2024-2025 Pre-Medical and Health Professions Program

Administration

Director: Amy R. Whittington, MS
Associate Director: Julie Mihelcic, M.S. Ed

Overview

Established in 1990 and restructured in 2014 to create a uniquely-Duquesne experience, the Pre-Medical and Health Professions Program (PMHPP) is a unique advising and learning unit that assists students from all academic majors to gain the necessary background to be eligible to apply to graduate medical and health professional school. Undergraduate (UG) students enrolled in this program receive expert advice and structured, individualized guidance designed to help them gather the necessary experiences and pre-requisite coursework needed to pursue one of at least fourteen different professional preparation tracks and to be prepared for the admission examinations (eg, MCAT, DAT). They also enroll in PMHPP-designated courses each term that allow them to gather additional medical knowledge and skills. Students who successfully complete the requirements of the program are eligible to earn the Pre-Medical and Health Professions Post-Secondary Certificate at the time of graduation from the University.

One of the uniquely-Duquesne features of the PMHPP is the professional pre-medical preparation curriculum, available only to students enrolled in the PMHPP. This “0” credit coursework introduces students to inter-professional education and collaborative practice, evidence-based medicine, cultural competency and the professional and educational expectations desired by medical and health professions. Students also learn basic anatomy, pathophysiology and the basic clinical skills associated with four systems of the human body, develop an understanding of medical terminology, and prepare, through formal instruction, for the application and admission processes associated with application to professional schools.

Mission

With an emphasis on the Primacy of the Patient, the Pre-Medical and Health Professions Program (PMHPP) prepares undergraduate students through the provision of comprehensive services, personalized advisement and specialized coursework to pursue advanced graduate medical and health professional education.

Goals of the PMHPP are to:

Facilitate students' professional preparation and application processes through the provision of guidance, preparatory activities and individualized assistance.
Coordinate and provide individualized counseling and curricular advisement, in conjunction with students' academic major success coach, to improve student understanding and preparation to meet medical and health care professional entrance requirements.
Encourage and facilitate the advancement of student professional involvement through participation in relevant student organizations, volunteer activities, patient care experiences and research.
Provide unique and clinically-relevant opportunities and coursework that allow students to gain additional credentials, skills, and understanding of discipline-specific and inter-professional health care.

Philosophy of the PMHPP

Students enrolled in the UG-PMHPP are preparing to be responsible for the health and lives of others. Therefore, they are expected to prepare for that future by not only seeking coursework and opportunities that will allow them to reach their fullest potentials as students, individuals, and future medical and health care professionals, but also recognize and respond appropriately to the needs and situations of others. At all times, students are expected to act and behave in mature and professionally appropriate and responsible ways that are consistent with the professional behavior expectations of the medical and health care professions they strive to join.

Admissions Requirements

Freshman Admission

Incoming freshmen students must meet one of the following qualifications options and apply to the PMHPP, in addition to their academic major, when making initial application to the University. Students who do not meet these PMHPP admission criteria at the time of initial application may apply to the PMHPP through the PMHPP Secondary Admission Process after a minimum of one semester at the University.

Exam Option

SAT minimum score of 1240 (Math+Evidence-Based Reading and Writing), ACT minimum score of 26
Cumulative high school GPA of at least a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
Admission to an academic major program at Duquesne University

Non-Exam Option

Cumulative high school GPA of at least a 3.75 on a 4.0 scale
Admission to an academic major program at Duquesne University

Secondary Admission

PMHPP Secondary Admission applications, which may be found on the PMHPP website, (www.duq.edu/pmhpp) are accepted at the end of each academic term (December 1st, May 1st, August 1st); with final admission decisions determined after review of all final transcripts. All currently enrolled Duquesne University upper level applicants will be required to participate in a successful interview with the PMHPP during the semester of application before admission is granted; freshmen applicants are not required to participate in an interview.

