Spring 2016 Health Professions Committee Interviews and Letters of Evaluation for Applicants to Allopathic (MD) & Osteopathic (DO) Medical Schools

Transcription

1 Spring 2016 Health Professions Committee Interviews and Letters of Evaluation for Applicants to Allopathic (MD) & Osteopathic (DO) Medical Schools The Whitman College Health Professions Committee (HPC) helps facilitate your applications to MD and DO medical schools by offering the following services: an interview, a comprehensive Committee letter of evaluation, collection of individual evaluations, and submission of your letter of evaluation packet. The HPC will be conducting interviews and evaluations for applicants from Feb-April, 2016 for the following students: Whitman graduates from 2015 or earlier and planning to submit an application in Summer 2016 Seniors graduating and leaving campus in May 2016 (even if you are NOT planning on applying in Summer 2016) Juniors (May 2017 grad) and planning to submit an application in Summer 2016 If you would like to schedule a Spring 2016 interview, you must contact Kimberly Mueller by JANUARY 5, 2016 (muelleka@whitman.edu). You will be contacted in late January / early February to set up an interview date/time. I.) Materials for the interview We will ask you to compile and submit a dossier of materials for the HPC to review. Most of these materials will also be included in your primary MD (AMCAS) and DO (AACOMAS) applications that you will complete when you apply. The following 6 items must be submitted at least two weeks before your scheduled interview. They must be compiled into 1-2 electronic files (Word or a pdf file recommended) A) Identifying information B) Work/Activities C) Personal comments D) Autobiographical statement E) Unofficial Transcripts F) MCAT scores (if available) G) A list of potential evaluators - If you are able to solicit one or more individual letters of evaluation to be submitted to the Committee before your interview, this can be helpful, but it is not required. Details for these materials follow.

2 Submission of Materials for Health Professions Committee Interview and Evaluation A. Identifying information: Name: Date of Birth: Place of Birth: Contact information ( , phone): US citizen? Yes / no (circle one) If no, country of citizenship: Legal resident? Yes / no (circle one) If yes, state of residency: Whitman graduation date: I intend to submit an application to MD or DO medical schools in: Don t know (circle one) B. Work/Activities You may list up to 15 experiences in this section. You may choose up to three experiences as most meaningful When determining which of your entries are your most meaningful, you might consider the transformative nature of the experience: the impact you made while engaging in the experience and the personal growth you experienced as a result of your participation. For each experience, list the following: 1. Experience type: (choose from following list): Paid employment - Medical/Clinical Community service/volunteer - Medical/Clinical Research/Lab Honors/Awards/Recognitions Presentations/Posters Leadership Extracurricular Activities Artistic Endeavors Paid employment - Not Medical/Clinical Community service/volunteer Not Medical/Clinical Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant Conferences Attended Publications Military Service Intercollegiate Athletics Hobbies Other Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation 2. Experience name: 3. Organization: 4. Start /End dates: 5. Avg. Hours/wk.: 6. Experience description: (700 or fewer characters; for most meaningful, an extra 1300 characters) C. Personal Comments This statement will be a draft of the statement submitted for the AMCAS (5300 characters max) or AACOMAS (4500 characters max) application. AMCAS provides the following suggestions for the statement: Some questions you may want to consider while drafting this essay are: Why have you selected the field of medicine? What motivates you to learn more about medicine? In addition, you may wish to include information such as: Special hardships, challenges or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits Commentary on significant fluctuations in your academic record not explained elsewhere.

