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Delta State holds ribbon cutting for new PREP computer lab

By January 25, 2011General

(From left) Christy Montesi, Delta State director of Career Services; Hannah Dreher, Bolivar Medical Center; Dr. Wayne Blansett, Delta State vice president of Student Affairs; Dr. Paul Hankins, Delta State dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Carolyn Willis, Delta Health Alliance; Dr. Barry Campbell, Delta State chair of the Division of Biological and Physical Sciences; Lacey Fitts, PREP Coordinator; Dr. John Hilpert, Delta State President; Patrick Ervin, Delta Health Alliance; Linda Collins, Cleveland-Bolivar Chamber of Commerce President’s Club; Diane Makamson, Cleveland-Bolivar Chamber of Commerce President’s Club; and Aaron Lasker, Cleveland-Bolivar Chamber of Commerce President’s Club.

Delta State University’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony today to celebrate the grand opening of the new Pre-Medicine Enrichment Program (PREP) computer lab located in the H.L. Nowell Student Union.

“We are very excited to be able to provide this service for our students,” said Lacey Fitts, PREP coordinator. “The primary purpose of the PREP project is to promote an increase in the numbers of residents from the region who are both successful in gaining admission to medical school and motivated to return to their home communities to practice medicine across the Mississippi Delta after graduation.”

This PREP program is funded by the Delta Health Alliance and coordinated through Delta State’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences.

To meet the objectives of the project, Delta State is providing many new services to pre-medical students, including:
•    One-on-one advising and counseling
•     Kaplan test prep courses for success on the MCAT
•    A new computing facility for MCAT preparation
•    Application assistance
•    Participation in the Physician Mentoring Program

The new computer lab houses 30 private-study carrels with computer/internet access. Each of these computers is equipped with science resources and set up to allow students to participate in Kaplan online courses and other study programs.

Delta students who wish to go to medical school should enroll in either the Biology Pre-med or Chemistry Pre-med degree programs. These degree programs are designed to give students the strongest background for success in gaining admission to medical school and for succeeding on the Medical College Admissions Test.

The Physician Mentoring Program is a component of the PREP project that allows promising junior pre-med students an opportunity to work with local doctors to observe doctor-patient interactions, a chance to learn about various medical procedures, and the time to learn more about the various options in a medical career. Currently six students are partnered with local doctors through this program.

For more information about the PREP project, call 662-846-4496 or visit online at https://www.deltastate.edu/prep.