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Any student intending or thinking about a career in the health professions is considered pre-health at Skidmore. Common careers in the health professions pursued by Skidmore students are:

• Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)
• Medicine (M.D. or D.O.)
• Nursing including Registered Nurse (B.S.N.) or Nurse Practitioner and Registered Nurse Anesthetist (M.S.N., D.N.Sci., D.N.P)
• Occupational Therapy (M.S.O.T. or O.T.D.)
• Optometry (O.D.)
• Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
• Physical Therapy (D.P.T. or D. Physio.)
• Physician Assistant (M.P.A.S., M.H.S., or M.M.Sc.)
• Podiatry (D.P.M.)
• Public Health (M.P.H. or M.S.P.H.)
• Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M. or V.D.M.)
• Genetic Counseling (M.S.G.C.)

Additional Skidmore students have pursued health careers in fields (medical technologists, dieticians, dental hygienists, sonographers, radiographers, and speech language pathologists) and , as well as .

To be a clinical psychologist, please contact the Psychology Department. Note, to be a psychiatrist or a neurologist requires an M.D. or D.O. as they are medical specialties. 

To be a social worker, please contact the Social Work Department.

Given the chemistry courses required by those programs, you should take the Chemistry Placement Diagnostic before your summer advising session and registration for Fall classes.

Typically, students interested in programs in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharamcy, physician assisting, genetic counseling, and podiatry are recommended to take the following:

• Scribner Seminar - 4 credits
• BI 107 or BI 108 (can start in either)^{^} - 4 credits
  • Note, while you can take BI 108 before BI 107 (and vice versa), the 200-level BI courses have BI 107 and or BI 108 as a pre-requisite.
    • BI 224, 235, 239, 242, 245, and 247 require both BI 107 and 108; BI 246 requires BI 107 with BI 108 recommended. BI 241 requires only BI 108.
    • NS 201 and 202 require both BI 107 and NS 101 as pre-requisites.
• CH 115 or CH 125 (depending on placement) - 4 credits
  • Note Chemistry courses are sequential (e.g., CH 125 or 126 before CH 221, CH 221 before CH 222, CH 222 before CH 341, and CH 341 before CH 342).
  • BI 242, 244, and 247 require completion of CH 125 or CH 126. CH 125 (or 126) is recommended before taking BI 246.
• Suggestions for a fourth course include a writing course (EN 103, EN 105, EN 105H, EN 110*, or a WI-designated course, depending on your placement), a course to fulfill a different general education requirement (e.g., humanistic inquiry, artistic inquiry, global cultural perspectives, or a language), calculus (MA 111 or MA 113 depending on placement), or a course to explore a potential major. Remember programs are looking for you to develop .

Your first semester, we generally recommend enrolling in no more than two laboratory science courses.

^{^} If thinking about a Neuroscience major, you may want to substitute NS 101 for a Biology course your first semester. If you have an interest in HHPS, you may want to consider HP 126 in lieu of a Biology course.

In the spring, we generally recommend:

• BI 107 or BI 108 (depending on your fall course)^{^},
• the next chemistry course (CH 126 or CH 221, depending on your fall course), and
• For your third course, you may want to consider a writing course if you haven't completed the writing requirement yet, a calculus course (MA 111 or MA 113), a course of interest to fulfill another general education requirement, or a course to explore a potential major or minor or to expand your intellectual horizons. Discuss with your academic advisor and your HPAC advisor, especially if you are considering three laboratory science courses.
• For a fourth course, a class that interests you that fulfills a general education requirement or to explore a potential major or minor or to expand your intellectual horizons - Take advantage of the fact you are at a liberal arts institution. Remember programs are looking for you to develop .

^ If thinking about a Neuroscience major, you may want to substitute NS 101 for a Biology course. For HHPS, you may want to consider HP 127 if you took HP 126 in the Fall. 

The recommendations would put you into position to attend the relevant health professions program the fall after you graduate Skidmore and or want to study abroad while attending Skidmore. The recommendations are more flexible if you plan to take a gap year(s) before starting your professional training especially if you don鈥檛 want to study abroad for a semester.

