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Abstracts Online Below, you will find a full abstract from the association's official journal, The Advisor. If you are a member of NAAHP, and an abstract piques your interest, please feel free to request a full copy of the article free of charge from the national office, c/o Jerolyn Attwood If you are not yet a member, please email Jerolyn Attwood to request the latest on NAAHP membership, services and publications, including a year's subscription to The Advisor. Back
to Main Abstracts Online page Choosing a Career in the Health
Professions Pre-Health Professions Students Should Explore their Opportunities Eydie C. Jones, B.S. Students interested in a health career should investigate their options. In my position as administrative assistant in the Student Affairs Office of the UAB School of Optometry, I have had innumerable conversations with students investigating the possibility of a career in optometry as well as other health professions. Some students who visit the school have already made a definite decision to pursue a career in optometry. Others are investigating optometry along with other health careers. In all cases, especially those involving the undecided students, the students are encouraged to visit the practices of health professionals and discuss the pros and cons of that specific career. The following narratives are presented by two students who are now enrolled at the UAB School of Optometry. The first narrative is written by Velvet Jeter Maddox who was enrolled in the University of Alabama School of Dentistry prior to enrolling in the School of Optometry. Ms. Maddox graduate Summa Cum Laude from the University of Alabama with a B.S. in Biology in 1984 and was a Distinguished Undergraduate Scholar. She was president of the Pre-Dental Society and was in several honor societies. Ms. Maddox received an academic scholarship and entered dental school the fall of 1984. She was number one in her class at the end of the first term but withdrew and entered the School of optometry in September 1985. V8-4-3
Dentistry: A Good Choice for the Right Reasons Carroll G. Bennett, D.D.S., M.S. and Donald W. Legler, D.D.S., Ph.D. Introduction During the 1960s and 1970s the federal government, with good intentions and under the assumption that this country would adopt some type of national health insurance, spent hundreds of millions of dollars on health professions education to revise programs, build new schools, and increase enrollments. This funding resulted in a dental educational system that was much larger than the country needed. The infusion of federal dollars, promotional programs, and low interest student loans prompted a sharp rise in the national applicant pool. Prior to that time, during the 1950s and 1960s, the national pool had been between 5,000 and 6,000 students. In 1975 the pool reached a high of almost 16,000. Since 1975 a steady drop has brought the pool back down to the early sixties level of approximately 5,000. The number of first-year student positions in dental schools has also changed. From 1950 until 1978, first year positions increased from 3,000 to 6,301. Since the early 1980s, with the closing of several private dental schools and a general reduction in class size at most dental schools, the number of first-year positions has fallen to 4,250 and is expected to stabilize at around 3,000 shortly before the turn of the century. A number of factors are responsible for these changes. First is the increased cost of obtaining a dental education. Tuition and fees have increased markedly since the withdrawal of federal funds. By 1986, dental school tuition and fees had increased sevenfold, while tuitions and fees for other higher educational institutions had only tripled. Another factor is the shift in undergraduate majors. Since 1975 the number of biology degrees awarded annually has declined, while the number of degrees in computer science, which was very low in the early 1960s, has increased. In 1984 degrees in computer science equaled those awarded in biology. Another factor relates to the birth rate, especially to the baby boomers born after the Second World War. These people flooded higher educational institutions in the 1960s and 1970s. Today we are experiencing the effects of a sharp decline in birthrate during the early sixties. Other factors include media stories about the supposed glut of dentists, public acceptance of these stories, and the concerns of some practicing dentists regarding their practice schedule. There have also been concerns regarding infectious diseases, most recently AIDS, which may have affected the general attitude toward the desirability of dentistry as a career. Like most issues, there are several sides the questions. Let’s look at the positive side. V9-3-2
Beyond Florence Nightingale: The General Professional Education of the Nurse Lois A. Pounds, M.D. Abstract The leadership of nursing has been more concerned with the issue of nursing as a profession on a par with medicine than with the development of an education that would lead to professional status. Nurses must leave nursing, the care of the sick, to advance their careers. The author proposes rigorous preprofessional science preparation and nursing education at the baccalaureate level followed by a clinical internship. Nurses would be able to achieve specialty education either by graduate education or through experience and continuing nursing education. Those nurses who elected careers in management, the social or natural sciences, as researchers or faculty, could build on their strong undergraduate science education. This educational model would require the apprenticeship education of nursing assistants, whose training should be planned by and supervised by nurses in the classroom and on the wards. Acad. Med. 64(1989):67-69. V9-3-3
Why Choose a Career in Podiatric Medicine? Gary M. Lepow, D.P.M., M.S. Editor’s note: Gary Lepow, D.P.M., M.S., who has been a practicing podiatrist in Houston for the past 12 years, is well aware of the choices and problems facing pre-medical students. Today, almost 20 years after he made his decision to enter podiatric medicine, the issues Dr. Lepow faced are still confronting pre-medical students. During the past 12 years, Dr. Lepow has become one of the leaders in the podiatric field. He currently serves on numerous state and national boards including the American Podiatric Medical Association, American Public Health Association and The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine. In the following column Dr. Lepow tells about his journey into the field of podiatric medicine. V9-3-4
