THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR PREMEDICAL STUDENTS
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013
THE
BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE
From High School Seniors to College Students, Advice and Tips for Making This Year Your Best One Yet
+
The Admission Interview
How to Prepare the Best Answers to Questions About Health Care
PLUS: Making the Grade: How Smart Students Study
10 Most Interesting Medical School Courses A Look At a Few Unique Electives Offered to Students
New App Aims to Help Med Students Learn Better p.10 | Pre-Med Scores Among Highest MCAT Score p.13
After graduation, take a stand against poverty by joining AmeriCorps VISTA— Volunteers in Service to America. You’ll put your passion to work to help those in need, and you’ll gain experience you can’t find in other kinds of entry-level jobs. You’ll also receive:
H H H H
Living allowance $4,725 for tuition or student loans Health care Moving expenses
37 million Americans live in poverty. Take a stand. Join AmeriCorps VISTA.
800-942-2677
(TTY 800-833-3722)
contents
premedlife|september/october 2013 “In an AAMC survey of medical schools, the interview was found to be the most important factor in the admissions process” p. 26
New App Aims to Help Medical Students Learn Better
p.10
14
16
4 MISTAKES PREMEDS MAKE DURING FRESHMAN YEAR Being a freshman in college can lead to some unavoidable mistakes. We asked premeds to share their freshman year regrets - here’s what they said.
18
PREMED DO’S AND DON’TS FOR SOPHOMORE YEAR To help you stay on track to getting into medical school, here are a few things you should and shouldn’t do during your second year in college
20
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO BE DOING NOW IF YOU’RE A JUNIOR PREMED Now that you’ve made it to your junior year, read up on how to move forward in the right direction
22
6 COURSES EVERY PREMED SHOULD TAKE BEFORE MEDICAL SCHOOL While there may be many courses that can ultimately help you during medical school, here’s a list of a few that will surely benefit your future
FRONT COVER
THE BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE Tips and advice for making this new academic year your best year yet - from high school seniors to college students. For pre-med students, the beginning of a new academic year represents the next step along the journey to becoming a doctor. Knowing what to do (and what not to do) can go a long way when it comes to moving closer to your goals. In this issue, we share information about the things students should now at the beginning of the year to set the stage for being the best pre-med student they can possibly be.
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 3
contents/departments
premedlife|september/october 2013 “The U.S. is headed for a potential crisis in terms of doctors that will be need to service the growing population, and some would have us believe that expanded healthcare is to blame” p. 43
IN THIS ISSUE Admission Interviews: How to Prepare for Questions About Health Care| 24 An expert weighs in on what medical school candidates can do to best prepare for questions they may get on health care topics
Is Obamacare Really Responsible for the Looming Doctor Shortage in the U.S.?| 43 The U.S. is headed for a potential crisis in terms of doctors that will be needed to service the growing population, and some would have us believe that expanded healthcare is to blame. Is that assertion grounded in reality, or simply partisan rhetoric? Let’s look at the facts. 10 Interesting Medical School Courses You Probably Never Heard About| 29 From medical yoga to medicine in the wild, here’s a look a some unique and interesting electives offered by medical schools across the U.S.
6 Classes Every Premed Should Take to Prepare for Medical School
p.22
How Smart Students Study| 48 For students that perform well academically, the answer to getting good grades may be in the overall approach to studying
Is ObamaCare Really Responsible for the Looming Shortage of U.S. Doctors
p.43
DEPARTMENTS Newsbites| 8 Relevant news & information for students applying to medical school The Goods| 50 Gadgets & gizmos to keep you entertained. Check out our picks for this issue In The Stacks|53 Books to inspire you or provide you with advice along your journey to medical school Better Life, Better You| 54 Advice & tips for taking care of yourself to make it through your hectic pre-med life
4 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
CONNECT WITH PREMEDLIFE.
t
PML print edition
a lifestyle magazine for
FREE DIGITAL COPY
f
8
&
PRE MED LIFE pre-medical students
PREMEDLIFE. com
print. digital. social.
Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.
publisher from the
BYE-BYE SUMMER, HELLO NEW SEMESTER!
Let the countdown begin - to the beginning of the rest of your pre-med life, or as some would call it - the beginning of the new academic year. For some, the start of a brand new semester may bring on feelings of anxiousness and for others the chance for a fresh start at the beginning fo the semester is welcomed with open arms. Regardless of where you may fall, the time is coming and it’s up to you to make the best of it. I personally love the beginning of the new school year because with it comes an awesome energy from our readers. When we hear from them and they share with us their ideas, it’s like no other time during the year. I truly love the opportunity to connect with our readers and hope that we can stay connected beyond the first few months of the year. So, bring it on. Let’s work together to make this year your best year yet and push like you’ve nevered pushed before, work like you’ve never worked before, want it like you’ve never wanted it before! Tell us what you want to see in the coming months in the magazine and on our website. Tell us what kind of articles, stories, and topics you want to see covered. Tell us what it is that you need from us to get you to the next step along your premed journey. We at PreMedLife are here to serve you and we’re going to make sure that we do just that.
Sheema Sheema Prince
Publisher tprince@premedlife.com
PREMEDLIFE the lifestyle magazine for premedical students www.premedlife.com Publisher/CEO | Sheema Prince Executive Director/COO | Jonathan Pearson EVP, Operations | Monique Terc Managing Editor | Monica Lee Contributing Editor | Njeri McKenzie Contributing Writers Dr. Samir Desai Jared Eaves Sherry Gray Digital Editor | Donald Gibbons Production Coordinator | Shawn Klein Social Media Manager | Tammy Li Find us on Twitter @premedlife Find us on Facebook.com/premedlife Here’s How To Reach Us: Kisho Media, LLC P.O. Box 7049 New York, NY 10116 Main Office (347) 857 - 7491 Have a Story Idea? Email us at editor@premedlife.com Want To Subscribe? Visit www.premedlife.com and sign-up to receive an email when the latest issue is available Want to Join Forces (aka Partner With Us)? Email us at info@premedlife.com
PreMedLife magazine is published six times per year by Kisho Media, LLC. and copies are provided to select colleges and universities free of charge. The information in PreMedLife magazine is believed to be accurate, but in some instances, may represent opinion or judgment. Consult your pre-med advisor with any questions you may have about the medical school admissions process and related topics. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs, artwork, and images may not be duplicated or reprinted without express written permission from Kisho Media, LLC. PreMedLife magazine and Kisho Media, LLC. are not liable for typographical or production errors or the accuracy of information provided by advertisers. PreMedLife Magazine reserves the right to refuse any advertising. All inquires may be sent to: Kisho Media, LLC. P.O. Box 7049 New York, NY 10116 To reach us by phone call (347) 857-7491 or email us at info@premedlife.com.
6 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
cc licensed flickr photo by Mobile Edge Laptop Cases
Advertising Questions? Email us at advertise@premedlife.com
THELATEST
A professor from the University of Iowa claims that the new MCAT slated to be released in 2015 will reshape undergraduate and medical education as we currently know it. {PAGE 11}
Recent news & information relevant for students applying to medical school
The validity and usefulness of the annual U.S. News & World Report’s medical school rankings may not be what it seems, according to a new study. The study, led by educators from the University of California - Davis School of Medicine, suggests that the highly-referenced rankings are not based on facts but rather on opinion. Specifically, senior author Dr. Anthony Jerant, who is a family medicine professor at UC Davis, uses his own school as an example. In the study, he points out the data on his school and explains that from 2006 to 2014, the school occupied the following positions in the
ranking order, respectively: 17, 21, 30m 26, 35, 20, 41, 24, and 19. “Would you expect to see that big of a shift?” Dr. Jearant asked. “It makes no sense how we bounced around so many positions.” UC Davis officials say that 1.) there are currently no other rankings as big as the one published by the U.S. News & World Report that can challenge their results, 2.) the rankings are popular among the public which looks for a way to shop and compare the nation’s medical schools, and 3.) the rankings have a lot to do with the simple fact that people like numbers, rankings, and lists.
8 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
In addition, the paper points out that one of the limitations of the survey is that the rankings depend on how many of the questionnaires are returned, as well as a school’s reputation rather than pertinent data. “Opinion surveyslike the magazine’s results in a very, very subjective and flawed methodology,” said Mark Henderson, associate dean from admissions and outreach for the UC Davis School of Medicine. The study, titled “Short-Term Stability and Spread of the U.S. News and World Report Primary Care Medical School Rankings,” was published in the journal Academic Medicine. n
Photo credit: Image credit: bplanet / 123RF Stock Photo
Study Challenges Magazine’s Popular Medical School Rankings
THE STRENGTH TO HEAL
and learn lessons in courage. The pride you’ll feel in being a doctor increases dramatically when you care for our Soldiers and their families. Courage is contagious. Our Health Professions Scholarship Program may help you reach your goals. If you qualify, the Army may provide full tuition, money for books and lab fees, a sign-on bonus, plus a monthly stipend of more than $2,000. To learn more about the U.S. Army health care team, call 866-213-2077 or visit healthcare.goarmy.com/s076.