The exact courses will depend on the pre-health track(s) you are interested in as well as your other interests and priorities. Please read the New Student Advising & Registration Guide for Health Professions, the relevant HPAC page(s) and the pre-requisite chart to help inform you. Discuss options with your advisor. Please feel free to reach out to the chair of HPAC, Dr. Sheppard ksheppar@skidmore.edu, if you want additional advice and to discuss how your potential schedule fits your pre-health interests. 

* EN 110 is for students interested in majoring or minoring in English or who want to engage in literary studies. Everyone else should take EN 105 or a WI course to fulfill the writing requirement.

Please refer to the Health Professions Pre-requisite Chart to see what is typically required by various programs in the health professions. 

If you are interested in nursing, physical therapy (PT), or occupational therapy (OT), but NOT medicine or physician assistant, we recommend the following:

• Scribner Seminar - 4 credits
• One or two of the following options, depending on interests (4 to 8 credits):
  • BI 107 (nursing or PT) or BI 108 (PT) - 4 credits
  • CH 115 or CH 125 (nursing or PT; depending on placement) - 4 credits
  • HP 126 (nursing, PT, or OT) - 4 credits
  • PS 101 (nursing, PT, or OT) - 4 credits
  • MA 111 (PT or OT) or MA 113 (PT, depending on placement) - 4 credits
  • A statistics course (Nursing, PT, or OT) - 4 credits;Note - For non-STEM majors, MS 104 is the suggested course. If thinking Health & Human Physiological Sciences as a major, MS 204 is the statistics course to take as it is required for the major. MS 204 is the statistics course suggested for STEM majors if they don't have a statistics course impedded into the major. If considering majoring in Biology, the major requires BI 235 that will likely fulfill the pre-requisite for the programs programs, so you may want to hold off taking a statistics course. In a similar fashion, you may want to hold off statistics if you are considering majoring in Psychology or Neuroscience as PS 202 will likely fulfill the pre-requisite for the professional programs and is required by both majors.
• For the other one to two courses, an expository writing course (e.g., EN105 or EN 110 if planning to major or minor in English), or a course to explore an interest to fulfill another general eduction requirement (humanistic inquiry, artistic inquiry, global cultural perspectives, or language), or to explore a potential major or minor.

If pre-nursing or pre-PT, you should take the Chemistry Placement Diagnostic before your summer advising appointment and registration for Fall classes.

There is flexibility. The exact courses will depend on the pre-health track(s) you are interested in as well as your other interests and priorities. Please read the New Student Advising & Registration Guide for Health Professions, the relevant HPAC page(s) and the pre-requisite chart to also help inform you as well as your summer advisor. Please feel free to reach out to the chair of HPAC, Dr. Sheppard ksheppar@skidmore.edu, if you want additional advice and to discuss how your potential schedule fits your pre-health interests. 

Why do you want to pursue a career in the health professions?

• • Is it definitely a goal of yours, specifically, or someone else鈥檚 goal for you?
  • Why a health professions career relative to another profession (e.g., if you want to 鈥渉elp people,鈥� there are many other professions where you can help people 鈥� so, why do you want to do so in the context of a health profession)?
  • What experiences have you had in your life that have shaped those interests and/or have helped you to be uniquely equipped for a career in the health professions?
  • For those that apply to medical, dental, optometry, or veterinary medicine schools, the first two questions in your HPAC interview will be, 1) Why do you want to be (profession of interest)? 2) What makes you a good candidate for (professional school of interest)? Interviews with the programs will also ask. You want to provide authentic, clear, and concise answers that are substantive.

Which health profession(s) are you interested in pursuing, and why ?

