PPHS 1200: Introduction to the Health Professions (1)
Offerings
This seminar course provides students with a framework from which they can begin to investigate a career in the professional health sciences. The course provides a holistic orientation that prepares students for participation in our program, and sets them on the path for successful admission to graduate and professional programs in allopathic, osteopathic and veterinary medicine, dentistry, podiatry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy, physician assistant and optometry. Instruction will include guest speakers, lectures, and multimedia resources. Short readings introduce students to narrative medicine, discourses on social disparities and social factors contributing to negative health outcomes. This course is the entry point for all students interested in PPHS careers. Community service component required. May be repeated for credit 2 times.
PPHS 1800: Health Care Career Seminar (1)
Offerings
This immersive humanities-based seminar is required of all continuing pre-professional health sciences (PPHS) students. Students will explore a deeper examination of the vocational impact of graduate careers in the health sciences. The course will host speakers from a selection of health care backgrounds that may include allopathic, osteopathic and veterinary medicine, dentistry, podiatry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy, physician assistant and optometry. Participants are required to provide documentation and evaluations demonstrating 20 hours of clinical shadowing and community volunteering at the onset of the course. Based on these experiences, students will write substantive reflections on health care. Students will prepare short multimedia presentations focused on course themes including academic competence, class, collaboration, collegiality, hidden curriculum(s), narrative medicine, professional etiquette, virtue signaling, and volunteering. Students that plan to pursue the PPHS program mock interview and committee recommendation process for professional school applications are expected to complete this course. May be repeated for credit 3 times.
Prerequisites: CHM 1211: D or better
OR BIO 2101: D or better
OR (BIO 2129: D or better
AND BIO 2130: D or better)
PPHS 3400: Application Workshop (2)
Offerings
This workshop course is required of all continuing pre-professional health sciences (PPHS) students in their sophomore, junior, or senior year. The focus of this workshop course is to prepare students to successfully navigate the application and testing process for medical and dental schools especially. Special sessions will focus on application processes for other PPHS fields as well, including Physical Therapy, Pharmacy, Physician Assistant, Optometry and Veterinary Medicine. The workshop will cover in detail the application timeline, the required steps for each application and pre-requisites to the required standardized tests for each of the fields. In addition the course will cover in depth approaches to essay writing, the personal statement completion, interview skills and the interview process. The process for obtaining letters of recommendation as well as the steps toward the "in-house" PPHS mock interview and committee review will be covered. Resources from the SPU Career Center will be utilized for this course. Grading: Pass/No Pass. Personal Statement and Essay Writing required. All students that plan to pursue the PPHS sponsored "mock interview and committee recommendation" process for medical school or dental school applications at any time in the future years are expected to take this course. May be repeated for credit 2 times.
Attributes: Upper-Division
Prerequisites: PPHS 1800: D or better
AND (CHM 3371: D or better
OR PHY 1101: D or better
OR PHY 1121: D or better)
PPHS 3980: Preprofessional Health Science Field Experience (1-2)
Offerings
A health care experience course arranged by the student and agreed upon by the instructor on an individual basis. This course is optional but should be done in the junior or senior year. It includes several components: an actual field experience as "an invited guest observer" in a professional work setting to see a variety of health care activities and to talk formally and informally to professionals who are in various stages of training and practice; a journal of these experiences; a final paper or project on the profession to be submitted to the instructor; and readings on ethical dilemmas in the field. May be repeated for credit up to 4 credits.
Attributes: Upper-Division
PPHS 4600: Contemporary Issues in Medicine (3)
Offerings
Drawing on literature from social epidemiology, health policy, bioethics, government agencies, and mainstream media sources, this course investigates the ethical implications of the social determinants of health for providers and structural issues influencing social justice.
Attributes: Upper-Division, Writing "W" Course
Restrictions: Freshman, Sophomore students are excluded.
Prerequisites: BIO 3615: C- or better
PPHS 4900: Independent Study (1-5)
Offerings
Independent study. May be repeated for credit up to 5 credits.
Attributes: Upper-Division