What does Pre-Med look like at Taylor?

Taylor University’s health sciences students desire to help others move toward optimal health, healing and wholeness. Approximately 92% of students who successfully complete the Pre-Med curriculum are accepted into professional schools to study medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine.

With a supportive team of professors behind him and a God-given motivation to improve the lives of others, Drew Lasley (’19) experienced a plethora of impressive opportunities through studying Biology Pre-Med at Taylor. These experiences include:

• Interning with IU Health
• Receiving the National Health Corp Scholarship
• Getting accepted into a masters program at Butler University

When Lasley reflects on his time at Taylor, he recalls both the rigorous coursework and the people who prepared him for his career.

A Program Like No Other

Students can choose to pair the Pre-Med concentration with one of three majors: Biology, Chemistry or Psychology. In these programs, students take both classes from the traditional major core as well as Pre-Medical core classes. (In addition, students from any major who are interested in medical school can take Pre-Med core classes, even though the official concentration is only connected with degrees in Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology.)

What makes Taylor’s program stand out isn’t just the challenging classes or the qualified professors, it is also the cross-cultural experiences and clinical opportunities available to every student in the program.

“Taylor will more than prepare you for a career in the health sciences,” Lasley said. “Taylor uniquely has the Invitation program. Very few other undergraduate pre-med programs offer students time working one on one with patients, and it’s one of the best preparations for exploring a career in healthcare. This was a priceless part of my education and prepared me well for a career in health sciences."

Set Up for Success

Lasley’s Taylor education influenced both of his internships by providing him with the soft skills to interact with others well. Through program connections, Lasley was able to land an internship with IU Medicine.

After putting in hard work at this internship, he was also able to receive the National Health Service Corp scholarship, which is awarded by the government to future health care providers who promise to work in a healthcare provider shortage area.

“I believe this desire, along with the experiences I had, were instrumental in my receiving of the scholarship,” Lasley said. “This scholarship pays for my graduate school in full and also gives me a monthly stipend.”

Lasley’s story of diligence and success is not uncommon for Taylor graduates.

Professor and Chair of the Biology Department, Dr. Jeff Regier, said he has seen students find success in many ways.

“As a first step, I have seen students gaining admittance into medical, dental or other health professions schools, or into graduate school to pursue master’s or doctoral research in biology,” Regier said. “Next, successfully completing these programs. Finally, I have seen them become competent practitioners in their chosen field.”

Holistic Development

Because Taylor is a Christian liberal arts college, students take classes that align specifically with their major as well as classes that satisfy diverse foundational core requirements. This sets Taylor apart from other pre-med programs as students take classes that foster core principles like ethics, stewardship, faith, awareness and responsibility.

Some of Lasley’s most influential classes he took while at Taylor were his Bible classes such as Historic Christian Belief with Professor of Biblical Studies Bill Heth. He also took a class about the fundamentals of counseling, which helped him consider how he interacted with patients.

Lasley was able to achieve incredible opportunities with the foundation of his Taylor education behind him. The Pre-Med track supplies students with experiences, knowledge, and connections they need to have a successful career in medicine.

“I think one of the biggest strengths of Taylor is that it will not only prepare you academically but holistically for a career in Health Sciences,” Lasley said. “My time at Taylor formed me spiritually and allowed me to develop long-term relationships with both peers and faculty.”

Are you interested in learning more about studying Pre-Med at Taylor? Explore the website or schedule a campus visit.