• • Even if you think you know which health profession you want to pursue, it is worth exploring the similarities and differences between different health professions 鈥� you may find that there is another health profession that better matches your interests, goals, and skills than the one you originally intended to pursue.
  • Factors that may influence the health profession you choose:
    • Amount of post-undergraduate training (e.g., approximately 2 years to become a Registered Nurse vs. 11 years for neurosurgery)
    • Financial considerations
    • Lifestyle (e.g., typical hours, call schedules, work week, etc.)
    • Approach to patient care (e.g., the patient-centered model vs. the disease-centered model; nursing model vs. the medical model)
    • Level of authority for patient care (e.g., in about half of the states, NP鈥檚 can open their own practice without being under the supervision of a physician; RN鈥檚 are supervised by physicians)
    • Scope of responsibility would you like to have (e.g., ability to prescribe medications)
    • A particular population you are interested in serving (e.g., geriatric)
    • A particular skill set required within a given profession (e.g., surgical skill)

Review the Exploring Health Professions page to help you explore which career interests you.

Also, read over the articulation agreements Skidmore has for nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and medicine.

You know yourself better than anyone. By reflecting on who you are as a student, your HPAC advisor will be able to help you plan your curriculum to put you in the best possible position for success. Thinking about your answers to the following questions ahead of your meeting will help you and your advisor make some strategic decisions regarding your curricular path (e.g., how many lab-based classes to take in a given semester, the timing and sequencing of specific classes, etc.).

• What are your strengths as a student and what academic skills are you still developing (e.g., writing skills, time management, stress management, etc.)?
• What resources do you need to support your academic success in college (e.g., tutors, peer academic coaching, one-on-one academic support, accessibility services, English-language support)?

Your Curricular Goals

• What is your anticipated major?
• Other curricular interests (e.g., minor)?
• Are you interested in studying abroad? During a semester or over a summer? Any ideas where you would like to go?
• Are summer classes an option for you? Are you open to the possibility of taking summer classes?
• Do you have an interest in getting involved in a faculty member鈥檚 research?
• Are you planning to take some time after graduating from Skidmore before matriculating in a professional program for a health career (e.g., medical school, dental school, etc.)?

Your Extracurricular Goals

• Are you interested in pursuing one of Skidmore鈥檚 on-campus opportunities for health-related experience (e.g., Peer Health Education, SCEMS)?
• Do you participate in a sport (practices/games can influence curricular planning)?
• Do you have a job or plan to get one?
• Are you interested in any Skidmore clubs or student government?
• What volunteer or service opportunities are you involved in or interested in?

First, remind yourself college is an adjustment. Each of you is unique and arrived to Skidmore with a different set of lived experiences. Accordingly, your adjustment to college is not going to look the same as another person's. Programs know that. Accordingly, they are most forgiving of grades earned during your first-year of college, especially your first semester. "Perfect" grades are not the expectation. The goal is to learn and develop. Where you end is more important than where you start. Remember there isn't one set path. Your path is going to be unique.

The next part of that journey is focussing on using your experience during the first semester (or year) to learn and grow. To do that:

• Reflect and revise on how you study and approach your classes.
  
  • Rhodes College Tips
• Meet with faculty members during their office or student hours or schedule appointments outside of those times. Faculty members want to help you learn. Take advantage of those opportunities.
• Use the resources available
  • Peer Academic Coaching
  • Student Academic Services
  • Office of Academic Advising
  • HPAC Adivsor
  • Scribner Advisor
  • Peer Tutors
  • FYE Peer Mentor
  • Writing Center
  • Your peers - form study groups if you haven't already.

After reflecting, you need to execute and continue to assess, reflect, and refine as needed. You may need to adjust your plans to accommodate. You should continue to discuss your plans with your HPAC Advisor. Remember, it is perfectly normal to take a gap year or two or more between graduating Skidmore and starting a health professions program.

Beyond talking about the degree you want to pursue and why, how you are doing in courses, and what courses to take in the Spring, you will want to start talking with your HPAC Advisor about:

• volunteer opportunties
• shadowing opportunities
• clubs, sports, and leadership opportunities
• what to do over Winter Break and then over the Summer.
  • The deadline for summer collaborative research on campus with a faculty member is in the first week or two of the Spring semester. Many external summer programs will also have deadlines January-March.