All Transfer and Secondary Admission students must meet the following admission criteria to be considered: meet Secondary Admission Academic Requirements with all final grades received, and submit the PMHPP Secondary Admission application, Math/Science GPA worksheet, and provide a resume that includes all medical and related volunteer, shadowing, work and research experiences and/or medical observation experience hours (forms and instructions may be found on the PMHPP website) by the application deadline; and upper classmen (only) must complete a successful interview to be admitted. Full instructions and all required forms are available under the Secondary Admission Tab on the PMHPP website.

Secondary Admission Academic Requirements

Science GPA ≥ 3.25
Math/Science GPA ≥ 3.25
Overall GPA ≥ 3.25
No grade lower than a "C" in any science, math or psychology/social science course
At least one science course (completed or in progress) at the time of application
Be in good standing at the University and within his/her respective School
Be able to meet the requirements of the PMHPP Post-Secondary Certificate

NOTE: Students must report on the Math/Science GPA worksheet all applicable grades from all institutions where courses have been completed or are in progress. If a student repeats a course, grades from all course attempts must be reports on the M/S GPA worksheet.

Transfer Students

Students must be accepted to the University before becoming eligible to apply to the PMHPP. The Secondary Admission qualifications described above are used to review the applications of transfer students who wish to enroll in the PMHPP. To be eligible as a transfer student for consideration for the PMHPP, a student must:

Have at least one full academic year remaining in his/her professional preparation before making application for medical, dental, or other professional school.
To ensure that the PMHPP has had the ability to impact a student's admission qualification, all transfer PMHPP students must be able to meet the requirements for the Post-Secondary Certificate.
Students who meet all of the PMHPP Secondary Admission requirements at the time of transfer to the University, may apply to the PMHPP through the Secondary Admission Process by the specified application deadlines: December 1, May 1, or August 1. Please note that the timing of an application may limit course selection and/or availability.
Students who have transferred into the University may be required to repeat deficient coursework, because previous academic performance(s) is often considered by the medical, dental, or other health professional schools in the future.
All Transfer Students applicants will be required to participate in a successful interview with the PMHPP before final admission to the PMHPP is granted.

Pre-Medical & Health Professions Post-Secondary Certificate Requirement

The Pre-Medical and Health Post-Secondary Certificate is awarded to PMHPP students who:

Complete a minimum of 15 credit hours of PMHPP-approved pre-medical/health professional pre-requisite coursework in the math, science, and/or psychology/sociology requirements for their chosen discipline that is earned after enrollment in the PMHPP. NOTE: Only coursework earned with a grade of "C" or better will be counted toward the PMHPP certificate. Once admitted, PMHPP students must remain enrolled in PMHPP coursework for every semester until the time of application and earn passing grades in all courses, with the minimum of two PMHPP courses (PMHP 101 or 103 and PMHP 301) required to earn the certificate.

Meet all PMHPP academic and professional behavior retention standards each semester and at the time of graduation be eligible for the Post-Secondary Certificate. The PMHPP academic retention standards are as follows:
- ≥ 3.0 Overall Cumulative GPA and ≥ 3.0 Semester GPA
- No grade lower than "C" in any course
- ≥ 3.0 Cumulative and ≥3.0 Semester Math/Science GPA
- ≥ 3.0 Cumulative and ≥ 3.0 Semester Science GPA
- Passing Grade in all PMHP and PBPM courses
- Continual progress to acquire professional pre-requisites

General Requirements and Information

In addition to students meeting and maintaining good academic standing in the PMHPP, students also must meet and adhere to the University Code of Conduct, the PMHPP Professional Behavior Policy, and all other policies described in the PMHPP Handbook. Students must remain in good standing at the University, within their respective school/department and within the PMHPP throughout their enrollment in the Program.

Students pursuing careers in medicine must be able to demonstrate interpersonal, intrapersonal, thinking and reasoning, and science competencies consistent with the professional expectations delineated by the Association of American Medical Colleges. These competencies are explained and reviewed with students every year.

