In medical school, certain things are more valuable than otheres. Much like second graders bartering lunches away, Med students swap valuable things, which on the outside may not be as valuable.
Typed lecture transcripts, excel spreadsheets of micro bugs, Anki flashcard decks, these are the high value objects. They are shared amongst fellow students like pinworm in kindergarten.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Insomnia?
Recently, I have had problems getting to sleep. I don't know if it is clinically insomnia however. Typically, the problems I am having is getting to sleep. Mostly, a few weeks ago, I was going to bed at a 'normal' time of around 10 or 11 and basically lying in bed thinking, "I should be doing X, Y, Z..." Then, I would not actually get to sleep until 2 or 3 in the AM. I finally decided that this wated 3-4 hours could be spent in productive activities. So, against my better judgement, I decided to wait to go to bed until I felt I was absolutely about to pass out. Now, my sleep schedule has shifted to going to sleep around 3 in the AM and getting up between 9 and 11. (Note, that classes are held in my program from 2-6 in the evening. So, this schedule works for when I need to be places). I have started taking melatonin supplements to get to sleep when I need to, but often feel snowed the next half day after taking these. I don't have any big revelations about this, I'm not sure quite what to make of it. Is this normal? Will I regret the decision to shift my schedule later? I'm not sure yet. Should I sacrifice sleep in order to to do more work. I know that learning is not converted to memory until you sleep on it. So, in some ways, cutting down on sleep is going to cut down on my learnin
g, right? I won't know the answers till after the next exam... Based on the results I will be able to tell you how it worked.
g, right? I won't know the answers till after the next exam... Based on the results I will be able to tell you how it worked.
Everything you do is for the purpose of MedSchool....
In Medical School, everything you do is for the purpose of success on the next exam. If you sleep, eat, take a nap, watch a TV show, visit with family, it is usually for the purpose of recharging yourself for the next bout of studying. While I do still do a measured amount of leisure activities, they are all done for the purpose of taking a break and recharging my batteries for the next round of effort. Leisure is not done for just the purpose of leisure.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Something I've been struggling with
I haven't been in a true classroom situation in several years. What I remember from my undergrad is that people don't like people who always answer the questions the profs ask. I'm not saying that I always answer the questions they give correctly, but as I do sit in the front row, it is easier for me to propose an answer. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who tries to answer these questions. Part of my learning curve the first week was to realize when I was sure / not sure if I knew something. I certainly blurted out some dumb answers. For example, I said that glucose would be transported by facilitated diffusion. Wrong-o! However, I do have more experience than many of the people in the class and because of that I probably do have a more in-depth knowledge on certain topics. These guys will have an additional 10 years of doctor income that I won't have so I might as well get in a few right answers, eh? I also am wondering why I feel the need to answer the questions at times. Why don't I just keep the right answer in my head and not feel the need to call it out? I think part of it is that I have had a bad run, recently and sort of need the confidence. I need to feel like I know what I am doing. Another aspect is that having been a teacher, I know what the emptiness of blank stares feels like. I feel like I am helping out by proposing the right answer to a question. Getting up in front of a large class of blank faces is nerve wracking no matter how often you do it. There always will be some aspect of nerves. So, in my mind anyway I am helping out the prof by showing that I am actually listening. Whether or not the prof perceives it this way I will never know. Finally, In this program we are all auditioning for getting into MS1 next year. So, I feel like if I am interactive and perceived by the profs as being somewhat not-braindead. Then, if they influence the admissions decision at all, it might give me a bit of a leg up. However, there is the chance that if I am too aggressive in answering questions then I may alienate possible alliances with peer groups and the profs would notice that too. They might think I have no social skills, or a big ego. Part of it also is that I have very little fear of public speaking after teaching for awhile, so I'm not afraid to say the wrong thing. Others may be struggling with this. There has to be a fine balance there somewhat. For sure, I have sat on some answers to questions just because I don't want to be the one that everyone dislikes in class. And, like I've mentioned before I have a distinct advantage in that my assigned seat is in the front row. I can imagine that someone all the way in the back may not even be able to be heard by the prof.
I guess I will take it as a blessing that I feel I know most of the answers to questions profs ask in class; with the understanding that I need to strike a balance between not answering all the questions and also not being totally silent.
PS I'm almost certain that this is something that a Guy would not even consider as a problem. I think it is part of the female conditioning process to be told that you have to be quiet / demure / retiring. "Oh, golly I just don't know; my female brain just can't handle this hard stuff.... " I think females do this to other females more so. If one female ignores the social custom of not speaking out the others will respond negatively.
I guess I will take it as a blessing that I feel I know most of the answers to questions profs ask in class; with the understanding that I need to strike a balance between not answering all the questions and also not being totally silent.
PS I'm almost certain that this is something that a Guy would not even consider as a problem. I think it is part of the female conditioning process to be told that you have to be quiet / demure / retiring. "Oh, golly I just don't know; my female brain just can't handle this hard stuff.... " I think females do this to other females more so. If one female ignores the social custom of not speaking out the others will respond negatively.
Reflections on this past month...
First of all, I have learned SO much.
