Cedarville Magazine, Spring/Summer 2015

being able to demonstrate knowledge on an exam,” he said. “What type of person would you want to care for your most loved family member — your grandmother or mother?” Young added. “What type of skill set would I want to care for me when I’m most vulnerable? There’s a percentage of students, anywhere from 8 to 9 percent, with a [high MCAT score] and GPA of 3.8 to 4.0 that don’t get intomedical school.That would suggest they didn’t have the other kinds of attributes and experiences we’re talking about.” It’s the Faculty More than anything, it’s the faculty members — their approachability, their individual concern for students, their professionalism, and their desire to glorify God— that separates Cedarville from other premed programs. “Professors teach the lectures as well as labs and get to know students,” Burns said. “Students feel comfortable going to a professor’s office to ask questions. A lot of our students do research with professors where they get one-to-five or one-to-six interactions. When they apply for research internships, they get letters from professors who know them well.” Barfell remembers when he was a confused freshman student, taking his first premed course and asking Burns about the future. “Right away, she asked me if I was free to talk about career interests and a possible career path,” he said. “She met me for lunch at Chuck’s two or three hours later. She had my printed-off transcripts and took a personal interest in me. She gave me detailed and specific advice, not from a blog online, or applying generic info that might be applied to any and all students. It was tailored to me, and it was Christ-centered.” Having faculty members who are available to coach and work with premed students is a blessing, Young noted. “The reality is the majority of schools don’t have pre-health (care education) advisers,” he said. “If you have the appropriate mentorship, the appropriate counsel, who can offer guidance and attention, [your students] are fortunate. That sounds like a strength of your program.” “I could have gone to another premed program where I worked with a world- renowned person who took no interest in me and taught from a humanistic approach — here’s how to get into med school and impress people,” Barfell added. “My life would have been centered inappropriately. Cedarville flipped that. They said, ‘Let’s pray about that’ and focused on living a life that first honored Christ and following His will, doing things He has called me to do.” Cedarville taught Barfell how to prioritize his life, and that’s been the most valuable training of all. “In med school you have all these deadlines and the pressure to perform better than others,” he said. “It can mess with your life and your perspective. But by putting God first, family second, and then in third place, med school, that’s been pivotal to who I am as a med student and as I apply for residencies next year.” ClemBoyd is Managing Editor of Cedarville Magazine . ARE YOU READY BEST SUMMER EVER? CEDARVILLE.EDU/SUMMER 2015 Art and Design Camp Athletic Training Camp BizTech Camp (for students considering a career in business) Criminal Justice Camp Engineering Camp Foreign Language Camp Forensic Science Camp Geology Camp Music Camp Nursing Camp Pharmacy Camp Psychology Camp Theatre Camp Worship Camp Writing Camp REGISTER NOW!