The student’s guide to health

The student’s guide to health

By Jamie Harrison

Several HSC colleges held a health professions forum for UF undergrads in January./Photo by Jesse S. Jones

Looking for the right major is no easy task, especially in the world of health care. But at the first annual Health Professions Forum, UF students were able to do just that.

Held Jan. 27 in the Health Professions/Nursing/Pharmacy Complex, the forum featured break-out sessions from the colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health and Health Professions, allowing students to get an inside look at what each college has to offer.

“It gives a good overview of the different professions,” said Allison Ohlin, a third-year pre-med student who sat in on a session about physician assistant studies. “They really emphasize you choose something that you normally wouldn’t.”

At the beginning of the forum, several health care professionals discussed a case and the roles each would play in caring for a 4-year-old patient who was diagnosed with AIDS.

The purpose of the case study was to show how different health care professionals work together to ensure patients receive the best care.

Wanda Washington, an academic adviser for the College of Public Health and Health Professions, said the goal of the forum was to draw undergraduate students’ attention to the different areas of health care and to provide a broader view about what it is all about.

“I had students coming to me that wanted to be in the health care field but didn’t necessarily want to be doctors or nurses,” she said. “So we wanted a forum that would show students how all the different professions interface as a health care team.”

Another purpose of the forum was to provide an opportunity for students to learn more about the different educational programs available at the HSC and the requirements to pursue these options,

said Roberta Knickerbocker, a pre-health and biology adviser for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who helped plan the event.

“I really feel this is a unique opportunity for our students,” Knickerbocker said.