by Jessica Freedman, MD

What are the latest trends in medical admissions? At the annual meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), 3,800 medical education professionals from around the country addressed changes in the MCAT, criteria for evaluating applicants, predictors of success in medical school, what elements of the residency application are most important, and a wide variety of other subjects that may interest premedical and medical students and residents. Here are some of the meeting’s highlights.

MCAT Update

Quick facts:

• In 2009, there will be 28 test administrations and 18 score release dates.
• A March date for the MCAT was added to assist students who are on quarter systems with scheduling.
• Scores are delivered 30-35 days after the test is taken.
• A change for this year: since applicants can be registered for only one test date at a single time, they will be allowed to cancel their test after the deadline (and forfeit the fee), enabling them to register for a future test date.
• The MCAT administration plans to review and modify policies regarding testing accommodations in the near future.
• A new publication, The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam, which will include testing tips and strategies, is to be released shortly.

Read the full story

by Samir P. Desai, M.D.,
and Rajani Katta, M.D.

Authors of The Successful Match: 200 Rules to Succeed in the Residency Match and 250 Biggest Mistakes 3rd Year Medical Students Make And How To Avoid Them

“I saw his drunk photos on MySpace, and he just strikes me as immature. Do you think that matters?” “I don’t know, but we have 30 other great applicants here to choose from.”

“She’s a member of the Facebook group, ‘Medical Students Behaving Badly.’  I don’t think that’s someone we should bring in as a resident.”

Applying for residency, as every applicant knows, is a long, complex process, and understandably so. Residency selection committees use every tool at their disposal to compare applicants. Would programs use internet search engines and social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, to screen applicants? Read the full story

“The application is a lifeless thing — a few sheets of paper and a few numbers. The essay is the best way to breathe life into it.”

A frequent topic in the SDN Forums is the postgraduate application essay. In researching the field, we asked for help from one of the largest and well-known essay editing services, EssayEdge.

With the help of their editors, we co-developed a course for students which is available for free on SDN. Please click a link below to begin the course.

Each of the lessons should help you with a different aspect of the essay-writing process.

Enter the Workshop by selecting a link below:

• Lesson One: The Audience
• Lesson Two: What “They” Look For
• Lesson Three: Brainstorming a Topic
• Lesson Four: Tackling the Question
• Lesson Five: Introductions
• Lesson Six: Editing Checklist

By Joe Sisk and Tommy Welling

You’ve donated to SDN, it’s time to add some style to your sidebar. I’m going to walk you through the basics so you’ll feel comfortable creating your very own animated avatar.

Basic Info:

What is an animated avatar?
Animated avatars are image files, typically .gif format, that have multiple frames set to play in a sequence over time. This gives the appearance of motion.

For your avatar to fit on the SDN forums you’ll need to keep a few principles in mind:
-the maximum file size is 195.5 kb
-the larger the dimensions (xxx by xxx) the larger your file size will be
-the more frames your animation has, the larger your file size will be

There are ways to manipulate both the dimensions and animation length without appreciable loss of quality. These will be discussed later. Read the full story

This is the second interview in the Student Doctor Network series of “community-based medical education” interviews.

(See the previous interview with Gerard Clancy, MD, the Dean of the newly established University of Oklahoma (OU) School of Community Medicine in Tulsa.)

The A. T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona is located in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa. The structure of the school differs from that of other medical schools in having only the first year of medical school in Mesa, and the remaining three years for each student located in one of 11 participating community health centers.

SDN interviewed four members of the A. T. Still University faculty in Mesa.

SDN: Doctor Wendel, as Associate Provost of the A. T. Still University, please give us an overview of your new community-based medical school.

Dr Wendel: Our understanding of the need for a new medical school grew out of a relationship the A. T. Still University had developed with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). We realized that there are an estimated 50 million people in the United States with unmet health care needs. Read the full story

by Deleisa Johnson

Plato said, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” But, just having a good idea is not enough. Transitioning an invention from idea to marketable product takes something more—an entrepreneurial spirit, as well as a little confidence.

Three Washington State University PharmD candidates have taken an idea, their entrepreneurial spirit, and the confidence gained from winning the 2006 NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition and launched a much-needed product for pharmacy students.

Flash Forward is a company that produces flash cards of the top 250 drugs. Jason Doss had the idea for the cards in his first year of pharmacy school. “I knew I was going to have to make flash cards for class and I wanted to make it easier by purchasing a set of flash cards instead,” he said. Not finding any for purchase, he realized that there was a need that was not being met. Read the full story

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

If you haven’t already voted, go to the polls today and vote.  Be sure to follow these 4 steps:

1. Check your voter registration card (or sample ballot) for the location of your designated polling site.
2. Bring photo ID and proof of address.
3. Get in-line before the polls close.  Even if the polls close, as long as you are in-line you cannot be turned-away.
4. Vote carefully – review your ballot for accuracy before turning it in.