Preparation for Healthcare Careers
Pre-Health Professions
Pre-health professions students must contact the director of the Pre-Health Professions Program at John Carroll University for more information and for assistance in planning their educational programs and applications to professional schools. Students are also advised to consult current publications and websites relevant to their proposed area of study and preferred colleges, including the Medical School Admission Requirements of U.S. and Canada, Admission Requirements of U.S. and Canadian Dental Schools, Choose DO Explorer, and similar publications. JCU supports, assists, and advises students pursuing a wide range of healthcare professions, such as allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dental medicine, chiropractic, podiatry, veterinary medicine, physician assistant/physician associate programs, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, certified anesthesiology assistant, public health, and optometry. Shadowing, career exploration, clinical experiences, and community service are all important components of a healthcare program application.
Pre-medical and Pre-dental students must take biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. Students also are strongly advised to take genetics, biochemistry, statistics, calculus, and psychology to prepare for these highly competitive programs. Academic and experiential requirements for health professional programs and the standardized tests required for application can vary substantially and change on a regular basis so students must check the details of specific programs and schools before submitting applications.
For additional details, please see the information below and the Preparation for Graduate and Professional Study section of this Bulletin and the Pre-Health Professions website (www.jcu.edu/prehealth).
Early Acceptance Programs/Dual Enrollment Programs
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) and John Carroll University have an Early Acceptance Program (EAP) Agreement whereby up to twenty seats per year are reserved for John Carroll students to enter LECOM’s medical, dental, and/or pharmacy schools. High school seniors and current JCU sophomores are eligible for this program. See JCU website or the Director of Pre-health Professions for current application requirements and further details
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM) and John Carroll University have an Early Acceptance Program Agreement whereby up to twelve seats per year are reserved for John Carroll students to enter OU-HCOM’s osteopathic medical school at any of OU-HCOM's campuses (Cleveland, Dublin, and Athens). Established Ohio residents who are high school seniors and meet admission requirements may apply for the program. See JCU website or the Director of Pre-health Professions for current application requirements and further details.
John Carroll University and Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) Master of Science in Anesthesia Program have an Early Acceptance Program whereby up to twelve seats per year (four at each program site: Cleveland, Houston, and Washington, D.C.) are reserved for John Carroll students to enter CWRU’s program to become a certified anesthesiologist assistant. Current JCU students who have completed at least 80 credits and the appropriate prerequisite courses with a grade of B- or higher are eligible to apply.
For additional information, please contact the director of Pre-Health Professions or go to the Pre-Health Professions website (www.jcu.edu/prehealth).
Pre-Health Professions Pathways
Students pursuing full four-year degree programs such as premedical, predental, or allied health program preparation normally earn the bachelor of science degree with a major in either program, program, or program with a biochemistry concentration. Depending on the student's intended career field, Exercise Science or Psychology can also be feasible options. Students are free to follow any degree program and are encouraged to add a minor or concentration to their academic pathway provided they complete the specific course pre-requirements for their intended healthcare professional program.
Students should familiarize themselves with the general admission requirements of the profession which they aspire to enter in addition to those specific to the schools of their choice. The director of the Pre-Health Professions Program, Dr. Kathy Lee (klee@jcu.edu) is available for individual advising. In addition, meetings are usually held each year to provide information for each class level. Faculty advisors in the biological and physical sciences are also available to act in an educational and advising capacity. Students are encouraged to utilize these resources and to consult the Pre-Health Professions Program website (www.jcu.edu/prehealth) for more information.
In addition to medicine and dentistry, a number of other careers are available in healthcare. Students are encouraged to explore such fields as anesthesiology assistant, podiatry, physical assistant, and pharmacy. Most of these occupations require a baccalaureate degree with additional education at the graduate level. Information and advising are available from the director of Pre-Health Professions Studies.
The Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) is the University mechanism that provides letters of recommendation to medical, dental, and other healthcare professional schools that require or prefer recommendation letters from a committee rather than individual faculty members. The committee’s letters are based on academic performance, individual and committee interviews, and factors such as integrity, industry, maturity, commitment to social responsibility, and judgment. The committee also supplies feedback to students regarding their preparedness for applying to a healthcare professional program, personal statement, and interview skills.
Current admission practices of health professional schools indicate student qualifications considerably higher than the minimum C average are required for matriculation. Therefore, normally a letter of evaluation will be written to these schools only for applicants who have attained a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 overall and 3.0 in science courses (biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics).
John Carroll also offers a program designed for students who want to fulfill the requirements for admission to medical school, dental school, and other health professional schools. This program is appropriate for students 1) who possess a bachelor’s degree in a discipline other than biology or chemistry and wish to pursue a health professions career; 2) who majored in chemistry or biology but struggled with the course work as a traditional undergraduate; or 3) who have not been enrolled in courses in these disciplines for over five years. Post-baccalaureate students who have not received their undergraduate degree from John Carroll are encouraged to use the Health Professions Advisory Committee as the source of their letter of recommendation. Normally such students should have completed 24 credit hours of course work at John Carroll, which may include the semester in which they interview with the committee. More details are available at http://sites.jcu.edu/graduatestudies.
