September 16, 2011

By Cathryn Westra

More than 100 students attended the recent pre-medical interest meeting presented by program director Professor Jerry Putnam.

Students in Davidson's premedical program have long benefitted from the wisdom and personal attention of Professor of Biology and premedical adviser Jeremiah Putnam. While many undergraduate institutions begin offering pre-med advising only in the junior year, Putnam meets students during their first semester to begin preparing them to apply to medical school. He creates individually tailored strategies to help students complete the pre-medical requirements and become competitive medical school applicants.

Putnam and other members of Davidson's Premedical Advisory Committee (PAC) coach students on matters such as preparing for the MCAT tests, obtaining research experience and getting involved in community service. Davidson also helps premedical students by writing medical school recommendations for all students who have completed the premedical requirements, regardless of GPA or graduating class year. "We believe students always have some outstanding qualities, even if their GPA is a bit low," commented Putnam.

The personal attention pays off for Davidson's premedical students. About 85% of pre-meds from the Class of 2011 were accepted into medical school. That figure is significantly higher than the average national acceptance rate of 35.9% for students elsewhere with similar demographics.

But one common concern among premedical students is study abroad. While about 65 percent of Davidson students study abroad for credit at some point, course requirements and convenient access to on-campus support lead many premedical students to forgo the opportunity. Putnam, however, encourages study abroad as "valuable experience that students can bring to the table during med-school interviews."

Most Davidson students choose to study abroad during the fall semester of junior year. But that can be a stressful time for premedical students because they also are called on to prepare materials for their PAC faculty evaluations, and many begin studying for MCATs.

Study abroad options for premedical students already include The Davidson in Kenya and Davidson in Mwandi programs. These summer programs were created especially for students interested in medicine, and include internships in African hospitals, course credit toward the pre-med studies and an undergraduate research experience abroad. Putnam also noted that the Dean Rusk International Studies Program is a valuable resource for helping students fit study abroad into their plans.

Putnam has recently acted to encourage more pre-med students to take advantage of study abroad by offering personal advising sessions with them via Skype. According to Putnam, Skype allows closer connection between adviser and advisee than e-mail or a phone call because both parties can see each other on their computer screens. "Subtle nuances of communication are often missed when you're not speaking face to face," he said. "With Skype it is possible to answer more questions and often provide more thorough answers."

Putnam has already conducted Skype meetings this fall. Biology major Scarlett Murphy '13 is studying rainforest management in Queensland, Australia. Hailey Holway '13 is on the Davidson in India Program. Putnam is also willing to provide advice via Skype to alumni who decided to apply to med school post-graduation, and to those who have not yet been admitted.

While Skype is not a cure-all to eliminate the stress of studying abroad for pre-medical students, Putnam believes it can help pre-meds remain more closely connected to the strong support Davidson resources provide.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,900 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.
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