Use the Career Development Center to explore what opportunities are available.

The general recommendation is to continue taking Chemistry courses for the track(s) you are interested in. The Chemistry classes are sequential and build on one-another.

Pre-med, pre-vet, pre-dental, pre-PA, pre-optometry, pre-genetic counseling, or pre-pharmacy students who are taking CH 125 in the Fall are encouraged to take CH 221 Organic Chemistry I in the Spring. Students who take CH 221 the semester directly after CH 125 tend to do better than those that wait to take it. Also, remember programs are most forgiving of grades in your first year. If you wait to take CH 221, you may need to review CH 125 material before taking CH 221.

If you are taking CH 115, you are encouraged to take CH 126 Principles of Chemistry in the Spring. Students who go directly from CH 115 to CH 126 tend to do better than those that delay. If you wait to take CH 126 (or CH 125 in the Fall), you may need to review CH 115 ahead of taking CH 126 (or 125).

However, these are general recommendations, especially if you want to keep the door open to going abroad or going to the professional program (e.g., medical school) directly after graduating Skidmore. You will want to discuss the courses with your HPAC Advisor, your Scribner Advisor, and your Chemistry professor as you need to balance your pre-health pursuits with your other interests to decide on the best path for you. You will need to prioritize based on what you want to do and pursue. Dr. Sheppard as HPAC chair is also available to discuss (ksheppar@skidmore.edu). 

 

Typically, students interested in programs in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharamcy, physician assisting, genetic counseling, and podiatry are recommended to take the following courses in the Spring:

• BI 107 or BI 108 (depending on your fall course)^{^},
• the next chemistry course (CH 126 or CH 221, depending on your fall course), and
• calculus (MA 111 or MA 113) or a writing course (EN 105,  EN 110*, or WI course) if not already taken or a course to explore a potential major or minor or to fulfill a general education requirement.
• For a fourth course, a class that interests you that fulfills a general education requirement or to explore a potential major or minor or to expand your intellectual horizons - Take advantage of the fact you are at a liberal arts institution.
• You may want to consider adding 1 or 2 credits of research with a faculty member depending on your interest, faculty willingness, and the rest of your schedule and commitments.

You should take the Chemistry Placement Diagnostic if you haven't already. If you place into CH 125, contact the chair of Chemistry (Dr. Ball, kball@skidmore.edu) to see if it is possible to take CH 126 in the Spring. Seats are reserved for students who take CH 115 in the Fall or were in London during the Fall. If there seats available after they enroll, you may be able to enroll.

The recommendations are for if you want to attend the relevant health professions program the fall after you graduate Skidmore and or want to study abroad while attending Skidmore. The recommendations are more flexible if you plan to take a gap year(s) before starting your professional training especially if you don鈥檛 want to study abroad for a semester.

The exact courses will depend on the pre-health track(s) you are interested in as well as your other interests and priorities.Please read the New Student Advising & Registration Guide for Health Professions, the relevant HPAC page(s)and the pre-requisite chart to help inform you. Please discuss with your HPAC Advisor and your Scribner Advisor. Also, please feel free to reach out to the chair of HPAC, Dr. Sheppard ksheppar@skidmore.edu, if you want additional advice and to discuss how your potential schedule fits your pre-health interests. 

^{^} If you took HP 126 in the Fall in lieu of biology, you may want to continue on to enroll in HP 127 in the Spring. If you are considering a Neuroscience major, you may want to substitute a biology course with NS 101 in the Spring if you haven't taken it yet. NS 101 and BI 107 are required for NS 201 and NS 202. Also, PS 202 requires NS 101 or PS 101 as a pre-requisite.

* EN 110 is for students interested in majoring or minoring in English or who want to continue with literary studies from high school. Everyone else should take EN 105 or a WI course to fulfill the writing requirement.

Please refer to the Health Professions Pre-requisite Chart to see what is typically required by various programs in the health professions.

