Shadowing (within the past 3 years)
Shadowing is the observation of a health care clinician while that individual cares for and treats patients. You should be able to articulate why you are drawn to your specific intended field, as compared to other clinical, scientific, or service-based professions. You also should be ready to articulate what you have observed about effective, compassionate approaches to caring for patients.
| Above Average = 3 | Average = 2 | Below Average = 1 | Limited or None = 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or more Providers | 3 Providers | 1 to 2 Providers | No shadowing |
| Multiple specialties and professions | Multiple specialties | Similar or different specialties | |
| Articulates thoughtful reflection on best practices in patient care | Expresses understanding of effective approaches to caring for patients | Starting to articulate insights from the experiences | |
| Expresses sophisticated understanding of challenges/rewards inherent to the chosen profession | Articulates insights into the challenges/rewards inherent of the chosen profession | ||
| Clearly describes the roles of different members of healthcare team | Expresses developing understanding of the roles of different members of healthcare team | ||
| Cites strategies for responding to challenges in profession |
Patient Interaction (emphasis on past 2-3 years)
Direct patient interaction is defined as being in a position to offer comfort and moral support to conscious patients (and, for pre-vet students, human clients) in a health care environment. It may include attending to patients’ health maintenance, progression, or end-of-life needs. It is important that you be comfortable working with and around patients who are sick and injured. It may include hands-on involvement (as appropriate to level of training), particularly for pre-PA and pre-vet students.
Direct patient exposure can be gained in a variety of ways, such as volunteering or working in hospitals, emergency rooms, clinics, nursing care facilities, or hospice. This category does not include indirect patient interaction, such as housekeeping (cleaning operating or patient rooms) or staffing the hospital information desk.
You should be able to share meaningful interactions you have had with patients in clinical settings, identifying how those experiences not only reinforced your interest in entering a clinical career but also informed your approach to caring for patients and their loved ones.
- Most fields: By time of application, competitive applicants will have spent at least one year (often more) volunteering or working for 4+ hours/week in a direct patient interaction role, with an emphasis on the past two to three years.
- Pre-PA and Pre-Vet: Most successful applicants will have spent over 1,000 hours volunteering or working in a hands-on patient care role, within the past three years.
| Above Average = 3 | Average = 2 | Below Average = 1 | Limited or None = 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engaged in meaningful, ongoing patient interaction for an extended period of time (typically years, not months) | Engaged in regular, ongoing clinical experiences, typically for more than one year by time of application | Introduces to the clinical setting through limited/short-term patient interaction experiences | No patient interaction |
| Expresses nuanced insights into the experiences of patients | Primary form of engagement with patients is through simple, straightforward interactions | Insights into profession are typically characterized by watching others respond, rather than from first-hand patient interactions | |
| Exhibits thoughtfulness about hot to interact with patients | Expresses a developing understanding of the experiences of patients | ||
| Articulates the ability to adjust approach with patients depending on situation | |||
| Demonstrates passion for patient care |
Service History
Professional schools select applicants with a long history of serving in jobs and volunteer roles that put them in a position to help other people directly. Examples include retail/restaurant jobs; working as a teacher, tutor, or mental health counselor; serving as a coach; etc. You should be able to articulate why you are motivated to work in a service-based profession and why you find it meaningful.
| Above Average = 3 | Average = 2 | Below Average = 1 | Limited or None = 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consistently involved in non-clinical interpersonal service roles for many years (paid or unpaid) | Regular involvement in non-clinical interpersonal service roles, typically over a period of one or more years (with emphasis on recent years). | Has spent some time (typically less than one year) in one or more non-clinical interpersonal service roles, but this has not been a primary area of focus. | No or sporadic involvement in interpersonal service roles. |
| Articulates personal motivation to be of service to others | Articulates personal motivation to be of service to others | Developing ability to articulate motivation to help others | |
| Clearly committed to a certain type of service activity |
People in Marginalized and/or Vulnerable Populations (emphasis on past 2-3 years)
Clinicians are responsible for serving each of their patients in a respectful manner. Your future patients will hail from diverse backgrounds and will represent a rich diversity of life experiences, values, and belief systems. Socio-cultural diversity includes elements such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, citizenship status, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, education level, language, family structure, age, size, political affiliation, religion, and ability/disability. Professional schools are interested in candidates who have gone out to their way to get to know people whose lives are very different than their own and, therefore, have developed the skill of understanding multiple cultural perspectives.
