{"id":73602,"date":"2018-01-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-initiative-helps-older-student-chart-a-path-to-medical-school\/"},"modified":"2018-01-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-17T00:00:00","slug":"uri-initiative-helps-older-student-chart-a-path-to-medical-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2018\/01\/uri-initiative-helps-older-student-chart-a-path-to-medical-school\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 initiative helps older student chart a path to medical school"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., \u2014 January 17, 2018 \u2014 At age 33, Christopher Phothisane\u00a0of Providence <\/strong>is not your typical college student. For a long time, he saw that as a liability. Now, as he prepares to graduate from the 溏心vlog免费B站 in May with a double major in biology and psychology\u2014and an acceptance letter to Brown University\u2019s medical school in hand\u2014Phothisane\u00a0understands that his non-traditional journey is actually a strength.<\/p>\n

He came to this realization with the help of Andrew Simmons<\/strong>, director of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Pre-Health Professions Advising Program,<\/a> which assists students in all majors prepare to apply to medical, dental, optometry, physician assistant, and other post-graduate professional health programs.<\/p>\n

Simmons changed Phothisane\u2019s perspective by helping him understand that his background gave him experience and dignity. \u201cI\u2019m always surprised by the modesty and self-effacing nature of many (non-traditional) students. They have so much going for them and don\u2019t realize it,\u201d Simmons said.<\/p>\n

Phothisane certainly didn\u2019t realize it. He barely graduated high school in Providence, where he lived with his American mother and Chinese father \u2014 who immigrated from Laos \u2014 his siblings and grandparents. When he was a teen, his parents divorced, and his grandparents battled cancer. Money was tight, so Phothisane started working as a dishwasher, cook, security guard, and postal carrier. It wasn\u2019t until he was laid off six years ago that he began thinking about education.<\/p>\n

He enrolled at the Community College of Rhode Island, where he excelled, and was admitted to 溏心vlog免费B站 in 2015. He also began volunteering with a Brown University researcher studying autism. The more he learned, the more he wanted to know. \u201cIt was not about what I wanted to do <\/em>but what I wanted to be<\/em>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With an understanding of what he wanted, an unwavering work ethic\u2014attending school full time, volunteering at Brown, and working full time as a security guard\u2014and the support of 溏心vlog免费B站’s\u00a0Pre-Health Professions Advising Program,\u00a0Phothisane has made med school happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe asked about our program on a whim, but I don\u2019t think he thought I would say, \u2018let\u2019s explore it,\u2019\u201d Simmons said. \u201cIt was clear he was someone medical schools should consider, based on his native intelligence and personal attributes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Housed within the University\u2019s Honors Program<\/a>,\u00a0Pre-Health Advising aligns with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Office of National Fellowships, Brown\u2019s Warren Alpert School of Medicine Early Identification Program, and Johnson and Wales University\u2019s physician assistant master\u2019s, among other resources. Students interested in pre-health advising need not be part of the Honors Program.<\/p>\n

Pre-Health advisors counsel more than 600 students and alumni on the demands of preparing for admission to graduate school in the health fields and help them overcome challenges. \u201cThere is a self-reflective element to it. You quickly become aware of your strengths and weaknesses in a way you have not confronted before,\u201d Simmons said.<\/p>\n

Not all who participate will pursue health professions, but the program helps students find their path.<\/p>\n

Now, well on his path to becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college, Phothisane offers advice to others contemplating their futures: \u201cTake the first step and keep moving forward. Don\u2019t get discouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., \u2014 January 17, 2018 \u2014 At age 33, Christopher Phothisane\u00a0of Providence is not your typical college student. For a long time, he saw that as a liability. Now, as he prepares to graduate from the 溏心vlog免费B站 in May with a double major in biology and psychology\u2014and an acceptance letter to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}