Professional Healthcare Preparation Minor or Certificate

Pre-Health Professions

Students planning to apply to medical or dental school must take biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. Students also are strongly advised to take genetics, biochemistry, statistics, calculus, and psychology to prepare for these highly competitive programs. Academic and experiential requirements for health professional programs, and the standardized tests required for application, can vary substantially so students must check the details of specific programs and schools.

Pre-health professions students are strongly urged to contact the director of the Pre-Health Professions Program at John Carroll University for more information and for assistance in planning their educational programs and applications to professional schools. Students are also advised to consult current publications and websites relevant to their proposed area of study and preferred colleges, including Medical School Admission Requirements of U.S. and Canada, Admission Requirements of U.S. and Canadian Dental Schools, and similar publications for specific professions, such as allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dental medicine, chiropractic, podiatry, veterinary medicine, physician assistant/physician associate programs, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, certified anesthesiology assistant, public health, and optometry.

For additional information, please see the Preparation for Graduate and Professional Study section of this Bulletin and the Pre-Health Professions website (www.jcu.edu/prehealth).

Early Acceptance Programs/Dual Enrollment Programs

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and John Carroll University have an Early Acceptance Program Agreement whereby up to twenty seats per year are reserved for John Carroll students to enter LECOM’s medical, dental, and/or pharmacy schools. High school seniors and current JCU sophomores are eligible for this program. See JCU website or the Director of Pre-health Professions for current application requirements and further details

Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and John Carroll University have an Early Acceptance Program Agreement whereby up to ten seats per year are reserved for John Carroll students to enter OU-HCOM’s osteopathic medical school at any of OU-HCOM's campuses (Cleveland, Dublin, and Athens). Established Ohio residents who are high school seniors and meet admission requirements may apply for the program. See  JCU website or the Director of Pre-health Professions for current application requirements and further details.

John Carroll University and Case Western Reserve University’s Master of Science in Anesthesia Program have an Early Acceptance Program whereby up to twelve seats per year (four at each program site: Cleveland, Houston, and Washington, D.C.) are reserved for John Carroll students to enter CWRU’s program to become a certified anesthesiologist assistant. Current JCU students who have completed at least 80 credits and the appropriate prerequisite courses with a grade of B- or higher are eligible to apply.

For additional information, please contact the director of Pre-Health Professions or go to the Pre-Health Professions website (www.jcu.edu/prehealth).

Program Learning Goals in Pre-Health Professions

Students will:

1. Acquire foundational knowledge of the human and natural worlds through completion of appropriate integrative courses and other courses that ensure academic preparation for health professional programs.

2. Understand the variety of careers in healthcare, and pathways to access those careers, including program prerequisites, standardized tests needed, and application processes and be able to explain why the chosen career path is personally appropriate.

3. Demonstrate understanding that health careers are service careers, requiring skills involving critical analysis, communication, leadership, collaboration, cultural competency, and creative thinking

Curricular Requirements

The minor will require 7 courses (18 credit hours): Both PHP courses in category A and one from each of the five remaining categories. Students must complete both of the requirements in the experiential course work.

The certificate program will consist of 5 courses (12 credit hours). Students must take both PHP courses (Category A). Students then choose three more 3-credit courses from any of the remaining categories. Of those three courses, two must come from different categories. Students must meet the experiential requirement by means of G1 (shadowing), which is described below.

A) Required Courses:

Plus at least one course each from B through F.

B) Understanding the Patient:

C) The Ethics of Care:

D) Communication in Healthcare Settings:

E) Managing Healthcare:

F) Elective Courses:

G) Experiential Requirements:

1. Shadowing: Students must spend a minimum of 40 hours shadowing no less than two healthcare providers.

2. Students seeking a minor must engage in one of the following: 

   • Research at an external site or at JCU with faculty member.

   • Internship at approved site.

   • Participation in medical immersion trip sponsored by JCU or other approved sponsor.

   • Participation in Summer Field Experience.

   • Service Learning related to healthcare arranged via the Center for Service and Social Action (must be a full semester) or volunteering with JCU EMS.

Total Credit Hours: 18