Pre-Health Programs | Portland State University

A new way forward

health care careers

Future health professionals find clear paths to success at Portland State

Keeley McConnell had to make one of the hardest decisions of her life: stay in an abusive relationship or flee her Gladstone home with her three children.

She hurriedly packed a few belongings and fled to a women’s shelter, a newly single mother with a low paying job. It was her first brave step on her path to Portland State University and her goal of becoming a physician assistant.

At PSU, McConnell found mentoring, support and a clear track to join thousands of PSU alumni in rewarding health and medical careers in the Portland area. Top employers of PSU graduates include Oregon Health & Science University, Providence Health and Kaiser Permanente.

PSU is Oregon’s most affordable and diverse urban public research university and a premier destination for future health professionals. More than 3,500 PSU students plan to pursue health and medical jobs after they graduate.

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They choose PSU for its:

14 pre-health program tracks, from pre-medicine and pre-dentistry to pre-nursing and pre-physical therapy.
State-of-of-art facilities such as the Robertson Life Sciences Building on the South Waterfront.
Growing partnership with OHSU, including the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health.
Research, internship and volunteer opportunities with hundreds of partners in the metro area.
Outstanding financial support from programs such as Ignite, Four Years Free, Transfers Finish Free, and BUILD EXITO, a research training program.

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It’s a smart career move: They are entering a profession with a strong employment outlook and higher than average wages, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median annual wage for health care providers such as doctors, nurses and dental hygienists in 2019 was $68,190, compared to $39,810 for all occupations. Jobs in healthcare fields are expected to grow 15 percent, or about 2.4 million more jobs, by 2029.

McConnell was a high school dropout with a GED when she first enrolled in a community college to take biology and remedial math classes. For her, it wasn’t just about going back to school. It was about pursuing a better career on her own terms.

“I went from adding and subtracting to calculus” in less than two years, she says. Her rapid progress caught the attention of one of her professors, who suggested she try PSU’s BUILD EXITO. The program provides underrepresented and other marginalized students with mentoring and support in their pursuit of science careers.

She applied, got accepted and graduated with a PSU biology degree in 2018, setting her on a path to a career with Oregon Health & Science University.

OHSU consistently accepts more students to its medical school from PSU than any other university. While PSU students are often committed to staying in Oregon to serve the Pacific Northwest, they were accepted at over 50 different medical schools nationwide last year.

Real-world experience is essential for professional health school applications, and PSU offers unmatched opportunities for internships, research and volunteering in the community.

PSU’s BUILD EXITO program enabled McConnell to work inside OHSU’s trauma research center as an undergraduate.

When patients came in, she assessed their injuries and medical histories, and for qualifying patients, involved them in research studies that may help future patients in areas such as clotting, traumatic brain injury and resuscitation.

“I’m literally standing in the place where I want to end up,” McConnell said. “Eventually, I’m going to be on that team that saves these people’s lives and sends them back to their loved ones.”