October 2009                                                                                        

Welcome to GATEWAY!

Our goal is to provide you with resources as you navigate through college, health professional school, and ultimately, into one of the many health professions.

Each month, you'll receive career and college/professional school planning tips, advice, and tools that will be useful to you as you pursue a health career.
Motivational Minute

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
                             -Mahatma Ghandi

Have you ever looked out at the world and wished that things could be different? That things could change?

This quote from Ghandi shows us that we don't have to wait for others to bring change to our society. Through the things we do on a daily basis - like helping others or being involved in the community - WE can create the change we want to see.
In This Issue
Motivational Minute
Strategies for Success
Spotlight on Success
Career Resources
Join our Mailing List!
About NC-HCAP
Established in 1971 by Dr. Cecil G. Sheps, NC-HCAP works to increase the number of underrepresented minorities or economically and/or educationally disadvantaged students who are educated, trained and employed in the health professions.

For more than 35 years, NC-HCAP has provided thousands of students with programs and activities to raise their awareness of opportunities available within the health professions and to increase their competitiveness as health professional school applicants.
Strategies for Success

How to Win the Standardized Test Game
Seven test-taking tips to help you reach your goals

By Megan Lavine, Communications Intern
 
Students' problems surrounding standardized tests are most often not with the tests themselves, but rather with their own test-taking abilities and anxieties. According to Frank Kessler, UNC Learning Center reading program coordinator, students who know how the test-taking game is played have a huge advantage over those who don't. No matter which test you're registered for, the following seven tips will help give you that advantage!
 
1. Vocab, vocab, vocab!
  • Study vocabulary. Make vocabulary lists and flashcards and take them with you to study wherever you go. Greek and Latin root words account for 60 percent of the English language; learning these roots will save you time studying.
  • Read for fun. Reading often increases the breadth of your vocabulary, the sophistication of your writing and the speed of your reading.
  • Play games. Word games like Scrabble or crossword puzzles enhance your vocabulary in a fun way.
2. Use practice tests
  • Take a practice test. Go over the problems that you missed to pinpoint your trouble areas. This will also help to give you broader understanding of the main concepts of the test.
  • Books with past tests are available at local libraries, bookstores or online. There are many programs offered at reduced rates on university campuses that help with study skills and preparation. 
3. Learn the tricks
  • Beware of answer choices containing absolutes or conditionals using words like always, never, except or if. Correct answer choices will not take strong opinions or stances, therefore you can eliminate overly simple, eye-catching or opinionated options.
  • Read the questions first. On a reading comprehension section, reading the questions before the passage can alert you to key words and ideas. These exam tests for concepts and comprehension so read for content and try to understand the bigger picture.
  • It's usually OK to guess. Tests like the MCAT and the DAT do not penalize for incorrect answers so make an educated guess. Be sure to eliminate as many choices as you can before choosing an answer. (Some tests, like the GRE, DO penalize for incorrect answers. Determine if your test does before you sit down to take it.)
4. Pace yourself
  • Don't get bogged down. Keep an eye on the clock to make sure you aren't spending too much time a particular question. If a question is too tricky, make an educated guess (if your test does not penalize for incorrect answers) or move on to the next question. 
 5. Read the questions carefully
  • Understand and answer. Pay attention to exactly what the question is asking. Do not make any assumptions about a question or a condition, to avoid making careless conclusions.
6. Re-check your answer sheet
  • Look over your exam. If you have time, recheck math computations and go over your essay to make sure there are no grammatical or spelling errors.
7. Consider commercial preparation courses
  • Think about your individual learning style. Many students opt to take commercial prep courses for guidance. Teachers in a classroom setting can lead students toward what they should be studying. Places like Kaplan and Princeton Review offer such courses.
Above all, have confidence in yourself! You've prepared and planned to the best of your abilities, now go out and ace that test! Good luck!
 Spotlight on Success

Healing Hands
SEP alumnus contributes to critical cancer research and surgeries

By Elizabeth Lassiter, Communications Intern

Darrell Hunt, an inner-city kid from Miami, vividly remembers his first encounter with the medical system.

"The first thing I remember about medicine was sitting with my grandmother in the emergency room while she was having chest pain. That day we arrived at 7 a.m. and didn't see a doctor until around 4 p.m," said Hunt.

Hunt didn't go to school that day. Instead he spent those nine hours comforting his grandmother while she held her left arm and spoke of the pain in her chest.

"I remember, even at the age of six, thinking, there's got to be a better way to do this. That's when I decided to become a doctor."

Hunt credits his grandmother and her many trials with the Miami medical system for teaching him about inequalities in the system. Through the years he spent taking care of his ailing grandmother, he realized that recovery could come in all forms.

"I realized that all I was doing [for her] - checking her prescriptions, holding her hand, reading her stories, cooking her dinner, administering her medication, telling jokes, crying with her - were all part of caring, a part of healing," said Hunt.

Hunt went on to enroll in a pre-med curriculum at UNC in pursuit of his medical dreams. While there, NC-HCAP's Science Enrichment Preparation (SEP) Program proved to be an invaluable step toward becoming a physician.

"SEP provided a foundation of learning how to study and provided my first undergraduate experience with medical professions," recalled Hunt. "I think SEP was great for its ability to show students a broad range of careers and opportunities for minority students. I came out of that summer more confident in my abilities as a student and as a student-leader."

For Hunt, SEP is a means to ease the pressure minority students may feel in the medical field.

"Very quickly a minority student in medicine realizes that there aren't very many other minority students doing the same thing," Hunt said. "[This] can be very lonely and alienating, but it is also a great honor and provides an opportunity for those students who arrive in their wake. It is very challenging, but very rewarding."

After graduating from UNC, Hunt attended medical school at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, where he became particularly interested in surgery for the "craft of operating" and the intimate interactions with surgery patients.

Following medical school, Hunt spent time working at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the UNC School of Medicine where he completed research in surgical oncology. In a position where he felt distant from patients, Hunt managed to keep sight of the broader community.

"Even though it seems like I'm in a little lab by myself, I'm part of a group of thousands of people worldwide who are trying to cure cancer."

Today, Hunt is finishing his last two years of surgical training at the University of Florida. He has already earned a Ph.D. , and was honored with the Ray Bierstedt Memorial Award from the University of Florida Department of Surgery.

Hunt is well on his way to achieving the goals he set as a little boy in that Miami emergency room, one step at a time.  
Career Resources
Need even more strategies for sailing through standardized testing? Check out these links:
DAT:
GRE:

MCAT:

PCAT:
  Meet Ms. Borden
Paula Borden joined the NC-HCAP team in February of 2007 and currently serves as the interim director of NC-HCAP. In this role, she provides leadership in financial management, administrative and programmatic planning and fundraising.

Additionally, as the associate director/college outreach coordinator, she is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the office as well as planning, developing and implementing college outreach initiatives. She serves as the advisor for the NC-HCAP Health Careers Club.

Before joining the NC-HCAP team, Paula was employed with the Morehead-Cain Foundation, an undergraduate scholarship program at UNC. She also served as an AmeriCorp VISTA volunteer for the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Ms. Borden received her Bachelor of Science degree in communications studies from Wingate University and earned a Masters of Art in counselor education from North Carolina Central University. She is a member of the American Counseling Association, the North Carolina Counseling Association, and the National Association of Medical Minority Educators, Inc.
Let Us Hear From You
Do you have an academic or career planning question you'd like to ask? Is there a specific topic you are interested in seeing in Gateway? We're always here to assist you.

Simply contact us at:

(919) 966-2264
nchcap@unc.edu

http://nchcap.unc.edu