While working in a neuroscience research lab, and also in a pharma company, I became very familiar with a narrow range of disease states, Parkinson's disease, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and the cellular processes and principles related to those disease states. The basic science principles I have learned in the past few weeks has ultimately helped me to understand to a greater extent what I thought I already understood.
Second, I have met so many interesting people
I am lucky that my assigned seat in class has me sitting in the front row. I am also lucky that I like the people who are assigned to sit immediately around me. I thought I would be the only person over 30, but that is not the case. There are even people older than me, (not many though). There has been culture shock at time when the younger students may not get a reference or two.
It is hard to believe that it has been about 6 weeks since this program has started.
While working in a neuroscience research lab, and also in a pharma company, I became very familiar with a narrow range of disease states, Parkinson's disease, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and the cellular processes and principles related to those disease states. The basic science principles I have learned in the past few weeks has ultimately helped me to understand to a greater extent what I thought I already understood.
Second, I have met so many interesting people
I am lucky that my assigned seat in class has me sitting in the front row. I am also lucky that I like the people who are assigned to sit immediately around me. I thought I would be the only person over 30, but that is not the case. There are even people older than me, (not many though). There has been culture shock at time when the younger students may not get a reference or two.
It is hard to believe that it has been about 6 weeks since this program has started.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Everything you do is at the cost of something else you might have been doing
First full week of med school classes down. First real med school test down. My goal is to get a 4.0 this semester and next; while that might be a lofty goal, I feel that with my experience and also with the awesome setup I have as far as technology, free time, etc... I should be able to attain that goal. I have found a study group of four other married and "old" (over 25) med students. We met informally a few times last week and formally in a coffee shop this past Saturday. We decided to make up possible test questions to quiz each other with and that seems to help. I think we will continue doing that at some sort of interval, not sure when yet, still working out the details. What I noticed when I was studying for this first test is that everything I do (sleep, eat, gym, laundry, groceries, Stargate Atlantis etc...) is at the expense of something else. This is true of anyone, if you watch Judge Judy you can't be watching Dr. Phil. (well unless you have DVR or two TVs etc...) But you get my point. There is such a time requirement with med school (e.g. reading 9 chapters of Guyton and Hall in 3 days) that you can't possibly get it all done unless you are on some super stimulant medication and then I'm not sure if the DOING would convert to REMEMBERING. So, we're left with prioritization. I'm in the phase where I need to figure out what activities gain me the most points on the test. Do I get the most learning out of reading and outlining chapters? Re-listening to lectures? Does going to the gym occasionally actually help me in that it is healthy for my body and thus helps with life support for my brain. I think I have decided that reading the chapters is not as value-added as perhaps focusing on lecture material. I do however think that I should have focused more on making flashcards earlier in the game and started learning from them each night. After the test, I did some much neglected tasks such as grocery shopping, laundry and a general tidying up of my apartment. Basically hitting the 'reset' button for next test. Doing these tasks has meant that I didn't review Monday's lecture as thoroughly as I might have or should have.
How did I feel about the test. First of all I feel like I studied my BUTT off. I'm not used to getting a good grade on tests all the time. But I am used to, if I put forth the effort I did on this test I should feel very comfortable with the material and like I for sure got an A after. I don't feel that way. In fact I know I missed some questions. I knew going into it that med school is hard and the tests are hard. I thought the hardness was more so from volume of information. It seems to me that some of the test questions were intentionally tricky. Without saying exactly what the question was, one question involved multiple facts, (5% D5W is iso-tonic and then becomes hypotonic as it is metabolized, the interstitium is 2/3 of total body water while the ECF is 1/3....) Simply knowing these facts doesn't mean that you would have necessarily chosen the right answer. What I am saying is that the questions were multi step and if you didn't get all the steps right, you wouldn't have gotten the question right. Similar to a math problem with multiple choice answers I guess. You don't get partial credit. Another factor affecting my test was timing. You get 90 seconds per question. Going into it I thought that was ample time. On the MCAT you only get 60; and next year we will only get 60. When the proctor announced that we were halfway through I was only about 35-40% through the questions. I rushed to the end of the test, filled in my scan-tron bubbles and then worked backwards through the questions I rushed through in order to check for any mistakes I might have made while rushing. I did change maybe 2-3 answers at that point. (they say never change an answer on a test and I have told my students not to do so multiple times) There is another answer that I wish I had changed but didn't. Finally, this test does not comprise as many questions as a 'normal' test would in this program. The test was only over 6 (4 hour) lectures rather than the typical 8. Consequently, missing just a few problems in each topic (physio grade is counted separately from bio-chem etc...) would mean that your percentage points drop dramatically. I think I figured that you could only miss 4 physio questions to still get an A. While this is also sort of a good thing in that not a huge amount of the total questions for the semester were on this test, if one were to go solely on points, this might be a problem.
At any rate, the AA for the class now goes and runs the scan-trons through, and there is a slight chance that they might throw out questions that a lot of people miss. This would work well if it is a question I also missed but against me if it is a question I got right, by lowering the points possible. I hope I am worrying about nothing, but I feel like I did not get an A in all categories.
