Using histology as a predictor of academic success in a post‐baccalaureate program

Abstract

Numerous schools across the country offer post‐baccalaureate programs to assist individuals who have completed a bachelor's degree and wish to pursue a career change. Many of these programs focus on preparing individuals for careers in the health professions. While the purpose of these programs varies, they are frequently designed to improve an individual's academic credentials and satisfy existing deficiencies in prerequisite core courses. Four years ago the School of Dentistry at Creighton University established a Pre‐dental Post‐ Baccalaureate program specifically designed to strengthen the academic abilities of individuals from educationally, economically, and socially disadvantaged backgrounds. As part of the program, in the summer prior to their matriculation into dental school, the students are required to take a week long, intensive course in histology which focuses on the microscopic analysis of cell structure and the four basic tissues that comprise the organ systems. During the week, students are given the same lectures and laboratory sessions that they would receive during the regular dental school histology course. At the end of the course students are required to take a lecture and practical exam. We have observed that a student's performance in the Histology Post‐Baccalaureate course serves as a good predictor of future academic success in dental school.