Academic Preparation for Medical School

Preparation for Careers in the Health Professions
One of the questions we're asked most often is, "How can Knox College prepare me for a career in health care?" Considering that the acceptance rate for Knox graduates into medical school for the last 4 years is nearly 80%, against a national acceptance rate of just under 50%, clearly the opportunities at Knox provide excellent preparation for the health professions.

Academic Preparation
In addition to those requiring a medical degree, approximately 80% of other health-related careers require a four-year college education. Professional programs that can be entered after two years of college-level education typically require a substantial number of courses in humanities and social sciences as well as core courses in the physical and biological sciences. The academic program at Knox, with its provisions for specialization in a major field, additional substantial coursework in another area, and a foundations course in each of four academic areas, provides the ideal undergraduate education. Excellent courses in basic and biomedical sciences combine with classes in humanities, arts and social sciences to produce well-rounded graduates.

Required Courses
Programs vary in their prerequisite courses. Most health careers programs will require, at a minimum:
Biology 110, 120 and 130
Chemistry 101 and 102
Chemistry 211 and 212
Physics 110, 120 and 130
Programs in the allied health professions (e.g., physician's assistant, pharmacist, medical technologist, physical therapist) often have specific required courses in addition to those listed above.

Other Characteristics
Besides the required courses, programs in the medical professions look for a number of other characteristics:
Experience in the field
Coursework in the social sciences, arts, and humanities
Highly developed communication skills (oral and writing)
Commitment to helping others
Leadership qualities

Special Opportunities at Knox College
Knox offers a variety of special opportunities for students to help them prepare for careers in health professions.

Internships: The Center for Career and Pre-Professional Development assists students in setting up internships to observe local health care professionals. Experience of this variety is virtually a requirement for admission to most health professional programs.

Advising: The Knox health careers advisers help students explore diverse career options to find the one that best fits their long-term career and life goals. The advisers provide information on maximizing the chances of acceptance into health professional programs and on preparing a successful application.

Field trips: Knox College organizes trips to events of interest to students preparing for careers in the health professions. Every year, the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria holds a Mini-Medical School, a weekly series of lectures on current topics in medicine. The Illinois medical schools hold an annual open house, at which students can meet with admissions officers and medical students from the various schools and attend workshops on issues such as writing an effective personal statement and financing medical school.

Speakers: The Knox seminar program brings in speakers to discuss a wide variety of topics relevant to health and medicine. Active health care professionals talk about experiences in their fields and offer advice on career preparation. Biomedical researchers discuss the latest developments in understanding and treating disease. Admissions officers from a wide array of health care programs talk about their schools and meet individually with interested students.

Resource Room: The Health Careers Resource Room contains materials students can use to research health care programs, prepare for standardized tests like the Medical College Admissions Test, or simply study for their courses. The networked computers allow easy access to the web sites of graduate programs in the health sciences, as well as to professional associations. Notices of special events, such as open houses for health programs at local universities, are posted on the bulletin boards.