If you are interested in nursing, physical therapy (PT), or occupational therapy (OT), but NOT medicine or physician assistant, we recommend:

• One or two of the following options, depending on interests (4 to 8 credits):
  • BI 107 (nursing or PT) or BI 108 (PT) - 4 credits
  • CH 126 (nursing or PT; if you took CH 115 in the Fall or were in London in Fall and placed into CH 125) - 4 credits
  • HP 127 (nursing, PT, or OT; if you took HP 126 in the Fall) - 4 credits
  • PS 101 (nursing, PT, or OT) - 4 credits
  • MA 111 (PT or OT) or MA 113 (PT, depending on placement) - 4 credits
  • A statistics course (Nursing, PT, or OT) - 4 credits;
    • Note - For non-STEM majors, MS 104 is the suggested course. If you are thinking about Health & Human Physiological Sciences as a major, MS 204 is the statistics course to take as it is required for the major. MS 204 is the statistics course suggested for STEM majors if they don't have a statistics course impedded into the major. If you are considering majoring in Biology, the major requires BI 235 that will likely fulfill the pre-requisite for the programs programs, so you may want to hold off taking a statistics course. In a similar fashion, you may want to hold off statistics if you are considering majoring in Psychology or Neuroscience as PS 202 will likely fulfill the pre-requisite for the professional programs and is required by both majors.
• Your other two to three courses - An expository writing course (e.g., EN105 or EN 110 if planning to major or minor in English) if not already taken, or a course to explore an interest to fulfill another general eduction requirement (humanistic inquiry, artistic inquiry, or global cultural inquiry), or to explore a potential major or minor.

If pre-nursing or pre-PT, you should take the Chemistry Placement Diagnostic if you haven't already. If you place into CH 125, contact the chair of Chemistry (Dr. Ball, kball@skidmore.edu) to see if it is possible to take CH 126 in the Spring. Seats are reserved for students who take CH 115 in the Fall or were in London for the Fall. If there seats available after they enroll, you may be able to enroll. CH 115 is only offered in the Fall.

There is flexibility. The exact courses will depend on the pre-health track(s) you are interested in as well as your other interests and priorities.Please read the New Student Advising & Registration Guide for Health Professions, the relevant HPAC page(s)and the pre-requisite chart to also help inform you as well as your HPAC Advisor and your Scribner Advisor. Also, please feel free to reach out to the chair of HPAC, Dr. Sheppard ksheppar@skidmore.edu, if you want additional advice and to discuss how your potential schedule fits your pre-health interests. 

You should major in a subject that interests you. There is no set major. You can be a STEM major, a social science major, an art major, a humanities major, etc. Regardless of major, you will be taking the pre-requisite courses for the pre-health track you want to pursue. With good planning, any major will work with any pre-health track. Focus on how you want to develop intellectually. There isn't one set path. Remember, you want to develop competencies across the liberal arts to be a successful health professional.

In terms of common majors at Skimdore, pre-med/pre-vet/pre-dental/pre-pharmacy students tend to be Biochemistry (Chemistry majors with a biochemistry concentration), Biology, or Neuroscience majors as there is signficant overlap between the required courses for the major and those required for the tracks. However, a number of students have majored in Health & Human Physiological Sciences, Psychology, Mathematics, Physics, Environmental Sciences, Anthropology, the social sciences, the arts, or the humanties. Once again, you can major in anything you like.

For pre-PA, Biochemistry (Chemistry majors with a biochemistry concentration), Biology, Health & Human Physiological Sciences, and Neuroscience are popular majors.

For pre-nursing, Biology, Health & Human Physiological Sciences, Neuroscience, Psychology, Social Work, and Sociology are popular majors.

For pre-PT, students often major in Health & Human Physiological Sciences.