Two quotes seem appropriate for me at this point:
"A failure is a success if you learn from it" - Malcom Forbes and
"I am a human being, not a human doing. Don't equate your self-worth with how well you do things in life. You aren't what you do. If you are what you do, then when you don't...you aren't." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
So, even if I feel I could have done better on this test, if I figure out what I did wrong and don't make those mistakes again, it would still be a worthwhile learning experience. And, even if I do poorly, I am more than just a test or a med school.... yada yada yada
When we go over this test on Thursday I am going to try to find out why I missed each question and come up with how I can fix this problem in the future.
How did I feel about the test. First of all I feel like I studied my BUTT off. I'm not used to getting a good grade on tests all the time. But I am used to, if I put forth the effort I did on this test I should feel very comfortable with the material and like I for sure got an A after. I don't feel that way. In fact I know I missed some questions. I knew going into it that med school is hard and the tests are hard. I thought the hardness was more so from volume of information. It seems to me that some of the test questions were intentionally tricky. Without saying exactly what the question was, one question involved multiple facts, (5% D5W is iso-tonic and then becomes hypotonic as it is metabolized, the interstitium is 2/3 of total body water while the ECF is 1/3....) Simply knowing these facts doesn't mean that you would have necessarily chosen the right answer. What I am saying is that the questions were multi step and if you didn't get all the steps right, you wouldn't have gotten the question right. Similar to a math problem with multiple choice answers I guess. You don't get partial credit. Another factor affecting my test was timing. You get 90 seconds per question. Going into it I thought that was ample time. On the MCAT you only get 60; and next year we will only get 60. When the proctor announced that we were halfway through I was only about 35-40% through the questions. I rushed to the end of the test, filled in my scan-tron bubbles and then worked backwards through the questions I rushed through in order to check for any mistakes I might have made while rushing. I did change maybe 2-3 answers at that point. (they say never change an answer on a test and I have told my students not to do so multiple times) There is another answer that I wish I had changed but didn't. Finally, this test does not comprise as many questions as a 'normal' test would in this program. The test was only over 6 (4 hour) lectures rather than the typical 8. Consequently, missing just a few problems in each topic (physio grade is counted separately from bio-chem etc...) would mean that your percentage points drop dramatically. I think I figured that you could only miss 4 physio questions to still get an A. While this is also sort of a good thing in that not a huge amount of the total questions for the semester were on this test, if one were to go solely on points, this might be a problem.
At any rate, the AA for the class now goes and runs the scan-trons through, and there is a slight chance that they might throw out questions that a lot of people miss. This would work well if it is a question I also missed but against me if it is a question I got right, by lowering the points possible. I hope I am worrying about nothing, but I feel like I did not get an A in all categories.
Two quotes seem appropriate for me at this point:
"A failure is a success if you learn from it" - Malcom Forbes and
"I am a human being, not a human doing. Don't equate your self-worth with how well you do things in life. You aren't what you do. If you are what you do, then when you don't...you aren't." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
So, even if I feel I could have done better on this test, if I figure out what I did wrong and don't make those mistakes again, it would still be a worthwhile learning experience. And, even if I do poorly, I am more than just a test or a med school.... yada yada yada
When we go over this test on Thursday I am going to try to find out why I missed each question and come up with how I can fix this problem in the future.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
First week complete!
Thanks for kicking me in the pants, NP Oddysey!
Orientation started last Wed, which we had two days of. I think the best part of orientation was seeing OMM demonstrated.
The format for classes is four hours of one subject at a time. We have had three physio lectures so far. All seem to be review with a few clinical anecdotes thrown in there. However, the review now is what I may have learned in one 'test' unit in one day rather than over several days.
I was pretty broken up at the beginning of last week over having to be away from my husband and kids. In some ways it is good because I get more alone time than I would normally. Most of the other married students have their spouses move with them, but it is not possible for us.
We have our first test next monday. I am almost done reading all the chapters, and have an outline typed up to which I plan to add class notes, and then input key facts into a flash card software to study with.
Also I think I have found myself a study group, and should be meeting with them tomorow eve.
I also really like the LECOM Fitness Center. I think it is the best fitness place I have been in. I have no idea what they charge the general public to use it, and don't want to know. It has an awesome locker room, with all the ammenities. You don't have to pay extra for classes, and they are always doing some sort of 'fun' fitness activiites.
This is of course in accordance with the DO philosophy of staying healthy being the best medicine. Mind-Body-Spirit
....
I don't have any great deep personal revelations yet, I will update you when I get one!
Orientation started last Wed, which we had two days of. I think the best part of orientation was seeing OMM demonstrated.
The format for classes is four hours of one subject at a time. We have had three physio lectures so far. All seem to be review with a few clinical anecdotes thrown in there. However, the review now is what I may have learned in one 'test' unit in one day rather than over several days.
I was pretty broken up at the beginning of last week over having to be away from my husband and kids. In some ways it is good because I get more alone time than I would normally. Most of the other married students have their spouses move with them, but it is not possible for us.
We have our first test next monday. I am almost done reading all the chapters, and have an outline typed up to which I plan to add class notes, and then input key facts into a flash card software to study with.
