Excerpts from: 

A Summer Reading Program to Enhance Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension Scores by Debra Kirchhof-Glazier, Ph.D The Advisor, Volume 24, No. 3 September 2004

"The verbal and reading comprehension sections of admissions exams are very challenging for most students, many of whom are non-readers." In an attempt to address this issue, the Health Professions Committee at Juniata College gives an assignment over the summer to all students who have not yet taken their required admissions exam. There is a followup session in the fall for debriefing and evaluation.

Students are required to read four books, and a suggested list is provided.One book must be about the health care system or their intended career, a second about a culture other than their own, and a third with a focus on ethics or values. the fourth book is a common reading, consisting of a classic selected by the committee. The second part of the assignment is to read the Health and Op Ed sections of the New York Times at least 5 days a week. In addition, students are encouraged, but not required, to read professional journals from their discipline, the freshman book assigned to all incoming Juniata students, and to keep a notebook that highlights what they learned from their reading and any new vocabulary words."

A Short List of Book Suggestions

Health Career/Health Care System
A Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthology Robert Coles and Randy-Michael Testa
Animal Hospital Staphen Sawicki
Appointment at the Ends of the World: Memoirs of a Wildlife Veterinarian William B. Karesh
Death by HMO Doroth Cancilla
Healing from the Heart: The Power of Complementary Medicine Mehmet Oz, et al

Cultural Focus
All Over But the Shoutin' Rick Bragg
Civil War Medicine C. Keith Wilbur
Health Care Systems Around the World: Characteristics, Issues, Reforms Marrie L. Lassey, William R. Lassey, and Martin Jinks
Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation John Ehle

Ethical or Values Focus
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess
Clone: The Road to Dolly and the Path Ahead Gina Kolata
First Do No Harm Lisa Belkin
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe

For an extensive list of reading suggestions visit NAAHP's Bibliography

 

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