Preparing for a Career in the Health Professions
What is meant by Health Professions at Lebanon Valley College?
By this we mean any area of health care that requires four or more years of professional training beyond the bachelor's degree. These areas include:
- Medicine
- Osteopathic Medicine (Osteopathy)
- Veterinary Medicine
- Dental Medicine (Dentistry)
- Optometry
- Podiatric Medicine (Podiatry)
What type of program does Lebanon Valley College offer?
Pre-health profession students at LVC are not required to take any single specific course of study or a particular major. Usually our students choose to major in biology, biochemistry, or chemistry because of the close relationship of these fields to medical study. However, a student may take a major in any field as long as a necessary component of science courses is taken. Pre-health profession students in all majors are advised and guided throughout their stay at Lebanon Valley College by the Health Professions Committee.
The Health Professions Program at Lebanon Valley is small, providing personal attention to individual needs. We feel that our size is our strength. The atmosphere at Lebanon Valley is one of encouragement in personal development.
The Health Professions Committee's Role
The Health Professions Committee is composed of four faculty members-two from science areas, one from the Business Department, and one from a humanities discipline.
The committee:
- Meets all incoming pre-health professions students in their freshman year to get to know them and to become informed about their intended vocational goals;
- Collects and maintains a file of professional school catalogs and other reference information that provide students with information they will need to plan their four years of pre-professional study;
- Periodically reviews the academic performance of pre-health professional students, advising those in trouble of alternative professions;
- Provides information and registration material for all standardized examinations (e.g., MCAT, DAT, GRE) and makes available and explains materials from the various professional school application services;
- Writes a composite letter of recommendation for qualified students, using input from faculty members and outside evaluators; and,
- Provides staged interviews to prepare students for actual professional school interviews.
Resources on Professional School Preparation
The Health Professions Committee maintains current information on health professional schools and careers. A listing of available books, pamphlets, and forms may be checked out or picked up from the biology office by any student interested in a health professions career. In addition to these materials, catalogs from professional schools are shelved in the biology seminar room (G225).