Tips For Students Considering a Medical or Dental Career

From Chief Pre-Health Advisor Dr. David Moffett

Choosing a Major
Although traditionally most premedical and predental students have chosen majors in the life or physical sciences, you may choose any major.

Courses Required by Professional Health Schools
In addition to fulfilling the General Education Requirements and those of your major department, you must complete the following basic science prerequisites to be eligible for admission to most professional schools:

A few professional schools have different or additional requirements; more information about the requirements of individual schools is available in the Advising Office.

These courses can be completed in the first two years if you start with Bio Sci 106, Chem 105 and Math 107 in your first semester. Transfer students need only to take the courses they are lacking from the above to fulfill the basic science prerequisites.

Personal Growth and Development Goals
In addition to completing degree requirements and the basic science prerequisites, you must attain several important goals of personal growth and development to become an effective physician or dentist. Evidence of failure to set or to achieve these goals will decrease your chances of admission to professional schools.

Become a Good Communicator
Your first goal is to become very effective at assimilating and analyzing verbal information and at written and spoken communication. English 101 is but a step toward this goal. An additional English composition course is strongly suggested. You will continue to acquire and refine these communication skills as you prepare assignments and class presentations in the courses in your major area.

Appreciate Other Cultures
Your second goal is to understand your own history and culture and also those of the other major ethnic groups that make up the U.S. society. People with different social and cultural backgrounds will ultimately be your patients, and you must be ready to treat them with tolerance and understanding. A “knowledge of and exposure to the needs of individuals and society” is one of the specific admission criterion at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The General Education Requirement courses are first steps to this goal, but you should also consider Comparative Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies courses. Study abroad can give you a broader cultural perspective. We strongly encourage students to study overseas for a semester or full academic year. Information about study-abroad opportunities can be obtained from the Office of International Programs (Bryan Hall).

Recognize the Challenges of a Health Career
Your third goal is to understand and accept the demands and sacrifices, as well as the rewards, of a career in medicine or dentistry. For example, “awareness of health care delivery systems” is another stated admission criterion at the University of Washington Medical School. Talking to your own doctor or dentist is the first step. Pullman Memorial Hospital offers premedical students the opportunity to serve as hospital volunteers. Your hometown hospital or clinic may have a similar program.

Listen and Empathize
Your last goal is to become the kind of person whom patients can readily and safely trust and confide in. You must have a sympathetic grasp of the feelings of people younger and older than yourself, or those of the opposite sex and of those less capable than you. You can work toward this goal through elective courses in Psychology, Sociology, and Women’s Studies, and through any work, volunteer service or activity that involves people skills. Personal integrity and a well-developed ethical perspective are essential. A course in ethics (Phil 365 for example) is highly recommended.

Admissions Tests
The MCAT and DAT
Good scores on the Medical College Admission Test or Dental Aptitude Test, normally taken in the spring of your junior year, will be a critical element of your success at application time. You should see each basic science course as part of your preparation for the test. The following additional courses can contribute to a better score on the life science sections of these tests, as well as better preparation for professional schools.

Biol 315 (Anatomy)
Biol 353 (Physiology)
Biol 324 (Comparative Anatomy)

The Application Process
Application to professional schools begins with the filing of a standardized application form during the summer after the junior year. The first cut of applicants is made at this stage. Those who pass this cut receive supplemental applications from the institutions at which they are successful. In the second cut, applicants are screened to determine which ones will receive invitations to be interviewed. In the last cut, interviewed applicants are screened for admission.

Acceptance Rates into Medical Schools
In the U.S., medicine and dentistry are probably the most difficult professions to enter. For example, at the University of Washington medical school, about half of all in-state applicants are interviewed and about 1/4 of the interviewed applicants are accepted, for a success rate of 1/5. At the University of Washington dental school, the acceptance rate is about 1/10 for in-state applicants.

We Help You Prepare
The Premedical and Predental Programs provide academic advising, information about the requirements and characteristics of professional schools, other support (such as mock interviews), and a composite letter of recommendation for each applicant. If you are serious about preparing for one of these professions, we will provide objective support at every step of the process.