Students in Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medicine Program’s First Cohort Head to Medical School

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For many in the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medicine Program’s first cohort of students, the path to becoming a doctor continues this fall, with eight of the 10 members heading to, or already in, medical school.The program, directed by Lisa Schwartz, EdD ’10, assistant professor of integrated health sciences at SMHS, launched in 2015 with a cohort of 10 students. It’s designed specifically for “career changers,” explained Schwartz — students who received a bachelor’s degree in an area other than the life sciences, but whose passion for medicine couldn’t be quelled.
The Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medicine Program includes 12 months of classes and then a “gap” or “glide” year during which the students apply to medical school. The program gives students the educational foundation they need to enter medical school — classes such as general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, biochemistry — and helps with navigating the rigorous medical school application process with top notch advising.
“Our first cohort came from diverse educational backgrounds,” said Schwartz. “Some had degrees in economics or finance, some were psychology majors, and some were music majors or English majors. It was a real mix.”
The yearlong program is a rigorous and accelerated one, she added, and while some programs across the nation integrate their students into the undergraduate program, at GW they are taught in classes dedicated to them. This distinction allows these dedicated students to learn in an environment that’s controlled for a higher level of learning.
The students in GW’s first Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medicine Program cohort took a leap of faith on the institution, added Schwartz, since the program was brand new. “[W]e had no graduates who had gotten into medical school, so they took their chance on us and we took our chance on them, and it worked out really well.”
One student was admitted to ...

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