Meet Our Schools: Med Prep Program at UHS

The Merici Med Prep Program has come up in our review of Ursuline’s opportunities for academic excellence. It offers a special four-year curriculum for students interested in healthcare careers that includes video conferenced lectures and live procedures, job shadowing at an area hospital, and virtual dissections on a computer-based simulator.

But how does this benefit international students attending high school in America?

A Chance to Improve Their English:

It’s imperative that medical professionals from physical therapists to nurses and physicians be able to communicate effectively with their colleagues and patients. Being able to do so in your native language as well as English is very valuable as a healthcare worker.

Even American students in health science fields take courses like medical terminology at university, so practicing basic English as well as medical terms in high school is a big advantage for international students wishing to pursue the medical field in higher education.

A chance to Gauge Their Interest:

It’s hard for a high school student to be sure about going into a particular career field. It may seem glamorous, exciting, or hold the promise of a high salary or job security.

But is it something a student really wants to dedicate themselves to?

Spending time learning anatomy & physiology, medical terms, & doing virtual dissections – the basics of most medical careers – can help students determine whether they are suited for a healthcare career. Even if you change your mind that is still something valuable to learn before applying to a university based on such a career choice and gives you time to explore other options.

A Chance to Learn About Other Options

Listening to lectures from medical professionals and attending science or medical fairs and conferences can raise student awareness about what is possible health and medical sciences.

Perhaps a student thought they wanted to be a nurse but realizes that an occupational therapist is a better fit. Or maybe they were thinking of becoming a physician but decide to study biomedical engineering to find ways to regenerate damaged tissue or grow replacements for it.

Such realizations spur renewed interest for academic study, and a story of such epiphanies leading to a focus in direction are impressive to universities reviewing applications for admission.

A Chance to Gauge Their Commitment:

Even after learning much about different healthcare careers, acquiring a basic familiarity with some fundamentals of medical study, and learning some basic skills, there is still the matter of what it’s actually like on the job in a medical profession.

Job shadowing allows students to show not just awareness of and interest in working in a medical field, but that they know what it looks like on a practical, real-world level.

Such experience says much about how committed students are when seeking admissions and scholarships to top undergrad prep programs for medicine and health.

ASG students have been involved in the program and are going to study medical-related fields. What direction are you headed in?