Program Overview
Gannon University's pre-health qualification program prepares students with a bachelor's degree for careers in medicine and allied health professions. The program offers prerequisite coursework in biology, chemistry, physics, and other foundational subjects. Students benefit from shadowing opportunities, workshops, and expert advising to enhance their competitiveness for health professional schools. Upon completion, graduates can pursue careers in various fields, including medicine, pharmacy, chiropractic, and veterinary medicine.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
The pre-health qualification program at Gannon University is designed for adults who already hold a bachelor's degree in any field and are seeking a career change. Students in this program complete the prerequisite coursework needed to apply to health professional programs in the field of medicine, pharmacy, chiropractic, dental medicine, optometry, podiatric medicine or veterinary medicine.
Teaching:
Gannon University’s pre-health qualification students have the opportunity to become well-rounded leaders both in and out of the classroom, making them competitive for a career in medicine or other allied health professions. Pre-health qualification students are eligible to participate in:
- meetings with admissions officers from various health professional schools
- shadowing opportunities coordinated by the Career Exploration and Development Office
- workshops reviewing the application process, personal statements, interviewing, etc.
- Community Health Coaches, a course and internship led by a team of medical professionals from Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Careers:
There are many different specific career paths stemming from the pre-health qualification program. Such opportunities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- chiropractic medicine (diagnosis and internal disorders, nutrition, sports medicine)
- dental medicine (dental public health, oral and maxillofacial surgery, periodontics )
- medicine (anesthesiology, family and general medicine ,psychiatry)
- optometry (low vison, sports vision, vision therapy)
- pharmacy (community pharmacy, industry-based pharmacy, oncology pharmacy)
- podiatric medicine (orthopedics, podiatric primary care, wound care and management)
- veterinary medicine (animal welfare, preventive medicine, veterinary research)
Other:
- Gannon University has a long history of helping qualified and motivated students successfully achieve acceptance into health professional schools.
- All pre-health qualification students receive expert advising so that they take a balanced and rigorous course load, which includes the fundamental science and mathematics courses that professional schools require as prerequisite coursework.
- Students receive hands-on laboratory experiences in most biology and chemistry courses, which are conducted in small interactive group settings of 20-30 students.
- Upon completion of prerequisite coursework, students may choose from a wide-ranging selection of health professions-related courses including:
- BIOL 124: Animal Form and Function
- CHEM 221: Organic Chemistry I
- PSYC 111: Introduction to Psychology
