The official SDN “Get Smart” Glossary! The SDN Glossary contains definitions of the most common terms you need to know as a pre-health student.
- 0+6 Program: Pharmacy program accepting applicants directly after high school and are guaranteed a position in the professional phase of the program providing that certain criteria are met
- 2+4 Program: Program allowing students with the opportunity of entering a pharmacy program after 2 years of undergraduate coursework provided that all pre-pharmacy requirements are met
- 3+4 Program: Program allowing advanced students with the opportunity of entering a pharmacy program after 3 years of undergraduate coursework
- AA: Affirmative action
- AA: Anesthesiology assistant
- ABP: Atlantic Bridge Program, a program for students from Canada and the United States applying to medical schools in Ireland.
- AACOM: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
- AACOMAS: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service
- AACP: American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
- AAMC: Association of American Medical Colleges
- Accredited School (Pharm): A school which has passed ACPE accreditation assuring and advancing the quality of pharmacy education
- ACGME: Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education, accredits residency programs
- ACLS: Advanced Cardiac Life Support
- ADCOM: Admission Committee
- AED: Automatic External Defibrillator
- Affirmative Action: Programs designed to provide increased opportunities for historically under-represented minorities
- AHMA: American Holistic Medical Association
- AMA: American Medical Association
- AMA-MSS: Medical Student Section of the AMA
- AMCAS:American Medical College Application Service
- AMSA: American Medical Student Association, publishes the New Physician
- AMWA: American Medical Women’s Association
- AO: All Others – Grade Point Average of all classes not included in BCMP
- AOA: Alpha Omega Alpha – NationalMedicalSchool honor society
- AOA: American Osteopathic Association
- AP: Advanced Placement
- APhA: American Pharmacists Association
- ASHP: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
- Attending: A physician who has completed residency and practices in a clinic, hospital, or private practice, in the specialty learned during residency and can supervise fellow residents and medical students.
- AWPA: Acceptance when place available; used when a medical school or college desires to admit a student but lacks a spot to accommodate that student
- BA/MD: A combined program where a Bachelors of Arts and Doctor of Medicine degree are conferred over 6-8 years depending on the program
- BCPM: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics
- BCNP: Board Certified Nuclear Pharmacist
- BCNSP: Board Certified Nutrition Support Pharmacist
- BCOP: Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist
- BCPP: Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist
- BCPS: Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist
- BLS: Basic Life Support
- Boards Bootcamp: Test preparation and review for COMLEX and USMLE
- BOP: Board of Pharmacy
- Burnett’s Law: As an SDN Forums discussion grows longer, the probability of being told, “you will be a terrible doctor” or, “I feel bad for your future patients” approaches 1.
- BS/MD: A combined program where a Bachelors of Sciences and Doctor of Medicine degree are conferred over 6-8 years depending on the program
- CAM: complementary and alternative medicine.
- Carribean Med Schools: Popular alternative to those not attending school in the US
- CC: Community college
- Certified Pharmacy Technician: A technician who has passed the certification test provided by the PTCB
- Chief Resident: a senior-level resident who has been assigned administrative and training responsibilities within the residency training program.
- CNA: Certified nurse assistant
- CNM: Certified Nurse-Midwife
- COMLEX: Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (the Osteopathic equivalent of the USMLE), a 3 step medical licensing test all DO’s must take. Step I is taken after the 2nd year of medical school and is a major determining factor in residency placement, Step II is taken prior to graduation and Step III is taken following your first year of residency.
- Committee Letter: composite letter of LOR’s which is submitted by the school’s pre-professional advising committee
- CPJE: California Practice Standards and Jurisprudence Examination for Pharmacists
- CPR: cardiopulmonary resuscitation, An emergency procedure employed after cardiac arrest and used to maintain the circulation of oxygenated blood to the brain.
- CRNA: Certified registered nurse anesthetist
- CSS: College Scholarship Service
- DAW: ‘Dispense As Written’, A prescription with a DAW must be dispensed precisely as it is written. No substitutions or alterations permitted
- DDS: Doctor of Dental Surgery
- Deferral: Delayed Matriculation following acceptance, usually one year
- DMD: Doctor of Dental Medicine
- DNP: Doctor of Nursing Practice
- DO: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- DOP: Director of Pharmacy
- DPM: Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
- DPT: Doctor of Physical Therapy
- Dr. Collins: PCAT review course
- DVM: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
- EC: Extra-curricular activities
- ECFMG: Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
- EDP: Early Decision Program
- EK: ExamKrackers, test preparation course materials
- ED: the Emergency Department (usually at a hospital)
- EM: Emergency Medicine (medical specialty)
- EMS: Emergency Medical Services
- EMT: Emergency Medical Technician
- EMT-B: Emergency Medical Technician-Basic
- EMT-I: Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate
- EMT-P: Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic
- ENT: Otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat)
- ERAS: Electronic Residency Application System for obtaining a residency position in the field of medicine in the United States.