| Above Average = 3 | Average = 2 | Below Average = 1 | Limited or None = 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consistently engaged in meaningful interpersonal service roles that provide deep insight into the lives of people from different backgrounds (typically over a period of years) | Has spent a period of time (typically several months) that provided insight into the lives of people from different sociocultural backgrounds | Limited involvement in a service activity that provides insight into the lives of people from different sociocultural backgrounds | No direct experience with people of different backgrounds |
| Recognizes and appreciates patters of difference among people of different backgrounds | Recognizes and appreciates patterns of difference among people of different backgrounds | Developing an understanding of the differing needs of people in groups other than one’s own | |
| Exhibits caring and empathy for people of various circumstances and backgrounds | Exhibits caring and empathy for people of various circumstances and backgrounds | ||
| Aware and sensitive to the manner in which own background, beliefs system, and experiences informs own attitudes and behaviors. | |||
| Able to take the perspective of other cultures, modifying own behavior in response to differing cultural norms. |
Leadership & Collaboration (emphasis on past 5 years)
Leadership is a process of social influence that maximizes the efforts of others, toward the achievement of a goal. Leadership capacity can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, including formal leadership roles in student groups, at work, in volunteer roles, and on athletic teams. You should be able to articulate your personal style of effective leadership.
Likewise, strong applicants will be individuals who gravitate toward collaborative, supportive interactions with others. You should be able to articulate why you value collaborative environments and speak to your ability to engage in effective collaboration.
| Above Average = 3 | Average = 2 | Below Average = 1 | Limited or None = 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Held formal leadership position with a purpose of guiding/directing others for an extended period of time (typically 2+ years) | Held a position of responsibility with a purpose of guiding/directing others, typically for 1+ years | Held a short-term position of responsibility with a purpose of guiding/directing others | Limited or no formal leadership experience |
| Clearly articulates personal approach to effective leadership and collaboration, as informed by extensive experience | Able to articulate personal philosophies of effective leadership and collaboration, as supported by concrete experience | Able to articulate contributions as a leader | Limited of no formal collaborative experience |
| Able to articulate approach to collaborating with others |
Research & Scholarly Inquiry (emphasis on past 2 years)
Research is defined as involvement in a scholarly or scientific hypothesis investigation that is supervised by an individual with verifiable research credentials. Research may be in any discipline and performed at any site, but it must involve the testing of a hypothesis.
| Above Average = 3 | Average = 2 | Below Average = 1 | Limited or None = 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| In addition to criteria listed in the “Average” column, has taken intellectual ownership of a research project, including literature review, experimental design, data interpretation | Intellectually engaged in research: regular attendance at lab meetings and/or journal club | Had an introduction to research outside of laboratory course setting | No research experience outside of laboratory course settings |
| May have presented at conferences | Knows how to read/understand primary literature and critique experimental design | Focus is on carrying out research methods | |
| May have authored manuscript for publication in peer-reviewed journal | Able to troubleshoot when the unexpected occurs | ||
| May have written successful grant proposal to support work |
National Data
National GPA averages for accepted applicants, by field:
- Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant: 3.5 overall, 3.5 science
- Dentistry: 3.5 overall, 3.5 science
- D.O. Physician: 3.5 overall, 3.4 science
- M.D. Physician: 3.8 overall, 3.7 science
- Naturopathic physician: varies by program, range is 3.1 to 3.4 overall
- Nursing: varies by program, but range is 3.0 to 3.7
- Optometry: varies by program, range is 3.0 to 3.6 overall
- Pharmacy: 3.4 overall, 3.2 science
- Physical Therapy: 3.6 overall, 3.4 science
- Physician Assistant: 3.5 overall, 3.5 science
- Veterinary Medicine: 3.6 overall, 3.5 science