An Overview of Admission Processes for Medical, Dental, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and Physician Assistant Programs
Advisors commonly meet with students interested in pursuing a career in a health profession. This paper addresses the admission processes used by medical, dental, pharmacy, physical therapy, and physician assistant programs. Advice on helping students gather information about the professions, seek health-related experience, and prepare academically competitive portfolios is presented. Admission procedures across the health professions are discussed, including the application timelines, as well as institutional use of standardized tests, interviews, and letters of evaluation to make selection decisions. By being better informed about the admissions process in the health professions, advisors can assist students in planning their undergraduate educational experiences.
Contributor Notes
Carol Elam, Ed.D., is the Assistant Dean for Admissions at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and conducts research on medical school interviews and predictors of medical student performance. For further information about this article, please contact Dr. Elam at clelam1@pop.uky.edu.
Daniel C. Seaver, M.S.Ed., is the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. His research interests include admissions, student affairs, and student personality types and learning styles.
Peter N. Berres, M.A., is the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University of Kentucky College of Allied Health Professions. A frequent presenter at NACADA meetings, he has focused his research and scholarly interests on admissions, advising, and counseling noncompetitive students.
Barbara F. Brandt, Ph.D., is Assistant Vice President for Education at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center. She was formerly Associate Professor, Division of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. Her research and scholarly interests include curricular innovations, assessment methods, and interdisciplinary education.