©2013. ©20 13 Paid Paid for by th Pa the e Unit United ed Sta States tes Ar Army my. All riights reserv ved.
THELATEST
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by Official U.S. Air Force
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by MattsMacintosh
New App Aims to Help Medical Students Learn Better
New Pre-Med Prep Program Launched for U.S. Airmen The U.S. Air Force has announced the launch of a program that will soon allow enlisted airmen who are interested in becoming doctors the chance to prepare for admission to medical school. The program, called the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program, is designed to offer airmen the opportunity to take courses to prepare for admission to medical school, all expenses paid, while maintaining active-duty status and full pay with benefits. In addition, the program will be conducted in a traditional classroom setting with structure prehealth advising and formal preparation for the MCAT. Students who are selected to participate in the program will attend school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Maryland. Following the successful
completion of the 2-year old program, graduates will then move forward with applying for admission to U.S. medical schools including USUHS. According to the press release announcing the brand new prep program, “following graduation and upon acceptance to an approved medical school, program participants will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the Medical Services Corps.” Furthermore, “as fourth-year medical students, those lieutenants will be eligible to apply for medical residences approved by the Air Force Health Professions Education Requirement Board.” The application deadline for the program is September 2. For more information about the program, visit mypers.af.mil. n
10 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
A pair of entrepreneurial medical students have launched a new mobile application to help students retain the large amounts of information they learn in medical school. Founded by Ryan Haynes, a Johns Hopkins medical student with a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Cambridge University, and Shiv Gaglani, a Johns Hopkins medical student as well, the new study tool is appropriately named Osmosis. It’s a free, quiz-based app designed to help students learn and retain all of the information need to pass medical board exams. Not only does the app use a combination of education concepts to improve the learning process for students, it also tracks a student’s confidence, accuracy, and elapsed time on every single question. “Now that we have 6,000 medical students from more than 250 institutions signed up, we anticipate delivering millions of practice questions to our future doctors, keeping them up-to-date on their medical knowledge,” said Gaglani. “This is something I feel strongly about as a medical student who experienced significant cram-forget cycles that don’t lead to long-term retention.” According to Haynes, the web platform, which is slated to launch in fall 2013, has been live since last year at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine in Malaysia. For more information about the Osmosis mobile application, visit www.osmosis.org/schools. n
THELATEST
University of Iowa Professor Calls the New 2015 MCAT ‘Disruptive’ The new MCAT, which is slated to be unveiled in two years, is a disruptive event, according to a paper published by a biochemistry professor in the Journal of Chemical Education. In his commentary on MCAT 2015, Charles Bernner, a Chair in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa, shares his experience and perspective on how the new edition of the test will potentially reshape not only the undergraduate experience but medical education at a whole. “Because so many more students begin college as premeds than enter medical school, it must be appreciated that what we teach to students indicating a premedical interest will greatly influence the training of a wide swath of learners,” Bernner stated. “Indeed, few students enroll in college with an understanding of chemical, biological, and biomedical research future researchers are frequently recruited from the ranks of students with premedical interest. For this reason, the coursework for premedical students should not be just sufficient from MCAt preparation.” The Association of American Medical Colleges has said that the new (and improved) version of the MCAT includes a section on the social and behavioral sciences, as well as a new critical analysis and reasoning skills section.
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by sidewalk flying
A professor from the University of Iowa publishes commentary about the new version of the MCAT which will be rolled out in 2015, claiming that it will reshape undergraduate and medical education.
Moreover, the writing sample section of the MCAT will no longer be included and will be discontinued. In the end, Bernner offered his opinion on optimal preparation for the career and life interest of pre-medical students and life interest of
premedical students and offered the following advice: 1.) read literature, and study creative works, history, politics, and language, and 2.) take courses in genetics, immunology, bioinformatics, and computational science, in addition to required core science courses. n
get published. write for us
If you consider yourself a good writer and would like a chance to have your article published in an issue of PreMedLife Magazine, we’re looking for student writers to submit articles. From your personal experiences as a pre-med student to living everyday life as a college student, we want to share your story with our readers. Or if you need an idea to write about - we’ve got tons of them. For more information about writing for PreMedLife Magazine, visit our Web site at www.premedlife.com or email us at info@premedlife.com.
PreMedLife Magazine
Subscribe Today For more information about PreMedLife Magazine, visit us online at www.premedlife.com
twitter.com/premedlife
facebook.com/premedlife
THELATEST
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by Roger-Bruce
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by ReSurge International
PreMed Scores Among Highest in Nation on MCAT
AAMC Survey Shows Significant Number of Med Students Learn Team Training A growing number of medical students are being trained to work in teams with other health care professionals, according to data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The data, which was collected from the annual Medical School Graduation Questionnaire, examined various issues that were deemed important to the future of medical education and the well-being of students, including students’ satisfaction with their school, student career and specialty plans, the cost of medical school, and even student mistreatment. The latest survey revealed that seventy-four percent of medical school students who were graduating report that their education included training teams with other health care professionals, including nurses, dentists, pharmacists,
osteopaths, and public health professionals. “The education of these graduates has been greatly enhanced through inter-professional training, increased faculty interactions, and other experiences during their undergraduate medical education,” said Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., AAMC President and CEO. “This survey shows that the nation’s medical schools are hard at work creating new and enhanced programs to better prepare tomorrow’s physicians to care for patients.” As an increasing number of medical school begin to move toward team-centered training, a greater number of medical students will be taught how to interact, communicate, and work with others as part of a medical team focused on treating patients as a group rather than alone. n
A pre-med student out of Virginia has managed to do something that not many students are doing these days. Out of the possible 45 points test-takers could score on the MCAT, John Davy, a senior biochemistry and molecular biology major from Liberty University, scored a whopping 40 on the test. With the average MCAT score for 2012 at 25.2, by receiving this outstanding score, Davy landed himself in the 99.8 percentile for test takers nationwide. So what does Davy attribute to his success on the test? Well, he says that a combination of small classes at his university, caring professors, and his faith helped him achieve the high score. “The most important challenge when taking the MCAT is recalling everything you larned in classes,” Davy revealed. “It measures everything you were taught and wants to see if you really recalled what you have read and learned.” According to the press release announcing Davy’s achievement, Liberty’s pre-med program, which is under the School of Health Science at the university, is identified as the biomedical sciences major. Classes are designed to prepare students for medical school, dental school, physician assistant school, and related medical fields. And by the look of things, the school is doing a pretty fine job at producing competitive medical school applicants.n
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 13
Photo credit: Hugo Felix/ 123RF Stock Photo
THE BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE WITH THE START OF THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR COMES THE NEXT STAGE OF YOUR PREMED LIFE. HERE’S HOW TO EMBRACE THE NEXT CHAPTER OF YOUR JOURNEY.
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 15
<
FRESHMAN
4 mistakes premeds make during freshman year You’re in college now and if there’s anything you must understand is that you’re not in high school anymore and that’s kind of a big deal. As you make the transition from being a part of the upperclassmen to being fresh meat, there will be many changes in your life. There will be many times where you are faced with the unknown but it is all part of the process and in the end will make you a better premed. As you move forward along the path to becoming a doctor, here are some things you should consider in your first year in college.
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by CollegeDegrees360
FAILING TO MEET WITH YOUR ADVISOR. As a freshman, you may or may not know a lot about what it is going to take to get accepted into medical school. Regardless of what you think you may know about the process, you should meet with your premedical or pre-health advisor as early as possible. It is your freshman year and while your course schedule may be set for the most part, there are going to be many decisions to come. Your advisor can provide access to an array of things including, but not limited to, topics like your prerequisite and upper-level coursework and providing information on volunteering, research, or shadowing opportunities. The point is - if you are a freshman and you’ve made the decision to pursue medicine (and you’re serious about it) meet with your school’s advisor to begin talks about your long-term plan for applying to medical school. Developing a relationship with your advisor can even be helpful if you plan on applying to a summer program, in which they can provide guidance as you prepare your application for a competitive program. THINKING A SCIENCE MAJOR IS A MUST. It is quite simple - if you are interested in going to medical school, you can major in whatever the heck you would like to. As long as you fulfill the basic requirements for the medical schools you are interested in applying to, then you’re pretty much set. There is no need to overload yourself with a ton of science courses if that is not where your interest truly is. While most medical school applicants do major in the sciences, other choose humanities, math, statistics, and social science. In fact, there is a growing trend among medical school admission committees who value applicants with humanities backgrounds. Medicine and health care are changing and the world fo medical education will try to keep pace. Earlier this year, the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
16 | PreMedLife Magazine | May/June 2013
NOT DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PROFESSORS. While applying to school may seem a ways away when you are only a freshman in college, you must begin to cultivate relationships with professors for one simple reason - recommendations. It is never too early to start thinking about the individuals who may ultimately write your letters of recommendation (or evaluation). In fact, according to a report published by the American Association of Medical Colleges, admissions officers say that non-academic data, such as interviews and letters of recommendation, are the most important data for deciding who to accept into their school. And getting to know your professors is much easier than you may think. Beyond performing well in a course you may be taking, many times professors are involved in activities outside of the classroom which you can get involved with as well.
