Traditional Advising Services for Current Students and Alumni
Exploring Careers in Medicine
- There are many health-related careers:
Allopathic Medicine (MD), Osteopathy (DO), Optometry (OD), Dentistry (DMD), Podiatry (DPM), Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Nursing, Physician Assistant, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Public Health … and the list goes on. - The path to any of these careers can be very different:
Every effort is made to help you pursue the path to a career in medicine that is right for you. - Students frequently change their minds (for good reasons):
Clark’s Health Careers Advising Program and the Career Connections Center provide continuing individual counseling in selecting the right career for you.
Curriculum Planning
Clark students work with faculty and the premedical advisor to choose courses that are:
- required by the medical schools;
- helpful in preparing for the MCAT;
- required by the major, minor, or concentrations; or
- required by Clark’s Program of Liberal Studies.
The advising process begins with orientation on your first days at Clark and continues throughout your Clark career.
Choosing Schools
Medical schools can vary in many ways:
- standards for admission,
- types of curricula,
- geographic location,
- opportunities for community service or research.
Choosing the right school for you is essential.
Clark’s premedical advisor will work with you individually to choose the schools that provide the best fit with your:
- credentials,
- interests,
- career aspirations,
- preferred lifestyle.
Letters of Evaluation
- Clark faculty get to know you in small classes and in the research lab and can therefore write meaningful letters of recommendation.
- Clark’s Premedical and Predental Advisory Committee prepares a composite letter of recommendation for the health professional school. We write the most honest and supportive letter we can for all applicants. We do not refuse anyone a letter.
- Clark’s premedical advisor works individually with students to help solicit the most positive letters possible from Clark faculty, research mentors, or other supervisors.
Preparing for Interviews
- Preparation is key to a successful interview: learn to prepare for the obvious questions and those unanticipated “off-the-wall” questions.
- Mock interviews help to reduce anxiety and build confidence: learn how body language, professional demeanor, and eye contact contribute to a successful interview. Getting over the anxiety of the interview process in the mock interview helps to make the real thing less intimidating.
Research Opportunities
The best way to learn science is to do science:
- Join research teams.
- Learn firsthand the excitement of scientific discovery and how to use state-of-the-art technologies.
- Perhaps become co-author on publications in scientific journals.
- Faculty get to know you and can therefore write more meaningful and specific letters of recommendations.
You can participate in research in many ways:
- Research-oriented courses;
- Independent study;
- Internships at UMass Memorial Medical Center or biotechnology companies;
- Summer fellowships at Clark;
- Summer fellowships at many other universities and research
institutions around the country.
Networking
- Clark alumni who are practicing physicians help current Clark students in many ways.
Physicians speak at Clark and often provide shadowing opportunities. Alumni physicians who have spoken at Clark include:- Dr. Robert Koenekoop (McGill University Health Centre and The Montreal Children’s Hospital)
- Dr. Jay Lefkowitch (Columbia School of Medicine)
- Dr. Tiffany Moore-Simas (UMass Memorial Medical Center)
- Dr. Howard Sachs (UMass Medical School)
- Clark graduates currently in medical schools also help.
Clarkie medical students come back to talk about getting into and surviving medical school and to offer advice for interviews or visits to their school. - Clark students attend networking conferences.
The premedical advisor helps Clark premeds identify AAMC and other conferences that provide extensive networking opportunities.