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Welcome to GATEWAY!
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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
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"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."
-Kahlil Gibran |
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About NC-HCAP
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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.
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Strategies for Success
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Ace the InterviewHow to sell yourself to an admissions committee
Your personal statement may take more time to write and your grades more effort to earn, but for most students, nothing is more nerve-racking, stomach-churning and downright intimidating than the admissions interview. After all, this interview is the final step in the application process to professional or graduate school. It brings your test scores, grades and essays to life and should boost your application. Although standardized test scores and GPA offer some indication of how well you might do in professional school, they cannot assess personality or suitability for a career in the health professions. So, before you consider calling your physician for a letter declaring that your health prohibits live conversation, remember that the interview is your opportunity to sell yourself to the admissions committee. Consider these tips for a successful interview: Be prepared.Interviews differ from one to the next, so there are no "standard" questions. There are, however, certain general topics that will inevitably come up, and you should be prepared to discuss them. - Academic record: Be prepared to defend, with complete honesty, any inconsistencies in your transcript including a drop in grades, course withdrawals and distribution of courses. "If you have one poor grade, put it, if you can, in the perspective of subsequent improved performance," advises Dr. Randall Zielinski of John Hopkins University Medical School. "In other words, find the positive point to leave with the interviewer."
- Extracurricular activities: Talk about any non-academic interests you may have as well as volunteer and work experience you have had. How did they influence you to become a health professional?
- Motives for pursuing a health career: Only you know why you want to pursue a health career. Have you had a personal experience that led you to health care? What do you hope to accomplish and contribute in your field?
- Reasons for applying: Research the school before going into the interview. Be enthusiastic about their school; be able to give explicit reasons for why you want to attend.
- Current issues and trends in health care: Occasionally read health journals and the news to follow health care issues. Support what you know with what you believe.
- Questions you may have: If anything about the program is unclear to you, this is a good time to ask. The professional school will be trying to impress you as well since they are in competition with other schools for you. This is their opportunity to see you at their school; well thought-out questions help them to do so.
Your appearance will be the first thing the interviewer notices about you, so make a good initial impression by looking professional. Professional and conservative dress is strongly recommended, and it should be clean, neat and pressed. Maintain professional conduct.
In addition to looking professional, you want to conduct yourself in a professional manner. Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake that exudes confidence. Watch your speech, posture and overall demeanor. Answer questions in complete sentences and avoid saying "uh" or "you know" repetitiously. Don't look at the clock or out the window, and try to quell nervous habits like fidgeting or toe tapping. Follow up.
It is becoming increasingly popular to send a follow-up letter to each school thanking them for their hospitality. You can write an individual note to each of your interviewers or send one note collectively to the interview committee. Be concise and limit yourself to a few lines. A final word.
All of this preparation will build your confidence and help you make a good impression, regardless of the questions asked. Remember not to sell yourself short. Being selected for an interview at a professional school is an accomplishment in itself. Be confident and proud. And relax.
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| Spotlight on Success
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 Heart to Heart with Kevin McCowanBy Deb Hanson
Kevin McCowan was UNC Hospitals'
first African-American male general surgery resident. But that's something he
rarely thinks about. McCowan says his primary concern is his patients' welfare.
"I have
very positive relations with my patients," he said, "because I listen and spend
time with them and they appreciate that. I truly love what I do."
The oldest
of three boys, McCowan grew up in Anderson, SC, a small town located near Clemson University.
"I believed at a very early age that I could do whatever I wanted," he said.
"My family was very supportive and always told me that the only barriers that
would stop me would be those I created for myself. When I was thirteen years
old I made the decision to become a doctor. I've stuck with it ever since."
With ten
varsity letters under his belt, McCowan was offered a full scholarship during
his senior year to play football at Presbyterian
College, a small school in Clinton, S.C.
Two weeks before he was to report to camp, however, McCowan said he got a funny
feeling that he just wasn't supposed to go there. "I don't know why, but for
some reason I decided I wanted to go to a historically black institution, and
my family, friends and teachers kept telling me that Morehouse College
was where I needed to be. Apparently they knew something that I didn't."
McCowan
shared the idea of attending Morehouse with his football coach, who immediately
got on the phone with the college, sent of a copy of McCowan's transcript and a
roll of game film. McCowan was offered a full scholarship the next day. He had
no idea what he was in for.
I'll never
forget the first semester," he recalled. "I had the most difficult chemistry
professor there, with class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8 a.m. I sat
down front, only missed one lecture and made a F. I was destroyed!"
But McCowan
toughed it out and graduated from Morehouse in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in
chemistry. He didn't feel like he was prepared for medical school, so on the
advice of a faculty advisor, McCowan headed for graduate school at the UNC- CH School of Public Health. Out-of-state tuition became
too much of a burden for McCowan, and he had to take a semester off.
During his
time off, McCowan worked as a medical technologist at Duke University
Medical Center.
The job afforded him some valuable educational experiences, but his heart was
still in the classroom.
In 1987,
McCowan was accepted into the Medical Education Development (MED) Program and
finished the program in the top three. He returned to graduate studies in the
fall of 1987 and in the spring of 1988 McCowan was accepted into a dual degree,
the Medicine-Public Health program at UNC-CH.
McCowan has
had the opportunity to travel to England
and Europe for surgical research and several
third-year clerkships. He completed a clerkship in trauma and neurosurgery at Harlem Hospital
in New York,
a year of transplantation immunological research in the UNC Department of
Surgery and a year as president of the UNC Chapter of the Student National
Medical Association and the John B. Graham Student Research Society.
McCowan graduated from the UNC
General Surgery Residency Program in 1999 and now works at a private practice
in Georgia. He has come a long way and has paved the road for
other kids to follow in his footsteps.
"I have a
tremendous responsibility to my community. I take it personally when kids drop
out of school or the less-fortunate cannot receive proper medical attention."
McCowan
considers it a personal responsibility to be a role model for minority kids. He hopes to show them that they can achieve everything he has and more.
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Career Resources
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What to learn more about professional school interviews?
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Meet Ms. Borden
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 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.
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Let Us Hear From You
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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
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