DIRECTIONS FOR 2015 APPLICATION

DIRECTIONS FOR 2015 APPLICATION
FOR
HEALTH PROFESSIONS COMMITTEE EVALUATION AND COMMITTEE
LETTER
The latest DEADLINE FOR RETURN OF MATERIALS:
April 15th 12 noon
ABSOLUTE Deadline!!!!!!!!!!
Students who fail to submit their applications by April 15th by 12 noon will NOT be
reviewed by the Health Professions Committee
The application itself is due as a pdf titled in the following manner:
your last name your first name type of heath profession school hpc.pdf
For example for me applying to dental school, I would name my pdf
Lord Pat dental hpc.pdf
If I was applying to medical school, it would be
Lord Pat med hpc.pdf
It must submitted at https://wakeforest.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_082uzNW2RkjcO7X
by April 15th at noon.
Other paperwork including waiver of students’ rights of access to letters and release for cover
letters and letters of recommendations and a candid picture (with your name on it) are due by 3
p. on April 15th . These are all to be turned in as signed paper document(s) in a folder or large
envelope to Ms. Nancy Fauser in the Biology Office, Winston Hall, Room 226.
Instructions for the application:
Read all materials before beginning the application process. All information should be in
12 font size.
PLEASE don’t include the directions in the final application.

Complete the "Academic information"
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
Complete the “Faculty Advocates” at
https://wakeforest.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_bIyTEIT9iTBrOId by entering their
names and emails, they will be notified via email that you are requesting a letter and
provide a link for them to submit their letter. MAKE SURE THEY HAVE AGREED TO
WRITE A LETTER ON YOUR BEHALF BEFORE YOU ENTER THEIR NAME AND
EMAIL ADDRESS. ALSO make sure you have given them your signed waiver. See
more detailed instructions below about letters of recommendation from faculty advocates.
Complete the “Relevant Experiences” information. Using the Relevant Experiences
Categories listed on the application, please list and reflect on your various experiences. This
section is where you will enter work experience, volunteer activities, leadership activities,
research, and other related activities. Please delete the relevant experiences category
descriptions prior to submitting. You should include in this section experiences that you
have had that you want to bring to the attention of the health professions committee. Please
take some time to think about this section. You should include experiences that have been
significant or meaningful to you in helping you mature as a whole person and gain experience
in a healthcare related field. Please see Appendix C for examples of bad, better, best
Reflections.
You can include up to 15 activities but you don’t have to include that many. We would
much rather you tell us about the quality of the experiences more than the quantity of
the experience. For each experience you list, please briefly describe that experience in 700
characters including spaces (at the max). If you don’t tell me a little bit about your
experiences and how they have affected you, it doesn’t help me write a quality cover letter.
Please don’t include high school experiences unless those experiences have led to
continued experiences in college. For example, if you learned to play a musical instrument
in high school and have continued that in college then you can tell me about the high school
experience. However, if you were a hospital volunteer in high school and that is the only time
you have volunteered in a hospital, don’t tell me about it.
Please only list the same experience once. For example, if you have been on the Dean’s
list for 4 semesters, just list it once and then list the other dates you also earned that honor in
the description section.
For scholarships, please list merit scholarships, not ones based on financial aid. If it is a
scholarship that the committee might not know its significance, please briefly explain why
you were awarded the scholarship. If you were a member of an organization, explain how
involved you were – how often you went to meetings, what activities you participated in.

Personal
Write your “
Essay”. This should be in 12 point font and no more 5300
characters maximum. Please write an essay about yourself and about the circumstances that
lead you to decide to enter the health professions. Some of the questions you may want to
address include Who are you? Why have you selected this particular health profession field to
pursue a career in? What motivates you to learn more about this particular field? What
experiences have helped you know that this profession is a “good fit” for you? What do you
want the committee to know about you and your journey to this point? You might also want
to address any particular obstacles you have had to overcome and or any fluctuations in
academic performance.
You can use this as practice for your personal essay that is required for most health
professional schools application.
Proofread and Spell check – Proofread a written copy of your statement as well!
Have a friend read it but remember this is your own writing. Health Professions
committee members and admissions officers can tell if you had a professional
write it for you.
More information about Letters of Recommendation from FACULTY
Letters of Recommendation from faculty are very important. They are used by the Health
Professions Committee as a means to understand how you have performed academically as a
student and how well a faculty member knows you as a person. These letters should come from
faculty. When you actually apply to health professions schools, there are mechanisms for you to
submit additional letters of recommendation from a healthcare provider or other recommenders
that you worked with. For the application to the health professions committee all the letters
should be from faculty who you have done research with or who have taught you in class.
