The Health Educated Asian Leaders (HEAL) put on their biannual health panel last Thursday in Pugh Hall. The panel gave attendees the opportunity to listen to the experiences of current health-professional school students. There were two medical school students, a dental student, a veterinary student, a pharmacy student, a nursing student, and a physician assistant student.
“The health panel is an awesome opportunity for undergraduate pre-health students to hear valuable insights,” Sonia Dela Cruz, sophomore and health panel event director, told us. “Speakers talk about how professional school is like and more importantly, what steps they took to get there.”
The speakers, having been undergraduates not too long ago, were able to offer helpful advice to aspiring health-professionals. The panel was set up so that each health profession had its own station. Attendees were able to sit at their health-profession of choice to listen and ask questions.
There were two UF College of Medicine speakers, a first year and a third year, at this year’s panel. The differences between the two speakers reflected the fact that one does not have to fit a certain mold in order to get into medical school. Instead, both speakers stressed that you have to find the thing that you are passionate about and excel in it. If you do, the medical school admissions advisors will notice that and you will become a more promising applicant than the person who just crossed off a checklist of extra-curriculars but did not necessarily get involved.
Along with getting accepted into medical school, the two speakers talked about what medical school is like. The first two years tend to be more academic and the last two years involve clinical work and rotations. They both agreed that it is very hard work, but that it is extremely enjoyable. The one thing that all medical school students have in common is that they love to learn and that they are passionate about helping others.
After the question and answer sessions, attendees were treated to free pizza, bread sticks, and medical-inspired cupcakes (they had band-aid gummies on them!) Overall, the event was a huge success and the HEAL health panel committee is already beginning to plan their spring 2012 health panel.
In spite of the hard work that was already put into the fall health panel, HEAL is planning to make the spring health panel even more successful. According to Dela Cruz, “HEAL Spring Health Panel will focus more on the professions, since we are bringing actual healthcare professionals as speakers. The format will be similar to the Fall Health Panel, but we'll make it even bigger. This means more sponsorships, grander presentation and we have additional ideas brewing to make Spring Health Panel even better.”
The date for the HEAL Spring Health Panel is to be announced and is an opportunity any aspiring health professional would not want to miss.
Written by: Patricia de la Cabada
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