Exploring Careers in Health

Note: This section is adapted from the Health Careers Handbook, written by Elaine Smith and Ellie Perkins and produced by the Medical Professions Advisory Committee (MPAC). MPAC is the definitive on-campus resource for Wellesley students interested in applying to medical school. The Center for Work and Service encourages students pursuing medical studies to refer to the Health Careers Handbook for a comprehensive overview of the application process. This adapted information is not intended to replace the Handbook.

Health care is one of the largest growing industries in the country with over 600 different health careers and more emerging every day. An assessment of your personal attitudes and values may lead to the decision that health care is best suited to your career objectives. In order to make an educated decision, be aware of the range of health care career choices.

While the requirements can be demanding, with careful planning you can meet the demands, study what you wish, and develop as a total human being. Take time to explore what you want and to learn what you feel is important to help you make the best possible decision for your future.

The CWS recommends the following steps to explore and define your interests in a health career:

• Read literature, talk with people, and obtain practical experience to learn about different types of health careers. The Center for Work and Service Library provides information on health-related careers as well as graduate schools and training programs. The Medical Professions Advisory Committee (MPAC) has a series of good resources, notably on medicine, dentistry, veterinary, and osteopathic medicine. Read professional journals and periodicals in fields that interest you, and books that have been written about women in these areas.
• Attend lectures and workshops by professionals from various fields. During the academic year, the Center for Work and Service and the Medical Professions Advisory Committee hold career exploration meetings on a wide variety of topics at which alumnae and others discuss the nature of their work. Meetings are announced on the Graduate and Professional Study Calandar, on CWS First Class Conferences, in The Wellesley College Illuminator, and through special mailings.
• After such exploration, it is likely that you will still have questions about what people really "do" on the job. Initiate an information interview or a shadow experience using the Wellesley Network. A joint MPAC/CWS program, a Preview of Medicine, offers students the opportunity during Wintersession, as part of the Shadow Program, to explore several medical specialties. Students spend time with alumnae and other physicians in the Boston area for half-day periods. Further explore your field of interest through internships, term-time work, summer jobs, and extracurricular or volunteer activities. Such experiences provide insight into the nature of various kinds of health occupations and help you to develop specific interests; they also help you test your strengths and weaknesses. They give you experience that strengthens and differentiates your application to a graduate program. The Center for Work and Service Internship and Community Service Programs have information on a wide variety of opportunities available term-time, summer, and January in the local area and throughout the country.
• Explore and discuss your interest with an advisor. For those interested in medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, or podiatry, an appointment to meet with the Chair of the Medical Professions Advisory Committee may be made through the MPAC Committee’s Coordinator in the Science Center. Those interested in other major health careers should make an appointment with Ellie Perkins Director of Fellowships and Preprofessional Programs, in the Center for Work and Service.

The role of health professions advisors or CWS counselors is to inform, advise, and help students make realistic plans for their future careers and involvement in a health field. The Medical Professions Advisory Committee specifically advises students interested in medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine and has many helpful resources on these fields. The Chair of this Committee has regular office hours throughout each semester and is willing to counsel any student. On behalf of the entire Committee, the student’s advisor writes a composite letter of reference for distribution to the individual schools. During the year of interviewing and decision-making, advisors continue to aid students by writing additional letters, contacting medical schools and helping to evaluate alternatives that may arise.

Discussions with advisors will allow you to explore your interests, values, future expectations, and dreams. They are valuable ways to learn more about the occupation, about appropriate professional schools, and to receive guidance on preparing your professional training application.