Report on Health Professions Programs at Mount Holyoke College

Transcription

1 Report on Health Professions Programs at Mount Holyoke College MAY 2011 Office of Pre-Health Programs Mount Holyoke College

2 Report on Health Professions Programs Acknowledgements The Committee on the Health Professions is an exceptionally dedicated group of faculty who support students throughout the very rigorous process of preparing for and applying to graduate study in the health professions. The importance of what they do for our students cannot be overstated, and is best summarized in a remark made to the Committee by a medical school Dean of Admissions: The committee letter is the single most important piece of information we can consider about an applicant. It takes enormous time, effort and caring to write a good one, and the letters we receive from Mount Holyoke are regularly some of the best I have ever seen. The current and recent past members of the Committee on the Health Professions have played a direct role in the successes described in this report. Those individuals are: Sarah Bacon, Biological Sciences Rachel Fink, Biological Sciences Darren Hamilton, Chemistry Jeffrey Knight, Biological Sciences Lynn Morgan, Anthropology Stan Rachootin, Biological Sciences Mark Peterson, Physics & Mathematics David Gardner, Dean of Pre-Health Programs Kathy Binder, Psychology & Education Janice Gifford, Statistics James Harold, Philosophy Will Millard, Psychology & Education Megan Nuñez, Chemistry Margaret Robinson, Mathematics Sharon Stranford, Biological Sciences Jackie Collette, Senior Administrative Assistant We would also like to thank Janice Gifford and Alison Donta-Venman for their assistance with data analysis. Introduction The Office of Pre-Health Programs and the Committee on the Health Professions serve all undergraduate Mount Holyoke students and alumnae planning for a career in the health professions. The program also hosts postbaccalaureate students who enroll at Mount Holyoke to fulfill prerequisite science courses. This report highlights specific aspects of Pre-Health programming and provides a detailed profile of outcomes. Representative activities are described over a two-year window of time (academic years and ). Detailed admission data for all health professions are provided for four years (application cycles finishing in 2008 through 2011). In the field of allopathic medicine, summary admissions data are available back to 2002 and thus give a longer historical picture of our applicants record of success. Cover Photo: Griselda Potka 11 at Hartford Hospital, where she previously completed an undergraduate internship in cardiology and is now employed as a nursing assistant. Griselda is beginning her application to medical school this year. 2

3 Preparing Mount Holyoke Students for the Health Professions Acceptance into graduate professional training in the health professions has always been difficult to achieve but in recent decades has become an increasingly complex process. Candidates are evaluated using measures far more comprehensive than grade point average and standardized tests. All of the health professions seek individuals whose record demonstrates a broad range of experiences and measures which point to an ability to succeed. Emphasis is placed not just on a candidate s academic preparation, but also on factors such as a demonstrated commitment to the field, leadership, maturity, and a habit towards becoming a lifelong learner. Applicants therefore undergo a holistic review which examines the collection of factors illustrated in the figure below. May 2011 Pre-Health programming at MHC meets this need by providing comprehensive support with every aspect of a student s preparation and application. This support includes: academic advising advice on selecting schools clinical internships editorial assistance mock interviews alumnae panels browsing library commercial test preparation letters of recommendation presentations by admissions representatives 3

4 Report on Health Professions Programs Campus Events: During a representative two year period, we sponsor over 40 events including workshops, alumnae panels and presentations by admissions representatives. Each event typically attracts between 15 and 45 students. A sample of those events during the and academic years includes: Visits by school admissions representatives Boston University School of Medicine Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy National College of Naturopathic Medicine New York College of Osteopathic Medicine University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine Joint Medical Admissions Panel Stanford & Duke Universities Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Public Health Symposium featuring Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, UMass, Albany, and Yale Schools of Public Health together with a panel of three alumnae working in public health Panels and Presentations Melanie Cheers MHC 02, fourth-year medical student at Washington University of Medicine, St. Louis Medical School From a Medical Student s Perspective three MHC Alumnae currently enrolled at University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine Physician Alumnae Panels Audrey Guhn, MD MHC 82; Cathy Kamens, MD MHC 93; Navnett Marwaha, MD MHC 91; Jennifer Rodriguez, MD MHC 04; Emily Weber-LeBrun, MD MHC 96 Annie Heath, Nurse Midwife and Director of Proyecto Adames, a women s clinic in the Dominican Republic Podiatric Medicine Presentation Louis J. DeCaro, DPM Rafael Sanchez, MD, Baystate Medical Center Mock Interviews: Most schools require an extensive interview as part of the application process, and invitations to interviews are highly coveted because of their importance. Our office encourages students to schedule a mock interview as soon as they receive their first invitation. The mock interview, conducted with one or more members of the committee, spans an hour during which the student is asked interview questions, provided feedback, and offered advice on what to expect during her interview day. In the past two years, we have conducted 24 mock interviews. 4