Also I think I have found myself a study group, and should be meeting with them tomorow eve.
I also really like the LECOM Fitness Center. I think it is the best fitness place I have been in. I have no idea what they charge the general public to use it, and don't want to know. It has an awesome locker room, with all the ammenities. You don't have to pay extra for classes, and they are always doing some sort of 'fun' fitness activiites.
This is of course in accordance with the DO philosophy of staying healthy being the best medicine. Mind-Body-Spirit
....
I don't have any great deep personal revelations yet, I will update you when I get one!
Monday, August 22, 2011
What I've been up to...
It has been awhile since I've posted, so I thought I'd give you all an update.
Here is what I have been doing in the past few weeks
I'll post them
Here is what I have been doing in the past few weeks
- Got my car maintenance done, needed a lot of stuff as it turned over 100k miles about 9 months ago.
- Got new tires for my car (It needed new tires before the snow starts)
- Got new glasses. (no back to school is complete withought new glasses, right?)
- Went shopping for new clothes and a few appartment essentials
- Got my car tinted and a hitch added (plan to tow a u-haul trailer up to Erie.)
- Officially quit my teaching job, but let them know that I may be interested in teaching next semester or during the 12 week break.
I'll post them
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
New 5k almost PR!
Just thought I would share that I ran a 5k this past Saturday in 41:36. This is my second best time. My best time was 29:59. This is essentially "off the couch" with no training. I think I will hit the roads seriously soon.
PS I do plan on running / biking / swimming while in med school. I hear the LECOM fitness center is great. I imagine that the local area will be snowed over for a large percentage of the year.
PS I do plan on running / biking / swimming while in med school. I hear the LECOM fitness center is great. I imagine that the local area will be snowed over for a large percentage of the year.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Venting about my current non-jobs
As mentioned previously, I teach in an online setting. All of my student contact is done via the internet. The only way my supervisor has to determine that I am actually doing a good job is through web generated reports. I spent probably 6 hours yesterday working on updating things for my classroom. The report she was given this morning said that I had not logged into my classroom for an extended series of days. I said that I did not know why this had happened but I assured her that I was logging into my classroom.
It really takes the wind out of my sails to do a lot of work only to get feedback that I haven't done any, or feel accused that I haven't done any. Why bust my ass then? The administration only looks at reports, not student results or what is posted in the classes. Why is the metric to log in each day. I could log in and do nothing. Logging in doesn't mean that I've actually helped a student or updated course content or graded effectively.
I disagree that my usefulness should be based solely on whether or not I have logged in to my classes.
Also, I have been doing ebay auctions to get rid of excess junk and also to make a little money. I recently had a person complain that the old iPhone I listed was not the exact type listed in the auction. They want to keep the phone and they want me to pay them back the entire money that they paid me. Basically, they want me to pay them to keep my phone. I'm not doing it folks. Just not. I wasn't born yesterday. The phone works and is fine.
All this is increasing my stress level which is already elevated by making a huge leap into starting med school. I am tempted to quit both, and just live solely on student loans.
It really takes the wind out of my sails to do a lot of work only to get feedback that I haven't done any, or feel accused that I haven't done any. Why bust my ass then? The administration only looks at reports, not student results or what is posted in the classes. Why is the metric to log in each day. I could log in and do nothing. Logging in doesn't mean that I've actually helped a student or updated course content or graded effectively.
I disagree that my usefulness should be based solely on whether or not I have logged in to my classes.
Also, I have been doing ebay auctions to get rid of excess junk and also to make a little money. I recently had a person complain that the old iPhone I listed was not the exact type listed in the auction. They want to keep the phone and they want me to pay them back the entire money that they paid me. Basically, they want me to pay them to keep my phone. I'm not doing it folks. Just not. I wasn't born yesterday. The phone works and is fine.
All this is increasing my stress level which is already elevated by making a huge leap into starting med school. I am tempted to quit both, and just live solely on student loans.
Crashing Med School
I just learned about this from a current med student. Apparently, each year there are a few spots in every matriculating class where people simply don't show up to orientation. If you show up with your pencils sharpened, notebook in hand you can likely go to the admissions office and say "I'm ready to learn". This puts pressure off the admissions people because they have to fill several slots each time to get a full class, and the tuition associated with it. This may not work so well with state schools, which are usually filled first, but with private med schools and DO schools this is often the case.
This seems like a good premise for a corny movie/novel ala "wedding crashers" or "weekend at Bernie's".
This seems like a good premise for a corny movie/novel ala "wedding crashers" or "weekend at Bernie's".
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
What kind of doctor do you want to be?
A common question I have been getting recently is, "What kind of doctor do you want to be?" I understand that it is a natural followup question for when someone finds out you are going to MedSchool. After all, most people understand that there is a wide range of doctor types out there.
My first thought when someone asks me this is, "I don't know!" I think that saying I don't know, makes me seem like I haven't done much research into medicine. But it is the closest to the truth.
From what I have learned from people who have gone through med school is that they often do not end up with the specialty they had intended to become before med school. This makes sense to me, because even the most prepared student doesn't know exactly how the knowledge of one field or another might ignite their own personal fire.