Regular and varied medical and health professional experiences, research, volunteer opportunities, and shadowing/observation experiences are essential parts of a student's preparation to enter medical or other health professional school. Some disciplines, like Physician Assistant, also require applicants to gain actual "hands-on" patient care experiences before applying. These experiences not only assure that students understand the responsibilities and requirements of their chosen fields, but also provide them with important qualifications to make application to medical and other health professional schools. It is essential that students maintain a log of all experiences throughout their academic careers, including location, hours, contact information of the health professionals/practice with whom/where they have experiences, and a brief description of the activities they engaged in and what they learned during each experience. This information will be required to complete some medical and other health professional applications in the future.

Academic Program

The PMHPP offers the post-secondary certificate program to prepare students to pursue graduate medical and health professional programs in allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dental medicine, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatric medicine, chiropractic medicine, physician assistant, genetic counseling, physical therapy, and pathology assistant. PMHPP students have been very successful in gaining admission to graduate medical and health professional schools. Reported outcome (placement) data for students enrolled in the PMHPP include combined undergraduate and graduate student results.

Overall, PMHPP graduates have excellent placement in medical, dental, physician assistant and several other health professional school programs. PMHPP post-secondary certificate student data are included in the program's overall 7-year placement rates. PMHPP student acceptance rates for the 2015-2023 placement cycle are as follows: medicine - MD/DO (81.06% accepted - 44.86% above national mean), dental medicine (73.8% accepted - 17.2% above national mean), and physician assistant (73.2% accepted - 40.1% above national mean). 100% of all PMHPP students applying to veterinary, physical therapy, public health, optometry, nursing, and podiatry school were accepted - rates that are well above the national averages.

Academic Standards and Policies

These are the minimum retention standards for undergraduate students enrolled in the PMHPP. NOTE: While the standards below are the PMHPP academic retention requirements, these levels of performance are lower than the standards that must be achieved to be considered a competitive applicant for medical, dental, or other health professional program. All standards are subject to change at the discretion of the PMHPP.

≥ 3.0 Cumulative GPA and ≥ 3.0 Semester GPA
No grade lower than "C" in any course
≥ 3.0 Cumulative and ≥ 3.0 Semester Math/Science GPA
≥ 3.0 Cumulative and ≥ 3.0 Semester Science GPA
Passing Grade in all PMHP courses
Continual progress to acquire professional pre-requisites

Failure to Meet Academic Standards

Students who fail to meet the undergraduate PMHPP Academic Retention Standards are managed in the following way.

1. University Freshmen

Freshman students who earn any Semester GPA (Semester Cumulative, Semester Math/Science, and/or Semester Science) or any Cumulative GPA (Cumulative, Cumulative Math/Science, and/or Cumulative Science) below the minimum 3.0 level, and/or who have earned a grade lower than “C” in any course, earned a non-passing grade in a PMHP or PBPM course are placed on PMHPP Academic Warning.

Students who elevate all of their Cumulative GPAs to >3.0 level during the next academic semester are returned to Good Standing with the PMHPP
Students who were on PMHPP Academic Warning may remain on PMHPP Continuing Academic Warning for additional semesters, until such time that all three of their Cumulative GPAs (Cumulative, Math/Science, Science) have reached the minimum 3.0 level and are placed in Good Standing with the PMHPP.
Students who are on PMHPP Academic Warning or Continuing Academic Warning who have any of the Cumulative GPAs drop below the previous levels which initiated the PMHPP Academic Warning are placed on PMHPP Academic Probation regardless of year in the program. This academic standing is managed in the same manner as described below for the upper level students.
Students who earn any grade lower than a "C" during the freshman year are required to retake the course in which they were found deficient. Students cannot be placed in Good Standing until such time that the deficiency is elevated to at or above a "C" level regardless of GPAs. Those students will remain on PMHPP Continuing Academic Warning until the deficiency is remediated or their status changes to PMHPP Academic Probation.
Students must pass the remediation course with a "C" or "P" grade or face PMHPP Academic Dismissal.

