Sponsored by the Division of Teaching & Learning Posted Monday, October 23, 2017 @ 5:46 PM Is your student is interested in pursuing a career in the medical profession? Their first stop should be to Pre-Health and Pre-Law Advising (PHPL Advising). This team is dedicated to helping students navigate the complex and competitive application process. Dr. Erin Myszkowski, Director of PHPL Advising shares, “Our advisors embrace each student’s choice of major, and help them find the best way to progress toward their goal.” Austin Burns, a recent graduate, started medical school at Johns Hopkins this fall. His story to how he got there begins in a small town in Montana and the dream of becoming a physician. He shared his experience in a video where he credits PHPL Advising for helping him gain admittance to medical school. His experience demonstrates the advisement that he received. Dr. Myszkowski shares how her team helped Burns create his path, “When I met with UCF Pre-Medical student Austin Burns during his junior year, we reviewed his progress in his academics and extracurricular activities in preparation for his application to medical school. As Pre-Health advisors, we often refer to this type of advising appointment with upperclassmen as a ‘plugging holes’ appointment; that is, figuring out which areas are still weak or could be ‘holes’ in his upcoming application to medical schools, and then discussing options and strategies for how to strengthen those areas or ‘fill the holes.’” “Because Austin had been an advisee in our office for a few years, and he had maintained a strong GPA and solid extracurricular activities over time, we discussed how he didn’t have any large ‘holes to fill’ before his time to submit his application. “Then, we discussed that although his application would be strong, he didn’t yet have any activities that made him really unique or made his application stand out above the rest. Therefore, the remainder of our advising appointment that day focused on how to develop areas of excellence in his application. As Pre-Health advisors, our goal is to get to know our students holistically – personally, academically, and extracurricularly – during our advising appointments.” “Getting to know Austin holistically over time helped me identify and strategize ways for him to develop areas of excellence that could help make his application stand out. The next year, Austin became President of one of UCF’s largest Pre-Medical student organizations, Pre-Med AMSA (American Medical Student Association). I am looking forward to hearing about Austin’s first year of medical school.” Back