Finding a Flexible Path to Medical School

Alex Rapp first heard about the Health and Wellbeing Sciences (HWS) major from a friend when she was picking her courses for the upcoming semester. “I wasn’t complaining, but I was wishing that I could take more anatomy, physiology and broader health courses,” Alex recalls. “I I met with a Health and Wellbeing Sciences advisor, and I really enjoyed how the major allowed me to choose the classes that I wanted to take that I felt could help me in my goal of becoming a future physician.”

Every Body Is Different

Alex discovered she had an affinity for the sciences in high school. She excelled in her Advanced Placement Biology and Chemistry high classes, but no one in her family had attended college, so she didn't really consider it seriously.

When a physician visited her anatomy class, she immediately knew that medicine would be a perfect combination of her love of the sciences and helping people. “I know that’s such a basic answer, but I do enjoy feeling like I'm having an impact on the people around me, so I thought this would be perfect for me. It's combining my strengths, plus what I value.”

That sense of purpose led her to the University of Minnesota’s Health and Wellbeing Science program, where she is focusing on pre-med subjects like anatomy, physiology, public health, integrative health and pathology.

In fact, she is now a teaching assistant (TA) for the “super fun” human anatomy cadaver lab. As pre-work for the lab, all the TAs get together every Friday to perform their dissections depending on what unit they’re covering, like the nervous or cardiovascular system. Then, during the week, they teach their lab sections, helping students identify different structures on the cadavers and reinforce what’s covered in the lectures.

“When I initially took the class, it definitely caught me off guard,” she says. “It’s just something that you've never seen before. I thought it was really cool how I could actually see how different bodies are and how knowing that can aid me as a future physician. Everybody is different, and every body is different.”

Alex liked the classes so much that she’s applying to be a human physiology TA as well.

Real-World Medicine in Practice

Currently, Alex works as a medical scribe in the emergency room of North Memorial hospitals in Maple Grove and Robbinsdale. She assists the doctors with patient charts and takes detailed medical histories.

“I'll go into the patient room with them, and I'll be able to hear about what's happening,” she says. “A lot of the time the ER providers will explain the medical decision-making, and they'll show you different x-rays, CT scans and EKGs. It's a really cool learning experience, being able to see how doctors think through the different symptoms."

At Robbinsdale, which is a Trauma Level 1 center, she sees a lot of unique, complicated cases. “You get to see all the different providers coming together to work as a team. You see the trauma team, the cardiology team, the ER doctors all working together.”

It's a very adrenaline-heavy atmosphere, she adds, but she loves it. This fall she'll take a course to earn her EMT license, with the goal of becoming an ED (emergency department) technician. She plans to apply to medical schools next May after taking a gap year to travel and work as an ED tech.

Being exposed to this range of medical issues in the ER has piqued her interest in a wide range of specialties, from pathology to obstetrics.

“I'm really kind of interested in everything,” Alex says, “which makes me excited to go to medical school. I'm not like, oh no, I don't want to do that, it's almost like I want to do everything!”

Instructor Shout-out

“The instructor of the Anatomy lab is Dr. Rowe. She is so passionate about anatomy and is super inspirational and engaging when she teaches. She's just so intelligent and knowledgeable and is such a good teacher.”

The Big Takeaway

“Medicine, and health in general, is so much broader than I initially thought. There are so many different aspects of health that I never considered before that contribute to the overall wellbeing of a person. There's cultural things and nutrition and different outside factors that are really important to focus on when you're trying to provide the best care for a patient.”

Advice for Students

1. “Definitely explore all the awesome classes. There's such a broad range of classes, like healthcare management, that really show the different aspects of healthcare that you wouldn't have gotten through other majors. So just have fun exploring the different classes that you wouldn't have taken otherwise."
2. “It's okay to not have everything figured out. I was kind of stressed because I changed my major and was worried if I was going to graduate on time. Try not to worry about it. The advisors are amazing. My advisor, Forest, is the best. I would just say, trust your advisors. You don't need to have everything figured out."
3. “I've learned that you have to give yourself a break and spend time with friends. You can't spend every single Friday studying, you need to have balance. I make sure when I'm working on something, I'm doing it with intent, I'm not distracted, and I'm making sure it's getting done in a timely manner.”

Alex is a recipient of the following scholarships: Karin L. Larson Fund for Interdisciplinary Education, Edward and Norma Peterson, J. William Buchta Memorial, and Karin L. Larson Legacy.