ASPPH Public Health Graduate School Fair

This is Public Health Graduate School Fair
July 14 @ 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) will host a free graduate school fair for prospective students of public health. This is a great opportunity for prospective graduate and doctoral students to learn about the growing field of public health. The "This is Public Health Graduate School Fair" allows prospective students to meet admissions directors from 25 CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health at one convenient location: The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Go here to see a list of schools attending and to register.

PTCAS Goes Live July 1st

APPLYING TO PT PROGRAMS THIS YEAR?
PTCAS GOES LIVE TOMORROW!

2015-16 CYCLE
PTCAS invites applicants to view the new 2015-16 PTCAS application instructions and directory pages now available on the PTCAS website.

NEW PROGRAMS IN PTCAS
APTA and PTCAS are pleased to welcome 15 programs to PTCAS for the upcoming admissions cycle for a total of 195 participating programs representing 85% of eligible institutions. Visit the PTCAS directory to view program-specific admission requirements.

• Alvernia University (PA)
• American International College (MA)
• Briar Cliff University (IA)
• East Carolina University
• Emory & Henry College (VA)
• Hardin-Simmons University (TX)
• Saint Francis University (PA)
• Samford University (AL)
• Simmons College (MA)
• South College (TN)
• Texas Woman's University
• University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth
• University of South Carolina
• University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, The
• US Army-Baylor University (TX)

CHANGES FOR 2015-16
Applicants continue to be encouraged to have their PT observation hours verified with an electronic signature through the PTCAS verification portal, if verified hours are required by the DPT program for admissions. If an applicant’s observation hours were previously verified by a physical therapist on a paper signature form, then the applicant may scan the signed form and upload it into the application. PTCAS will no longer accept paper PT hour forms in the mail.

The standard PTCAS essay question will remain, "APTA's vision for physical therapy is 'transforming society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience.' How will you embody this vision as a future physical therapist?"

The application will include new disadvantaged questions in response to the development of a new definition of underrepresented minorities in physical therapy education adopted by APTA. The new questions are intended to assist programs in identifying applicants from educationally, economically, or geographically disadvantaged backgrounds.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS
 www.ptcas.org
ptcasinfo@ptcas.org
617-612-2040
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PTCAS
Twitter: @PTCAS

SOPHAS Public Health Virtual Fair

SOPHAS Public Health Virtual Fair
July 8th and 9th

SOPHAS schools and programs will participate in a virtual graduate school fair for prospective students of public health and advisors. The fair will be conducted entirely online and participants will have the opportunity to chat live with admissions officers and program chairs, review materials about specific degree programs, and upload resumes to share with representatives of SOPHAS members and SOPHAS staff. The event is free for prospective students.


To assist with the attendees’ specific questions about the SOPHAS application process, the fair will feature a virtual booth manned by SOPHAS representatives. SOPHAS also sponsors a booth where applicants can chat with current MPH students from a variety of schools and ask about their experiences as a public health student.Register here!

Student Success Story: Caroline Vines UVA '13, '14

1. When did you graduate from UVa and what did you study?  
I graduated with a B.A. in Human Biology in May of 2013, and graduated with my Master’s in Public Health in May of 2014.

2. What did you do during your bridge year(s) before matriculation to medical school?
I decided to pursue my Master’s in Public Health as part of the 5-year MPH program, and for the past year I’ve been completing a Global Health Fellowship at St. Joseph’s Clinic in Thomassique, Haiti.

3. What made you decide to engage in a bridge year? I knew that I was interested in public health, and wanted to gain more experience in the field of health care before deciding whether I wanted pursue medicine. The 5-year MPH program was a very efficient and convenient way for me to explore my interests in public health. After finishing the program, I felt like I still wanted more experience working in the field, and was still unsure whether I wanted to do clinical care or just focus on population health. I also wanted more experience working with underserved populations, and wanted to improve my Spanish skills.

4. How did you learn about the position? I was looking for medical and public health opportunities in Latin America, and stumbled upon Medical Missionaries’ Global Health Fellowship on a job search website (idealist.org). After reading the description, the job sounded like exactly the type of experience I was looking for, combining public health programming with clinical care.

5. What did your experience in this position consist of? Can you describe a typical day?
I work with two other Americans to oversee public health programming in 5 communities surrounding Thomassique. We work closely with Community Health Workers to coordinate our water treatment program, the sale of Bon Sel (treated salt that prevents goiter and filiriasis), and our infant malnutrition program. We also facilitate vaccine days and mobile clinics in the villages, and oversee our annual training program for traditional birth attendants. In the clinic, we are responsible for a great deal of supply-chain management, including tracking daily usage of medications and supplies, coordinating the local purchase of supplies, and calculating how much medication needed to be ordered annually. We also coordinate trips for visiting teams of surgeons, and make sure that proper follow-up is done with patients after the teams leave. On any given day you can find me doing a variety of these things – sending vaccines to a village, meeting with one of our Community Health Committees, tracking medications, etc.

