Danielle Kness, a Professor of Biology at MCC and advisor to the club, is incredibly proud of how Pair of Docs has developed since it launched in 2018.

“A lot of the students come in and they’re like, ‘I want to be a doctor. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, but I don’t think I can.’ Well, they can. It’s just that they didn’t know they could,” Kness said. “I think this program does that.”

Many community colleges in Iowa have clubs for students in specific health fields, like a pre-dentistry club for pre-dentistry students, Kness said, but Pair a Docs is unique in allowing students in all MCC pre-health fields to join. Even though the club’s purpose is broad, students have access to one-on-one mentoring from professors and other benefits in a tight-knit community because of MCC’s small campus.

“The students — although they have very similar interests — are not exact, but they have similar needs,” Kness said. “The club can meet those needs.”

MCC students conduct suture wet labs organized by Pair a Docs.

Alexandra Knockel, MCC sophomore, joined Pair a Docs her first year. Despite being the only pre-dermatological student in Pair a Docs, Knockel said she is confident in the mentorship quality she gets from her advisors.

“It provides so many opportunities that you wouldn’t get anywhere else,” Knockel said. “Especially at a small school.”

Kness also said she’s seeing fewer students enter pre-nursing programs at MCC and Drake University, where she works with the pharmacy program, because of pandemic-related strains on hospitals across the United States. In December 2021, the state of Iowa contracted over 100 out-of-state nurses to address hospital staffing shortages, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.

Pre-nursing student shortages haven’t affected Pair a Docs, but that’s because, according to Kness, the club has never had large amounts of pre-nursing students. The club’s membership has fluctuated without regard to the pandemic: it began with 12 members, and during the 2020-21 academic year, membership jumped to nearly 30 students. By the fall 2021 semester, however, only eight students remained.

As membership numbers have changed, so has Pair a Docs’ scope. Kness said she and other advisors incorporated one-on-one advising meetings and breakout sessions for students in each pre-health field when they noticed that some of them were ill-prepared to enter their chosen health field after leaving MCC.

Advisors to Pair a Docs also began taking students to health conferences across the United States soon after the club’s inception. In March 2019, Pair a Docs pre-veterinary students traveled to the American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association Symposium in Pennsylvania, and in October of the same year, the club’s pre-med members attended the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Pre-Med Conference in Iowa City.

Since 2019, Pair a Docs has coordinated with local organizations to place pre-health students into jobs and job shadowing positions at clinics and pharmacies in Marshalltown. When the pandemic began, placing pre-med and pre-dermatology students like Knockel into clinics grinded nearly to a halt, but many pre-veterinary and pre-pharmacy students were still paired with local vets and pharmacies.

Ultimately, while COVID-19 did limit pre-professional opportunities for Pair a Docs members, Kness said, the ones that have been available have made a mark.

“Have I had more students graduate and continue in biology and study and transfer successfully? Yes, I definitely have seen that,” she said.

Despite the limitations the pandemic has imposed, Pair a Docs members are optimistic about the future and have plans for more events this spring. This month, Pair a Docs will hold wet labs for pre-med students and a visit to the University of Northern Iowa Biology Department. MCC is even considering expanding opportunities for pre-health students to conduct virtual simulations and dissections through advanced virtual reality technology.

Kness feels that even though professional advising, mentoring, and opportunities to attend pre-health conferences facilitated some of the club’s successes, most credit should go toward the students, who have supported each other through an incredibly challenging time to enter health fields.

“They formed a group chat. They had study groups together. They had study tables. They helped each other work on their applications together, and so on,” said Kness. “And I think that honestly was the bigger component that’s been helpful in seeing them succeed.”

Knockel agreed with the sentiment.

“Just honestly, the meetings and the people have made me feel so comfortable,” she said. “(It) makes me want to continue to focus on my future and reassures me that this is what I want to do with my life.”