I think it is much like asking which Baskin Robin flavor you like without allowing one to first sample. I could guess, well -- in the past I have liked chocolate varies of Ice Cream. But would I like Rocky Road, Moose Tracks, or Double Chocolate fudge better? How can you tell without actually trying them? What if I try orange sherbert and just fall in love?
I am about 60% sure that I want to go into some form of primary/internal medicine/family practice.
The reason for this is that I know there is a shortage of PCP docs out there, and I like that they are trained in a wide variety of medicine. You get to do all sorts of things, and it would never be boring. Of course, they make on average the leist of all the docs out there. Depending on my financial situation with loans this may not be a possibility, and why walk away from an additional 60-100 k per year if you don't have to?
A sub-fantasy with primary care is to be a rural medicine doc and have some kind of organic food co-op on the side. Maybe start my own vineyard. Just a thought.
My next most likely specialty is Psych. I love psych and think it would be fun to practice. My background is in neuroscience research, and would love to just talk to people about what is going on with them each day. The drawbacks of this field is that it is increasingly becoming a 15 minute patient visit every 6 months or so to just adjust meds. I know of very few Psychiatrists who see patients for an hour and think that they would prob make less money. Also, there is a higher threat that a patient would want to kill you. Psychotic patients may not even be in the same reality as you or I and so there may be such a risk. Of course this can be the case with about any type of medicine, but I think it is a higher risk with Psych.
Third on my list would be Neurology. This specialty goes along with the whole neuroscience type field. This is no longer the field of babysitting vegetables. More and more advances are being made with TBI patients from the recent wars, rehab of spinal cord injuries, Huntington's Disease, Parkinson's Disease (the lab I worked in). Etc... I think this is a growing field and the knowledge base in this field will continue to grow.
Fourth - Cardiology. As someone who has lost a significant amount of weight, I would like to be there to help people to recuperate from bad eating /exercise habits. The drawback I see in this field is first that it is currently a very male dominated field, and so family issues may arise. (they may not be happy if I took time off to have a kid) Also, I may get jaded quickly if most of my patients opt for surgical solutions to their problem instead of diet/ exercise changes. Inside this field there is Internationale and non-Internationale. I think I would gravitate toward non-I.
Fifth - Bariatric Surgery sub specialty of surgery. The biggest deterrent to this is I do not want to do a surgical residency. Surgeons for the most part are ass holes and I don't want to become an asshole surgeon or live with them for 6-8 years of my life. However, I would think it would be awesome to help people to change their lives through weight loss surgery. If there were a fast track to bariatrics somehow that I could take a shortcut through the live of a surgical resident that would be fine.
Radiology - I find this unlikely as it is a highly competitive field and probably wont' be taking a lot of DO students, but I love photography and could spend hours and hours looking at films.
Pathology - I was told once that I have the personality of pathologist, whatever that means.
Orthopedic surgery - this is a field where you can find a problem, fix it, and send the pt on their way. Very straight forward and very lucrative, as it is very procedural.
Fields I know I probably won't like
I think it is realistic to suspend judgement until I have had a better chance to sample all possibility.
Post Script:
After writing this the other day, I have had time to reflect on this a bit more. All of the reasons for or against a certain specialty seem to be based on rumors, hearsay, and just stereotypes of different fields. How can I say that all surgeons are assholes? That is their stereotype. How can I say that kids would drive me crazy? They might be better than psych patients? I am just reiterating the point that I do not not know enough about medicine yet to make such a big decision.
My first thought when someone asks me this is, "I don't know!" I think that saying I don't know, makes me seem like I haven't done much research into medicine. But it is the closest to the truth.
From what I have learned from people who have gone through med school is that they often do not end up with the specialty they had intended to become before med school. This makes sense to me, because even the most prepared student doesn't know exactly how the knowledge of one field or another might ignite their own personal fire.
I think it is much like asking which Baskin Robin flavor you like without allowing one to first sample. I could guess, well -- in the past I have liked chocolate varies of Ice Cream. But would I like Rocky Road, Moose Tracks, or Double Chocolate fudge better? How can you tell without actually trying them? What if I try orange sherbert and just fall in love?
I am about 60% sure that I want to go into some form of primary/internal medicine/family practice.
The reason for this is that I know there is a shortage of PCP docs out there, and I like that they are trained in a wide variety of medicine. You get to do all sorts of things, and it would never be boring. Of course, they make on average the leist of all the docs out there. Depending on my financial situation with loans this may not be a possibility, and why walk away from an additional 60-100 k per year if you don't have to?
A sub-fantasy with primary care is to be a rural medicine doc and have some kind of organic food co-op on the side. Maybe start my own vineyard. Just a thought.
My next most likely specialty is Psych. I love psych and think it would be fun to practice. My background is in neuroscience research, and would love to just talk to people about what is going on with them each day. The drawbacks of this field is that it is increasingly becoming a 15 minute patient visit every 6 months or so to just adjust meds. I know of very few Psychiatrists who see patients for an hour and think that they would prob make less money. Also, there is a higher threat that a patient would want to kill you. Psychotic patients may not even be in the same reality as you or I and so there may be such a risk. Of course this can be the case with about any type of medicine, but I think it is a higher risk with Psych.