If you’re interested in medicine, you can major in whatever the heck you’d like to. became the first medical school in the nation to offer early acceptance to college sophomores from any major and with no MCAT requirement. While Ichan SOM may be the first to take this “revolutionary” step, it will definitely not be the last. Yes, having a background in science may be helpful when it comes time to 1.) take the MCAT and 2.) learn complex information in medical school, but it is quite okay to explore your other interest during your undergraduate years. Besides, once you’re in medical school you’ll be exposed to more science than you’ll know what to do with.
THINKING FRESHMAN YEAR DOESN’T REALLY COUNT. What are you talking about? If you believe that your first year in college doesn’t really matter and you can start getting serious about pursuing your career in medicine next year, think again. Not only will medical school look at the grade you received as a freshman, they will also take notice of the overall trend of your academic performance. And this will not be a quick glance. To medical school admission committees, every single grade counts and it gets a little deeper than that. They will look over your transcript with a fine-tooth comb to not only get a feel for your academic performance, but also your course load per semester, course levels, and the number of science courses you completed. The good news is that even if you do have a bit of a struggle during your freshman year, and for whatever reason your academics takes a hit, most medical schools can look pass a less than impressive grade or two in your freshman year, as long as they see that you improved overtime.n
STUDY MEDICINE IN ST. LUCIA
ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 4-year MD Program • Courses designed to acquire Residency and Licensure in the USA & abroad • Consists of 4-semester Basic Science program in St. Lucia • Fifth semester completed at a U.S. teaching hospital • Fifth semester includes a live USMLE board review • Basic Science tuition $3,800.00 per semester • 72-week Clinical Study program in the U.S. at teaching hospitals • Clinical Science tuition $7,900.00 per semester For an application, call toll-free (516) 368-1700 Or write to: Atlantic University School of Medicine Admissions Office 367 Long Beach Rd. # 456 Island Park, NY 11558 or email us at info@ausom.edu.lc Visit our website at http://www.ausom.edu.lc
<
SOPHOMORE
sion committees that you have a good sense about what medicine is and what it is not. GET A JOB. Conducting research that is. While it is not a requirement by most medical schools, having academic research experience will certainly help more than it could ever hurt your changes of getting into medical school. Need a better reason to get involved in research? Well, working in a research lab will give your premed brain the opportunity to see what you may have already learned in class or read in a textbook in action. As you learn more about what is involved with conducting research and the research process at a whole, you will develop transferable skills that will not only benefit you during your medical school days, but in your career as a physician. And for those who are planning to go for an MD/PhD program, the significance of having research experience under your belt is even greater.
You’ve made it through your freshman year alive and should be feeling a bit more comfortable in your premed shoes. You know more about your school, professors, and the culture of the premed community at your school. Or maybe your first year wasn’t so great and things were a bit rough for you. Either way, your sophomore year is here and to have the best year yet, there are a fe things you should really know.
BECOME A LEADER. You know the saying, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made,” and when it comes to building your record of leadership - the same hold true. You cannot expect medical schools to take your leadership experience serious if you say that a position or role you held just a few months before applying made you a leader. If you haven’t already done so, your sophomore year is the perfect time for you to step up to the plate and engage in a significant activity that will ultimately demonstrate your leadership qualities. VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME. No matter what type of volunteer activity you decide on, be sure that you make the experience meaningful. Regardless of whether or not you are having the best experience of your life (or not),
MAKE PLANS TO STUDY ABROAD. Do it! If you are planning to apply to medical school right after you graduate, now is the time to think about studying abroad. Once of the best ways to begin developing the skills and attitude that you will need as a future health care professional is
No matter what type of volunteer activity you decide to settle on, the point of your participation is that your experience in the end is a meaningful one. there is a lesson to be learned and something you can take away from the time you spent participating. “Volunteering in a health care-related opportunity or organization will benefit you in addition to enhancing your medical school application,” the AAMC’s website explains. “It ‘s a chance to see if you enjoy working in the health or medical field, network with like-minded peers, take on increased responsibility and leadership roles, and build your resume.” In all, volunteering, especially in a health care or medical setting, will demonstrate to admis-
18 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
gaining significant experience in the world beyond the classroom. Many advisors believe that participating in a study abroad program is the ideal vehicle for premed students to develop skills that are encouraged and looked highly upon by medical school admission committees and the field of medicine at a whole. The characteristics of health care systems and settings in the world beyond the United States can certainly offer future doctors a one-of-a-kind experience and unique background.n
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by University of Denver
How to Make the Most of Your Sophomore Year as a Premed
MAJOR IN SOMETHING YOU LOVE (OR JUST REALLY ENJOY A LOT). It is pretty simple. When it comes to choosing a major you should pick something based on your passions. As long as you plan a course of study that fulfills the prerequisite requirements for the medical schools you intend on applying to - you should be good to go. Yes, being a science major may have its advantages, like being able to take courses that can help you perform better on the MCAT, you can always customize your MCAT study plan to fill the gaps in knowledge.
we know you love us ...so why don’t you ‘LIKE US’? facebook.com/premedlife
<
JUNIOR
5 Things You Should Be Doing Now If You’re a Premed Junior FAMILIARIZING YOURSELF WITH AMCAS If you don’t already know what the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), it is the common application for medical school which will allow you to fill out a single profile and submit it to all of the schools you choose. With the exception of a few schools, AMCAS is the primary method for applying to medical schools across the United States. As you will soon come to know, the medical school application process can for some be a long, arduous, and gruesome time, but there’s no way around it. So here’s the deal: the AMCAS is the first chance you’ll get to show medical schools who you are, so it is in your best interest to know what you’re getting yourself into well ahead of time. If you’re ready to get started, the first thing you are going to want to do is visit the AMCAS Application Website. While it may seem like a ways away, when the summer rolls around you’ll know what you’ll be up against and be in the best position to knock out your applications with a little more confidence than if you would have never did your research. DECIDING ON THE BEST TIME TO TAKE THE MCAT The general rule of thumb is that you take the MCAT in the year before you plan to start medical school. And if you find yourself stuck trying to decide if you should take the MCAT early in the year or later on, the AAMC says you should ask yourself the following questions: 1.) Will I take the exam just once or is there a possibility I may want to take it again and 2.) Have I mastered the material or do I need additional coursework or study? Registration information for the MCAT is available at www.aamc.org. Then, think about how you will prepare for the test and give yourself at least three or four months to study. SCOPING OUT POTENTIAL LETTER WRITERS Although data have shown that letters of recommendation aren’t the most important factor when it
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by remizova
While there are some premeds who apply to medical school following a gap year, approximately 90 percent of students apply for a coveted seat in some school’s first-year class toward the end of their junior year in college, according to data from the American Association of Medical Colleges. With that stated, this year may be your most important year yet! Here are a few things you should be doing if you’re a junior in college and plan on applying to medical school.
comes to medical school admission, a handful of admission officers do say that to them poor letters are the biggest application killer. There’s no way around them and they are very much a required part of your medical school application. So, if you can gain an extra edge, even if it only counts a little bit, a strong, high-quality letter might just do the trick. Now is the time to reflect on what you have done with the last two years of your premed life and the people you have met and hopefully developed relationships with. Sit down and make your go-to list of people who you would like to write your letters for medical school. STRATEGIZE YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATION TIMELINE As many premeds make plans to head to medical school immediately after graduating college, a growing number of applicants take a year off instead. When you begin to think about your medical school application timeline, you’ll need to think about your strategy for getting everything you need to do done - personal statement, requesting and receiving letters of evaluation, completing AMCAS - and focus on some critical choices. For starters, the first choice you’ll need
20 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
to think about is when you’ll actually apply to medical school. Then once you decide if you’ll apply right after graduation or if you’ll take some time off, you can begin to organize your remaining courses, activities, and other elements of your premed life. REVIEWING SPECIFIC ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS While most medical schools generally require the same basic science courses (biology, chemistry, physics) some schools may have additional requirements. At this point, you should have a slight idea about which schools you may ultimately apply to so go ahead and check out their website to find out what courses you’ll need to have in order to apply. This way, you can plan the remainder of your courses accordingly so as to not get caught at the last minute without the courses you’ll need. In addition, each medical school has its own set of rules on which courses they will and will not accept. The first business of order is checking out the current edition of the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) to learn what the school-specific requirements for your school of choice. n
& Partner to offer readers 3 months FREE picmonic for MCAT Biology Visit picmonic.com/mcat to sign up & redeem offer code: picpmlm
research proven memorization and concept mastery audio visual mnemonic methodologies
picmonic.com/mcat *Offer expires October 5, 2013. See website for details.
