UT prides itself on being one of the world’s leading research universities. However, pre-health students at the University have faced a significant lack of hands-on experience. Divisions like the Health Professions Office and various pre-health organizations on campus merely offer advice or assist students in developing a potential network but are lacking in lending them the direct experience with patient care the students desperately need to be successful.
“Some (students) will choose to get their patient care technician certification or work as a medical assistant. But again, that’s something that you have to pay for and have time outside of your 16 hours of classes to do those things,” said Anna Villarreal, a third-year nursing student.
UT should take steps to integrate hands-on, clinical opportunities into pre-health programs, offering students earlier exposure to their desired career field.
“Clinicals are really important because some people think they want to go into medicine or dentistry or nursing, and then they get into it, they realize this is not really what they want,” said Stephanie Key, a clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing.
Students in the School of Nursing practice hands-on skills like IV and catheter insertion in their sophomore year of college and get to go into nearby hospitals to treat and communicate with patients.
“(After starting clinicals), you start understanding how to appropriately communicate with patients, understand what things you need to have prepared before assessing a patient or implementing nursing interventions, and your critical thinking skills will improve,” said Villarreal. “It’s very easy to just memorize things off of a PowerPoint, but as soon as you step into the patient’s room, it just all goes out the window.”
Despite the need for skills development within the health professions program in the College of Natural Sciences, there are also logistical barriers that prevent students from getting the direct exposure they need.
“There are concerns with insurance, liability and logistics,” said Lesley Riley, director of the Health Professions Office. “Usually, clinical experiences are supervised by somebody, like the nursing faculty, that are with (the students) when they’re going through their experiences and can handle an emergency situation. There’s just never been a way to replicate that for the general path of a pre-health student.”
On the other hand, many pre-health students are stuck taking science-heavy courses behind a computer screen rather than going into the field and making a difference. In addition to the fact that many physician assistant programs admit students with a 2500-hour minimum, gaining exposure to the hospital can help students solidify their interests, get a headstart on professional school and stand out among their competitors.
“It may be nice if there were some elective courses that could be taken by pre-health, pre-dental and pre-med students that give them that opportunity to see what it’s like to take care of somebody at the bedside,” Key said.
By connecting the undergraduate students to the numerous graduate schools affiliated with UT, such as Dell Medical School and UT School of Dentistry in Houston, or creating partnerships with Austin Community College, the University could attempt to bridge the gap between pre-health students and the real world in which they will be practicing in.
Tangible experience is something that every career field encourages and respects. For students preparing to enter the medical field, it’s especially vital to have the proper experience to provide compassionate, quality care in their careers.
Anaparthy is a public health and Plan II freshman from Frisco, Texas.
