FORT KNOX, Kentucky - Anyone who has ever applied for college admissions is familiar with the Scholastic Assessment Test or SAT. The legal community has its version of the SAT called the Law School Admissions Test or LSAT, and the medical community has the Medical College Admissions Test or MCAT. With the LSAT and the MCAT as with the SAT, the higher the score the better a student's chance of landing the college of their dreams.
To help medical students better their scores and choice of medical colleges, a company named Altius provides students coaching and mentorship prior to taking their MCAT exam.
Altius not only attracted the attention of civilian medical schools as a tool to help identify the best and brightest future doctors, they also caught the attention of the U.S. Army Medical Recruiting Brigade. The company facilitates a much needed service while building community partnerships connecting highly skilled medical professionals with career opportunities in the Army’s elite health care team.
"I will say it's definitely an attractive program." said Captain Robert Callahan, a company commander for the 3rd Medical Recruiting Battalion's Chicago Medical Recruiting Company. "I mentioned it to the pre-med advisor at the University of Chicago and he expressed immediate interest."
The free MCAT test is a fully "immersive" testing experience that mimics the normal multi-hour test resulting in a highly accurate score prediction. The prep session is a several hour test going over similar questions and strategies experienced on the real exam.
"Altius has multiple POCs throughout the country that will set up the sessions." said Captain Michael Knapp, the commander of the 3rd MRBn's Columbus Recruiting Company. "We get the lists from the (recruiting) event, contact info, and the predicted scores. If our recruiters are available they can help run the event and provide briefs to attendees."
During the events, recruiters work alongside the Altius team, which provides multiple opportunities to share info about Army medical careers. The recruiters assist at check-in, allowing an initial connection with the students. The eight-hour test is broken into two parts with a lunch break. Lunch offers yet an additional opportunity to interact with participants and a final opportunity once students finish the exam.
The partnership with Altius benefits the medical recruiting mission, giving recruiters a valuable resource to offer medical students. Recruiters can offer the Altius exam to community partners as free of charge support events. Advisors and club leadership are more likely to promote an event that provides their students a chance to see what the MCAT will be, so they are not surprised on test day.
“Altius has a network of representatives broken down by region.” according to Sergeant 1st Class Kevin Cook, the commander of the Louisville, Kentucky Medical Recruiting Station. “It is easy to find the regional consultant by contacting Altius. From that point we have a direct line to that person. If the event is scheduled by Altius, they simply call and let us know there is an event in our area or at our school.”
The partnership between Army Medical Recruiting and Altius is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Altius and Army recruiters work together to identify the best and brightest medical minds. Students are given an opportunity to learn ways to serve both their country and their chosen career field in ways they might not have considered before. The end result of this partnership creates the best future medical care for soldiers and their family members anywhere in the world they are stationed.
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2022 15:10 |
| Story ID: | 415555 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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