Staying the Course: A Guide to Messing Up

by Mark Stam
SDN Contributor

As I peruse the SDN pre-professional forums, I routinely come across threads of a similar theme: “My GPA is shot; is my chance at a career in ________ lost?” While I don’t want to give anyone false hope, since GPA is certainly a major indicator of admissibility, I’m here to tell you that it can be done. In fact, I did it.

In the Fall of 1998 (yes, I’m that old!), I left my home town and enrolled as a full-time student at a Big 10 university, ready to start pursuing my career as a physician. I’d always done well in school without having to put forth much effort. It seemed as though I retained enough material just sitting in class that I didn’t need to apply myself much at home in order to do well on exams. Assuming I could do the same in college, I didn’t go to class much, hardly ever did homework, and just showed up for exams. Read more »

Easy Mac & Ramen Noodles: A Guide to Money Management

by Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
SDN Contributor

Students spend years learning chemistry, organic chemistry, physiology, and the health sciences to achieve their goals of becoming a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or health care professional. After all of the didactics during college, medical school, or professional school, one of the most important skills students are not taught is money management skills.

Many students have trouble distinguishing between wants and needs, and without basic skills to manage money, students can find themselves deep in debt. With higher income potential, people without adequate knowledge of money management can get into significant financial problems even after obtaining their high-paying job. Read more »

Protecting Our Charge: A Patient Safety Q&A

Reprinted with Permission

Dr. Robert M. Wachter, a professor of medicine, chief of the medical service and chair of the patient safety committee at UCSF Medical Center, has been a central figure in educating the medical community and general public about pressing safety issues in healthcare institutions. Dr. Wachter has written prolifically on this topic, including the bestseller Internal Bleeding: The Truth Behind America’s Terrifying Epidemic of Medical Mistakes. He has discussed patient safety on CNN, NPR, and ABC’s Good Morning America, and been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Time, to name only a few. His new textbook, Understanding Patient Safety, will be published by McGraw-Hill in October 2007. Here, Dr. Wachter discusses the world of patient safety and healthcare. Read more »

Essay Workshop 101: Lesson 5: Introductions

The most important leading sentence of all, of course, is the first sentence of your essay. The words and images you use must do more than simply announce the theme or topic of your essay-they must engage the reader. You do not want an admissions officer to start reading your essay and think, “Here we go again.” If, after the first sentence, the admissions counselor does not like what she sees, she may not continue reading.

You do not have to begin by writing the lead. Often, you will spot the lead floating around in the middle of your first draft. You can use many different kinds of effective leads. You will find examples of some of them listed below. Remember, too, that if you have segmented your essay into distinct parts with different titles, you need to treat every segment as a separate essay and find an effective lead for each.

Standard Lead

Standard leads are the most common leads used. A typical standard lead answers one or more of the six basic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. They give the reader an idea of what to expect. A summary lead is a kind of standard lead that answers most of these questions in one sentence. The problem with this kind of lead is that, although it is a logical beginning, it can be dull. The advantage is that it sets your reader up for a focused and well-structured essay. If you live up to that expectation, the impact of your points is heightened. They are also useful for shorter essays when you need to get to the point quickly.

Creative Lead

This lead attempts to add interest by being obtuse or funny. It can leave you wondering what the essay will be about, or make you smile:

The beating of an African healing drum resonates throughout all corners of the Catholic church during the weekly five o’clock student mass. (click here for essay)

Action Lead

This lead takes the reader into the middle of a piece of action. It is perfect for short essays where space needs to be conserved or for narrative essays that begin with a story.

It was opening night. I was about to walk on stage as Ruth in “The Pirates of Penzance.” (click here for essay)

Personal or Revealing Lead

This lead reveals something about the writer. It is always in the first person and usually takes an informal, conversational tone:

I decided that I wanted to be a doctor some time after my four month incarceration in Columbia Presbyterian Children’s Hospital in the winter of 1986-87, as I struggled with anorexia nervosa. (click here for essay)

Before I found out that my high school Spanish teacher was HIV-positive, AIDS was not much more than a bunch of statistics to me. (click here for essay)