PreMedLife Magazine
Subscribe Today For more information about PreMedLife Magazine, visit us online at www.premedlife.com
twitter.com/premedlife
facebook.com/premedlife
<
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by decalage
BEFORE MED SCHOOL
6 Classes Every Premed Should Take to Prepare for Medical School EXPOSITORY WRITING You’re going to have to write whether you like it or not, so you might as well get good at it. From your personal statement to the writing prompt on the MCAT, it is essential that you can express your thoughts, ideas, and stories in a well-crafted piece of writing. While they may excel in many areas, there are pre-medical students who are often deficient in their communication and writing skills. Taking an Expository Writing class may help you learn how to develop and present ideas in a cohesive manner. You can show a medical school committee your writing and analytical skills better than you can tell them. Taking classes in writing composition will put you in a good position to know what it takes to produce a well-written, well organized essay or statement. It may also be worth your while to take a course that will give you the tools you need to switch to an argumentative style of writing also, one that you’ll need to get a point of view across or persuade your reader. SOCIOLOGY If you haven’t already heard, the MCAT is undergoing a significant overhaul in 2015. One of the changes to the MCAT come 2015 will be the addition of a social and behavioral sciences sectional of the test. For those planning to sit for the MCAT in 2015, taking a sociology course is something that you’re going to want to do without a doubt. If you’re taking the MCAT before the big changes get picked up, there’s still good reason for
you to take at least one course in this discipline. Students who take a course in sociology or even choose to major or minor in sociology are looked upon in a positive light among medical school admission committees since studying the subject gives students a different view of the things around them. Studies have shown that with a background in Sociology, students look at patients not only in terms of symptoms but also consider social context that may be relevant. LOGIC AND CRITICAL REASONING In your future life as a doctor, having the ability to use logic and think critically will be important in your daily life as need to use “logic and critical thinking in medical reasoning, in understanding health problems, and in making correct decision about clinical cases and situations.” As a doctor, knowledge an experience may not always be enough. There are parts of the MCAT that are used to get a sense of your logic and reasoning skills. The Wall Street Journal ran an article about the new version of the MCAT being focused less on a student’s scientific knowledge but instead emphasis being placed on their critical analysis and reasoning. ART HISTORY Even if you take an art course just to satisfy your school’s core competency requirements, having some knowledge within this discipline may actually be more useful than you may think. More
22 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
and ore colleges and universities are offering courses that give pre-medical students the opportunity to use art as a way to expose them to the practice of medicine in a whole new way. Courses like these and other art-themed courses can teach pre-medical students the observational skills that are so important for their future as doctors. In a course offered at Baylor University, pre-medical students get the chance to scrutinize pieces by artists like Rembrandt and Picasso in a class called “Healing Art.” According to the school’s Web site, “besides ‘diagnosing’ the people in works of art, the students create self-portraits to gain empathy for future patients, design art for a clinic. Art courses are a good way of honing creative thinking, dexterity, and observation skills useful in careers as doctors. MEDICAL ETHICS/ HEALTH CARE POLICY Believe it or not, there are not many pre-medical student who can hold a knowledgeable conversation about current issues in health care delivery, policy and ethics. Making an effort to become a broadly-education individual will be a surefire way to set yourself apart from other pre-medical students. Being well versed in topics relevant to medical ethics or health care policy may come in handy if during your medical school admissions interviewer springs a question on you about a “hot topic” in the news or maybe some other reform issue directly impacting medical students or simply asks “so, what do you know about health care policy?” FOREIGN LANGUAGE If you plan on working as a doctor in the US, you’re going to want to study a foreign language, namely Spanish, for as many years as you can. If you already speak Spanish, then great – study Latin. You don’t have to become completely fluent in the foreign language you study, but it’s important that you have the tools to be conversational. Even though taking a second language is not required for medical school admission, if you do well it won’t do anything but strengthen your application. Some schools offer “Spanish for PreMedical and Health Students” or “Medical Spanish” courses – if yours does, take it! When medical school admission committee’s look at their pile of applicants from prospective students, they look to see how students differentiate from one another. Having a second language under your belt, even if it’s only on the conversation level, is one of the things that will make you stand out.n
Photo credit: Karenr/ 123RF Stock Photo
how to ace
HEALTH CARE medical school interview questions Written by Dr. Samir Desai
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Congratulations! After review of your application, our Medical School Admissions Committee would like to invite you for an interview.â&#x20AC;? These are the words that every medical school applicant hopes to read. >>>
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 25
Knowledge of the health care system and its current changes.”5 (Texas Tech University School of Medicine)
Len Neighbors / 123rf.com Stock PHoto
C "Given the critical nature of health care in our country I feel every prospective medical student should have at least a general understanding of the more salient parts of the national health care policy,” says Dr. Will Ross, Associate Dean for Diversity at the Washington University School of Medicine. C “I expect them to defend their rationale for why health care reform is moving well, flawed, or fine as is. I will then comment in my interview summary on whether the applicant has a pedestrian, mature, or sophisticated understanding of health care reform."6
In an AAMC survey of medical schools, the interview was found to be the most important factor in the admissions process.1 To prepare, applicants consider how to respond to anticipated questions. Why do you want to be a doctor? Why are you interested in our school? Why should we choose you? While these questions are challenging, my experience advising applicants has shown us that questions about current healthcare issues provoke the most anxiety.
PREPARE TO BE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CURRENT HEALTHCARE ISSUES What can be done about rising health costs? How could you affect the health care system? How do you see the field of medicine changing in the next ten years? What do you think of the government’s involvement in health care? What is your understanding of the Affordable Care Act? Prepare to be asked these questions. As medical school admissions interviewers, we ask these questions. We know that our colleagues ask these questions. “I think ALL students applying to medical school should be prepared for questions about the
healthcare system and reform,” says Dr. Gregory Polites, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine. “Now more than ever, it's crucial that both students and physicians keep abreast of the changes that are occurring now and will occur in the future.”2
UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE QUESTIONS A review of medical school websites reveals the importance of these questions in the interview process: C “Specifically, the interviewers will try to determine…What do you know about the practice of medicine and issues in delivery of health care?”3 (University of Washington School of Medicine) C “You may be asked to discuss a controversial issue or situations dealing with ethics or professionalism in health care. Be aware of current issues and recent debates in the health field.”4 (Florida State University College of Medicine) C “Qualities searched for in an interview…
26 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE INTERVIEWER IS SEEKING Rest assured that your interviewer does not expect you to be well versed in the nuances of healthcare reform. With that being the case, what is the purpose of these questions? “This interaction tells the interviewers that the candidate has some awareness of the wider world and that she or he is cognizant of the changes in the health care system that may have complex implications for practitioners,” writes Dr. Carol Elam, Associate Dean for Admissions at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. “Neither is the applicant expected to have extensive knowledge of the subject. Rather, this discussion gives the interviewer a chance to see that the candidate, in preparing for a career in medicine, is aware of the issues confronting the profession.”7 With the changes that are occurring in our health care system, schools seek to identify students who have an interest in finding solutions to our nation’s health care problems. “Just as we learn to diagnose diseases and develop treatment plans for individual patients, we must also learn to diagnose and treat problems in the systems,” writes Dr. Paul Rockey, former Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. “Too often our profession has left this task to administrators, regulators, and insurers. Medical care doesn’t end when we leave the patient’s bedside or exit the examining room.”8 BECOME WELL INFORMED OF HEALTHCARE ISSUES If you’re feeling unprepared to handle these questions, take comfort in knowing that others feel the same. University of Michigan researchers surveyed more than 58,000 graduating U.S. medical students from 2003 – 2007. Nearly half of the students felt inadequately prepared in understanding the health care system, health economics, managed care, or managing a practice.9 In another survey of over 800 medical students in Minnesota, researchers sought to determine knowledge of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Less than half reported