These letters also become part of the health professions committee letter package that I
submit on your behalf to the schools you are applying to. I will write a cover letter explaining
your level of support from the committee and attach the three letters from faculty members
exactly as they were sent to me to the health professions schools you are applying to.
Which faculty members should you ask? They should be faculty members that can
write you a strong letter of support for your application. You should ask them in person if
they think they can do that (and not 15 minutes before this application is due). If they can’t
write a strong positive letter, then thank them for being honest with you and ask another
professor. Once they have agreed to write a letter of support for you:



Give each letter writer a "Faculty – Format for HPC letters of recommendation" form.
(at the end of the instructions) (Appendix A)
Give each letter writer a signed by you "Recommendation for Health Professional
School" waiver form (Appendix A) (Please read information about waiving rights in
Appendix B as well)
Include the faculty members name on the list of faculty advocates which is part of your
application to the Health Professions Committee.
Other information that you must provide in written form by April 15, 3 pm to Ms. Nancy
Fauser’s office (Winston Hall Room 225).
The following must be turned into Ms. Fauser in Winston Hall in a sealed envelope with your
name PRINTED on the outside of the envelope.
1- CANDID photograph of you –fun ones, too. I.D. yourself if there is more
than one person in the photo
2-SIGNED Recommendation/Evaluation Authorization and Waiver (Explanations about the
authorization and waiver as well as the authorization and waiver are in Appendix B)
What happens after you submit your HPC application?
Once you have submitted your HPC application, there are a few other items that will be
combined with your application. Some of them I, as the Chair of the HPC, will request from the
University/College.
 The letters of recommendation from faculty members will be included with your HPC
application.
 An unofficial transcript, which I will request from the registrar’s office, will be
included with your HPC application. (For your primary application, you will have to
request official transcripts to be submitted for medical/dental or other health
professional school application).
Your HPC application, the 3 letters of recommendation from faculty members and the unofficial
transcript are all reviewed by the Health Professions Committee and used to determine the level
of support from the Committee for your application to health professions schools of your choice.
In addition, I request a report from the Judicial Office about any judicial violations in your
record. If you do have a judicial record, I do not share that information other members of the
Health Professions Committee. However, usually Health Profession Schools want an
explanation about the judicial record as well as the current judicial standing of the student.
Therefore, the Office of the Dean of the College will provide a Dean’s letter regarding your
judicial record. The purpose of the Dean’s letter is to provide context explaining the judicial
record including any sanctions imposed for the violation. The Dean’s letter will also comment
on the current judicial status of the student. This Dean’s letter will be included in the Health
Professions Committee Letter which includes a cover letter from the Director of the Pre-Health
Professions Program and the 3 letters of recommendation from faculty members.
Projected Timeline for committee meeting and letter submission:

The Health Professions Committee will meet in early June. The committee will then evaluate
you, based upon your academic record, your work and experiences, your essay, and the three
letters of recommendation. Once the committee has evaluated you, I will notify you. Then we
can discuss your level of support. Dr. Lord will write the Cover Letter of Support and will
uplink it and the three faculty letters to VirtualEvals or mail them to the schools of your choice.
(See sample of HP committee cover letter format at end of these instructions).

The cover letter will be ready by mid-August. Once you have submitted your primary
application to the health professions centralized application service, send an email to Dr. Lord
for pre-meds, attach a copy of your “AMCAS Letter Request” form for a “Committee Letter”.
If you are applying to osteopathic medical schools, please send Dr. Lord an email with
AACOMAS ID and list of schools you are applying to in one email. Failure to follow these
instructions will delay submission of your committee letter. For dental school applicants, I
will get an email from AADSAS requesting submission of your committee letter.
Appendix A Students – you should provide a copy of this page to your faculty letter writers.
Faculty – Format for Health Professions
Committee letters of recommendation
EVALUATORS: Please use your LETTERHEAD. Sign and date your letter. Most health
professions schools REQUIRE that the letter be on letterhead and signed. If not, they may
not accept the letter.
Please CONVERT IT INTO A PDF FILE AND SUBMIT AT
https://wakeforest.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_bIyTEIT9iTBrOId
DEADLINE: Preferred deadline is 9 May 2015. Absolute deadline is 16 May 2015. Thank
you. Please assist me by getting your letter in on time. It allows us to review the students’
files earlier and begin to submit letters on their behalf earlier so that they are more
competitive in the application process.
Please begin your comments with “To the Admissions Committee” (This letter is not only used
by the health professions committee but also is sent as part of the student’s committee letter
package to the health profession schools they are applying to). In addition, I submit your letter as
you wrote it - I don’t send just a portion of your letter or paraphrase it.
