The White Coat and More: Fordham Pre-Health Intensive

July 21-31, 2025 Rose Hill

Non-Credit Course

This comprehensive symposium is designed to equip students with the essential skills and knowledge required for a successful journey toward careers in the healthcare professions. Over nine days, students will engage in a dynamic learning experience that covers a range of critical topics, including academic planning, clinical exposure, ethical considerations, and community health awareness. Through a combination of interactive sessions, field experiences, and expert speakers, participants will gain a deep understanding of the healthcare landscape and the path to medical school and other health professions.

Skills/Learning Outcomes

• Academic Planning Skills: Students will develop a clear understanding of the academic steps necessary to gain admission to medical and health professions schools. They will learn effective strategies for approaching their undergraduate academic careers, including time management, organizational skills, and study techniques tailored to major-level sciences.
• Clinical Exposure: Participants will gain exposure to clinical environments, including visits to geriatric and community hospitals, where they will interact with patients and healthcare professionals. This experience will help students develop essential skills in ethical patient communication and deepen their understanding of the healthcare field.
• Discernment: Through reflective exercises and discussions, students will cultivate the ability to discern their own strengths, weaknesses, and motivations for pursuing careers in the health professions. They will explore the concept of vocation and its role in their career choices.
• Healthcare Professions Awareness: Students will become familiar with various healthcare professions, including medicine, dentistry, and allied health professions. They will learn about the requirements, experiences, and expectations of different health professions schools through insights shared by school administrators and healthcare professionals.
• Community Building: An integral part of the course is community building and engagement with peers, FCRH staff, and healthcare professionals. Students will develop a supportive network for their pre-health journey.

Overall Takeaways

Students will get a clear understanding of the following:

• What is involved in the path to and preparation for medical school and other health professions.
• The academic preparation necessary for admission to healthcare programs. This will include science faculty guest speakers and hands-on science lab experience.
• Exposure to various clinical environments.
• Familiarity with the various healthcare professions, such as medicine and dentistry.
• An understanding of their own motivations for pursuing health professions careers through exploration of the concept of vocation and its role in a career choice. 
• Time management and planning for the college program.

Instructor Bio

Dr. Marcela de Almeida Lopes is a critical care physician and educator with extensive experience in critical care medicine and medical education. She is an Adjunct Professor of Human Anatomy and Physiology at Fordham University in New York and a former Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Mount Sinai. Dr. Lopes has over 15 scientific publications with more than 600 citations and has completed clinical research training at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her training also includes experiences at prestigious institutions such as Columbia, Cornell, and NYU during her intensive care medicine education. In addition, she serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Critical Care and manages an educational platform through which she has taught intensive care medicine to more than 2,000 students across Brazil. Her academic and professional journey is marked by a commitment to excellence in research and education, always striving to share her extensive knowledge in an accessible and innovative way.