Xavier University premedicine program's prescription for success: an interview with JW Carmichael Jr., MS, PhD.

This interview of Dr. JW Carmichael was conducted for this special issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association, which highlights American medical education and the experience of African Americans. It was conducted by George Dawson, MD. He serves as editor of the Art in Medicine, History and Health Tidbit sections of the Journal of the National Medical Association. In terms of producing biology and chemistry majors, and, most importantly, from our perspective, premedicine students, the Xavier program is second to none. Under his leadership and with the help of his able staff, it has managed to supply more African-American healthcare students to professional school than any undergraduate programs we could find. Therefore, to us, it seemed fitting that we delved into his vast knowledge, in the hope that his example could be duplicated elsewhere and, perhaps, just maybe we can render the matter of the health disparaties that we speak of so often and that seemingly afflicts our community disproportionally.

An assessment of a premedical program in terms of its ability to serve black Americans.

If special programs to increase the number of blacks gaining entry into health professional schools can identify whom they best serve, changes in either the selection process or the curriculum can increase their effectiveness. As one part of an evaluation of the effectiveness of the various components of the prehealth professions program at Xavier University of Louisiana (XU), black freshmen entering the university from 1981 to 1983 in the university's premedical program were tracked to determine who gained entry into medical and related mainline health professional schools upon graduation.The analyses indicate that high-ability black freshmen entering Xavier are more than twice as likely to gain admission into medical school than are their black counterparts nationally, and that this difference is statistically significant beyond the 99 percent level. Fifty-seven percent of high-ability black freshmen (those with American College Testing [ACT] composite scores of 24 or above, the top 2 percent of blacks nationally) who entered XU's biology or chemistry programs during the period under study gained entry into medical school upon graduation, whereas a study by the Educational Testing Service indicates that only 24 percent of similar blacks nationally gain entry into any graduate or professional school.The present study suggests that XU's premedical program serves those blacks who are not in the high-ability group (those whose ACT scores are below 24) at least as well (relative to the national average) as it does the top students. It therefore seems reasonable to assume that XU's premedical program is successful because it increases the probability that students gain admission into health professional schools rather than because of any preselection of students. These results are similar to those obtained from a comparable analysis of XU's prepharmacy program, the other component of prehealth at Xavier.

Predictors of MCAT scores for black Americans.

If minority students likely to score low on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) can be identified in advance, they can be advised to take existing preparatory programs, or programs can be developed to meet their needs. Correlation coefficients for a number of available independent variables with MCAT scores were determined for a population of premedical students at Xavier University of Louisiana. American College Testing (ACT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores were found to have similar ability to predict MCAT scores, with a correlation coefficient of 0.64 between ACT composite and MCAT total scores. Correlations of sophomore year grade point average (GPA) with MCAT scores were only slightly weaker. Use of subtest scores for the ACT and SAT, grades in science courses, and Nelson-Denny Reading Test scores did not improve prediction to any real extent, either when used alone or in multiple linear regression analysis. In contrast to some previous studies, predictions for black men were as good as those for black women. Use of only ACT composite and sophomore year GPA together gave correlations only slightly weaker than predictions using a full range of variables; data from ACT composite and sophomore year GPA can be used for calculating predictive equations on many available micro-computers. These procedures may not be applicable to minority students at majority institutions.

The interface between premedicine and medicine: expectations of premedical advisors.

Premedical advisors can carry out many varied activities, but all require commitment, resources, and personal interest. Premedical and health career advising appear to be most successful when the task is not assigned to one individual, but is assumed as a university responsibility. Also, premedical advisors seem to be valued more and to have fewer conflicts when they are known by health professional schools and work together with them. Medical schools have a responsibility to assist and support premedical advisors more than is done at present. This need will become increasingly important if the high quality of applicants to medical school is to be maintained in an apparently shrinking applicant pool.(1)

Pyrolysis gas-liquid chromatography applied to a study of variation in Arthroderma tuberculatum.

Replicates of whole colonies of four species of closely related dermatophytes were analyzed by pyrolysis gas-liquid chromatography (PGLC). The four species included fifteen strains of Arthroderma tuberculatum, and two strains each of A. benhamiae, Nannizzia gypsea and N. incurvata. Individual peaks on different pyrograms were identified as homologous with the aid of internal markers by the superimposition of pyrograms. The peak height data extracted from the pyrograms of the fungal samples were analyzed to compute average similarities between pairs of pyograms. The average was calculated with each peak weighted equally, and log weighted for its information content. The results of the cluster analyses of proximities were generally similar. Most, but not all, replicates of each strain were similar enough to be clustered together. Some strains belonging to the same species were also similar enough to be grouped in one cluster. Other strains of a single species varied sufficiently to be put in separate clusters. The nearest neighbour to each OTU (pyrogram) was always a replicate of the same strain.

Classification of some Gymnoascaceae by pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatography using added marker compounds.

Methyl esters of fatty acids were added to samples before pyrolysis to superimpose peaks of known retention time on the pyrochromatograms. These peaks were useful in calibrating the retention time scales so that peaks on different chromatograms could be appropriately homologized. The study included 3 species of Nannizzia, 3 strains of Trichophyton rubrum and 1 strain each of Gymnoascus uncinatus, G. reesii, Arachniotus hyalinosporus, Chrysosporium pannorum and Gliocladium viride. Pyrograms of the 3 T. rubrum strains were not as similar to each other as the pyrograms of some of the supposedly distantly related species. Unless our identification of 1 or more of the T. rubrum strains is incorrect, these results cast doubt on the usefulness of pyrochromatograms as indicators of genetic similarity.