Cedarville Magazine, Spring/Summer 2015

“You would learn about how the body works in the classroom, and then you would go to the lab and learn the structure on an actual human cadaver.” Johnson concurred. “Much of my anatomy lab in medical school is a review from the structure and function class at Cedarville,” he said. “That has saved me hours and hours of study time compared to my classmates.” “There are other institutions that have access to human donors, but they are typically larger state schools like Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, University of Michigan,” Wingert offered. “Even at those schools, the cadaver labs are dedicated to medical and graduate students.” Wingert teaches structure and function courses as well as a senior-level human dissection elective, open to only eight students each semester. “For a college our size, this is extremely unique,” she said. Cedarville has four human cadavers each year, provided through agreement with the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. To facilitate these opportunities, a new leading-edge cadaver lab, Phase I of the science and engineering facilities upgrade, opened fall 2014. “All schools may not have the resources to provide that kind of hands-on experience with a cadaver prior to medical school,” noted Young. “I think that’s pretty rare.That’s a really wonderful resource.” Extra Preparation Three years ago, Cedarville began offering a one-credit topics course taken by most junior premed students. “Based on information I provide and feedback from seniors who’ve been through the process, students develop anMCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) study plan, research and rank medical schools, and write a personal statement, which is a big part of the application process,” noted Dr. Melissa (Hartman) Burns ’96, Assistant Professor of Biology and a board-certified emergency medicine physician. “After finals inMay, they can focus on taking theMCAT and all things are in place for them to apply.” Burns also coaches students about creating a résumé of awards and cocurricular activities that tells admissions committees why these honors and experiences are significant. Jeff Reep ’79, Director of Cedarville’s Career Services, conducts mock med school admissions interviews with premed students based on a pool of questions gleaned from former Cedarville students who’ve been through the experience. “Dr. Burns showeduswhat the application looked like so we were able to see exactly what we needed to complete,” Johnson said. “We had deadlines to have written portions of the application completed so we could help each other improve. Because of the prep class, I was able to have all the written portions completed prior to the application opening and simply copy-and-pasted everything on the day it became available.” Many of Johnson’s University ofMichigan classmates lacked the hands-on guidance of professors. “They were left to navigate the application on their own,” he said, “which delays when you can finally hit ‘Submit.’” Because of the topics course, Cedarville students are ready to apply to med schools when enrollment opens in early June. “Applications are rolling admissions, so if you apply earlier there are more seats available,” Burns said. “A common deadline is November 1, but the first time you can hit ‘Submit’ is early June. Our goal is within two weeks of when the application opens, all our students have applied. Because they’re applying earlier, they have a better chance of getting in.” Outside the Classroom As good as the in-class training may be, Cedarville students also have an advantage because of their extracurricular activities. Students have the option of participating in Chi Theta Pi, a health sciences club where they learn about health care careers and participate in health care-related service projects. Many volunteer on the Cedarville University all-student volunteer Emergency Medical Service (EMS). A number go on medical missions trips. Every other summer, Cedarville premed students travel to South America for six weeks to work with Dr. JeffMcKissick serving the village of Yataity, Paraguay. During spring break, 10 students travel to the Dominican Republic. Johnson’s Paraguay trip became the centerpiece of his admissions process. “Med schools love international experiences,” he said. “Being able to talk about what I was doing in Paraguay and what I took away from the tripmade for easy interviews.” But it’s more than medical-related activities that impress admissions interviewers. “A lot of med school applicants took the right classes, took the MCAT, spent four years jumping through hoops, but they don’t get in because they’re missing out on that personal development,” Barfell noted. “You have to show them you’re passionate about other topics, something that differentiates you fromothers out there.” For Barfell, it was his involvement in Student Government Association and working as a Resident Assistant (RA) in BrockHall. “I felt that was really instrumental to me getting into med school,” he said. “Being an RA was awesome. It showed med school admissions committees I could be in charge of a group of people and run things smoothly. Doing Student Government Association and finding creative ways to get students involved made my application stick out.” Young agreed that diversity of extra- curricular activities is important to admissions committees. “Being a competent, caring physician is more than just about 79 PERCENT OF CEDARVILLE’S PREMED TRACK GRADUATES HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL, PUTTING ITS ACCEPTANCE RATE IN THE RARE AIR OF SOME OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED PREMED PROGRAMS IN THE COUNTRY. 10 | Cedarville Magazine