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Changing
Course to a Career in Medicine — At Bryn
Mawr
By Lisa R. Bechler
Whether by fate or fortune,
Francisco Aguilar took the road less traveled
to become a doctor. When he graduated in 1993
from Georgetown University with a B.S. in business
administration, he thought his career path was
set and accepted a position with Chase Manhattan
Bank. But three years later, he saw the writing
on the wall. "I realized that I wasn’t doing
anything for anyone but myself," Aguilar recollects.
"I’d been exposed to medicine through my
dad, who’s a doctor, and as an emergency
medical technician in college. It felt like those
experiences outweighed everything I was doing
on a daily basis as an accountant."
Because he didn’t have
the premedical coursework to apply to medical
school, Aguilar was unsure of his options. Then
he heard about the Postbaccalaureate Premedical
Program at Bryn Mawr College. Established in 1972,
this prestigious program enables those who have
not met their premedical requirements to take
the courses they need for medical school. "The
postbac program provides a wonderful opportunity
for career changers to take an intensive science
curriculum," says program director Jodi Domsky.
"It’s an excellent training ground for medical
school."
An Intensive
and Successful Program
Students like Aguilar who
participate in the postbac program gain a solid
foundation in the sciences, learning the core
concepts, scientific methodology and key analytical
skills they need for medical school. In just 12
months, postbac students complete their premedical
coursework in general chemistry, biology, organic
chemistry and physics, plus optional calculus
and biochemistry classes.
To enrich the postbac year
and enhance their knowledge of health-care practices
and delivery systems, postbac students often volunteer
at medical facilities throughout the Philadelphia
region. "The program is about more than learning
science," Domsky emphasizes. "While they’re
here, postbacs think of themselves as future physicians.
They become involved in the field and gain a lot
of exposure to physicians and the practice of
medicine, both through volunteer opportunities
and medically related activities offered through
the program."
Bryn Mawr’s Postbaccalaureate
Premedical Program is highly selective, accepting
just 50 to 75 students a year. It’s also
highly successful — more than 93 percent
of Bryn Mawr postbac students who apply to medical
school are admitted. The program is described
in detail on the College Web site at www.brynmawr.edu/
postbac.
From an applicant’s perspective,
the program is an attractive choice for several
reasons. It is one of the few programs that can
be completed in 12 months — typically, one
academic year plus one or two summers. The College’s
reputation for academic rigor is equally important.
"Bryn Mawr is recognized for its strong science
program, and postbacs know they’re going
to have full access to that," says Domsky. "Also,
many highly respected medical schools are familiar
with our track record and the caliber of the students
we attract. That can work to a student’s
advantage when applying."
Bringing
Fresh Perspectives to Medicine
Tripler Pell completed the
postbac program in spring 2001 and is headed for
Brown University School of Medicine this fall.
She credits the program with helping her understand
and appreciate the sciences in a way she had not
before. "I had never been a science student in
the past and it was a little daunting to jump
in," she admits. "Bryn Mawr offers a very supportive
environment. The people here really want you to
succeed." A big part of that support comes from
Domsky, her staff and the faculty, all of whom
provide individual advising and ongoing assistance
to postbac students throughout the year.
Pell graduated from Harvard
University in 1996 with a B.S. in modern European
history and received an M.S. in history of medicine
from Oxford University in 1997. After completing
her studies, Pell worked as a research assistant
at Boston Medical Center and Harvard’s Department
of Anthropology. She had also volunteered with
the International Physicians for the Prevention
of Nuclear War and Doctors Without Borders. These
experiences led Pell to pursue a career in medicine.
Pell is one of many postbac
students who took advantage of the consortial
option, which enables students to attend medical
school after completing the postbac program, without
taking a "glide year" in between to apply. Bryn
Mawr has consortial arrangements with nine top
medical schools. According to Domsky, consort
schools welcome applications from Bryn Mawr postbacs.
"They’re interested in the bright, intellectually
curious, nontraditional student who has pursued
other interests, had experience in the real world
and taken time to think about what they want from
life," says Domsky. "These students usually have
a unique perspective when they get into their
clinical years and are dealing with patients."
Good Medicine
Nathan Congdon, assistant
professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine and Public Health, illustrates
the appeal of such nontraditional students. Before
entering the postbac program, Congdon earned an
A.B. in Chinese and Arabic language and literature
from Princeton University in 1985, and an M.A.
in classical Chinese literature from Cambridge
University in 1987, which he attended on a Marshall
Scholarship. He also traveled extensively throughout
Europe and Asia, spending a year in Taipei, Taiwan,
to study Chinese. Once back in the United States,
Congdon made the choice to pursue a career in
medicine. "I wanted to go back to China and contribute
in a way that went beyond just being able to talk
to people," he says.
Congdon completed the postbac
program in 1988 while serving as a teaching assistant
in Chinese at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges.
At Bryn Mawr, he also met his wife, Ana. "That
had to be the most valuable experience I had at
Bryn Mawr," he says with a chuckle, then adds,
"The postbac program taught me how to manage my
time and my stress levels. Those are key survival
skills, especially because I’m usually rushing
around every second of the day." Following Bryn
Mawr, he went to medical school at Johns Hopkins,
graduating in 1993 with an M.D. and M.P.H. Following
medical school, Congdon completed a residency
at Johns Hopkins and a fellowship at the Wills
Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.
For the last three years,
Congdon has taught, practiced and conducted research
at Johns Hopkins, where his clinical specialty
is glaucoma and his research interests include
cataract prevention, Vitamin-A deficiency and
the epidemiology of glaucoma in Asia. Congdon
has published in numerous medical journals, including
Archives of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology,
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science,
The British Journal of Ophthalmology, Bulletin
of the World Health Organization and The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. His
work takes him regularly to Asia, Africa and Latin
America, and he also volunteers for a blindness-prevention
program in Baltimore. At home, he enjoys spending
time with his one-year-old daughter, Amelia.
Human Kindness
Andrew Fisher is a physician
whose commitment to medicine started and continues
right here in Bryn Mawr. With his B.A. in psychology
and anthropology from Harvard University (1973),
Fisher initially went into policy research and
development in Canada before recognizing his true
calling. He returned home to complete the postbac
program in 1976, and earned his M.D. from the
University of Rochester Medical School in 1981.
Today, Fisher is a partner in his father’s
former medical practice in Bryn Mawr, where he
serves the local community, including Bryn Mawr
faculty members. "It’s great to be able to
get to know a group of people and work to help
them."
For Fisher, Aguilar, Pell
and Congdon, the decision to become a doctor was
made only after they had gained diverse life experiences
outside of medicine. And though they completed
the postbac program years apart from one another,
all share a common goal — to make a difference
in the lives of their fellow human beings. It
is Pell, perhaps, who best summarizes this commitment:
"I want to be useful. I want to help people. To
me, that’s more important than any book or
body of research I could ever produce."
Thanks in part to the Bryn
Mawr postbac program, she and other students will
have a chance to do just that.
About the Author
Lisa Bechler is a communications
consultant for clients in the high technology,
health care, pharmaceutical, financial services
and higher education sectors.
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