6. What distinguished this opportunity from other options you might have pursued?
This fellowship offered an unparalleled opportunity to work both in public health and clinical care in an international setting. This job allowed me to experience a little bit of everything – I gained experience managing programs and local personnel, I shadowed local physicians and teams of visiting surgeons, and also served as a patient advocate/navigator when we had complicated cases that needed referral. This fellowship helped give me experience working in both population health and individualized patient care. While I was originally looking for a job that would help me improve my Spanish skills, this fellowship also required me to learn the unique language of Haitian Creole – not necessarily the most useful language to know, but a skill that will be extremely useful if I ever decide to work in Haiti again.

7. What was involved in the application process?
The application process was actually kind of similar (but not quite as intense) as the med school application process. I applied in early October, and was sent a Secondary Application in November. I then interviewed for the position in late December. The application process finished early, so I thankfully didn’t have to look for another job.

8. Why do you recommend this opportunity for other UVa grads?
This is really the opportunity of a lifetime for students interested in public health and medicine, especially those who want to work with underserved populations. The fellowship offers you the freedom to get a “taste” for a lot of different programs and responsibilities, but also encourages you to work more in-depth with a program that interests you. For me, I used the skills I had developed working with a water program in Guatemala, to inform my work with the clinic’s water purification program. It’s also a great opportunity for students who want more shadowing experience, as a major part of the job requires you to work closely with visiting teams and the local physicians.

9. How did this experience help to prepare you for your next step?
I’ve always been interested in global health and medicine, and this experience has helped me narrow down my future career goals. Shadowing visiting teams has helped me think about what specialties I may be interested in, and has really been a highlight of my year here. Working with the local population has helped me develop a sense of patience, empathy, and understanding, that will undoubtedly be important when working as a health care professional in the U.S.. Additionally, I had to deal with an extraordinary number of challenges this year – everything from not having enough supplies or medication at the clinic, to confronting employees who weren’t doing their job. The management experience I’ve gained will definitely be helpful when working in health care in the U.S..

10. What is your next step after completion of your contract and what made you choose to pursue it?
This experience definitely reaffirmed my desire to pursue a career in medicine, so I will be applying to med school in the 2016 cycle. I would also like to gain more experience working with underserved populations in the U.S., so I’m currently looking for a position at a hospital or clinic that would allow me to do so.

11. Is there anything else you would like to share?
I learned more about myself, my long-term goals, and the realities of health care during this year than in 5 years of college and grad school. I would highly recommend taking time off to anyone who isn’t totally sure about what they want to do, or feels like they want a non-academic experience in health care before going to graduate or medical school.

#ASKMDPHD - Wednesday, June 24th

The leadership of the Weill Cornell / Rockefeller / Sloan-Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program will be answering MD-PhD related questions on Twttier via the #ASKMDPHD hashtag on Wednesday, June 24th.  

Stop in on Twitter to get your MD-PhD questions answered. Please be sure to mark your questions with the #ASKMDPHD hashtag. 

Questions will be answered by: 
Dr. Olaf Andersen, Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program Director
Ruth Gotian, Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program Administrative Director

Freakonomics: Make Me a Match

Food for Thought:
What does market-design and an engineer by training, professor of economics, and Nobel prize winner in economics have to do with medicine? 

Al Roth significantly contributed to the development of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) as it is today. Not only that, he helps people who need a kidney transplant find a donor. 

Host:
Stephen Dubner
Guest:
Al Roth, Professor of Economics at Stanford, engineer by training, Nobel in Economics prize winner in 2012 (shared prize with Lloyd Shapley, whose research influenced Roth)

Listen here.

WesternU College of Podiatric Medicine - Footfest 2015

Saturday, June 27, 2015
The Disneyland Hotel, 1150 West Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Explore the world of Podiatric Medicine at Foot Fest 2015, a free day-long seminar that will be taking place at the Disneyland Hotel & Convention Center during the California Podiatric Medical Association's Western Podiatry Conference.

This event will feature: An introduction to Podiatry, Lectures by current Doctors of Podiatric Medicine, A lunch with podiatric mentors, And much more!

This event is completely free but spaces are limited so early registration is encouraged. Register: Foot Fest 2015

WesternU CDM Dental PreP Program Workshop

WesternU CDM Dental PreP Program Workshop

 

The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) at the Western University of Health Sciences' College of Dental Medicine is pleased to announce its Pre-Dental Preparation (PreP) Program on Saturday, June 27th 2015 for all students interested in attending dental school.

