Back at It. Sorry the flu took me out of it...

http://theunderweardrawer.blogspot.com/2009/11/on-fifteen-second-diagnosis-often-times.html

Yes, we have a great deal of baggage and thick skin when we finish this process. Yes, I have said a few things I would not be proud of if repeated back to me. And, yes, I still feel for each patient.

What a great post at the link above/below. And,I understand she is to soon publish a book on her adventures in medical school called, "Scutmonkey." If I were to publish a tell-all it would be titled "Student Freak!" Exclamation point included. It would be in reference to a resident I had that labeled us all "student freaks." "Where is my student freak?" "Tell the student freaks that we are going to round at 5am." "If I have one more student freak ask me a stupid question..."

http://theunderweardrawer.blogspot.com/2009/11/on-fifteen-second-diagnosis-often-times.html

Everyone Needs Money in College!

http://www.school-grants.org/blog/2009/09/28/unique-jobs-that-pay-for-college/

Being a tutor works well too!

How can you not see the value in getting paid to study? Pure multi-tasking that enables you to single task on a study suject. If you can teach it, you know it. Remember how Quentin Tarantino used to work in a video store and would watch videos all day long to learn and taylor his craft. Then, there is the guy (I don't know his name) that created CSI. He would travel the "people mover" up and down the Las Vegas strip and write his show as he was inspired by the skyline. He was able to do that because he was the train conductor.

Tutor and study and make some coin at the same time.

How Do You Know You Want to Be a Doctor?

http://www.okspanishnews.com/noticias/detalle.php?idnoticia=852&idcategoria=48

You have to shadow a doctor to see if this is what you really want to do. Hang out with them and see how they walk and talk. I know it is not how you want to spend your free time, but how else can you tell the admission committee that you know what it is like to be a doctor? "I watch a lot Grey's Anatomy." Or better yet, "My brother got his tonsils taken out when we were young, and I think it would be cool to prescribe ice cream!"

"I'm allergic to oxygen, doctor."

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2503680/

There isn't a set or standard patient. You learn that early on. How they behave or the things they say need to be interpreted through your professional eyes and ears. It is not only difficult but fun. It's what makes being a doctor the joy of your life. There is nothing like the bond between a doctor and his or her patient.

When is the Best Time to Start to Study for the MCAT

When it the best time to start studying for the MCAT?

If you have taken any premed requirements whatsoever then you have already started your MCAT preparations. The smart student takes it from there and never stops. It is easier to review than to hit the books again two years later.

A simple suggestion that has worked well for many that have that acceptance letter. Tutoring. At many universities a student can get paid by the school to tutor almost any subject. Moreover, the entry level and basic classes need the most help, and therefore tutors, because there are more students taking these classes.

If you can teach it, you know it. It is nothing more than a constant review. Review. Review. Review.
It is all about the basics. If you know that then you know the material for the MCAT.

Do you think a senior chemistry major will score higher on the chemistry portion of the MCAT or the senior music major that decided late in her academic career to go premed and has just taken basic chemistry?

The senior chemistry major has a head full of quantum analytics and all things level 400 chem. But, the musician has a head full of basic chemistry—what the MCAT test is actually about.

A Case of Need?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/08/31/ST2009083103019.html

Interesting article about how you may choose to practice medicine.
Your choices are never a balance between safety for the patient and anything else. Safety for the patient always rises to the top. However, how you define that can cost you your life.
Really?
Really.

A case of need;: A novel

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/08/31/ST2009083103019.html

An "A" is an "A" no matter where you get it.

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/sep/01/biology-major/

Something you need to be wary of when you are at your university. Sometimes the simple prerequisites are the wash out class for a more "in demand" major. Let's just suppose that the biology majors and PhDs mentioned in the article only get into that program if they do really well in basic biology. It can be a very competitive and demanding "basic" course. This can happen to some degree for any major or program.
Art imitates life in the first season and first episode of Greek. There are too many people in the gateway class that Rusty and Dale need for their major. The prof hands out a test and tells everyone that only the top scores will be able to stay.
Is this how you want your grade to be determined? How can you tell the admission committee that the C you got was really an A+ at other institutions?
It is sometimes easier to take a class in the summer or at a local university or that has a less demanding post-graduate program.
Consider that an "A" is an "A" and a "C" is a "C."

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/sep/01/biology-major/

What? A Doctor Shortage...(Who Knew?)

http://www.medpagetoday.com/HospitalBasedMedicine/WorkForce/11980

A doctor shortage? They have been saying this for years. I remember when I started medical school 10 years ago they were saying it. Then the all the staff told me they heard it 30 years ago when they started medical school. The nation needs doctors. If you want it, you can have it.