Third on my list would be Neurology. This specialty goes along with the whole neuroscience type field. This is no longer the field of babysitting vegetables. More and more advances are being made with TBI patients from the recent wars, rehab of spinal cord injuries, Huntington's Disease, Parkinson's Disease (the lab I worked in). Etc... I think this is a growing field and the knowledge base in this field will continue to grow.
Fourth - Cardiology. As someone who has lost a significant amount of weight, I would like to be there to help people to recuperate from bad eating /exercise habits. The drawback I see in this field is first that it is currently a very male dominated field, and so family issues may arise. (they may not be happy if I took time off to have a kid) Also, I may get jaded quickly if most of my patients opt for surgical solutions to their problem instead of diet/ exercise changes. Inside this field there is Internationale and non-Internationale. I think I would gravitate toward non-I.
Fifth - Bariatric Surgery sub specialty of surgery. The biggest deterrent to this is I do not want to do a surgical residency. Surgeons for the most part are ass holes and I don't want to become an asshole surgeon or live with them for 6-8 years of my life. However, I would think it would be awesome to help people to change their lives through weight loss surgery. If there were a fast track to bariatrics somehow that I could take a shortcut through the live of a surgical resident that would be fine.
Radiology - I find this unlikely as it is a highly competitive field and probably wont' be taking a lot of DO students, but I love photography and could spend hours and hours looking at films.
Pathology - I was told once that I have the personality of pathologist, whatever that means.
Orthopedic surgery - this is a field where you can find a problem, fix it, and send the pt on their way. Very straight forward and very lucrative, as it is very procedural.
Fields I know I probably won't like
- Peds - Kids frighten me
- OB - Just doesn't appeal to me.
I think it is realistic to suspend judgement until I have had a better chance to sample all possibility.
Post Script:
After writing this the other day, I have had time to reflect on this a bit more. All of the reasons for or against a certain specialty seem to be based on rumors, hearsay, and just stereotypes of different fields. How can I say that all surgeons are assholes? That is their stereotype. How can I say that kids would drive me crazy? They might be better than psych patients? I am just reiterating the point that I do not not know enough about medicine yet to make such a big decision.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Just accepted to LECOM
HI all,
I'm sure you're tired of hearing me complain about not hearing back from the LECOM people. I got my letter in the mail today. I was accepted to the postbac program. The criteria for automatic matriculation into next fall's class is for me to get a 3.0 and a 23 or above on the MCAT. I got a 28 Q already, so really I just have to focus on the GPA part.
Now for some housekeeping, such as cancel plane ticket, find someone to lease my Bahamas appartment, re-sell the items I bought off another student (bike, printer etc...) Start AACOMAS ap for 2012, etc...
I will have to find a new theme for my website, as I will be in Erie PA (lake effect snow). Something like just white snow drifts... Just about as opposite an environment as you could imagine from living on a tropical island.
I'm sure you're tired of hearing me complain about not hearing back from the LECOM people. I got my letter in the mail today. I was accepted to the postbac program. The criteria for automatic matriculation into next fall's class is for me to get a 3.0 and a 23 or above on the MCAT. I got a 28 Q already, so really I just have to focus on the GPA part.
Now for some housekeeping, such as cancel plane ticket, find someone to lease my Bahamas appartment, re-sell the items I bought off another student (bike, printer etc...) Start AACOMAS ap for 2012, etc...
I will have to find a new theme for my website, as I will be in Erie PA (lake effect snow). Something like just white snow drifts... Just about as opposite an environment as you could imagine from living on a tropical island.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Economics of getting into Ross
To all applying to Ross, here is what will be required of you financially once you get accepted. This is before you get a student loan refund, so it will be out of pocket. I bought ALL books required and recommended. This is not suggested by most students but I did anyway. Plane ticket may vary. I have not included the excess baggage fees for the airline or the cost to ship items to myself on the island as I have not done this yet. ALL students need to do a student visa unless you are a Bahamanian citizen. I thought this was just for non-Americans but I was wrong. The apartment deposit is first months rent, deposit (first months rent), and a $400 electricity turning on fee. Apparently electricity in the Bahamas runs about $400 per month.
| ROSS (SO FAR) | ||
| DEPOSIT | $ 700.00 | |
| PASSPORT | $ 170.00 | |
| STUDENT VISA | $ 100.00 | |
| BOOKS | $ 618.12 | |
| PRINTER ETC | $ 350.00 | |
| HOUSING DEPOSIT | $ 1,800.00 | |
| FLIGHT | $ 709.59 | |
| GROCERIES / EQUIPMENT | $ 300.00 | |
| $ 4,747.71 |
The Economics of getting into Medical School
First of all, I am totally embarrassed to admit that I have spent this money on getting into medical school. I was in so much denial that I delayed actually adding up the amount because I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW. However, as a service to those who are applying or thinking of applying I thought I would just put it all out there. I am still somewhat anonymous (so far) in this blog. If you are thinking of applying to med schools just know that you will almost certainly be requested to submit a secondary application for each school you apply to. The only schools that I didn't get offered a secondary to had some sort of state residency requirement. It all started with me taking a Kaplan MCAT prep course. All in all about $5k was spent to get me one spot in MERP at ROSS.