understanding the law’s basic components.10 To increase knowledge of health care issues, schools have incorporated coursework into their curricula. “Ten or 15 years ago, most schools did not have anything involving health care policy," said Dr. Matthew Mintz, Associate Professor of Medicine at George Washington University in an interview with Slate. “Medicine was medicine and policy was policy and why would doctors want to learn anything about policy?"11 Today, most medical schools include health policy, business and/or delivery teaching along with traditional subjects like anatomy and pathology. Medical students have also taken the initiative to develop resources to enhance understanding of complex issues in the health care system. One such text is the Health Care Handbook written by Elisabeth Askin and Nathan Moore, students at the Washington University School of Medicine. “We wanted to write a book that would be like giving people little floaties to help them learn to swim through the vast and confusing ocean that is health care,” said Elisabeth in an interview with the New York Times.12 Other recommended resources to help you become well informed include American Medical News, AMSA The New Physician, Virtual Mentor, KevinMD, and the New York Times Health Section. With your interview invitation in hand, you are one step closer to your goal: medical school. Although developing an understanding of the health care system may seem daunting, now is the time to recognize current healthcare issues, identify gaps in your knowledge, and take steps to expand your understanding. It’s well worth the effort. REFERENCES 1. Dunleavy D, Sondheimer H, Bletzinger R, Castillo-Page L. Medical school admissions: more than grades and test scores. AIB 2011: 11 (6). 2. Dr. Gregory Polites (personal communication). 3. University of Washington School of Medicine. Available at: http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/admissions/applicants/pages/interview.aspx. Accessed June 16, 2013. 4. Florida State University College of Medicine. Available at: http://med.fsu.edu/?page=mdAdmissions.interview. Accessed June 17, 2013. 5. Texas Tech University School of Medicine. Available at: http://www.ttuhsc.edu/som/admissions/umsi.aspx. Accessed June 17, 2013. 6. Dr. Will Ross (personal communication). 7. Elam C, Burke M, Wiggs J, Speck D. The medical school admission interview: perspectives on preparation. NACADA Journal 1998; 18 (2): 28 – 32. 8. Rockey P, Winship M. Nurturing leaders for an environmental change. Available at: http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2009/11/pfor1-0911.html. Accessed June 15, 2013. 9. Patel M, Lypson M, Davis M. Medical student perceptions of education in health care systems. Acad Med 2009; 84 (9): 1301-6. 10. Winkelman T, Antiel R, Davey C, Tilburt J, Song J. Medical students and the Affordable Care Act: uninformed and undecided. Arch Intern Med 2012; 172 (20): 16035. 11. Beam C. Is our doctors learning? Why aren’t medical students taught about health care policy? Available at: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/prescriptions/2009/06/is_our_doctors_learning.html. Accessed June 15, 2013. 12. Chen P. Two medical students navigate the health care maze. Available at: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/two-medical-students-navigate-thehealth-care-maze/. Accessed June 17, 2013.
About the Author Dr. Samir Desai is a faculty member at the Baylor College of Medicine where he serves on the medical school admissions committee. He is the author of 14 books that have sold over 150,000 copies, including The Medical School Interview: WinningStrategies fromAdmissions Faculty and Success in Medical School: Insider Advice for the Preclinical Years. He provides mock interview consulting services to students at www.TheSuccessfulMatch.com. He can be reached at sdesai@md2b.net.
BE FEATURED IN PreMedLife! Want to be in PreMedLife magazine? Here are some stories we’re working on that we’d love your input on! MEDICAL SCHOOL INTERVIEW STORIES Did you ace your medical school interview and want to share your experience? We’d love to hear from you. ENTREPRENEURIAL PREMEDS Calling all premed entrepreneurs! Have you started your own business? We want to hear from you! INSPIRING PHYSICIAN Do you know a physician who is doing amazing things? Tell us how you know that person and what makes them so amazing CALL FOR OP-EDS Are you passionate about something? Pitch us your idea for an op-ed piece and we’ll let you know if we’re interested in having you write it up for the magazine. PERSONAL STORIES Do you have a personal story that you think would make an interesting read for premeds? In the past we’ve featured a medical student juggling school and motherhood and a premed’s internship experience. We’d love to hear your story.
Email us at info@premedlife.com September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 27
we know you love us ...so why don’t you ‘LIKE US’? facebook.com/premedlife
10 Unique Medical School CoursesYou Probably Never Heard About
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by D.B. Blas
Looking for a medical school that may offer you the cure for the traditional course? Check out these unique and interesting offerings that you probably never heard about.
SHARING MY PATH TO MEDICAL SCHOOL The University of Alabama School of Medicine gives students from rural backgrounds who also attended a rural high school the opportunity to â&#x20AC;&#x153;give backâ&#x20AC;? by sharing their own personal story about their path to medical school and encouraging medicine as a career option.
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by drburtoni
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT Baylor College of Medicine designed this course to â&#x20AC;&#x153;bring to light many of the problems which cause serious physical, emotional and biopsychosocial trauma to patients but are currently not well-discussed in the academic curriculum.â&#x20AC;? Topics include child abuse, forced prostitution, interpersonal violence, homeless youth, mental illness in the homeless, and human trafficking.
30 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by jharris0221
MEDICINE IN THE WILD Offered by the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS, this unique course is designed specifically for third and fourth year medical students and residents and is the ultimate combination of skills, leadership, and medicine. Students from over 50 medical schools have successfully completed this as an elective course.
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 31
PreMedLife Magazine
Subscribe Today For more information about PreMedLife Magazine, visit us online at www.premedlife.com
twitter.com/premedlife
facebook.com/premedlife
Photo credit: jgroup/ 123RF Stock Photo
MEDICAL HYPNOSIS Scientific studies have shown that hypnosis can be effective in medicine and students at Harvard Medical School get the chance to look at the hard facts. “The course encourages active student participation in the scientific and clinical review of medical hypnosis as applied to medical disorders and psychological syndromes,” according to the school’s website. “The course highlights the power of patient expectation and the skill of the practicing physician in shaping the patient’s expectations and hope.”
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 33
Only six students are accepted for this Harvard Medical School Course which takes place at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. For this course, students are expected to assess and treat patients, as well as lend a hand with operations at the Carlos Otis Stratton Mountain Clinic. According to the school’s website, “most students have found the course to be a busy and stimulating experience and also enjoyed the facilities at one of New England’s premier winter sports resorts.
34 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by nonanet
SKIING INJURIES
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by nicole.pierce.photography
THE DREAM MACHINE This course at Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai “draws inspiration from current research, positioning that examination of dreams will help students to better process their transition into the medical field.” Sounds interesting, right? Students get the chance to “discuss their dreams (anonymously) in a non-judgmental setting as psychoanalytically oriented psychiatrists give their feedback to ultimately help students grow professionally and counter the obstacles to growth they may encounter in their medical education.”
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 35
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by lePhotography
GREAT EXPERIMENTS IN BIOLOGY Could you imagine how many experiments have been conducted since the beginning of time? Well, this course offered at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is designed to expose students to some of the great experiments from 1700 to the present, and the creative thinking that inspired them. Students will read approximately 20 classic papers in the biological sciences, including those written by Benjamin Franklin, Robert Koch, Seligh Hecht, Lubert Stryer, Christine NussienVolhard, Alec Jeffries, and Avram Hershko.
36 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
CONNECT WITH PREMEDLIFE.
t
PML print edition
a lifestyle magazine for
FREE DIGITAL COPY
f
PRE MED LIFE pre-medical students
PREMEDLIFE. com
print. digital. social.
Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.
This course, offered by Upstate Medical University, is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. Medical students spend 18 months at the side of an expectant mom from mid-pregnancy through birth and the baby’s first year of life. The course “seeks to provide students with a solid introduction to issues surrounding patient-physician relations. It also offers insight into the psychosocial dimension of care and the influence that pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding have on a women’s and maternal/child’s health and family building.
38 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by tamakisono
THE MIRACLE
YOGA IMMERSION & MEDICINE
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by GO INTERACTIVE WELLNESS
For all of the yoga enthusiasts out there, the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine wants to teach students about the anatomy and physiology of yoga and its impact on health and well-being, as well as some of the clinical applications of yoga and yoga therapy - yes, yoga therapy. “Lectures will enhance students’ understanding of and appreciation for yoga as a therapeutic approach, exploring concepts of anatomy, physiology related to breath, movement, neuroplasticity, and prenatal yoga.”
Photo credit: cc licensed flickr photo by Mr. Lunastorta
MEDICINE
AND
HORSES
As the description on Stanford School of Medicine’s website puts it, “horses mirror and magnify the interpersonal dynamics of the physician-patient relationship. Working with horses requires sensitivity to nonverbal cues, discrimination in the quality and amount of physical contact, a keen awareness of one’s emotional state, a well-developed sense of empathy and kindness, an ability to identify subjectivity in communication, and an effort to overcome one’s fear and immobility in the face of uncertainty.”