• If you want to apply to medical school in hopes of attending right after graduating from Skidmore, all your science pre-health requirements should be completed by the end of your junior year. You would also take your MCAT exam that spring and you would interview with HPAC right at the end of your junior year. The application cycle would begin early June of that year.
• Regarding Chemistry:
  • All students must take the Chemistry diagnostic before enrolling in a Chemistry class at Skidmore: /apps/chm/index.php.Students will place into either CH 115 or CH 125 (students who place into CH 125 may not enroll in CH 115).
  • CH 115 is not considered a general chemistry course 鈥� it is a preparatory course for General Chemistry. Schools that require two or more semesters of Chemistry generally do NOT accept CH 115 as one of the chemistry courses. CH115 is only offered in the fall semester.
  • CH 125 covers topics typically found in a traditional two-semester General Chemistry curriculum. Some schools may require a letter from the Chair of Chemistry indicating that this course covers the content found in two General Chemistry courses (we have such a letter on file). The letter is included as part of the HPAC Committee Letter packet. CH 125 is only offered in the fall semester.
  • CH 126 has the same content as CH 125, but it has CH 115 as a prerequisite. Students who complete CH 115 can take CH 126 in the Spring. First-semester London students, students who take a W in CH 125 in the fall, students who fail CH125 in the fall, and students who are on medical leave in the fall may get special permission to enroll in CH126. If there is still space in CH 126 after all those students enroll, other students placed into CH125 may enroll in CH 126 by special permission of the Chair.
  • CH 221 Organic Chemistry I, CH 222 Organic Chemistry II, and CH 341 Biochemistry Macromolecular Structure & Function are offered both in the Fall and the Spring with more seats in CH 221 and CH 341 in the Spring than the Fall.
  • Because many health professions programs require 4-6 Chemistry courses, it is ideal to get those completed in the first two years.
• Most pre-health students tend to take the Biology and Chemistry classes in the first two years, and Physics and Calculus in their second to fourth years.
• The order for some classes does not matter (e.g., you do not have to take BI07 [Molecular and Cellular Foundations of Life] before BI108 [Organismal Biology]). The order for other classes, however, does matter (e.g., you must take CH221 [Organic Chemistry I] before CH222 [Organic Chemistry II] and HP 126 [Human Anatomy & Physiology I] before HP 127 [Human Anatomy & Physiology II]).
• Skidmore鈥檚 Physics classes (PY 130 and PY 140) for pre-health students are calculus-based. Thus, even though a given health profession program may not require calculus, if that program requires physics, and you have not placed out of calculus, you will need to complete calculus to take the Skidmore physics classes. You can either take the calculus classes prior to the physics or you can take them at the same time (e.g., you can take Calc I and PY 130 [Introductory Physics I] in the same semester).
• Some pre-requisite courses may have 鈥渉idden鈥� requirements. For example, Developmental Psychology [PS 206] is a pre-requisite for nursing programs. Note, however, that Introduction to Psychological Science [PS 101] is a pre-requisite for the Developmental Psychology course [PS 206] .

For health profession programs with a Statistics requirement, some programs specifically require a Math/Statistics course and some specifically require a Biostatistics course, while others are willing to accept a statistics course from a variety of different disciplines (be sure to check the specific requirements for the schools to which you wish to apply). You as the applicant are responsible for making sure you fulfill the requirements of the schools you are applying to.

Students who are taking CH 115 in the Fall are able to directly enroll in CH 126 in the Spring. The course was designed so you can complete Principles of Chemistry in your first year. CH 126 is equivalent to CH 125 and fulfills the same requirements.

If you were in London in the Fall and placed into CH 125, you can enroll in CH 126 in the Spring. Please contact the chair of Chemistry, Dr. Ball (kball@skidmore.edu) to grant you permission before registration.

If you started CH 125 in the Fall but had to withdraw or go on leave, please contact the chair of Chemistry, Dr. Ball (kball@skidmore.edu) to grant you permission to enroll.

If you placed into CH 125 but didn't take it in the Fall, you may be able to take CH 126. If there are seats available after the CH 115 and students in London register for classes, then you will be able to enroll. Please contact the chair of Chemistry, Dr. Ball (kball@skidmore.edu) to grant you special permission to enroll.

When in doubt, contact the chair of Chemistry, Dr. Ball (kball@skidmore.edu). You can also talk with the chair of HPAC, Dr. Sheppard (ksheppar@skidmore.edu).