 

This program is a day-long event designed for pre-dental students interested in an immersive experience at a state-of-the art dental institution in the Southern California region. It will consist of fundamental activities undertaken by our own students such as:

• Drill and composite restoration in an expansive simulation clinic
• Impression and cast molding at the WesternU dental laboratories
• Observing human cadaver anatomy labs in our donated-body program
• One-on-one mock interviews at the Health Education Center
• DAT and personal statement workshops for critical reviews
• Application tips from recently accepted dental students
• Pre-Dental preparation process outlined by WesternU Staff

The cost of the program is $100.00 for the entire day's activities, including two catered meals. If interested, applications are accepted until June 12th, 2015.

 

Please be sure to apply early as space is limited. The application may be found at:

http://j.mp/prep2015 . Payment may be submitted at: http://bit.ly/preppayment

Urgent Application Reminders

CAS Coursework Entry Service
Many of the health professions centralized application services (AADSAS, OptomCAS, VMCAS, etc.) offer a coursework entry service for a non-refundable charge of approximately $50.00 for 1-2 transcripts (with additional cost for additional transcripts). 

Please be aware: the coursework entry service can take 5-10 business days to enter the information, then the application is sent back to the applicant for verification that the information was correctly entered, and then the application enters the verification line. If applicants do not approve the entry, the application is considered incomplete.

UVa Pre-Health Advising strongly suggests students not utilize this service due to the subsequent processing delays for application submission and verification.

AMCAS Timing
Even if your application is verified in June, AMCAS will not release your information to medical schools until July 1. Thus, schools will not know you are applying to their programs until then. The first day you might start to receive secondary applications is July 1st, but some will be sent later depending on the school specific process. 

Vanderbilt, UMass, Jefferson School of Medicine Updates and Reminders

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Update:
VUSM is moving from "requirements" to "recommendations" for the prerequisites, with the recognition that undergraduate institutions have unique ways of educating students on the foundation courses. The Admissions Committee will be satisfied that a student has met the competency in a subject area by triangulating a student's academic achievement, MCAT performance, and letters of evaluation. In addition, VUSM will now accept AP/CLEP/etc. credit without requiring a student take advanced courses in that subject area. This information is currently in effect for the 2016 entry class.

University of Massachusetts School of Medicine Update:
Applications to the UMass School of Medicine MD degree will now be open for the first time to out of state residents for the matriculating class of 2016. As in prior years, the MD-PhD degree program will continue to be open to out-of-state residents, as well as Massachusetts residents. All applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents. Tuition and fees for in-state and out-of-state residents for the AY 16-17 admissions cycle will be posted on the UMass School of Medicine Financial Aid website in January 2016. 

Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University Reminder: 
While the admissions website indicates that letters of recommendation should be provided by individual faculty members from each science discipline (biology, chemistry, physics) and humanities, students should not refrain from applying if they do not have a letter from each science discipline. Please be advised that students have successfully gained admission without three separate science discipline letters.

#askAMCAS Twitter chat

#askAMCAS Twitter chat
Thursday, June 18, 2015 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET
Those who are applying to medical school with the AMCAS this cycle to join the conversation and get questions answered directly from AMCAS staff. We will be tweeting from @AMCASinfo and you can follow the conversation even if you do not have a Twitter account by searching for the #askAMCAS hashtag on Twitter.

We look forward to answering any and all AMCAS-related questions, including those about the verification process, entering coursework, and letters of evaluation. Make sure to add the #askAMCAS hashtag to your tweets. 

Student Success Story: Dr. Kelly Underwood, UVa Alum

http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/news/vs/may15/#underwood

Dr. Kelly Underwood named college valedictorian

As a child, Kelly Underwood, from Vienna, Virginia, thought she might want a career working with animals. By the time she began studies at the University of Virginia, however, her interests shifted to the humanities.

“I really liked English and history, so I pursued that at the beginning of my college career,” said Underwood, who wrote human interest stories and served as one of two life-section editors for her college newspaper, The Cavalier Daily. “But when I started looking at jobs in either journalism or publishing, I didn’t like it as much and began to reevaluate what I did enjoy. At the time, I was also volunteering at a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) facility and working at a wildlife center.”

After deciding to turn her love of animals into an academic pursuit, Underwood made a switch in the middle of her undergraduate career and began taking biology and life science classes. In 2010, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree and the rather unlikely dual major of English and biology.

Underwood was the Class of 2015 valedictorian at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. “Doing well in veterinary college isn’t about being super-smart,” said Underwood who, as valedictorian, received the college’s Richard B. Talbot Memorial Award. “For me personally, it’s about being willing to put in the time and effort to study and being organized.”

Read more about Underwood’s academic success and efforts to start Virginia Tech Helping P.A.W.S.