College professors are an incredible resource that undergraduate students — especially those in relatively large undergraduate science classes — often overlook. For prospective medical school students, it is important to establish and sustain relationships with undergraduate professors, since they can play a key role in helping these students pursue their medical dreams.
Here are three ways undergraduate professors can play a critical role for prospective medical students and advice on developing lasting relationships with them.
[Learn more about applying to medical school.]
Letters of Reference
Strong, personable letters of reference — especially from instructors who taught your challenging science classes — are an essential component of a successful medical school application. Many undergraduates mistakenly believe that excelling in a science class is sufficient for obtaining a strong letter of reference from that course’s instructor. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
While a professor you don’t know well may be able to write you a factual letter describing the course he or she taught and noting your performance, the professor will not be able to include the type of interpersonal details that distinguish you from the multitudes of other prospective medical students who have succeeded in challenging premedical classes.
Are you naturally inquisitive? Do you ask thoughtful questions? Do you have a gift for explaining complicated concepts in an easily understandable way? These details will be lacking in letters from professors who don’t know you well — and those details won’t be lost on medical school admissions committees.
Avoid this pitfall by asking questions in class and — most importantly — by regularly attending a professor’s office hours. Office hours allow you build a relationship and make an impression on faculty members in a setting that is more intimate than a large undergraduate science class. It is important to attend these sessions well-prepared, with a familiarity of the material covered as well as several questions, especially ahout any material that you are struggling with.
[Read seven tips for nailing medical school recommendation letters.]
Alternate Career Opportunities
Faculty members often have a wider and more informed perspective of the career opportunities that are available in many fields than do most career development offices at undergraduate institutions. Given that medical school represents a substantial financial and time commitment, it is important for prospective medical students to explore all of their career opportunities to ensure that medicine is the best fit for them.
To that end, professors are often happy to impart the wisdom and observations they have acquired over the years. For example, my general chemistry professor taught undergraduates part time and worked full time for a pharmaceutical company. By sharing his professional journey — as well as the benefits and drawbacks to working in academia versus industry — he helped me make a more informed decision about whether to pursue medical school.
In the course of these discussions with professors, ask for candid feedback regarding the pros and cons of particular fields. Even if you decide to continue pursuing medical school, these interactions can provide you with a more comprehensive perspective of the varied career opportunities available to physicians.
For example, physicians with a particular focus on research, advocacy and public policy, and public health combine the skill sets developed in medical school with other fields of study to advance patient care. Undergraduate professors in these fields are often keenly aware of those positions and are happy to help facilitate your exploration of these areas.
[Discover six red flags medical school isn’t the right choice.]
Lifelong Mentors
One of the intangible benefits of building strong relationships with professors is that these individuals can serve as lifelong mentors for future career and life decisions. This is perhaps the most valuable and enduring benefit and requires a specific set of actions.
In addition to building a relationship with a given professor while taking his or her course, you need to periodically keep in contact the course is complete to develop the relationship into a long-term mentorship.
For example, establish a recurring coffee meeting with the faculty member every few weeks, or seek the professor’s advice about which courses you should take, which job or volunteer opportunities to pursue, or what books to read. These individuals represent a particularly valuable resource because they can often provide you with advice that is more informed and objective than the advice you will receive from your parents and friends.
This advice is especially valuable with regards to professors of liberal arts courses, since few things are more impressive and memorable to medical school admissions officers as when applicants draw well-informed parallels from other disciplines during medical school interviews. Moreover, these interactions with professors represent a form of networking that is vital for success in medicine, whether you ultimately choose to pursue a career in academia, industry or private practice.
Strong networking skills are essential for success in each setting, and the relationships fostered with undergraduate professors are an excellent opportunity to begin learning how to network effectively. In fact, being chosen as a medical student to participate in competitive research projects, volunteer opportunities or even residency positions is partially based on your ability to foster and build connections with your peers and superiors.
Working on building professional relationships with undergraduate professors will put you in a strong position to achieve success as you begin to advance through your professional career. This is also a critical skill to develop as an undergraduate, since it will yield dividends both in the short and long term as you progress through your education and make key decisions regarding your future.
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Connect With College Professors Before Medical School originally appeared on usnews.com