2. Sophomore -> Senior Students and ALL students admitted through the Secondary Admission Process

Sophomore->Senior and Secondary Admission Students who earn any Semester GPA (Semester, Math/Science, Science) <3.0 standard, but whose Cumulative GPAs (Cumulative, Math/Science, Science) remain >3.0, earned a non-passing grade in a PMHP or PBPM course, and or failed to make continual progress are placed on PMHPP Academic Warning.

Students on Academic Warning who elevate all of their Semester GPAs to >3.0 level during the next academic semester, and whose Cumulative GPAs remain >3.0, are returned to Good Standing with the PMHPP.
Students who were placed on PMHPP Academic Warning may remain on PMHPP Continuing Academic Warning for additional semesters, until such time that all of their GPAs have reached the minimum 3.0 level and are placed in Good Standing.
Students who fail a required PMHP course must repeat that course and are not permitted to progress in the PMHP course sequence until the coursework is repeated. Students who fail a PMHP course in the semester before the application year may be required to take two PMHP courses in one semester to remain on schedule
Students who are on PMHPP Academic Warning or Continuing Academic Warning who have any of the Cumulative GPAs drop below the previous levels which initiated the PMHPP Academic Warning are placed on PMHPP Academic Probation.
Students who earn a Semester GPA, Semester Math/Science GPA, or Semester Science GPA below a 3.0 are placed on PMHPP Academic Probation.
Students who earn any grade lower than a "C" are required to retake the course in which they were found deficient. Students cannot be placed in Good Standing until such time that the deficiency is elevated to at or above a "C" level regardless of GPAs. Those students remain on PMHPP Continuing Academic Warning until the deficiency is remediated.

Academic Probation

Second Semester Freshmen who were previously on Academic Warning through Senior level students and all Secondary Admission students who earn any Semester GPA <3.0 standard which results in any Cumulative GPA dropping below 3.0, earned a non-passing grade in a PMHP course, and/or failed to make continual progress are placed on PMHPP Academic Probation.
A student may incur a deficiency that places them on PMHPP Academic Probation only one time. Should a second academic deficiency occur and/or a student fails to meet the requirements for Continuing Academic Probation, that student is Permanently Dismissed from the PMHPP.
Once placed on PMHPP Academic Probation, students must
1. Must repeat any grades lower than "C"; note that some professional schools average grades, whereas others take the best grade during the professional school application process
2. Achieve improving Cumulative, Cumulative Math/Science, and Cumulative Science GPAs every semester thereafter
3. Repeat any required PMHP course in which a failing grade was earned
4. Take positive actions to demonstrate continual progress in the program
Undergraduate students who fail to meet the requirements to either return to Good Standing or maintain Continuing Academic Probation, are Permanently Dismissed from the PMHPP.

Students with extenuating circumstances that may have impacted their abilities to meet or prevented them from meeting the PMHPP Academic Retention Policy, have the right to appeal their Permanent Dismissal decisions (only) to the PMHPP Professional Behavior/Student Standing Committee. The description of the Appeal Process may be found in the PMHPP Student Handbook, which is available to all enrolled PMHPP students via the PMHPP Canvas Site.

Professional Behavior Standards and Policies

The goal of the PMHPP is to foster student professional development as they prepare to make application to become medical and health care professionals. It is essential that PMHPP students consistently demonstrate the highest levels of professionalism in all of their actions both inside and outside of the classroom, research laboratories, and in observation/volunteer settings. The PMHPP expects that all students will be successful in all parts of their education, including academic, student life, scholarship/research, and extra-curricular. For an individual to become excellent at taking care of others, it is essential that he or she is able to take care of him/herself in the most mature, responsible, and appropriate manner possible.Medical and health professional schools consider all aspects of a candidate's qualifications including non-academic factors. Just as there are standards and protocols established for students who require remediation for academic issues, the PMHPP has established a similar process for PMHPP student professional behavior, as explained in the PMHPP Student Professional Expectations section of the PMHPP Student Handbook, which is available to enrolled students on Canvas.