5 Clinical Internships and Research: Evidence of firsthand exposure to clinical medicine is very important to an applicant s success, and our students on average log in excess of 200 hours of clinical internship time in settings including hospitals, private medical and dental practices, and veterinary clinics. During the past two years, we assisted 55 students in securing clinical internships and research positions. May 2011 Liz Belisle 11 poses with her research poster at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine in San Francisco, February Liz has participated in clinical research for four semesters with Dr. Glenn Markenson in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center. Liz s attendance at the San Francisco conference was funded by the Office of Pre-Health Programs. Liz has also presented her research at two other conferences this spring, in Newport, RI and New York, NY. Liz is beginning her application to medical school this year. 5

6 Report on Health Professions Programs Initiatives: Standardized Exam preparation Preparation for standardized entrance exams has been a focus of our program for the past five years. Many faculty are incorporating representative questions into their regular exams in courses, and the Office of Pre-Health Programs has made Kaplan GRE and MCAT preparation courses available to students on campus at a reduced price. During the past two years, 53 Mount Holyoke students enrolled in the MCAT course (a total of 130 applicants took the MCAT during the same period). Thank-you letters Many individuals support our students in academic courses and with research and clinical internship opportunities, and often write detailed letters of recommendation to support a student s application. At the close of each application cycle, our office generates a personal letter of thanks to every person who authored a letter of recommendation for all successful applicants. In a typical application season, this represents approximately 150 thank-you letters. Outreach Even the most qualified applicants benefit from trusted advocacy on their behalf. Mount Holyoke students are becoming increasingly appreciated among some of the country s top schools through our efforts to showcase their credentials and the quality of the training they receive. Admissions officers are invited to campus to talk with students in groups as well as one-on-one informational interviews, and the Dean of Pre-Health Programs meets regularly with school representatives at meetings and during visits to their campuses. These efforts naturally pay off as Mount Holyoke students find themselves more likely to be invited to interview (and, ultimately, to be offered admission) at those schools. As one example, during the current application cycle, 6 out of 8 Mount Holyoke students applying to Stanford Medical School were invited to interview (and three were admitted), compared to a national applicant pool interview rate at Stanford of just below 5% (2010 AMCAS data). Art & Medicine In collaboration with the Mount Holyoke Art Museum and Yale Medical School, we are providing students with teaching that meshes observational skills with clinical diagnostic practice. Students are first given practice in making detailed, empirical descriptions of paintings in the museum collection. In a subsequent session they are presented with medical photographs and radiographs and, working with a physician, are asked to apply the same descriptive techniques to clinical evidence. Our program, which is being piloted with postbaccalaureate students and will expand into undergraduate courses, is modeled after a curriculum that was developed at Yale and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, vol. 286, ). In that study, medical student participants demonstrated significantly better clinical diagnostic abilities when compared to a control group. 6

