Q& A With more than 20 years of experience in medical education and recruitment, Dr. Angela McLean knows the qualities and characteristics that you really need to be a good physician.
Q: What is the Associate Dean for Admissions responsible for? A: Let’s call the Dean, Dr. Nelson, the “Head Coach” of the Medical School team. That makes me the “Assistant Coach for Admissions”. From the “first touch” of recruitment through application and interviews, I coordinate the entire matriculation process. I’m also responsible for oversight of the committee who votes on the applicants.
WIT H D R. AN G EL A M c LE AN ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ADMISSIONS Q: In this analogy, are the medical students the footballs? A: (Laughs) Yes, I guess so. We are here to carry them from one end of the field to the other and protect them along the way. I guess you can say that we score a goal every time we admit a new student into the program.
Q: Tell us more about the “first touch.” How do you find new students? A: I am tasked with recruiting and admitting medical students to provide the physicians for the entire state of Louisiana. We do a lot of recruiting on
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undergraduate campuses throughout the state. That’s our first step in meeting potential medical students. We end up being the face of the school for some students since we’re the first people that candidates meet even before the Dean.
Q: What was the road that led you to Associate Dean for Admissions? A: I’ve been involved in medical student education since 1995 when I became a faculty member at LSU. I was always interested in education and have worked with students at all levels. After spending 20 years working on the Admissions and Resident Evaluation Committees, I learned to recognize the qualities and