40 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
we know you love us ...so why don’t you ‘LIKE US’? facebook.com/premedlife
PreMedLife Magazine
Subscribe Today For more information about PreMedLife Magazine, visit us online at www.premedlife.com
twitter.com/premedlife
facebook.com/premedlife
Image: Daniel Borman/Flickr
Is Obamacare T Really Responsible For the
he U.S. is headed for a potential crisis in terms of doctors that will be needed to service the growing population, and some would have us believe that expanded healthcare is to blame. It that assertion grounded in reality, or simply partisan rhetoric? Let's look at the facts.
HOW
BIG IS THE PROBLEM?
In 2006, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimated that the shortage of practicing physicians would reach 91,500 by 2020 unless measures are taken to correct the shortage. Their recommendations include expanding medical programs in the U.S. by 30% and expanding residency opportunities to accept the additional influx of prospective doctors.
Looming
Doctor Shortage
?
BY SHERRY GRAY
THE AGING POPULATION Following World War II, when all the young men returned home in a triumphant wave, birth rates exploded. Nine months later, 3.4 million babies were born. As a result, 1946 saw a 20% increase in population over previous years, and the Baby Boomer generation was on the rise. The birth rate continued to rise every year thereafter until 1964, when the number of newborns finally started to subside and the population explosion waned. More than 76 million American children came into the world during those two decades, representing 40% of the total population. During the late 1950s, 60s, and 70s, the greatest generation achieved adulthood, the economy was strong, and the middle class thrived. In 2010, the first of the boomers turned 65. Over the next twenty years, 10,000 people will turn 65 every day. By 2030, the number of retirementaged people will swell to more than 80 million. This will influence the doctor shortage in several ways. Approximately 40% of all practicing doctors are currently over 55, and according to the Deloitte 2013 Survey of U.S. Physicians, 60% of them are planning early retirement. That many physicians retiring at once will result in a significant gap in the workforce.
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 43
RISING HEALTH CONCERNS Adding to the problem, baby boomers are living longer, but are not becoming more healthy. Approximately 21 million people entering retirement are expected to be obese, and 14 million will have diabetes. Cancer is on the rise, and heart disease is still a major factor among seniors. In terms of care and cost, all of the major health concerns are far more prevalent in older people. Chronic diseases account for 75% of all health care costs and result in 7 out of ten deaths.
CONGRESSIONAL OBSTRUCTION Another contributing factor to the doctor shortage is, simply stated, Congressional priorities. “From 1980 to 2005, the population of the United States grew by 70 million people, an increase of 31 percent,” Karl Altenburger, MD, a board member of the Physicians Foundation told Healthcare Finance News. “During that same time, no increase in the number of doctors has been produced.” Medicare traditionally helps launch new doctors with subsidies to teaching hospitals to cover the cost of training and keep hospital technology up-to-date. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 capped Medicare funds at 1996 levels for most teaching hospitals. This has not been addressed in a meaningful way since, and as a result, teaching hospitals are unable to expand their programs to new residency programs. The ACA did not eliminate the cap, but allowed for an 8% increase, funding training for 300 additional new physicians per year. It's a start, but the need is far greater. Roughly 10,000 new physicians per year are needed to meet per capita demand. Without available residency programs, expanding medical schools are reluctant to add programs, leaving many frustrated medical students to attend schools in other countries. About 90% of medical school applicants who are turned away and head overseas wind up in Caribbean medical schools, but when they return home they face the lack of residency positions, along with incoming international students.
THE ACA EFFECT The Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) provides affordable medical insurance to the working poor – people who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, are too young to qualify for Medicare, are not provided insurance by their employers, and who cannot afford exorbitant private insurance. An estimated additional 32 million people, about 10% of the U.S. population, will benefit from health insurance as a result of the law. It's a big number, until you look down the road. More people insured today means better preventative care and better control of epidemic outbreaks. Expensive chronic issues like obesity, heart disease,
Balancing the budget is an admirable goal, but blaming Obamacare for causing the shortage is demonstrably false, and repealing the law will not solve the problem some cancers, and diabetes are more likely to be caught early and addressed, possibly even prevented; potentially saving billions in taxpayer dollars. For low-income families, being able to see a doctor for non-emergency healthcare provides better doctor-patient relationships and gives the doctor an opportunity to educate patients about lifestyle choices and early warning signs. More affordable healthcare will also result in better compliance. Patients who do not adhere to their prescribed medical regimen are costly...the estimated cost of nonadherence ranges from $100 billion to $300 billion per year, a figure that encompasses avoidable hospitalizations, premature death, and admittance to hospice and nursing homes. Insuring more people and lowering the cost of visits and medications is estimated to save billions in
44 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
avoidable costs. Barriers to adherence include lack of health insurance, associated costs, inadequate follow-up, poor patient understanding, and psychological problems such as depression. The ACA is certainly a contributor to the doctor shortage, but hardly the sole or even the main cause. It can take nearly a decade to train a physician, and the baby boomer retirement age should have come as no surprise to anyone. Balancing the budget is an admirable goal, but blaming Obamacare for causing the shortage is demonstrably false, and repealing the law will not solve the problem.
AN UNFORTUNATE CONSEQUENCE Today, 25% of our high-paying physician jobs are filled by doctors native to other countries, while decent wage manufacturing jobs are shipped overseas and kids with Bachelor's degrees are bagging groceries and flipping burgers. If and when Congress does get around to addressing the issue, and the residency programs are funded for more students, the initial students are most likely to be attracted from international schools. With all the bad press surrounding outsourcing, it is grand irony that Congress would continue to ignore this issue. Residency programs should have been expanded to meet foreseeable need at least ten years ago.
Image: Karenr/123RF Stock Photo
THE EVOLVING MEDICAL LANDSCAPE One response to the doctor shortage is fairly straightforward and already in action. Some states, like South Carolina, allow nurse practitioners to practice independently if they are in contact with a doctor within a certain distance who is available by phone during operating hours. By shifting routine healthcare to NPs, widely separated rural populations can be better served and doctors can focus on issues that require more expertise. Technology comes into play with medical teams and patients communicating via telehealth, and there's a growing trend toward teamwork, with one doctor overseeing a staff of NPs and RNs who absorb the bulk routine care, consulting the doctor as necessary. THE OPPORTUNITY For aspiring med students, this can be viewed as a huge opportunity in the notso-distant future. Student loan debt is at the forefront of the national consciousness, and if the current Congress members do not act to ease the burden, their replacements certainly will. The government also must eventually come around to the residency issue. As part of the healthcare law, in 2010, the Comptroller General of the United States appointed the first 15 members to the National Health Care Workforce
Commission. The purpose of this commission is to analyze the medical workforce, identify needs and worker distribution, evaluate education and training, make recommendations to improve coordination at federal, state, and local levels, and make recommendations for innovative ways to address the needs of a growing population, new technologies, and other factors that affect medical care. Three years later, no funding has been appropriated for the commission, so its members have never held a meeting and the mission has yet to begin. Growing public awareness of the problem will eventually influence policy decisions. Congress cannot ignore the problem forever. Once solutions are implemented and medical residency programs have expanded, we'll need as many American students in or ready for medical school as possible. Today's students will take medicine in a whole new direction; this generation cut their teeth on crowdsourcing, technology, and collaboration. They bring a refreshing new attitude to the table, along with the innovative skills to tackle tomorrow's healthcare challenges. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sherry Gray is a freelance writer who lives in the Orlando, FL area. Science, politics, and medicine are her favorite topics to write about and obsess over.