7 Outcomes Academic majors of students entering the health professions, * Mount Holyoke students are encouraged to major in any discipline, and to take full advantage of the liberal arts curriculum, while preparing for the health professions. Schools celebrate the diversity of academic backgrounds such an applicant population represents. While the majority of students preparing for the health professions do choose to major in the sciences, a significant number of non-science majors are represented in the admitted population, as shown in the table below. Anthropology 2 Art 1 Biochemistry 13 Biology 47 Biology/Chemistry 2 Chemistry 8 Dance 1 French/International Relations 1 History 3 International Relations 1 Italian 1 Music 1 Neuroscience & Behavior 11 Philosophy 1 Physics 1 Politics 1 Postbac 11 Psychology 4 Religion 1 Special 2 May 2011 *(2011 data are incomplete) Degree programs of students entering the health professions, * Students are encouraged from the outset to explore the different health professions available, and many find their interests evolving over the course of their preparation. This diversity of interests is supported in our programming and reflected in the types of schools our students matriculate into: During the past four years, 58% of our students entered training to become physicians while the balance opted to enter a variety of other professional programs, as shown in the table below. DDS 10 MD 39 DO 16 MD/MPH 2 DPT 4 MD/PhD 9 DPM 1 MPH 6 DVM 10 Nursing 6 DVM/PhD 2 Pharmacy 4 PA 4 *(2011 data are incomplete) 7

8 Report on Health Professions Programs GPA & MCAT scores, and the success of Mount Holyoke applicants MCAT Admission to MD/DO Schools by MCAT Score and GPA: MHC Graduates Applying Source: AAMC and AACOM data n = 54 accept = 27 (50%) MCAT > 26 GPA < 3.5 n = 45 accept = 15 (33%) MCAT < 26 GPA < 3.5 TOTAL n = 230 accept = 133 (58%) GPA n =93 accept = 74 (80%) MCAT > 26 GPA > 3.5 n = 38 accept = 17 (45%) MCAT < 26 GPA > 3.5 Accepted Not Accepted MCAT scores and GPAs for 230 Mount Holyoke applicants to allopathic and osteopathic medical school over the past nine years are strongly correlated with success in admission, but these data demonstrate a number of other important principles: First, there are other factors which clearly affect an individual candidate s success and when comparing GPA and MCAT, each is of approximately equal importance. The overall admission rate for Mount Holyoke is 58%, which should be considered in the context of our policy of supporting all applicants. Nonetheless, this compares very favorably with a 44% national admit rate. Mount Holyoke applicants who have MCAT and GPA scores which are higher than the national average of all applicants (26 and 3.5, respectively indicated by the dotted lines on the graph) enjoy an 80% success rate. GPA 3.5 MCAT 26 8

9 GPA & MCAT Trends, , Mount Holyoke compared to national averages 34 Matriculant Data MCAT GPA May MCAT-MHC MCAT-Nat GPA-MHC GPA-Nat Year Mount Holyoke students matriculating into medical school have shown improvements in both GPA and MCAT score over the past four years. In particular, from 2007 to 2010, the average MCAT score for MHC matriculants to medical school improved by 4.6 points (approximately 10% of the maximum possible MCAT score of 45), compared to a 0.6 point improvement among the national pool of matriculating candidates. Note that data for the 2011 application cycle are incomplete at the time of this report s publication. ( AMCAS and ACOMAS data.) 9

10 Report on Health Professions Programs Admissions to Health Professions Schools A representative listing of schools that Mount Holyoke graduates have been admitted into during the past four years includes: Schools of Medicine Albert Einstein Boston University Case Western Reserve University Columbia University Dartmouth Duke University Emory University Harvard University Indiana University Johns Hopkins University Mount Sinai New York Medical College Pennsylvania State University Stanford University State University of New York at Buffalo State University of New York at Stony Brook Thomas Jefferson University Tufts University Tulane University University of California Davis University of Colorado University of Connecticut University of Illinois University of Maryland University of Massachusetts University of Rochester University of Vermont University of Virginia University of Washington Washington University 10 Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine New York College of Osteopathic Medicine Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine Western College of Osteopathic Medicine

11 Schools of Dental Medicine Boston University Harvard University New York University State University of New York at Buffalo State University of New York at Stony Brook Tufts University University of California San Francisco University of Minnesota University of Pennsylvania Schools of Veterinary Medicine Auburn University Colorado State University Cornell University Michigan State University Tufts University University of Glasgow University of Minnesota May 2011 Other Programs Columbia University Physical Therapy Program George Washington University School of Public Health Georgetown University Physician Assistant Program Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health Massachusetts College of Pharmacy Massachusetts General Hospital Physical Therapy Program University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Yale University Physician Associate Program 11

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