Be as expansive as you can in describing this student. It will help the health professional
schools develop a more in depth understanding of your evaluation. Below are listed suggested
points of focus in evaluating the student interested in a health professions career. Admissions
committees attempt to determine a) whether or not the candidate can do the work at a health
professions school and b) whether or not the candidate has the qualities to be a good healthcare
provider.
1. How well do you know the student and what is your relationship with the student?
2. Please comment on the student’s intellectual strengths, ease of performance, and work ethic
3. Please comment on any leadership, decision-making, and creative traits that the student
displayed in the class or laboratory
4. How did the student interact with his/her peers in class or laboratory?
5. If you know the student in other than classroom or laboratory circumstances, please make
comments about the student’s demeanor, behavior, and temperament, as you see them.
Students who request a letter should also give you a paper to indicate whether they waive their
FERPA rights. Please sign the form and return to me via campus mail. I cannot submit letters
without the returned waiver.
Students - Give a copy of this waiver to each letter writer after you have indicated whether you waive access to
the letter and signed this form.
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH PROFESSIONS COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATION FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, 20 U.S.C.A. Par.1232g (a) (1),
provides individuals the right to access their education records, which includes letters of recommendation.
FERPA requires educational institutions to foster the understanding between the letter writer and the
student/applicant that s/he has the right to access his/her education records. This form confirms that
understanding.
The student/applicant must indicate in this form whether s/he is waiving the FERPA right to access
a letter of recommendation. A completed copy of this form must be provided to the letter writer.
If the Health Professions Committee does not receive this form with the letter, the HPC will assume that
the applicant has retained FERPA rights to view this letter.
I, _______________________,
(print name)
am applying to
___
___
___
Medical School
Dental School
other/specify
I am requesting a letter of recommendation from you. The comments contained in your letter will
be used by the Health Professions Committee to evaluate my file. A copy of your letter will be
sent to professional schools at my request as part of my committee letter.
Please address personal qualities and give other information not likely to be revealed by
my transcript or application form.
Check one of the following statements:
___ I understand my rights under FERPA, and I hereby waive my right of access to your letter of
recommendation.
___ I understand my rights under FERPA, and I do not waive my right of access to your letter of
recommendation.
Name of Evaluator __________________________________
Signature of Evaluator _______________________________
______________________________________
(Student Signature)
________________________________
(WF Student ID number)
Date__________________
To Recommender: Send this waiver by regular mail to:
Pat C. Lord, Health Professions Advisor, Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, 1834
Wake Forest Road. Winston-Salem NC 27106
Appendix B: Recommendation Authorization and Waiver for HPC Applicant
Name (PRINT First, Middle Initial, Last) ________________________________
Student ID ___________________________________________________
Date:________________________________________________________
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords certain rights to students concerning
the privacy of, and access to, their educational records, which include letters of recommendation. In order
to submit the cover letter and the 3 faculty letters of recommendation which are the Health Professions
Committee Letter, you must submit this authorization to give permission to the HPC to release
information from your education records to the Health Professions Schools that you are applying to.
Additional information about your rights under FERPA can be found in the Student Handbook.
Release Health Professions Committee Letter (Check one):
___ I authorize the Health Professions Committee to release the Health Professions Committee Letter
(including Dean’s Letter if necessary) to any educational institutions that I am applying to.
___ I do not authorize the Health Professions Committee to release the Health Professions Committee
Letter (including Dean’s Letter if necessary) to any educational institutions that I am applying to.
Waiver of Access (Check one):
___ I understand my rights under FERPA, and I hereby waive my right to review the Health Professions
Committee Letter (including Dean’s Letter if necessary).
___ I understand my rights under FERPA, and I DO NOT waive my right to review the Health
Professions Committee Letter (including Dean’s Letter if necessary).
Revocation:
I understand that I have the right to revoke this authorization at any time by delivering a written
revocation to the appropriate WFU official, but that such revocation will not affect any waiver of access
to records obtained or received or any release of records made prior to delivery of such written
revocation. I also understand that a copy of this authorization/waiver may be sent with the
recommendation(s)/evaluation(s).
Signature ___________________________________________________________
Date _______________________________________________________________
This form must be turned in on April 15 by 3 pm to Ms. Nancy Fauser (Room 225 Winston Hall) before
HPC letter can be submitted.
Waiving or Not Waiving Access to Letters: FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 requires that students be
advised of their rights concerning educational records, such as letters of recommendation.
When you establish a file for letters of recommendation like the Health Professions Committee
Letter, you should consider your FERPA right to access the letter(s). After you decide to waive
or not to waive, inform the letter writer by submitting the waiver to the faculty letter writing your
letter of recommendation and/or submitting the release and waiver for the Health Professions
Committee letter to the Director of Pre-Health Professions Program. If you do not provide this
information, by default you have not waived this right. It is not possible to know how each
person receiving the letters may react to the fact that a student exercised or did not exercise
FERPA rights. The following factors may be useful in making your decision to waive or not
waive your rights to access.
