ATSU hosts student visit days

Davis County high school students visit KCOM.

Becoming a healthcare professional is often a childhood dream that lacks a necessary encouragement. ATSU is doing its best to change that by providing visit days for students enrolled in pre-health professions courses at local high schools and colleges.

ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCOM) recently welcomed students from Iowa and Missouri—Indian Hills Community College, Davis County high school, Sigourney high school, and Truman State University—to tour its facilities; the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (ASDOH) welcomed pre-dental students from UC-San Diego on January 30; and all programs on ATSU’s Arizona campus recently welcomed students from the Salt River charter high school to visit with admissions representatives.

Students visiting KCOM were given a comprehensive overview of the philosophy of osteopathic medicine as well as tours of the Still National Osteopathic Museum, the anatomy, osteopathic manipulative medicine, and human patient simulator labs.

Salt River charter school students, a high school located on a Native American reservation, spoke with representatives from each program on ATSU’s Arizona campus. ATSU works with Indian Health Services (IHS) to promote the education of Native American healthcare providers in Arizona.
University of California-San Diego students toured ASDOH’s dental training facilities and on-site dental clinic and spoke with student ambassadors from each of the four years of dental training to receive a global view of the dental school curriculum.

Visit days at KCOM give high school students an understanding of the daily training of an osteopathic medical student.

For many of these students, the idea of attending a professional school spawns many questions. What extracurricular activities should I invest my time in during my undergraduate years? What grade point average do I need to be competitive? When should I begin the application process? Visit days answer these and galvanize students’ aspirations into something concrete as they prepare to be healthcare professionals of tomorrow.

“It gives students a first-hand experience and visualization; they can see the atmosphere of the campus, meet faculty, and can ask students direct questions about curriculum and why they chose the school because [these students] were once in their shoes,” said Tina Samms, assistant director of admissions.

Becoming a successful applicant may require a lot of time, proper planning, and a hearty dedication, but at ATSU, they’ll find that the cost is definitely worth the reward.