Pre-Dentistry
The Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association lists the minimum educational requirements for admission to a dental school as follows: 1) Students must successfully complete two full years of study in an accredited liberal arts college. 2) In most states, the basic requirements of predental education are similar to those of premedical education . Those requirements are typically one year each of general chemistry (CH 1410-1440), organic chemistry (CH 2210-2240), physics (PH 1250, 1251, 1260, 1261), biology (BL 1500-1605), and math (MT 1350 and MT 2280) . Many dental schools also require Anatomy and Physiology (BL 2310, 2315, 2320, 2325) and Microbiology (BL 3100/3105). 3) Students must complete a minimum of 64 credit hours from liberal or general education courses, such as English, communications, behavioral sciences, philosophy, and theology and religious studies, which give breadth to their educational background. Applicants must take the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT). This test is usually administered in late spring of the junior year, by which time the basic predental requirements should be completed. Admission to schools of dentistry with only three years of undergraduate education is rare.
John Carroll University has an affiliation agreement with Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (LECOM) School of Dental Medicine in Bradenton, Florida, whereby five seats are reserved for qualified John Carroll Students. More information is available through John Carroll’s website (www.jcu.edu/prehealth) or from the director of the Pre-Health Professions Program.
Pre-Medicine
The course requirements of allopathic medical schools are summarized on the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) website, revised annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Students interested in pursuing an osteopathic medical education should consult Choose DO Explorer for program details. Students interested in podiatric medical school should refer to the American Association of Podiatric Medical Colleges website for full program details. A bachelor’s degree is almost invariably required. Additional information can be found at the Association of American Medical Colleges website (www.aamc.org/students). Applicants for medical school must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Since this test is usually given in late spring of the junior year, premedical students should have completed or be completing the basic requirements for medical school by that time. Those requirements are generally one year each of general chemistry (CH 1410-1440), organic chemistry (CH 2210-2240), physics (PH 1250, 1251, 1260, and 1261), and biology with labs (BL 1500-1605), one year of college-level math (MT 1350 and MT 2280), and at least one semester of Biochemistry (either CH 4310 or CH 4350 and 4360). Genetics (BL 2130) is also highly recommended. Most medical school also require two semesters of English courses. In order to be prepared for the MCAT, students should also complete one semester each of sociology (SC 1010), and psychology (PS 1010 or PS 1000).
Nursing
In addition to the Nursing major at John Carroll, JCU participates in partnerships with local institutions to give current JCU students alternate pathways into the Nursing profession.
Case Western Reserve University Graduate Entry Nursing Program
Biology majors interested in nursing as a career may choose to enter a cooperative program in pre-nursing/nursing and earn the Bachelor of Science from John Carroll University and the Master of Nursing from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. Students in this program normally attend John Carroll for three academic years and complete all University Core requirements and the following prerequisite courses: General Chemistry (CH 1410-CH 1440), Organic Chemistry (CH 2210 - CH 2240), Calculus (MT 1350), Statistics for Biological Sciences (DATA 2280), Biology (BL 1500 - BL 1705), Genetics (BL 2130), Human Anatomy and Physiology (BL 2310 & 2315, BL 2320 & 2325), Microbiology (BL 3100 & 3105), Nutrition (ESC 2229), Life Span Development (PS 2680), and one organism-to-biosphere course. Two upper-level electives in the first year at Case Western Reserve University complete the major requirements: NUMN 402 and NUMN 405. After successful completion of one year of the Graduate Entry Program at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, the student will be awarded the Bachelor of Science with a Biology major by John Carroll University. To be eligible for this program, students must complete at least 60 credit hours at John Carroll, have a minimum 3.00 grade point average, submit an application by the end of the first semester of the junior year, and be accepted by the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in the usual manner. Students planning to follow this course of study should contact the director of the Pre-Health Professions Program during the first semester of their sophomore year.
Pre-Physician Assistant
Students interested in pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant should complete both academic and experiential requirements to be considered competitive applicants for physician assistant programs. Review the Physician Assistant Education Association website for specific program requirements as they vary considerably between different schools. Generally speaking, PA programs require one year each of general chemistry (CH 1410-1440), organic chemistry (CH 2210-2240), biology (BL 1500-1605), and Human Anatomy and Physiology (BL 2310, 2315, 2320, 2325). Most PA schools also require Microbiology (BL 3100/3105), statistics (such as MT 2280), Medical Terminology (ESC 2040), and at least one semester of Psychology (PS 1010 or PS 1000 plus Life Span Development (PS 2680). Additionally, many PA programs require 50 - 2000 documented hours of patient care experience. Students should consult with the Director of Pre-Health Professions and their academic advisor for more information on how to fulfill these experiential requirements early in their undergraduate careers. Most PA programs will also require students to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Physician Assistant College Admission Test (PA-CAT) as part of the application process.
Pre-Pharmacy
In addition to the Director of Pre-Health Professions, a pre-pharmacy advisor is available to assist students interested in applying to pharmacy graduate programs. For further information, please contact the chair of the Department of Chemistry who can help guide curriculum choices, graduate program selections, and career opportunities in pharmacy.
John Carroll University has an affiliation agreement with Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s School of Pharmacy in Erie, Pennsylvania, and in Bradenton, Florida, whereby five seats are reserved for qualified John Carroll students. More information is available through John Carroll’s website (www.jcu.edu/prehealth) or from the director of the Pre-Health Professions Program.
Most pre-pharmacy students will follow a course of study that begins with the fundamentals of chemistry and biology. Admission requirements differ for various graduate programs; therefore, specific advanced courses will be determined based on the graduate program to which the student intends to apply. These programs are very competitive and rigorous and thus require a high academic standing and appropriate experiences for admission.