High School Students’ Motivations for a Career as a Physician Norma E. Wagoner, Ph.D. and Sandra D. Bridwell, Ed.D. Abstract Ask achievement-oriented high school students what they think of becoming a physician and they will respond that it is not their top career choice. Of the 180 high-achieving students surveyed by the authors in 1986, 93% of the white students and 82% of the black students aspired to graduate and professional degrees. "Physician" was listed as the second career choice by 30% of the white students and 17% of the black students. The two groups differed in some of the motivation factors stated for considering any career choice and in their perceptions of the values that are offered in a career as a physician. Acad. Med. 64(1989):325-327. V10-1-2
A Career in Pharmacy: Many Options for the Graduate Martha Glaser Pharmacy offers a wide range of options for the 1990 graduate. Opportunities in the field continue to expand as do the choices of settings and roles. In this supplement are some of the employment opportunities open to graduating pharmacists. These advertisements should answer many of your questions about some of the leading pharmacist employers in the United States. There are about 170,000 pharmacists practicing in traditional settings. These include: . 50,000 chain pharmacists; . 75,000 independent pharmacists; . 45,000 hospital pharmacists. V10-4-3
Health Occupations High Schools: Providing for the Community Bernice O. Shargey, Ph.D., William A. Thomson, Ph.D., and James P. Denk, M.A. Abstract The need for qualified applicants to, and graduates from professional health-related training programs remains a concern within the health-care industry. This need influences directly the general well-being of society, and it must be addressed not only by those in the health professions, but by school teachers, advisors, and administrators, parents, and the community at large. In one approach to meet this need, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) has garnered broad-based cooperation to establish several specialized health professions programs for high school students. A survey was performed during the 1987-88 school year to gauge the success of these programs in preparing students for entry into health professions training and careers. The study indicated that students enrolled in these programs were interested in pursuing education and career in the health professions, though gender-specific stereotypes appeared to influence some students’ decisions. V11-3-1
Realistic Advice for Prospective Dental Students James J. Koelbl, D.D.S., M.S. Introduction Much has been written and discussed about the substantial decline in the dental applicant pool. Over the past two years, though, we have seen that decline stabilize and even reverse itself. In fact, more students today seem to be interested in all of the health care careers. Numbers of applicants to medical, nursing and dental schools have increased. However, careers in the health professions, while attractive, are not perceived as certain as they once were. They are no longer seen as a "guarantee" of future success, either personal, professional, or financial. Dental recruiters "sell" careers in dentistry by talking about the many positive factors: service, independence, flexibility, technology, pleasant working conditions, financial security, etc. The cost of a dental education is described as a good investment in terms of time and money. While I agree that this is generally true, I am not so sure that we really provide the potential dental student with all of the information he/she needs to make a thoughtful career decision. In this article, I will discuss the topic of dental education as an investment, and consider some of the factors that will determine whether that investment will be a good one or a bad one in a given situation. In addition, I hope to suggest some things you as advisors can do to help see that the investments made by your students in their dental education will pay high rates of return. 12-2-2
Comparison of Medical School Performances and Career Plans of Students with Broad and with Science-focused Premedical Preparation Judith Anderson Koenig, M.A. Abstract This paper reports (1) a method for classifying students according to the breadth of their premedical preparation and (2) a comparison of the medical school performances and career plans of the students thus classified. The method was developed in 1987, in part by using input from a small but representative sample of admission officers. Students were grouped according to undergraduate major, ratio of nonscience-to-science course hours, and extracurricular involvement. After tentatively classifying all individuals who had entered U.S. medical schools in 1981 as having either broad or science-focused preparation, the author compared the two most distinct groups selected from a random sample of the individuals in each classification: 59 individuals constituted the final broadly prepared group, and 73, the science-focused group. The science-focused group attained higher mean scores (p<.05) on three science sections of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Part I examination, and the broadly prepared group scored higher on the Behavioral Sciences section (p<.05). No other significant difference was evident between the groups’ mean scores on the NBME Parts I, II, or III, or in the groups’ rates of experiences of academic difficulty, specialty choice distributions, or percentages of individuals deciding to pursue research careers. The author concludes that this method of classifying students is useful and that the students with less premedical focus in the sciences were able to perform well. V12-3-2
