General guidelines for Pharmacy, Physical Therapy and other Health Related Fields
What about the other Health Professions?
For most, including Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physician’s
Assistant, much of the information for medical and dental applies. The primary difference
will be the list of pre-matriculation requirements for the specific programs. They
may have a very different list of classes they require for application and they may
have their own professional exam. For example, Pharmacy has its own exam (PCAT) and
they want you to complete an Accounting course(s). Much like medical and dental programs
they do not require a specific major but the course list will be heavy with science
courses. They may or may not require interviews, they usually like to see shadowing
experience and they want to see service and volunteer work. They also want to see
leadership not just membership in different organizations.
During your sophomore year you should sign up for the Health Professions Seminar.
In this seminar you will hear from the recruiters of all the different health professions
that come to our campus to recruit YOU! This is your chance to get specific questions
answered, double check requirements, ask about application deadlines, etc. Many
of our students change their minds during this semester because they find out about
a different health field that they were not aware of and realize it might better fit
their personal goals. The Seminar also shows up on your transcript!
During your junior year, in addition to scheduling the professional exam, you should
check the websites of the professional schools you plan to apply to and double check
their pre-matriculation requirements to see if you‘ve missed anything or if they have
changed their requirements. You should also speak with our Health Professions Committee
Chair and set an appointment for your mock interview. Here at OBU our Health Professions
Committee holds practice interviews for anyone that requests it. The committee consists
of those faculty that will prepare written recommendations of you prior to the Chair
of the Committee preparing the final Letter of Recommendation. The practice interviews
are designed to help you practice and provide some idea of the kind of questions you
might expect. The program you are applying to may not require interviews in which
case you do not need a practice interview with the committee. However the faculty
of the Health Professions Committee are still available to write recommendation letters
on your behalf.
By the end of the junior year you should have taken or at least scheduled your professional
exam and it is now time to get acquainted with the application service websites.
Many of these programs do not have a professional exam or they may require the GRE.
It is your responsibility to double check the pre-matriculation requirements for the
programs you are interested in applying to but you should maintain good communication
with your academic advisor and the Health Professions Committee Chair.
Ouachita Baptist University currently has a Guaranteed Interview Agreement (GIA) with
Union University School of Pharmacy (UUSOP). Students that complete the prerequisite
coursework for admission to UUSOP shall be exempt from initial screening and will
be granted an admissions interview for the next entering class. Further details concerning
the agreement may be obtained from the Health Professions Advisor.
Nursing and Dental Hygiene…….
There are several major differences between these paths and those described above.
First, a student may apply to these programs after only two years at Ouachita if ;
1) the appropriate courses have been completed and 2) the students has a competitive
GPA in those courses. Like the other professional programs it is your responsibility
to keep track of the pre-matriculation requirements for the programs you are interested
in attending. Check their websites regularly. Those students that do not have a
competitive GPA in the required courses may stay at Ouachita and complete their undergraduate
degree prior to applying. This makes them a stronger candidate and many of our students
choose to complete the undergraduate degree even if they have the grades to apply
as sophomores.
A second major difference is the pre-matriculation courses they require. Often these
programs require a different chemistry course than the ones required for a major or
minor in chemistry. Watch this closely because they are sticklers about their requirements!
Ouachita currently maintains and affiliation agreement with Baptist Health (Little
Rock) School of Nursing. Students that have graduated or completed at least 5 of
the 8 general education and science courses will be given priority consideration in
the BHSLR-SN application. Further details may be obtained from the Health Professions
Advisor.
