We look forward to greeting you when you arrive on campus this fall. Here are a few things to do to get started: 
As a first-year student at Hopkins, we encourage you to pursue your interests both in the classroom and beyond. You should, however, be careful not to over-commit to involvements outside of the classroom. You do not want to be in a position where you out of class activities pull you away from the time necessary to excel academically. Try a couple of activities your first year and, if you find you have time for more, go for it! As a prehealth student it is important that you perform at a high level academically. This is why it is essential for all premedical students to develop good study habits and a college lifestyle that is conducive to academic achievement. This includes (but is not limited to) setting aside enough time in your schedule to study and getting a good night’s sleep. If you have trouble in your first semester try to pinpoint your difficulties and remedy them. Many resources are available to you on campus if you need help including your academic advisor, your professors and teaching assistants, the Counseling Center, and this Office. It is very important that you get to know your professors. This is particularly challenging, however, in light of the size of introductory classes. Do your best to get to know them as, it will not only help you academically, but also will provide you with letters of recommendation when you apply to medical or other health professions school. Make a point of stopping in to meet some of your professors during their office hours, even if you are in a large-introductory level course. You don’t have to have a major question to ask as a pretense to visiting with a professor; any specific question about a course, curiosity about your course work, or questions about a professor’s research interests are all legitimate reasons for visiting with a professor during his/her office hours. The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) “reports that while physicians are certainly expected to be knowledgeable and skillful, they are also expected to be altruistic and dutiful.” Dutifulness is defined by: • An appreciation of the complex non-biological determinants of poor health
• An awareness of community and public health issues
• The ability to identify risk factors for disease
• A commitment to the early identification and treatment of disease
• An acceptance of the responsibility for making scientifically based medical decisions and for advocating for the care of the underserved
• And understanding of basic issues in health care financing and delivery Altruism is defined involving: • Ethical decision-making
• Compassion, respect, honesty and integrity
• Collaborative work with other team members
• Advocating for one’s patients
• Sensitivity to potential conflicts of interest
• The capacity to recognize one’s limits
• The commitment to continuously improve one’s knowledge and abilities (MSAR, page 12) Personal attributes for other health professions are similar to these required for medical school.
In addition to coursework and personal attributes, it is strongly suggested that applicants participate in activities in a healthcare setting to learn about the medical profession and about themselves. Experiences can include, but are certainly not limited t • Caring for an ill or elderly family member
• Participating in basic or clinical science research efforts
• Working as an emergency medical technician
• Shadowing a physician (required for programs such as dental, optometry, osteopathic, podiatry and veterinary medicine)
• Providing emotional support to people in a rape crisis center, emergency room or social service agency Three criteria are used by health professions schools to evaluate these experiences: • Length of time – semester commitments are better than day-long activities
• Depth of experience – active participation is more useful than passive observation
• Lessons learned – being able to explain what you gained from the experience
Everyone is familiar with the notion that preparation for a professional education requires the development of strong academic skills as evidenced by academic achievement. Not everyone realizes that strong personal preparation and a well-informed career decision are just as important. Personal preparation involves engaging in University, community and personal activities that result in personal growth and maturity. Persons who have invested in personal growth are attractive candidates for professional school because they evidence leadership, commitment, tolerance, flexibility, organization, compassion, empathy and strong communication skills (among a host of other fine qualities). A well-informed career decision results from an investment in self-education about one's personal strengths, weaknesses, needs, skills and interests; time spent learning about a profession and time spent in the environment where the profession is practiced; and time spent reflecting on how one’s personal strengths and personal values align with those needed for success in the chosen health profession. Academic, personal, and career preparation is the route to success at the next level. It is important that you plan how you are going to attain a strong preparation in each of the three.
While the requirements for professional schools are relatively standard, the route to completing them is in no way prescribed. The challenge is to find the right path for you to follow in preparing yourself. Perhaps you will choose to complete all of your pre-professional requirements through courses in the College, or perhaps you will choose to focus the College years on a non-science area of interest, postponing the science prerequisites for completion in a post baccalaureate program.1 You may find that a combination of these options, perhaps even coupled with summer courses or a year after college to expand your horizons, is the right path.
There is nothing magical about the four-year time frame after high school to prepare you for medical school. Each year, only about one third of the first-time applicants from the College are applying in their 3rd year for matriculation to professional school right after graduation. The majority has chosen to take some graduate courses or a graduate degree, or a period for work, or travel, or personal development. Or, they chose to take advantage of College opportunities (such as study abroad) that extend the time needed to prepare for professional school. In choosing the right path for yourself, try to remember that you have considerable freedom. Your college experience is part of a continuum that should foster intellectual and personal development, not constrain you to a narrow path. There is no advantage to be gained in rushing your preparation for a health professions career. You are not in a contest that goes to those who are swiftest or who take prodigious course loads in order to graduate early. In fact, professional schools can be uncomfortable with applications from individuals who have concentrated on rapid academic progress at the expense of breadth of learning, time for personal growth, and time for the kind of exploration that results in a well considered career decision. Take every opportunity to attend to and enjoy all aspects of your preparation for the next part of your life's journey.
You will not come this way again. The University Chicago Health Professions Handbook, 2007 (Originally written by Dr. Sheila Putzel, Dr. Eric Lombard, and Ms. Sylvia Robertson) | 