| SCHOOL NAME | AP FEE | SECONDARY FEE | MISC | |
| KAPLAN COURSE | $1,599.00 | |||
| AT STILL | $32.00 | $60.00 | ||
| CHICAGO COM MIDWEST | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| DREXEL | $32.00 | $75.00 | ||
| EAST TENNESSEE | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| EDWARD VIA | $32.00 | $85.00 | ||
| FSU | $32.00 | $ - | ||
| GEORGE WASHINGTON | $32.00 | $125.00 | ||
| HOWARD | $32.00 | $75.00 | ||
| IU | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| LECOM BRADENTON | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| LOUISVILLE | $32.00 | $75.00 | ||
| LINCOLN DE BUSK | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| MARSHALL | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN | $32.00 | $70.00 | ||
| MEHARRY | $32.00 | $65.00 | ||
| MOREHOUSE | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| OU-COM | $32.00 | $40.00 | ||
| PACIFIC NORTHWEST | $32.00 | $ - | ||
| PCOM GEORGIA | $32.00 | $ 50.00 | ||
| PCOM PHILY | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| PENN* PB ONLY | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| PIKEVILLE | $32.00 | $75.00 | ||
| PONCE | $32.00 | $100.00 | ||
| ROCKY VISTA | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| ROSALIND FRANKLIN | $32.00 | $100.00 | ||
| ROSS | $32.00 | - | ||
| SLU | $32.00 | $100.00 | ||
| THE COMMONWEALTH MEDICAL COLLEGE - SCRANTON | $32.00 | $100.00 | ||
| TULANE | $32.00 | $100.00 | ||
| UK | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| UNIVERSIDAD DEL CENTRAL CARIBE | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI | $32.00 | $25.00 | ||
| UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND | $32.00 | $55.00 | ||
| UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO | $32.00 | $15.00 | ||
| VANDERBILT | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| VIRGINIA TECH CARILION | $32.00 | $ - | ||
| WEST VIRGINIA | $32.00 | $80.00 | ||
| WESTERN U | $32.00 | $65.00 | ||
| WRIGHT STATE | $32.00 | $50.00 | ||
| TRANSCRIPT REQUESTS | $ 560.00 | |||
| INTERFOLIO FEES | $ 193.00 | |||
| $ 4,268.00 | $1,280.00 | $2,235.00 | $ 753.00 |
Good things come to those who wait...
Similar to the place I was with Ross a few months ago, I am waiting to hear back from LECOM. I have called to find out how much of any of the costs sunk so far into Ross are recoverable.
I did talk to Kevin who is the new student coordinator for MERP and he said that I could defer admission until November. I do not want to do that as I would be gone through all of the holidays. If I don't hear a positive response from LECOM I will still go to Ross. This is scary to me because I am set to leave Aug.1 which is about a week and a half from now. If I am to ship any packages to myself I would need to do it Friday or Saturday.
I have tried to communicate this dilemma with the LECOM admissions personnel, JM.
As you know, I am in somewhat of a unique situation in that I am due to leave out in two weeks for another academic program on August 1. I have contacted this program and they would like for me to notify them as soon as possible if I choose not to attend their program. I would prefer the LECOM program to this other one; and so time is of the essence for me at this point. When we spoke before on the phone, you said that you could not notify anyone of their admission status until the dean of the college had certified the admission committee's decision.
Has the dean signed these decisions? If so, are you able to tell me via email or phone which way my application was decided?
I apologize again for the multiple follow-ups in this matter and understand that you have a busy schedule, however as the time for me to leave is quickly approaching each day sooner where I can get confirmation is critical at this point.
Thanks in advance,
I feel that this email was polite and explains the situation and why I am requesting to be told sooner than is their policy. I hope that I seemed respectful and polite. I am starting to worry that my trying to get this information may be jeopardizing my chances, so I decided to just cool it and wait. I don't want to get a reputation of being too Type A already. I have yet to get an answer to this email.
If I do not get notice soon, I will still go to MERP and to Ross, and it will be even harder because I will be scrambling at the last minute to get things ready. I think I can do it, but it will not be the easiest.
So, I'm just waiting and trying to be cool....
- The $700 deposit is not.
- The $2,800 housing deposit can come back to me if they rent out the unit in the next ten days.
- With each day that passes and I do not get an answer back from them, the less likely I think this will be. I find it unlikely that there is a student out there still who will be going to MERP in August who does not yet have housing nailed down. I have not mentioned it on the MERP Facebook group yet because if I do end up going to MERP I don't want to be labeled as the person who was on the fence about the program.
- The $700 plane ticket can be canceled but the airline will give me a credit and I will have to use the credit within one year of the original purchase date, and there will be a $160 rescheduling fee for this.
- The $350 I paid to a current April MERPER for a bike, color printer, fan, and some electronic books - I think I will have to sell these items to a current MERPER which I do not think will be difficult.