Graduation Requirements

The Pre-Medical and Health Post-Secondary Certificate is awarded to PMHPP students at the time of graduation from the University who:

Complete a minimum of 15 credit hours of PMHPP-approved pre-medical/health professional pre-requisite coursework in math, science, and/or psychology/sociology specific to meet their professional goals. These 15 credits must be earned after enrollment in the PMHPP.

Only courses earned with a grade of "C" or better are counted toward the PMHPP certificate

Earn passing grades in all PMHPP-sponsored courses, with the minimum of two PMHPP courses required to earn the certificate
- PMHP 101 (Pre-Medical and Health Professions I) or 103 (Pre-Medical and Health Professions Combined course) and
- PMHP 301 (Pre-Medical and Health Professions Seminar),
Meet all PMHPP retention standards, and demonstrate an Overall Cumulative GPA of ≥ 3.0, Cumulative Math/Science GPA of ≥ 3.0, and Cumulative science GPA of ≥ 3.0 at the time of validation for graduation. The PMHPP academic retention standards are as follows:
- ≥ 3.0 Overall Cumulative GPA and ≥ 3.0 Semester GPA
- No grade lower than "C" in any course
- ≥ 3.0 Cumulative and ≥ 3.0 Semester Math/Science GPA
- ≥ 3.0 Cumulative and ≥ 3.0 Semester Science GPA
- Passing Grade in all PMHP courses
- Continual progress to acquire professional pre-requisites

PMHPP Honors and Honors Cords

PMHPP students who earn Overall Cumulative, Cumulative Math/Science, and Cumulative Science GPAs of ≥ 3.5 in their pre-medical and pre-health studies are awarded at the time of graduation from the University with the PMHPP with blue and green honor cords. These colors have special meaning for those who wish to pursue careers in health care. Green symbolizes health, wellness, and service to others. The color blue symbolizes strength and balance. Students are notified of these honors before December and May graduation; only students who meet these qualifications are eligible for PMHPP honor cords.

Special Programs

PMHPP Linkage Programs: Gateways to an Early Start

Linkage programs allow continuing upper level students to secure, through competitive admissions processes, early acceptance into medical, veterinary or other professional programs. Duquesne currently has affiliation agreements with the following schools:

Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine (DUQCOM) (Early Assurance Program)
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) Preferred Admission Review Program
Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (Early Assurance Program)

For the most current listing of PMHPP linkage programs, please refer to the PMHPP website.

The admission and retention requirements for these linkage programs can be different and may be more rigorous and selective than those for other students entering the PMHPP.

Student Organizations

There are three student run pre-medical and health professional student organizations that students enrolled in the UG-PMHPP are involved. While affiliated with the PMHPP, the activities and oversight of these organizations are independent of the PMHPP.

Health Professions Society (HPS)
Friends of Doctors without Borders (Medecins sans Frontieres) (MSF)
Delta Delta Sigma - Duquesne Pre-Dental Society (DDS)

Interested students may learn more about these organization by visiting Campuslink on the Duquesne website. All PMHPP students are encouraged to participate in these organizations to network with their peers with similar interests and to take the opportunity to maximize the additional volunteer, service, and other learning activities sponsored by these organizations.

Pre-Medical and Health Professions UG Curricula

Students enrolled in the various pre-medical and pre-health professional tracks within the PMHPP have varying academic majors and courses of study that are dependent upon their professional goals, schools to which they apply, and personal preferences. Individualized pre-medical and pre-health plans of study are designed for each student based upon their professional goals, schools chosen, and type of programs.

In general, all students will take coursework in the following areas:

Biology (generally 2 semesters with labs)
Chemistry (generally 2 semesters with labs)
Organic Chemistry (one or two semesters with labs)
Biochemistry (one or two semesters)
Physics (one or two semesters with labs)
Math and/or Statistics
Psychology/Behavioral Sciences
PMHPP undergraduate course series