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Prairie View program giving pre-med students a quick start
By SALATHEIA BRYANT
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
Mina Rosenthal-Eames wants to be an orthodontist.
The 28-year-old biology major has seen firsthand, as an orthodontist assistant, how straight teeth can lift a patient's self-esteem. She'd like to provide that boost to her own patients one day.
"This is what I'm passionate about," said Rosenthal-Eames. "It really makes a difference in people's lives. I know I have to be on top of everything. It's very competitive."
But before she applies for dental school, the Prairie View A&M University student will get some help from the university's newly created Undergraduate Medical Academy. Created by Texas House Bill 85 in 2003, the enrichment program provides students seeking health careers with a variety of real-world experiences designed to better prepare them for medical school or other advanced health education.
Prairie View officials said they hope to recruit students who will pursue a medical career and likely go back into the communities they represent to practice their profession.
Dr. Winston Price, president of the National Medical Association, an organization that represents black physicians and their patients, credits enrichment programs similar to Prairie View's academy as effective tools to bring parity to the medical profession, which remains dominated by whites. Price said minorities represent about 8 percent of medical school enrollments; 5 percent of dental school enrollments and 9 percent of nursing school enrollments.
Price said programs such as Prairie View's offer mentorship, while providing students with improved interviewing skills and techniques for passing standardized testing.
"By the time they put in an application (to medical school) they have a better sense of what is needed," said Price. "These programs do work and benefit in increasing the numbers. If we could get all 50 states or all states that have medical schools to do so posthaste, that's the only way we can address the disparity."
State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, authored the bill that created the academy. McClendon, who grew up in Houston, has also tried to establish a medical school on the campus of Prairie View.
"We want to make sure we have physicians coming from all walks of life represented," McClendon said. "Many folks living in areas like Third and Fifth Ward (in Houston) don't have access to physicians because we have not trained enough. It's about access to medical care. If you don't have access, you're not going to get the care and you're going to die sooner."
By SALATHEIA BRYANT
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
Mina Rosenthal-Eames wants to be an orthodontist.
The 28-year-old biology major has seen firsthand, as an orthodontist assistant, how straight teeth can lift a patient's self-esteem. She'd like to provide that boost to her own patients one day.
"This is what I'm passionate about," said Rosenthal-Eames. "It really makes a difference in people's lives. I know I have to be on top of everything. It's very competitive."
But before she applies for dental school, the Prairie View A&M University student will get some help from the university's newly created Undergraduate Medical Academy. Created by Texas House Bill 85 in 2003, the enrichment program provides students seeking health careers with a variety of real-world experiences designed to better prepare them for medical school or other advanced health education.
Prairie View officials said they hope to recruit students who will pursue a medical career and likely go back into the communities they represent to practice their profession.
Dr. Winston Price, president of the National Medical Association, an organization that represents black physicians and their patients, credits enrichment programs similar to Prairie View's academy as effective tools to bring parity to the medical profession, which remains dominated by whites. Price said minorities represent about 8 percent of medical school enrollments; 5 percent of dental school enrollments and 9 percent of nursing school enrollments.
Price said programs such as Prairie View's offer mentorship, while providing students with improved interviewing skills and techniques for passing standardized testing.
"By the time they put in an application (to medical school) they have a better sense of what is needed," said Price. "These programs do work and benefit in increasing the numbers. If we could get all 50 states or all states that have medical schools to do so posthaste, that's the only way we can address the disparity."
State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, authored the bill that created the academy. McClendon, who grew up in Houston, has also tried to establish a medical school on the campus of Prairie View.
"We want to make sure we have physicians coming from all walks of life represented," McClendon said. "Many folks living in areas like Third and Fifth Ward (in Houston) don't have access to physicians because we have not trained enough. It's about access to medical care. If you don't have access, you're not going to get the care and you're going to die sooner."