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 45
BOOKNOTES
A student’s perspective and review of reading material relevant to the lives of pre-medical student
Final Exam:
A Surgeon’s Reflection on Mortality “We remember the old saying: Si vis pacem, para bellum. If you desire peace, prepare for war. It would be timely thus to paraphrase it: Si vis vitam, para mortem. If you would endure life, be prepared for death.” –Sigmund Freud auline Chen, an award-winning New York Times columnist and ivy-league trained liver transplant and cancer surgeon, believed she would one day save lives. In her book Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality, Chen explains how failed to realize how much death would play a role in her profession, and ultimately, her life. Looking into the exuberant reputation of modern day medicine, many are predisposed to believe that it holds the power to heal and better one’s health. It is this reputation that led Chen to encounter inconsistencies between her preconceived expectations of a life in medicine and the reality she faced as early as her gross anatomy dissection lab. Through her vivid imagery and freeflowing lines, Chen layers numerous anecdotes that slowly build to reveal the overarching message of the book—that there is an essential paradox in medicine. She explains how “a profession premised on caring for the ill also systematically depersonalizes dying.” This depersonalization that Chen describes so intimately is instrumental to medicine’s skewed reputation and is the reason why those who desire a career in medicine often times have false preconceptions of what exactly it involves. In the ninth chapter of her book, Chen explains, with intricate detail, her encounter with her own reflection. The Asian-American organ donor on the operating table was the mirror image of Chen—“For a moment I saw a reflection of my own life and I left as if I were pulling apart my own flesh . . . I could not bear to think of herself—myself—as dead and would once again think in my confused, sleep-deprived state of her as alive.” She soon thereafter describes how this encounter placed her in a position to write detailed accounts of her experiences with death. After reviewing the detailed descriptions she would write in bound notebooks, grief and
Image: cobalt123/Flickr
P
Through her vivid imagery and free-flowing lines, Chen layers numerous anecdotes that slowly build to reveal the overarching message of the book—that there is an essential paradox in medicine. shame overtook her. This is when she “began to see what [she] had become.” She, like many other physicians, became consumed by the stifling inevitability of death. In her epilogue, Chen presents Dorinne, a former teacher who developed suspicious nodules on her liver. Taken away by the news of her former teacher and good friend, Chen waited painfully for lab results that revealed Dorinne’s mass to be a rare form of a benign tumor. These ten long days of waiting made Chen realize that “our grief is the price we pay for caring for the terminally ill, and our aversion is the weight that anchors our inertia and denial.” This awareness, along with the realization that “we will work
46 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
almost maniacally to forestall the inevitable but then stubbornly . . . refuse to face it for fear of losing our focus on the goal of cure,” is what allowed Chen to accept death and become a physician who is very well aware of what medicine really entails. Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality, an award-winning book, is a must read for future health professionals. It explains the inevitability of death through personal narratives and reveals an important paradox that we must all be aware of. The reputation of medicine has masked this inevitability of death by making us believe that it is solely based on curing and defending people from disease. We must understand that death plays an imperative role in medicine and that first-rate end of life care is the key to becoming a true and contributing medical professional. “For doctors, this care at the end of life is, as this book’s title implies, our final exam. Unfortunately, few doctors are up to the task.” It takes the strongest and most determined medical professionals to pass this final exam. Jared Eaves is a junior business and pre-medical student at The University of Texas at Austin. His interests include music, human physiology, volunteering abroad, and traveling.
CONNECT WITH PREMEDLIFE.
t
PML print edition
a lifestyle magazine for
FREE DIGITAL COPY
f
PRE MED LIFE pre-medical students
PREMEDLIFE. com
print. digital. social.
Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.
q When I take on a project, I want to start doing instead of planning. q When I need to take a break from studying, I have to get up and move around my room. q I can work effectively in Starbucks or at a table in the cafeteria q I don't need to be at my desk to do homework. q I would like to ride my bike to class, if I don't already. q I am often aware of the temperature the classroom. q When I pick up something as ordinary as my stapler, my mind drifts to memories somehow associated with a stapler. q I use the trial and error approach to problem-solving q I enjoy sports and do well at several different types of sports q I use my hands when describing things q I have to rewrite or type my class notes to reinforce the material.
How Smart Students Study
Experts say knowing your learning style is one of the easiest ways for students to improve their academic skills.
Ă&#x153;
TOTAL POINTS _________
Experts say that each person has a unique learning profile that consists of various components. Once you discover your brainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique preferred way of absorbing, storing, and retrieving information, you will begin to study more effectively and perform better on exams. The following is information about learning characteristics and strategies for different types of learners. Students should think about what applies to them and how it can help them become "smart" students. Many studies have revealed that students who are able to identify their learning styles can use the information to improve comprehension and memory.
WHAT'S YOUR LEARNING STYLE? TAKE THE QUIZ. So the first step is to begin by identifying if you are a visual, audio, or kinesthetic/tactile learner. Directions: To find out what you learning style is add 1 point for each statement that STRONGLY fits your personality. q I prefer to listen to books on tape or to read books aloud. q The more I discuss a problem with my classmates, I find it easier to find a solution q I remember what people have said before I remember who said it. q I like to complete one task before starting a new one.
THE THREE TYPES
So what type of learner are you? After you take the quiz visit www.premedlife.com to find out what your score means. AUDITORY LEARNER STUDY STRATEGIES Record class lectures to listen to repeatedly, such as in the car while traveling. Read text and notes out loud. You may also find it helpful to join a study group or work with a partner to discuss and review material
q A train could be passing through my living room and I would still be able to hold a good conversation with my Aunt Sally on the phone. q When I forget how to spell a word, I sound it out. q My papers and notebooks always seem messy q When I read, I need to use my index finger to tract my place on the line q I would rather listen and learn than read and learn q In school, I only needed to attend class lectures to perform fine on the tests.
q I can remember that I need to do something if I write it down. q I need to visualize myself wearing something to make a decision about what I want to wear. q I take copious notes during class and often can remember what the page of notes looks like before I remember what the notes say. q I need to look at a person when they're speaking. q It has to be quiet for me to be able to complete my work. q I am horrible at remembering jokes. q I can remember phone numbers if I can visualize typing them on a phone's key pad. q I have trouble following lectures q I doodle or draw pictures on the margins of my notebook pages q When I take a test, I can see the textbook page of my notes in my head
TOTAL POINTS _________
TOTAL POINTS _________
orally. Study in a quiet place. Make up a song using subject matter or key words; rhymes also work well to remember facts, dates, names, etc. TACTILE/KINESTHETIC STUDY STRATEGIES Incorporate physical activity into learning by moving around when studying, using fingers to name off ideas or items for review, reading aloud, listening to audio tapes of material while exercising. Sit near the front of the room and take notes throughout lectures. Jot down key words and draw pictures or make charts or diagrams to help remember information
48 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
you are seeing and hearing. Take frequent breaks in study periods. Try to "beat the clock"-set up 30-minute study sessions and cover a specific amount of information in that time. VISUAL LEARNER Use graphics, including but not limited to, diagrams, charts, illustrations, slides, timelines, outlines, to reinforce learning. You may also find it useful to make flashcards of vocabulary words and concepts that need to be memorized.
TheFitnessGroup
For fitness tips, exercise tutorials, health news, events, and workout programs check out The Fitness Group at www.thafitnessgroup.com
THEGOODS
PI
CK
Our pick of items that will add some flair to your pre-medical life and perhaps put a smile on your face
ED I
TO R
’S
à
A Day at the Beach The Executive Sandbox is great for imaginary getaways at home or school. The Zen garden desktop beach features fun accessories and comes with a hardwood sandbox and pearl white sand.
}
~
Honest Acronyms Sticky Notes These fun and unique sticky notes combine the love of stickies and list-making all in one little folio. Keep your list real organized with stick pads for wevery WFT, OMG, or FYI occasion in your life.
} 50 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
On the Fritz Broken Wall Clock This “broken” clock has a second hand with a mind of its own. It’s pretty simple - this clock is a fun alternative to your traditional clock. Many who have the clock say that it can easily lighten the mood in any room it hangs.
Spinning Decision Maker Now when you’re having a little trouble making a decision, you can use the Spinning Decision Maker to help make things a Little easier. This neat “decision maker” which also doubles as a paperweight, is not only fun and entertaining, but is also a cool way to decorate your personal and work spaces.
~
~
Zipper Bookmark
Think you’ve seen all of the cool bookmarks you could ever see? Well, think again! The Zipmark Zipper Bookmark Book Page is one of the most creative bookmarks we’ve ever seen. It comes in red, blue, and green and can fit most types of books, including textbooks varying in size.
Relatively Strong Mints
}
Appropriately named, these Albert Einstein Relatively Strong Mints are packed in a pocket-sized, collectible tin and are ready for you to enjoy after mealtime or whenever you please.
