Health Professions
Asbury University and the Medical Professions
Do you feel a calling to serve as a medical professional? At Asbury, we encourage you to follow the call to serve God’s people. Even if you are unsure of which area you should choose, God can work through your college courses, your instructors, experiences, and your friends and family to prepare you for what He wants you to do.
Asbury University graduates are working in all areas of healthcare, serving both at home and on the mission field. The late Dr. Ernie Steury, class of 1953, was an influential physician working at Tenwek hospital in Kenya. Tenwek Hospital was founded in 1937 by World Gospel Mission missionaries and has since grown to be a leading provider of quality healthcare and medical education in Western Kenya, and one of the largest mission hospitals in Africa.
Dr. Gary Wortz ’00 is an internationally recognized leader in ophthalmology specializing in cataract and refractive surgery. Gary enjoys researching innovative techniques in eye care, and teaching his techniques to others. He is an active member and former elder at Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY. He also performs free surgery to the needy through the Surgery on Sunday program.
Preparation
Asbury University offers over 150 areas of study and a liberal arts curriculum, Foundations, which allows each student to explore a broad range of engaging areas of study. In most cases, it is possible to take the courses required for admission to medical school, in addition to the courses required for a major, and still graduate in 4 years. If you choose to major in the sciences, the majority of the premedical requirements are already included in the major.
Preparing for various graduate school programs involves taking different courses and following different timelines. For more information about preparing for specific careers while at Asbury, please visit one of the links below.
Early-Acceptance / Guaranteed-Acceptance Programs
Asbury University partners with a number of institutions to provide its students with acceptance (sometimes early acceptance) into medical, dental, pharmacy, and nursing schools.
Support for Pre-Med / Pre-Health Professions Students
How do you know if God is calling you into a career in some area of medicine?
- You may have a deep interest that is reflected in what you read, watch on TV, or do in your free time.
- You may have specific gifts that you feel led to use in the service of others, like exceptional hand-eye coordination, or giftedness in communicating and relating with others.
- You may be somewhat interested in medicine, but don’t know much about what is involved.
Whatever the case, we invite you to join other Asbury students in times of fellowship, fun, and fact-finding. We offer a variety of ways for you to get involved, network with other students, and allow God to work in your life and in the lives of others, finding out what HE wants you to do.
▾ Saturday Morning Rounds
One Saturday morning each month, pre-med students gather in the science building to eat donuts and drink coffee! In addition to the great fellowship, we discuss important topics such as preparing for the MCAT, shadowing and volunteering, mission trips, choosing the right medical school and interviewing (just to name a few). This is a wonderful informal way to interact with Dr. Branan, get to know other students, and learn more about the path to medical school.
▾ Nursing-Home Outreach
Three to four times a month, Asbury students visit with the elderly in our community, playing games, singing, or participating in Bible study. Not only is this a wonderful Christian demonstration of love to others, it also is an ideal way to test your calling. Do you like being around the sick and elderly? Are you altruistic (which physicians are called to be)? How well do you communicate with others? We realize that activities like this are not normal for many students, which is why we provide opportunities for you to grow and improve by participating!
▾ CMDA-Asbury
Asbury University has one of the first (and few) undergraduate chapters of CMDA (Christian Medical and Dental Associations)! CMDA sponsors medical mission trips, provides a network for spiritual and professional growth, sponsors student campus ministries (on almost 250 US medical and dental campuses), publishes educational and inspirational resources, and much more! At Asbury University CMDA is our pre-health professions club, and recent activities have included:
- Missions Conference – Attendance at the 3 day Global Missions Health Conference (GMHC). Held each year at Southeast Christian Church, GMHC is the world’s largest gathering of medical professionals, students and organizations dedicated to healthcare missions. The conference features 150 breakout sessions, plenary speakers, 170 missions exhibitors and special events, providing students outstanding opportunities to make connections and learn about advancing the Kingdom through medical missions.
- Outside speakers—We invite speakers from various health professions, medical school recruiters, and alumni to visit campus and share with students about their career or place where they work. Students have the opportunity to learn about the healthcare team, and the larger picture of ways they can serve others in health-related careers.
- Trips to medical schools—What does a medical school look like on the inside? No one knows better than Admissions Counselors and students at the medical school! That is why we take a road trip with pre-med students every semester to visit a medical school, get a tour, and have Q&A time to learn what they want to see in an applicant. We also enjoy visiting gross-anatomy labs!
▾ Shadowing
PHP 323, “Shadowing in the Health Professions”, is an elective course that any student can take to learn more about the health professions by shadowing someone in a particular health-related career. Students often feel intimidated about contacting and requesting to shadow a physician. This course makes it easy, as Dr. Branan provides students with a list of health professionals who have already agreed to accept Asbury students. Students can choose to shadow 15 hours a semester (1 credit) or 30 hours (2 credits).
As you prepare for a career in the health professions your choice of major is your choice, and should be an area you will enjoy and by which you can glorify God. If you are uncertain about your choice of major as you consider preparation for one of the health professions programs, our Health Professions Advisor, Dr. Bruce Branan, will be pleased to assist you. Another place you are encouraged to visit is our Office of Career & Calling, or contact the Director, Michelle Kratzer.