Just Like Grade School!

http://tinyurl.com/kqdo7h

If you run the numbers it's like starting 1st grade all over again.
You graduate high school and start back over at 1st grade. It is an additional 12 years before you get a real job. If you are lucky and go straight through!
Four years of undergradute training, then 4 years of med school, and then a minimum of 4 years of a residency. (More if you opt for specialties and sub-specialties.)
I remember my dad talking to me about my choices when I decided to be a doctor. He said I was going to get the B.S. and was on track to start a Ph.D. program. He told me an M.B.A. would help in whatever I did. Now, son, you are telling me you want to be an M.D. All I want to know is, when are you gonna get a J.O.B.

Restart the clock.

Great article about med students getting back to school.
http://tinyurl.com/kqdo7h

iPhone Applications now available on iTunes.com! Shop Now!

I just found some apps for the MCAT on iTunes!!

I haven't used any but would love to hear if you have.

Check 'em out and let me know.

iPhone Applications now available on iTunes.com! Shop Now!

You Have a 50/50 Chance of Getting Into Med School

Great article about the admission process (on the surface.)

http://www.sj-r.com/health/x772314451/Clout-no-help-at-SIU-medical-school

At first glance it states that there are 1200 applicants and only 72 spots. That is a crazy 6% chance of getting into this medical school.
But the admissions committee will kick out a large portion of that because they don't reside there or don't look good on paper.
It gets widdled down to 300 people that actually have an interview. Then they send out 150 acceptance letters for 72 spots. They send some out and some accept and some refuse. Then they send out another batch. And so on. Until the 72 spots are filled.
What if you are the 150th acceptance letter of the 300 people that got an interview?
Then you have a 50/50 chance of acceptance--if you are the target market for this med school!

Each medical school will have its own set of selection criteria, but the biggest is if you reside in the area. (Of course, you have to look good on paper--GPA, MCAT and personal statement.)
More later about the the ability to get into medical school if you want to practice where you are trained!

the mannequin, I think his name was Chester

It was always the best to be able to ask students questions while the blood pressure went right down the toilet. It was a fake patient, a mannequin that looked as such but had all the right orifices and monitoring devices. You could sit and talk about it, and in the end ask if they were going to let this patient die while they decided what to do.

Never a problem to reset the computer.

http://www.wndu.com/mmm/headlines/53071607.html

Now, I have to correct it and talk about it at the same time. Real patients need real answers and real medicines.

The White Coat Ceremony

The ceremony of the white coat is "nice." I think it does, in retrospect, make a psychological contract of professionalism and responsibility.
I never got to partake in a ceremony.
Moreover, I don't remember any other formality than an upper level student pointing and saying, "pick up your white coat over there."
It was next to the coke machine next to where they handed out the free stethoscope with a comment, "They're crackin' down on freebies, so this is the last year they give 'em out." She was refering to the stethoscope which had been funded by a pharmaceutical company.


http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2009/08/14/local/29287940.txt

It always comes back to the basics--Aspirin

No matter how much you know or how many new drugs come on the market, it always comes back to the basics. Aspirin is a wonder drug and new things are being learned even at this stage in the game. It can be a life saver and it can kill you. Every now and then I hear of a person or organization wanting to make it a prescriptive drug.
But it is just aspirin you say.
Yes, aspirin. So very complex after all these years.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/health/13aspirin.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-12-voa55.cfm

Is the GRE like the MCAT?

We all laughed the morning of our MCAT when a friend said, "I'm glad I spent all night cramming those vocabulary words." Because we knew he was kidding. This is not the SAT. This is not the GRE or the LSAT. The MCAT test is totally different. His joke broke the silence and the stress.
Don't waste your time studying for the GRE if you are going to take the MCAT!
The MCAT is over a specific set of information--chemistry, physics, biology, and has a writing sample.
Admission Optimization helps!
http://www.admissionoptimization.com/


http://the-gre.com/would-a-gre-preparation-course-help-with-the-mcat.html/comment-page-1#comment-177

Everybody has a Story to Tell

Everybody has a story to tell. You have to let the admissions committee be entertained by your personal statement. They read many that say the same thing--my name is XX, and I want to help people. But the one that stands out is the one that goes to the top of the stack.

Interesting quick tid bit at...

http://today.ucf.edu/blog/2009/08/10/the-coms-first-41-speak-johnathan-gullet/