3 D. Autobiographical Statement A 1-2 page autobiographical statement describing your journey to pursue the practice of medicine - experiences, influences of family members and others, obstacles overcome along the way (e.g. educational/economic disadvantage; lack of access to healthcare; you may identify others) This is more of a chance for you to reflect on your life story and how that has led you to commit to the practice of medicine. This statement is NOT requested in the AMCAS or AACOMAS application, but can provide the Committee with additional insight about you that helps us write a persuasive letter on your behalf. E. Transcripts (unofficial is just fine!) of all courses taken after high school, including courses thru Fall F. MCAT scores If you have already taken the MCAT, please submit a copy of the MCAT scores or make sure you have released them to the premedical advisor. It is not essential to have scores before the interview. G. Individual letters of evaluation Please provide a list of evaluators, with or phone contact. Use the attached evaluation form or obtain a copy from the Health Professions web page: 0Form%20-%20Whitman%20College.pdf Contact the individuals you plan to ask to write letters of evaluation for you. For applicants applying as current students, we encourage you to solicit 2-3 letters from instructors who have had you in at least one class, with at least 1 of those evaluators in science. One or two non- academic letters can come from another member of the Whitman campus community, or someone off-campus (employer, volunteer coordinator, mentor). A letter from a health care provider (physician, nurse, administrator) can be beneficial if your interaction with that person was significant. For applicants applying one-several years after graduation, your letters should include mentors/employers/faculty with whom you have worked after graduation. It is advantageous to have letters that can speak to the breadth of your abilities and talents, your commitment to the profession, and/or your ability to work under stressful or challenging conditions. A letter from a family member or long-time family friend is not likely to provide an objective evaluation of your abilities and some schools explicitly prohibit such a letter. completed materials to: Kimberly Mueller, Chair Health Professions Committee muelleka@whitman.edu Hall of Science #

4 Interview Interview with 2 members of the Health Professions Committee (HPC) Committee members: Wally Herbranson (Psychology), Michelle Jenkins (Philosophy), Tom Knight (Biology), Kimberly Mueller (Chair, Advisor), Jim Russo (BBMB) Length: minutes. Format: Your personal statements or experiences frequently serve as starting point to ask you "Why do you feel called to medicine? (as a physician instead of any of the other health care professions) or What have you learned about yourself and the practice of medicine? (from particular experiences). We will usually posit ethical questions to you, either a specific scenario, or in more general terms (e.g. "What do you see as the 3 biggest ethical issues facing physicians today?). We will likely ask questions on health care policy (access, economics, the business of medicine). Follow-up: I will try to meet with you for ~15-20 minutes in person or by phone in order to provide feedback to you and suggestions from the Committee for your interviews at medical schools. Submission of Committee Letter When you submit your AMCAS or AACOMAS application in the summer, you must send me a pdf file of the application. Also, if you have solicited any additional letters of evaluation, they can be sent to me. The HPC will finalize the Committee Letter of Evaluation. Your letter file, a pdf file containing the Committee's letter PLUS the individual letters of evaluation will be uploaded electronically for your designated medical schools to download if and when they want to read them.

5 Whitman College Health Professions Committee Letter of Evaluation Form A. Name of applicant:,. Last First MI AAMC ID# (If available): AACOMAS ID# (If available): B. NOTICE TO APPLICANT: I do do not waive my right to see this evaluation. Signature of applicant: Date: C. NOTICE TO EVALUATORS: The health professions committee will use your letter of evaluation, together with others requested by the applicant, to prepare an overall evaluation, which will be submitted to medical schools to which the student applies. The committee would appreciate your candid evaluation of the student s strengths and weaknesses. The comments made on this form will be compiled and the attached letter will be scanned, without editing, into the applicant s committee letter of evaluation from Whitman College. D. What is your overall evaluation concerning the applicant s potential as a medical student and a physician? Outstanding Excellent Very Good Average Below Average Not Recommended E. The committee would appreciate your attachment of a letter (ON LETTERHEAD, IF POSSIBLE), which indicates how long and in what capacity you have know the applicant. In addition, your opinions regarding the applicant s academic work performance (achievements in your course(s), study and work habits, motivation, problem solving), personal characteristics (integrity, response to criticism, empathy), exposure to the profession and patient care, or other comments related to the applicant s preparedness for medical school would be appreciated. Signature of evaluator: Phone: ( ) OR address: For , please return this form and your written evaluation Via USPS: Kimberly Mueller Chair, Health Professions Committee Whitman College 345 Boyer Avenue, Hall of Science #164 Walla Walla, WA Via to: muelleka@whitman.edu (Electronic signature included) If you have questions regarding submission of this evaluation please contact Kimberly Mueller, Office of Health Professions Advising, (509) , muellek@whitman.edu