Home Facts Academics Admission Alumni Campus Life News, Sports, Events Offices & Services

 

Although the majority of Hamilton graduates entering the health professions will choose a career in medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine, in recent years there has a marked increase in the number of Hamilton students interested in preparing for careers as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, public health specialists, and physical therapists. Nationally these professions are in great demand and will see rapid growth in the future. All the health professions afford the satisfaction of helping people, and in recent years nurse practitioners and physician assistants have provided the care that twenty years ago was available only from primary care physicians. A Hamilton graduate with a strong liberal arts background will find excellent professional opportunities in the health professions and will have the satisfaction of helping patients, either directly or indirectly, with only a one, two or three year postgraduate commitment.  Like medical school, the allied health professions are competitive and have high standards for admission; each profession requires its own specific prerequisite classes and clinical preparation. Early and thorough research is recommended, including online exploration, speaking with your advisor, and planning shadowing experiences.

 

To investigate the breadth of opportunity within the health care industry, look at:

 

 

Many Hamilton students interested in nursing will take the correct prerequisites to apply for an accelerated nursing program that awards a second bachelor's degree in nursing after only one year of study. The prerequisite classes vary somewhat, but many accelerated programs require:

·         Two semesters of biology (Bio 10 1& 102 or Bio 115 & 221)

·         Two semesters of anatomy and physiology

·         Two semesters of chemistry, including Organic I

·         Microbiology

·         Two semesters of psychology, ordinarily intro and a developmental or life span psychology class

·         Statistics (Math 100, Math 253 or Psych 280)

·         English/composition

·         Additional social science, e.g. sociology, anthropology,         women's studies, economic

·         In addition to the prerequisite courses, some nursing programs require that candidates submit GRE scores to complete the application.

 

These programs are sometimes called "accelerated programs for non-nurses." In effect, the nursing school transfers three years of credit from your Hamilton degree toward the second bachelor's degree in nursing. See: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/pdf/APLIST.PDF and http://www.allnursingschools.com/

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

In recent years, many Hamilton graduates who chose nursing continued their studies at the master's level, studying either full-time or part-time, to practice as a certified nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners are trained to take medical histories, diagnose and manage diseases, order X-rays and diagnostic tests, write prescriptions, and order referrals. Depending on what kind of work they enjoy, nurse practitioners can specialize in areas such as family medicine, adult health, pediatrics, acute care, women's health, oncology, surgery, etc.  It should be noted that nurse practitioners can set up their own offices and are not required to work under the supervision of a physician.

 

Hamilton students considering a career in nursing may want to explore the summer internship at Burke Rehabilitation Center in White Plains, NY or may wish to gain hospital experience at a facility near their home. See Leslie North for information.

 

Several Hamilton graduates, both men and women, are currently enrolled in accelerated nursing programs at Columbia University, SUNY Binghamton, the University of Rochester, and Pace University. 

 

According to MONEY magazine and US News, physician assistant is one of the top jobs in America. See:

http://www.usnews.com/sections/business/best-careers/ 
The physician assistant role developed in the mid 1960's to address the shortage and uneven distribution of primary care physicians in the United States. Duke University graduated the first class of PA's in 1967—mostly military corpsmen with extensive medical experience gained during the Viet Nam war. Physician assistants are health care professionals licensed, or in the case of those employed by the federal government credentialed, to practice medicine with physician supervision. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and write prescriptions. PA programs have the advantage of requiring only two years of study after Hamilton, if all the prerequisites have been completed.  Recent Hamilton graduates have attended PA programs at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, LeMoyne College, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, among others.

 

The prerequisites for PA programs vary from school-to-school but Hamilton students should plan:

·         Extensive clinical hours; some schools require up to 1000 hours of clinical experience

·         Two semesters of biology (Bio 101 and 102 or Bio 115 and Bio 248 or 336)

·         Two semesters of anatomy and physiology (see Leslie North)

·         Two semesters of chemistry, including Organic Chemistry I

·         Microbiology

·         Statistics (Matt 100, Math 253, or Psych 280) and one additional class

·         Intro psychology and developmental or lifespan psychology

·         Additional social science

·         One semester of English/ writing

·         Several PA programs require students to submit GRE scores

 

For more information about the PA profession: http://www.aapa.org/

 

Many PA schools use a common application. The CASPA site provides links to all the common application PA schools and much useful information on requirements: https://portal.caspaonline.org/faq/ins_programs.htm

 

 

Public health professionals protect and improve the health of the public through education, research, promotion of healthy lifestyles and by creating public policy. Public health takes a population approach to issues of health and well being and has been responsible for some of the greatest advancements in civilization, for example clean water.  A broad and inclusive field, public health offers opportunities for students with many different interests and skills. Some of the career specialties available in public health are research, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health administration, international health, community health education, and many others.  Although public health specialists deal with threats such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, infectious diseases, and bio-terrorism, they also educate the public on nutrition, child and maternal health, safe driving and hundreds of other legal, educational, and public policy issues. 

 

The pre-requisites for a master's degree in public health will depend on the focus you bring to the profession. The one consistent undergraduate course recommended for public health is statistics. (Math 253 would be preferred over Math 100.) Obviously, if you plan a career in cancer research, you will focus your undergraduate studies on science—perhaps biochemistry, biology or chemistry. If you are interested in government's role in health, you might major in public policy, government or economics. If your focus is on health law, you could consider combining law school with a public health degree. Students who plan a career in international public health, might consider exploring study abroad programs that are designed to offer you an excellent experience in that area, e.g. SIT's programs in Brazil, South Africa, Chile, China, and Kenya. See Leslie North to discuss your personal goals.

 

Hamilton has numerous alumni involved in the public health field, and offers on-campus speakers and programs each year on public health issues. Students considering a career in public health may want to become familiar with SFIPHA (Students for International Public Health Awareness) a student-run organization on campus that also offers programs and career exploration opportunities.

 

Many public health schools accept a common application for admission: http://www.sophas.org/

 

For more information on public health, see: http://www.asph.org/ or

 

Simply reading the web site of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will introduce you to many current topics in public health: http://cdc.gov/ In recent years, students interested in international public health and equity issues have attended the Unite For Sight conference, offered each spring at Yale University. Reading the web sites of groups like Partners in Health and Unite For Sight provides an excellent introduction to international public health work: http://www.pih.org/home.html     http://www.uniteforsight.org/

 

Recent Hamilton graduates have attended public health programs at Columbia, Yale and Johns Hopkins. In addition, many Hamilton alumni who attend medical school will complete a degree in public health during their medical educations.

 

Contact Leslie Bell in the Career Center or Leslie North in Health Professions Advising for more information and the names of Hamilton alumni in the public health field.