I did talk to Kevin who is the new student coordinator for MERP and he said that I could defer admission until November. I do not want to do that as I would be gone through all of the holidays. If I don't hear a positive response from LECOM I will still go to Ross. This is scary to me because I am set to leave Aug.1 which is about a week and a half from now. If I am to ship any packages to myself I would need to do it Friday or Saturday.
I have tried to communicate this dilemma with the LECOM admissions personnel, JM.
- I called him Wed Afternoon, and he said that the application would go to the committee.
- I called him Friday morning and he said that the committee had made a decision but he could not tell me which way it was until the dean signed and approved of all the files.
- I called back Friday afternoon to see if the dean had done so and he said no; and also communicated to me that the notifications would not come out via phone or email but rather by snail mail.
- I emailed several current and former LECOM folk and they confirmed that this is so. I anticipate that if they mailed the notice yesterday, Monday, then I will get it Wed. (I hope).
- A former LECOM person told me of another person to call for and I called and asked for this person Monday morning, only to learn that he no longer worked there and was replaced by JM.
- I called Monday (yesterday) afternoon to see if the signing of letters had gone on, but got JM's voicemail; his voicemail stated that email is a better means of communication for him and so
- I sent this email
As you know, I am in somewhat of a unique situation in that I am due to leave out in two weeks for another academic program on August 1. I have contacted this program and they would like for me to notify them as soon as possible if I choose not to attend their program. I would prefer the LECOM program to this other one; and so time is of the essence for me at this point. When we spoke before on the phone, you said that you could not notify anyone of their admission status until the dean of the college had certified the admission committee's decision.
Has the dean signed these decisions? If so, are you able to tell me via email or phone which way my application was decided?
I apologize again for the multiple follow-ups in this matter and understand that you have a busy schedule, however as the time for me to leave is quickly approaching each day sooner where I can get confirmation is critical at this point.
Thanks in advance,
I feel that this email was polite and explains the situation and why I am requesting to be told sooner than is their policy. I hope that I seemed respectful and polite. I am starting to worry that my trying to get this information may be jeopardizing my chances, so I decided to just cool it and wait. I don't want to get a reputation of being too Type A already. I have yet to get an answer to this email.
If I do not get notice soon, I will still go to MERP and to Ross, and it will be even harder because I will be scrambling at the last minute to get things ready. I think I can do it, but it will not be the easiest.
So, I'm just waiting and trying to be cool....
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Will I Become a Different Person?
This post is mostly related to family interactions. For sure, I am not the same person I was 10 years ago, 5, 3 or 1 year ago. I feel that as a person I am continually evolving based on my previous life experiences. At the same time at the age of 32 most people would agree that my personality is fairly formed. Is it? I also have no doubt that medical training and the stresses and victories involved with it will also cause me to become a 'different person'. My fear is that this new person I become may not be compatible with my current family relationships. The mere title of "doctor" may change people's opinions of me for better or worse. If I am perceived as being 'rich' will family members come to me for money? How will they react if I say YES or NO? (If I were to say YES I would imagine that they would feel that further financial support would be predicated on a continued positive relationship and if I were to say NO I would imagine that they would feel that I am simply being an asshole.)
Also, it is very common for romantic relationships to break apart during med school. Most stories I have heard have been of a serious dating relationship breaking up. My husband and I have been a couple for over 10 years. I am willing to say that we are a fairly stable couple. But I feel that Med School can make any relationship challenging esp. when you add the stress of making a cohabitation relationship into a long distance one (whether that distance is 362 miles away or 2258.811 miles away in a foreign country). Even in the most ideal situation I would imagine that it is going to be difficult. I recently found this forum on SDN; however, I cannot seem to find official stats on this Med School Divorce Stats. Clearly I don't want a divorce but it seems that the stats are out there.
What if I become more assertive, more augmentative, more used to getting my own way, more judgmental, or cynical when listening to a purported natural cure someone relays to me that they read in 'hippie weekly'? What if I fail in this attempt and become despondent? Will this personality change make it impossible for me to carry on my relationships with my friends and family? What if the cost of pursuing my dream is loosing everyone I now have close to me?
Also, it is very common for romantic relationships to break apart during med school. Most stories I have heard have been of a serious dating relationship breaking up. My husband and I have been a couple for over 10 years. I am willing to say that we are a fairly stable couple. But I feel that Med School can make any relationship challenging esp. when you add the stress of making a cohabitation relationship into a long distance one (whether that distance is 362 miles away or 2258.811 miles away in a foreign country). Even in the most ideal situation I would imagine that it is going to be difficult. I recently found this forum on SDN; however, I cannot seem to find official stats on this Med School Divorce Stats. Clearly I don't want a divorce but it seems that the stats are out there.
What if I become more assertive, more augmentative, more used to getting my own way, more judgmental, or cynical when listening to a purported natural cure someone relays to me that they read in 'hippie weekly'? What if I fail in this attempt and become despondent? Will this personality change make it impossible for me to carry on my relationships with my friends and family? What if the cost of pursuing my dream is loosing everyone I now have close to me?
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