice of .pdf format (requires Acrobat) or .htm (Web) format.

Fall, 2007 or Spring 2008:

Register for spring MCAT, OAT, DAT, or GRE. Information, including helpful hints on preparation for the MCAT may be found at http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm. If you will be taking the August MCAT, register for it before you leave school for the summer, or at least pick up the form. Below are the registration open dates for the MCAT

Registration open                             Test dates
October 30, 2007                     January 25 and 26
December 5, 2007                   April 5, 18, and 19 ; May 10, 23, 27 and 31
March 11, 2008                       June 13 ; July 8, 10, and 18 ;

August 5, 7, 15, and 22; September 3, 5, 6, 12, 13

The OAT, DAT and GRE are offered at flexible times (see specific sites above for details).

Spring semester, 2008: (January - April):

Schedule interview appointment with Michael Deibel or William Harvey.
Request three faculty letters of recommendation to be sent to the Health Professions secretary by April 30. Emphasize the importance of this date to your referees.
Enroll in MCAT or other appropriate test prep program or begin self-study program.

April, 2008

Mandatory meeting for applicants to all health schools in the coming summer.

Late Spring or early Summer, 2008:

Take the MCAT or appropriate tests.

April 30, 2008:

Deadline for submitting one-page personal statement, faculty letters and completed HCAC committee application materials to Terry Shipley, Health Professions Secretary. Also submit your summer address, telephone number, and, yes, your social security number. (Is nothing sacred?)

May 1, 2008:

Deadline for submitting list of health schools to Terry Shipley (may be supplemented as needed later).

May, 2008:

AMCAS applications may be downloaded from the AAMC. Other common application services (CAS) may be downloaded from other sources, i.e. AACOMAS from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, etc. CAS may be initiated in early June.

June (1^st week) 2008:

First day AMCAS will accept applications. More than 80% of all U.S. AMCAS applications are submitted by June 30, Make sure yours is one of them!

June - August, 2008:

Complete non-AMCAS applications and secondary applications for AMCAS schools. Be aware of individual deadlines, but don't wait until just before these deadlines! Your chances are improved by completing your applications well in advance of the deadlines, and definitely before the end of August.

September, 2008:

Meeting with Michael Deibel or William Harvey of those who have applied to discuss the interview process.

From then on: Interviews and acceptances!
Good luck !!

The following Health Careers Advisory Committee application may be downloaded from this site, in either .pdf format (requires Acrobat) or .htm (Web) format. Please return this typed and completed application to Terry Shipley, Health Advisory Secretary in Stanley Hall 243. If you use this electronic download, please e-mail deibemi@earlham.edu or billh@earlham.edu so that we can know that your application is in progress.

Members of the Health Careers Advisory Committee

Michael Deibel, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chief Health Careers Advisor and Committee Chair.
William H. Harvey, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Biology, Advisor-Consultant.
Peter Blair, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology.
Jeff Justus, D.O., Assistant Professor of Athletics, Wellness, and Physical Education.

The following are medical schools which Earlham students have attended in the last 10 years.
Yale University Harvard University Stanford University Johns Hopkins University Duke University University of North Carolina New York University Indiana University Ohio University University of Michigan University of Georgia University of Florida University of Pennsylvania Temple University University of Pittsburgh University of Cincinnati Case Western University Washington University	Vanderbilt University University of Chicago Northwestern University University of Washington University of New Mexico University of Illinois University of Kentucky Ohio University Michigan State University McGill University Georgetown University George Washington University University of Maryland University of South Carolina Hershey School of Medicine University of California and others

Links to Health Professions Web Sites

Detailed Suggestions for Medical School Applicants