Quotation Lead

This type of lead can be a direct quotation or a paraphrase. It is most effective when the quote you choose is unusual, funny, or obscure, and not too long. Choose a quote with a meaning you plan to reveal to the reader as the essay progresses. Some admissions officers caution against using this kind of lead because it can seem like you are trying to impress them or sound smart. Do not use a proverb or cliché, and do not interpret the quote in your essay. The admissions committee is more interested in how you respond to it and what that response says about you:

“One time, a family cat captured… a moth. The cat’s play disturbed E., who promptly got a local veterinarian on the phone to get tips on reviving the mortally wounded moth. The moth didn’t make it, but knowing E.’s enthusiasm, Mrs. E. is more optimistic about the park.” (click here for essay)

Dialogue Lead

This lead takes the reader into a conversation. It can take the form of an actual dialogue between two people or can simply be a snippet of personal thought:

“Peter, the woman we’re about to meet will receive her first palliative treatment today.” (click here for essay)

Informative Lead

This lead gives the reader a fact or a statistic that is connected to the topic of your essay or simply provides a piece of information about yourself or a situation:

In communist Hungary in 1986 ownership of property meant certain things. (click here for essay)

Lesson Menu:

Source

From Essays That Will Get You Into College, by Amy Burnham, Daniel Kaufman, and Chris Dowhan. Copyright 1998 by Dan Kaufman. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.

Materials for Essay Statements Workshop 101 are provided courtesy of EssayEdge. Copyright 2002 EssayEdge. All rights reserved.

Dennis Stokes, MD, MPH [Pediatric Pulmonology]

by Sarah M. Lawrence
SDN Staff Writer

Dr. Dennis C. Stokes is a Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Program in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at Children’s Medical Center-St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital-UT Health Science Center. He is also the Director of the University of Tennessee Cystic Fibrosis Care and Research Center.

Dr. Stokes graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and obtained a Master of Public Health degree from Indiana University-Purdue University. He completed his medical internship and pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, with fellowship training at Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Harvard University Medical School. Dr. Stokes has consistently been named among America’s Best Doctors®, and is known for his expertise in asthma and cystic fibrosis. Read more »

Raves, Rollin’, & Roofies: Your Guide to Club Drugs

by Alison Hayward, M.D. and Sarah M. Lawrence
SDN Staff Writers

Scenario
An 18 year old male presents to the ED where you are working at about 3 am after being at a “rave.” The patient is staring off into space, clenching his jaw, and trying to hug the nurse as she starts an IV. The nurse has difficulty starting the IV due to patient’s dehydration. You notice his pupils are enlarged and he is tachycardic, he grabs your pen light and stares into it and moves it around in circles. His body temperature is elevated. Would you know what substance was most likely the cause of this patient’s condition? Read more »

Kaplan to Give Away Free Step I Qbanks on SDN!

This month Kaplan launched a new and improved Step 1 Qbank with important new features like a Score Estimator - able to predict your USMLE score based on your Qbank performance - and brand new questions that are even more like the actual exam.

Learn more about the important upgrades to Kaplan’s Qbank and see how you score on a Qbank Challenge at www.qbankchallenge.com.

Only on SDN - Enter to win Kaplan’s new Step 1 Qbank!
Kaplan is giving away a Step 1 Qbank to the first 100 SDN members who respond to our post. Check the Step 1 forum on Monday, December 10 to learn how to win a FREE 3-month Step 1 Qbank!

An Interview with Robert Banks, Ph.D. [Renal Physiology]

by Brandon Luk
SDN Staff Writer

Dr. Robert Banks is a professor and course director of medical physiology in University of Cincinnati School of Medicine. Additionally, he is also the program director for the M.S. in Physiology Program, a Special Masters Program (SMP) designed to help promising potential medical students achieve admission into medical school despite having academic setbacks during undergraduate study.

Dr. Banks graduated from Emory University as an undergraduate with a keen interest in physiology, which led to the completion of his PhD at University of Buffalo. His career has led him into renal physiology and has resulted in several publications investigating the relationship between the kidney and other factors such as natriuretic peptides, endothelin, and diabetes. Additionally, he has a keen interest in neurophysiology. Dr. Banks is married, a father to two sons, and an avid fan of the arts. Read more »

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