Factors to consider in deciding not to waive access:
- You need to be prepared to explain your reasons for your choice during interview(s)
- A member of an admissions committee at a graduate or professional schools receiving
the letter might tentatively draw one or more of the following conclusions:
o The evaluation may be less candid, as the writer knew that the candidate may
see it. As a result, these letters may carry less weight in the decision-making
process.
o The candidate did not waive access in order to determine that recipients
received full information.
o The candidate fells a moral obligation to exercise his/her civil rights.
- You will have an idea of the information schools have and therefore can prepare for
interviews accordingly.
- By reading a letter, you have a chance of learning from any feedback it provides
- A potential recommender can choose not to write a letter for you unless you waive
your right of access under FERPA.
Factors to consider in deciding to waive access:
- If your recommender knows you well and has said he/she can write a letter in support
of your candidacy, then the faculty member should be taken at their word.
- A member of an admissions committee might tentatively draw one or more of the
following conclusions:
o The evaluation may be more candid if the writer knew that the candidate
would not see it. As a result, more weight may be assigned to such letters
o The candidate has nothing to conceal.
o The candidate did not feel it was necessary to view the letter before it was
sent.
o The candidate does not wish to exercise his/her FERPA rights in this way.
Appendix C: Bad, better, best Reflections
(From the University of Washington School of Medicine website)
Bad Reflections – Just a list of what was done, no reflection
Writing as a scribe provided me an opportunity to experience firsthand the life of an
Emergency Room doctor. While documenting the doctor’s notes, I have become very familiar
with common medical terminology, prescription names and uses, diagnostic tests, and common
protocols used to diagnose certain symptoms. This invaluable experience has by far provided me
the most knowledge and growth in my journey to becoming a doctor.
I spent five consecutive days at least six hours a day with Dr. E and was therefore able to
observe other aspects of primary care work such as dictating patients’ histories and appointment
notes, preparing for examinations, and corresponding with patients in person, through nurses,
and over the phone.
I have had the opportunity to meet with Dr. O over a meal and shadow her for several
days in her office. The mentorship has provided me with an inside look at family medicine and
Dr. O has been available to answer my questions about health care in America as well as issues
within her practice. The experience has shown me the “day-in-the-life” of a primary care
physician and has helped me determine whether or not a family practice would be a good fit for
my personality, lifestyle, and career interests.
Better Reflections – no laundry list of what was done, some comments about how
what you saw/did influenced/impacted you.
Each time we walked into a room, I became engrossed not in a series of CT scans or
blood test results, but rather, in the story of a new stranger: their troubles, emotions, hopes, and
fears. Further, while patients are great storytellers, I learned that doctors must be attentive
listeners, keen to nonverbal cues, underlying concerns, and details that may go unsaid.
While I have skills from research such as critical thinking, problem solving,
professionalism and persistence that will be invaluable in any career that I choose, I have decided
my passions lie with clinical medicine where I have day-to-day contact with patients.
Everything about my shadowing experiences reflected the diversity of family medicine, not only
the variety of cases in any given day, but also in the different roles of a family physician and the
differing needs of specific populations served. While patients varied in age, economic status, or
medical symptoms, I similarly saw how a family physician’s roles varied, sometimes as doctor,
teacher, counselor, or friend.
BEST Reflections- Insightful – look at kayaking example
The study of music aids the development in both individual expression and social
capacity, but it also teaches priceless principles to those invested in participating. From the
pressure of performance, the leadership required in rehearsal, the responsibility of practice, the
self-discipline, the commitment, and the countless trials and forms of criticism I had to overcome
in order to take part in my favorite hobby each year, my character reaped the benefits.
Kayaking has taught me a lot about independence and self-reliance, as well as developing
determination and a willingness to push through fear and learn something outside of my comfort
zone.
While I have gained skills from research such as critical thinking, problem solving,
professionalism and persistence that will be invaluable in any career I choose, I have decided my
passions lie with clinical medicine where I have day-to-day contact with patients.
I learned that listening to a patient is different from hearing a list of symptoms. Listening
involves knowing the cultural and social aspects of a patient’s life to form a complete picture
about him and his health concerns. As I saw patients who refused help from the doctors, and
other patients who did not care about their health, I learned that my goal as a future physician
will be to serve and care for my patients regardless of their attitude towards treatment or towards
me personally as their doctor.
Working as a dialysis technician I often saw that it was the families, and not necessarily
the patients, who had given up hope or simply lost the energy. This made me realize the
importance of a support system and its significant effect on a patient’s morale and perseverance.