Students Who Consider Medicine but Decide Against It Wendy L. Colquitt, M.A., and Charles D. Killian, M.A. Abstract Changes in the medical student applicant pool during the 1980s prompted educators and researchers to question why students’ interest in medicine may have shifted. The research presented here addresses the issue of why students may decide against careers in medicine. The authors report historical data from 1983 through 1988 on the number of individuals who expressed an interest in medicine when they took the Medical College Admission Test but failed to apply to medical school, and the results of two surveys sent to such individuals in 1986 and 1988 by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The findings indicated that the non-applicants are a stable and fairly large group (approximately 2,000 each year) and that they decide against medical careers because of financial concerns, discouragement from practicing physicians, and the ability of another field to satisfy their interest in science. These kinds of concerns, as well as some of the other reasons provided by non-applicants, can be changed and so have implications for admission and recruitment programs. V12-3-4
Medicine and Parenting Janet Bickel, M.A. Introduction In medicine as in most other professions, a woman’s childbearing "clock" coincides first with educational requirements and then with the tenure or competence-proving timetable. No pause buttons are built into the continuum. In medicine, the situation is especially acute, because of the length of training and because of the around-the-clock demands of patient care. Both men and women in medicine thus face difficult questions about adapting their personal lives to fit educational and professional demands. A few men have articulated these dilemmas, 32 but because women continue to be the primary care-takers both of children and of aging parents, women more often are the ones to call attention to the problems. Employers in the U.S. have tended to look upon children as liabilities instead of as a national resource, and most have not adapted their personnel policies to the needs of the family. However, as readers of Harvard Business Review can attest, major companies are beginning to recognize that flexible personnel policies can help to engender greater employee loyalty and greater productivity and in the long run, save rather than cost the company money. 37,40 Virtually all other advanced societies have moved faster than the U.S. in adding flexibility to personnel and education systems in order to accommodate family care-takers.24 The U.S. is the only industrial nation lacking a nationwide parental leave policy.15,49 In Europe, the creation of flexible leave policies appears to be part of a general movement toward decreasing work hours and achieving a more balanced life. There is also a greater appreciation that these are family issues not just women’s personal problems. Some physicians and medical school administrators may still be scaring off applicants to medical school with claims that medicine and family life do not mix. As women now comprise about 40% of new entrants to most medical schools, a more forward-looking approach by medical educators is to find equitable ways to accommodate pregnancies. Moreover, women now comprise over 30% of all residents in the following specialties: dermatology, family practice, obstetrics/gynecology, pathology, pediatrics, physical medicine, preventive medicine, and psychiatry.38 The majority of these women are of childbearing age, and because of their educational priorities, many have postponed having children. In some cases, competition for the best residents has stimulated program and hospital directors to institute an attractive parental leave policy. Whatever the stimulus, medicine needs to learn how better to use the best talents of all its trainees and practitioners not just those without family responsibilities. Organized as responses to six questions, the next section offers some "facts of life" related to being a parent in medicine. The second section provides overviews of leave policies for medical students, residents, and faculty. Third is a summary of the status of child care arrangements. Finally, a brief sketch of what the future may hold is attempted. V12-4-2
Is Being a Doctor Still Fun? John M. Chuck, M.D., Thomas S. Nesbitt, M.D., M.P.H., Julie Kwan, M.A., Sherilyn M. Kam, M.A. Abstract Over the past two decades, a decline in physician job and career satisfaction has been reported. This study was developed to determine the current state of physician satisfaction and to define factors correlated with overall satisfaction. We mailed a survey to 406 physicians in Solano County, California. Responses were anonymous, and data were analyzed by several methods. Of the 406 physicians, 251 (62%) responded. Most respondents were satisfied with their jobs (80%). The vast majority felt good about their ability to help their patients (92%), enjoyed the relationships they had with patients (93%) and colleagues (86%), and found their work intellectually satisfying (89%). Nearly two thirds (63%) of the respondents thought their job was "fun." This ability to derive great pleasure from work showed the strongest correlation with overall satisfaction. Overall satisfaction did not differ between primary care and nonprimary care physicians or between physicians in a large health maintenance organization and those in mostly solo and small-group-fee-for-service practices. Despite substantial challenges to physician morale and autonomy, most responding physicians in our study continued to enjoy overall job satisfaction, and a solid majority thought that their work was fun. V14-4-1
NEW VISION on Health Professions: A Health Career Exploration Program for High School Students Bradley S. Bowden, Ph.D. and Joan M. Bowden, M.S. Introduction All health professions programs look for evidence of an applicant's familiarity with and sincere interest in the health profession to which he or she is seeking admission. In the 1998 summer issue of The Advisor, Dan Gerbens described two programs at Hope College that provide college students with firsthand experience in the health care system to gain insight into the practice of medicine, to confirm their career choice and to build their resumes. It is equally important for high school students to have this opportunity prior to college, especially to have close and extensive contact with the health care system, a diversity of health professions and the opportunity to assess their own commitment to the health professions. In New York State, BOCES districts (Board of Cooperative Education Services) have sponsored NEW VISION Career Exploration programs that provide high school seniors these opportunities in several different professions. NEW VISION Health Professions programs will be starting their tenth year in some BOCES districts. This article describes the organization and the advantages of these programs. V21-1-5 Back to Main Abstracts Online page
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