Utilization of Health Professions Advising Services: Factors that Impact the Student Experience & Strategies for Improvement

Abstract

Utilizing free campus resources can help pre-health college students successfully matriculate into health professions schools. Understanding the perspectives of pre-health students can help advising units address the psychological and physical barriers that might prevent students from taking advantage of their resources. By collecting the perspectives of undergraduate pre-health students at a large public university through surveys, focus groups and interviews, this mixed-methods study aimed to understand the factors that influenced their decision to utilize their university’s health professions advising center. Students shared where they currently acquire their pre-health advising information outside of the campus resources, their experiences with the pre-health advisors on campus, and how pre-health advisors could reach more students. Findings were explored using the Social Cognitive Career Theory.