Introduction to Health Professions AdvisingJessica Ifft, MA

Coordinator

Health Professions Advising

Agenda

Who is HPA?Pre-Health Students

AdvisingPieces of the PieCollaborationQuestions

Health Professions Advising Staff

Staff Members and Roles

Joanne Snapp, MS Director SLB 1011

Jessica Ifft, MA Coordinator SLB 1013

Karyn Kershaw Student Assistant and

Pre-Med Peer Advisor

About Our Office

Our Approach: Holistic Advising

What is Holistic Advising? Providing guidance or advice that takes into

consideration the unique needs of the student

Why? No two students are alike Every student has his/her own path, that may not

parallel their classmate’s Transfer students vs. non-transfer students

What that means for the student They may get advice tailored to their particular

situation We will encourage, guide, and work alongside the

student to get to their destination no matter what their situation is

Services

Programming Group advising One-on-one advising

Review of purpose statements

Reviews of applications

Outreach

Pre-Health StudentsWho identifies as a Pre-Health Student?

Pre-Health Students

Who is a Pre-Health Student?

Anyone considering going into a health related profession

There is no required major or minor

Students can sign up to be “pre-health” on our website

Common Health Fields Students are Typically Seeking

Allopathic Medicine

Osteopathic Medicine

Dentistry

Nursing

Clinical Lab Sciences

Pharmacy

Chiropractic Medicine

Public Health

Physician Assistant

Optometry

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Veterinary Medicine

Genetic Counseling

Occupational Therapy

Naturopathic Medicine

Allied Health Fields

Advising SessionsInformation we provide to students

Topics Covered

We discuss with the student:

Study skills

Pre-requisites

Tests

Experience

Building relationships with faculty

Letters of recommendation

How to apply

Purpose statements

More

Advising SheetsWe have an advising

sheet for each commonly asked for health related field.

Common Question: What are the pre-requisites for __________?

• Every school has their own set of pre-requisites. • Some may overlap,

while others will be unique to a particular school

We advise students to use the advising sheets as a tool

A huge part of the process is individual research

We want our students to receive the guidance, yet understand their level of responsibility

Every institution will list their pre-requisites and application requirements on their websites. If it’s ambiguous, we advise contacting the institution to gain more clarity

Creating their own version of an “advising sheet” is helpful to most students

Course List• When choosing

courses, schools are looking at the units taken and title of course

• Transfer students may have some concerns about they took articulating with pre-requisites or counting toward pre-requisites. At that time, please have them contact an HPA advisor

Pieces of the PieWhat professional and graduate schools are looking for when students apply

Pieces of the Pie

Holistic Review Metrics

Grades Test Scores

Experiences Meaningful

Experiences What do you WANT to

do? Clinical Experience

Attributes Characteristics Who are you?

Common Questions about:

Metrics

While the list of averages can be daunting to look at, students should concentrate on the range

High test scores + high GPA does not = entrance

On the flip side, all the experience in the world will not make up for a poor GPA

Experiences

Clinical and hands-on experience is needed

Shadowing Interning Paid/non-paid hours

Meaningful experiences What do you want to do? Avoid being a “checklist”

applicant Focus less on doing

things to please the school of interest

Showing you can be a leader and team-player

Additional Requirement

Letters of Recommendation Quality letters vs.

quantity

Some fields may want science professors only

Other requirements may apply

Students need to build genuine relationships early

Authors required will vary

CollaborationWorking together to meet the same goal

Collaboration

Feel free to email us with questions or connect about a collaboration

Contact InformationJoanne Snapp, MS

jsnapp@ucdavis.edu

Jessica Ifft, MA jifft@ucdavis.edu

Thank you for attending!

Questions?