The mission of the Vanderbilt Health Professions Advisory Office is to reduce unique individual barriers for pre-health students to discover and successfully navigate their path forward in the health professions while providing the foundation on which they will build their career to be leaders in healthcare dedicated to ensuring the very best care to all members of society.
Towards this objective, the HPAO team strives to ensure:
- Every VU pre-health student graduates with a strong foundation in the AAMC 15 Core Competencies for entering medical students and will be able to define ways in which they demonstrate or have developed them during their time at Vanderbilt leading them to be excellent healthcare providers and citizens.
- Vanderbilt is recognized as a premier institution from which medical schools and other health
professions programs actively recruit allowing us to continue to place VU candidates in their
top-choice health professions programs. - VU HPAO provides a recognized “value-added” experience for students and bonded community for pre-health training by which students leave Vanderbilt with a spirit of gratitude wanting to give back their time and support fitting in line with The Vanderbilt Way.
- Vanderbilt serves as a model nationally for the role pre-health advising can play in encouraging, strengthening purpose, and sustaining a diverse pool of dedicated candidates matriculating into medical school and other health professions programs.
The mission of the Vanderbilt Health Professions Advisory Office (HPAO) directly supports the overall mission of the university through our novel programming, thoughtful student engagement, and community interactions.
- The HPAO strives to develop and disseminate innovative, intentional
programming and resources that engage students as leaders who leverage their talents and creativity while developing essential critical thinking and communication skills. - The HPAO provides resources and advising that encourages professionalism, meaningful reflection, and deliberate consideration of how Vanderbilt students will use their individual perspective and values to impact their communities through a career in healthcare.
- The HPAO team collaborates with student organizations, campus partners, and health professionals in the community to provide awareness and a variety of easily accessible opportunities to help each and every student craft their unique journey to a fulfilling career.