The biomedical scholars program, which was launched this semester, is a program that allows students who are interested in pursuing careers in the medical field to graduate within three years with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Chemistry.
“It’s a three year program [for] students passionate about going to medical school,” Matt Savage, a sophomore biomedical sciences major, said.
The biomedical scholars program was created exclusively for students majoring in biomedical sciences. In order to even qualify for the application process, one must have at least a 30 on the ACT test or a 1340 on the SAT CR+M, a 4.0 high school GPA and at least six hours of transferrable college credit.
A maximum of 10 students are chosen per year from the applicants to participate in the program. Students involved in the program must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.6 and take at least 18 hours per semester in order to graduate within three years.
“It’s just a fast track for people that know they want to be doctors,” Savage said.
The program allows students to participate in numerous hands-on opportunities, such as studying abroad, internships and shadowing professionals in the medical field. Not only does the program allow students to graduate early, thereby saving money and time, but the program also allows students to gain real experience in the medical field even before they enter medical school.
Students involved in the program sign up for a variety of courses geared specifically for their pre-medical studies, some of which include Business of Healthcare, Microbiology and Medicinal Chemistry. Along with taking the courses offered on campus, students will graduate with 120 hours of clinical shadowing, one faculty mentored research experience, two years of community service and one study abroad experience.
There are a number of professors involved in the program, especially Dr. Lori Hensley, a professor of Biology in the J.D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences.
“She’s our advisor. We call her Mom,” Savage said.
As the program is brand new, it was limited to incoming students only. All the students involved in the program are in their first year of college. It is the first program of its kind in the state of Arkansas. It allows students involved to learn more in the classroom and gain clinical experience in the fields of their choice. Due to the small number of students involved, each experience within the program can be entirely unique depending on what field each student in question wishes to pursue.
“I want to become a surgeon,” Savage said.
The program allows incoming and future students to study pre-med in an entirely different way then before. For future students interested in the biomedical scholars program, visit www.obu.edu/biology/biomed or contact Dr. Tim Knight at knightt@obu.edu.