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 51
INTHESTACKS Books we think that those aspiring to become doctors might be interested in reading SO YOU WANNA BE A DOCTOR: THE UNTOLD STORIES OF MEDICAL, DENTAL, AND VETERINARY RESIDENTS by Shermian P. Daniel, M.D. As a pre-med student, there are never too many stories you could read about the experiences of those in the field. Contributors to this book share the stories of their medical education, encounters with patients, and their passion for health and medicine. The book also gives readers a look at the lives of doctors in several different specialties including, but not limited to, Anesthesia, Pathology, Pediatrics, Dermatology, and Ob/Gyn. For stories from individuals who have “been there and done that,” this book offers aspiring doctors a wide array of perspectives. ER CONFESSIONAL by Kyle Smith, D.O., Ph.D., FACP As no story from someone working in the field of medicine is ever the same, Dr. Kyle Smith, a former emergency room physician and current nephrologist in the practice of interventional and endovascular medicine, offers a candid look into life behind the ER doors. Dr. Smith explains that pursuing a career in medicine was an “afterthought” and not something he decided to do right away. After graduating with his medical degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center he completed three fellowships before accepting a position as an ER doctor at the same facility. And it is this same facility at which Dr. Smith drew from the experiences featured in the book. THE SPIRIT THAT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN: A HMONG CHILD, HER AMERICAN DOCTORS, AND THE COLLISION OF TWO CULTURES by Anne Fadiman In her novel, Anne Fadiman tells the story of what happens when two different cultures come face-to-face in the world of medicine. In the book, the Hmong culture and the American culture class as Lia Lee, an infant daughter of Hmong immigrants, arrives at a hospital in California with an epileptic seizure. The seizure, according to Lee’s parents, is the result of a slammed door, a spirit catching Lia and the loos of her soul. The American doctors of course attribute the infant’s experience to short circuits in the brain that can be stopped with the adminstration of medication. And that’s where the conflict rears its ugly head. FRAGILE BEGINNINGS: DISCOVERIES AND TRIUMPHS IN THE NEWBORN ICU by Adam Wolfberg, MD In his medical narration of the world of newborns in intensive care, Dr. Adam Wolfberg shows readers that the doctors caring for these brand new human beings are “brilliant, but imperfect.” Dr. Wolfberg, a specialist in high-risk obstetrics at Tufts Medical Center and an assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, also follows a young scientists by the name of Jason Carmel who decided to pursue a future in neuroscience following a devastating accident that left hsi twin brother paralyzed.
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 53
BETTERLIFEBETTERYOU Latest news and information on taking care of yourself as a busy student living the pre-med life
Exercise Helps the Brain Fight Off Stress Researchers have found that rather than exercise influencing sleep, a person’s quality of sleep can actually influence next day exercise. The new findings, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, are the result of a study conducted by researchers from Feinberg School of Medicine. Involved in the study were 11 women with insomnia who participated in 30 minutes of aerobic exercises three times per week. The
Fatty Diet May Have LongLasting Effects on Memory for Adolescents A diet filled with calories from unhealthy, saturated fat may have long-lasting effects on the developing brain in adolescence, according to researchers from Spain. For the study lead author Mariano RuizGayo, PhD a professor of pharmacology at CEU-San Pablo University in Madrid, and colleagues, gave one group of male adolescent mice a diet in which almost half of the calories cam from saturated fat and the other group of mice a “conventional” diet with the same
54 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
A recent study shows that a person’s quality of sleep can actually influence exercise the following day
women were responsible for reporting their quality of sleep at the beginning of the study and after 16 weeks. Additionally, data was collected in sleep and exercise logs and wrist activity. The results of the study revealed that total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and overall sleep quality improved over the course of the 16 weeks. According to Dr. Baron, people who suffer from insomnia and other sleep issues tend to be “neurologically different. “They have what we characterize as a hyper-arousal of the stress system,” she explained. “It could potentially even exacerbate it, since exercise is itself a physical stressor.” If you habitually experience insomnia and don’t currently exercise,” said Dr. Kelly Glazer Baron, clinical psychologist and lead researcher of the study, “start. Don’t, however, expect that you will enjoy or complete workouts the day after a broken night’s sleep, or that you will sleep better hours after you’ve exercised.
amount of calories, minus the high-fat content. Then, researchers conducted test to asses the rodents’ spatial memory. The researchers reported that the mice that received the high-fat diet took significantly longer to complete the memory test to find a new object. Moreover, researchers explained that even after the mice received a reducedcalorie diet, the damage to their memory did not reverse, suggesting that the changes were long-term. “The study shows that normocaloric diets containing high amounts of saturated fat might have deleterious and long-lasting effects on the developing brain, even in the absence of apparent diabetes,” Dr. Ruiz-Gayo noted. Dr. RuizGayo suggested that the brain’s memory centers are easily affected by a high-fat diet during adolescent years due to changes in hormone levels. The study findings were presented at The Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
cc licensed flickr photo by enggul
Health | Wellness | Fitness | Nutrition | Mind & Body
cc licensed flickr photo by cherrylet
newstouse
For fitness tips, motivation, healthy eating, and workouts visit www.THAFitnessGroup.com
cc licensed flickr photo by SimonQ
Eating Yogurt Has Positive Affect on Brain Function
Facebook May Help Improve Self Esteem
Stress and anxiety can be relieved by eating yogurt twice a day, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the UCLA School of Medicine. To examine the link between probiotics and how the brain functions, the researchers studied three groups of women: the first group was fed yogurt with probiotics, the second group were give a diary product similar to yogurt, and the last group were not given anything. At the start and at the end of the study the research team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to determine the women’s brains in the state of rest and in response to a task to measure their emotions. The results of the study revealed that compared to the women who
were given the “yogurt-like” product, participants who consumed probiotic yogurt had lower activity in the parts of the brain associated with emotions. “Many of us have a container of yogurt in our refrigerator that we may eat for enjoyment, for calcium, or because we think it might help our health in other ways,” said Dr. Kirsten Tillisch, an associate professor of medicine in the digestive diseases division at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “Our findings indicate that some of the contents of yogurt may actually change the way our brain responds to the environment. When we consider the implications of this work, the old sayings ‘you are what you eat’ and ‘gut feelings’ take on a new meaning.”
cc licensed flickr photo by jamelah
In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers have revealed that using Facebook and looking at the profile page can boost levels of self-esteem. Unfortunately, however, this same behavior can also reduce motivation to perform well in simple tasks. To determine the effect of Facebook on self-esteem or behavior, lead researcher Catalina Toma, an assistant professor of communication arts at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and colleagues, used a test called the “Implicit Association Test”. This tool be used to assess whether or not any psychological factors came into play when study participants used the online networking site. The findings showed that after only a few minutes of looking at their Facebook profile page, participants experienced a significant boost in self-esteem. “If you have high self-esteem, then you can very quickly associate words related to yourself with positive evaluations, but have a difficult time associating words related to yourself with negative evaluations. But if you have low self-esteem, the opposite is true,” Toma explained. “Our culture places great value on having high self-esteem. For this reason, people typically inflate their level of self-esteem in self-report questionnaires. The Implicit Association Test removes this bias.” The new research was published in Media Psychology.
September/October 2013 | PreMedLife Magazine | 55
LASTWORD
Some final thoughts on getting through your days as a college student
“
I got into medical school at the University of California in San Francisco and did well. A lot of smart kids in medical school, and believe me, I wasn’t nearly the smartest one,
but I was the most focused and the happiest kid in medical school.
”
In 1979, I graduated as the valedictorian and was honored with the Gold Cane Award.” -RICHARD CARMONA, an American physician and former Surgeon General
“
Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown your own inner voice.
And most important, have th courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become.
”
Everything else is secondary.
– STEVE JOBS was an American entrepreneur, marketer, and inventor, who was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc.
“
Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while other are playing;
”
and dream while others are wishing.
–ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone
“
Medicine is learned by the bedside and not in the classroom. Let not your conceptions of disease come from words heard in the lecture room or read from a book.
”
See, and then reason and compare and control. But see first.
–WILLIAM OSLER was a Canadian physician and one of the four founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital
56 | PreMedLife Magazine | September/October 2013
Premed / Pre-Health / Post Bacc Electives & Study Abroad in Africa
A F R I C A
Our program offers the following: Ø Opportunity for early exposure to medicine Ø A unique way to demonstrate intent and interest in medical school application Ø See healthcare delivery in a different setting Ø Cultural exchange and an appreciation of other cultures, including a Safari to famous Maasai Mara if placed in Kenya
info@electiveafrica.com
www.electiveafrica.com
Elective Africa's Premed / Pre-Health / Post Bacc program offers well structured and well supervised placements for Premed / Pre-Health / Post Bacc students seeking to study abroad, get independent study and be involved in experiential learning or volunteer programs in Africa.
Medical Programs
Safari to Masai Mara
Ø Student electives ð Surgery, Pediatrics, General Medicine, Obstetrics
& Gynecology, Emergency & Critical Care, Dentistry Ø Premed programs Ø Public health research Ø Medical camps Ø Nursing Ø Midwifery Ø Physician Assistant
“Doing a medical elective in Kenya was an eye opening experience. I got to see the developing world health system and range of tropical diseases not normally prevalent in Australia. It was a really hands on experience. I got to learn and perform skills like administering injections, catheters and suturing patients. I was also able to take part in the examining, differentials, diagnosing and formulating treatment plans. The highlight for me would have to be the amazing new friends I have made and the motivation I have taken back home. I would recommend this program to anyone considering it.” Cassanne Eccleston Charles Sturt University Australia, August 2010
http://www.electiveafrica.com