- FAF: Financial Aid Form
- FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid
- Fellowship: Post residency training in specialized fields
- FMG: Foreign Medical Graduate
- GMAT: Graduated Management Admission Test
- Gold Standard: Test preparation review course materials (The MCAT Store)
- GPA: Grade Point Average; BCPM is the science GPA; AO is the GPA for all other courses
- GRE: Graduate Record Examination
- Gunner: slang for an anxious premed student who will do anything to get good grades.
- HBCU: Historically Black Colleges and Universities
- Hospitalist: a physician who specializes in treating hospitalized patients; a specialist in inpatient medicine.
- HCP: Health Care Provider
- House Staff: The physicians and surgeons in specialty training at a hospital who care for patients under the direction and responsibility of attending staff.
- HPAC: Health Professions Advisory Committee
- IMG: International Medical Graduate
- Internship: First year of medical residency training for physicians
- IM: Internal Medicine (medical specialty)
- IRS: Internal Revenue Service
- IS: In-state
- JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association
- Joint Commission: accredits and certifies more than 18,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States (formerly JCAHO)
- Kaplan: Test preparation review materials and service
- LCME: Liaison Committee on Medical Education, accredits medical schools
- LCSW: Licensed Clinical Social Worker
- Legacy: A student whose parents or grandparents have attended and/or heavily contributed to the school
- Licensed Pharmacy Technician: A technician who possess a state specific license to work in a pharmacy
- LOE: Letters of Evaluation
- LOI: Letter of intent/interest
- LOR: Letter of recommendation
- LPN: Licensed Practical Nurse
- Match: The electronic process where 4th year medical or pharmacy students are fitted to residency spots based on their preference rankings and preference rankings of the residency program.
- MBA: Master of Business Administration, given in many disciplines.
- MBChB or MBBS:UK model – Bachelor of Medicine and surgery
- MCAT: Medical College Admissions Test, a computer based standardized test used to assess a medical school applicant’s aptitude in a variety of fields. Subject matter includes Chemistry, Physics, Verbal Reasoning, a Writing Sample, Biology and Organic Chemistry. It has 3 sections each scored on a bell curve from 1 to 15 (total possible points 45) and the writing section ranges from a J-T.
- MD: Doctor of (allopathic) Medicine
- MD/PHD: Combined Doctor of Medicine and PhD. program, 6-8 years
- MDApplicants.com: Web site that allows students applying to medical schools to share their application stats and track their progress through the application process. Students can view others profiles and leave comments.
- MHA: Masters of Healthcare Administration
- MPH: Master of Public Health
- MPJE: Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination
- MS I, II, III or IV: medical student year 1,2,3 or 4
- MSAR: Medical School Admission Requirements (published by AAMC)
- MSTP: Medical Scientist Training Program
- NAAHP: National Association of Advisers for the Health Professions
- NABP: National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
- NAPLEX: North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination
- NBME: National Board of Medical Examiners, administers the USMLE
- NBOME: National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners
- NCPA: National Community Pharmacists Association
- NICU: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- NonTrad: Student who is applying to a professional program 2 or more years after completing his undergraduate program, often as a career change (non-traditional student)
- NP: Nurse Practitioner
- NRMP: National Resident Matching Program
- OA: Overall – All inclusive Grade Point Average
- OEC-T: Outdoor Emergency Care Technician
- On-Hold: Application has been reviewed without decision
- OOS: Out-of-state
- OP: Original Poster
- OR: the Operating Room (usually in a hospital or ambulatory surgery center)
- Orgo: Organic Chemistry, and a common prerequisite for medical schools
- OTD: Doctor of Occupational Therapy
- PA: Physician Assistant / Associate
- PA: Prior Authorization. Additional paperwork required by an insurance outlining the specifics of a patient’s medical condition to determine whether or not the medication will be paid for
- PCAT: Pharmacy College Application Test; a standardized test used to assess a pharmacy school applicant’s aptitude in a variety of fields. The test is broken into 7 parts: 2 Writing Topics, Verbal Ability, Biology, Chemistry, Reading Comprehension, and Quantitative Ability. The writing scores range from 0-5. All other section scores are a percentile from 0-99.
- PCT: patient care technician
- PGY1: intern year
- PharmApplicants.com: Web site that allows students applying to pharmacy schools to share their application stats and track their progress through the application process. Students can view others profiles and leave comments.
- PharmCAS: Pharmacy College Application Service, the service a pre-pharmacy student uses to apply to most pharmacy schools in the United States
- PharmD: Doctor of Pharmacy (6 years – 2+4 or direct entry)
- PharmD/MBA: Combined Doctor of Pharmacy and Masters of Business Administration Program
- PharmD/PhD: Combined Doctor of Pharmacy and Ph.D. program
- Pharmacy Protocol: The ability to dispense medication by writing a legal prescription without the consent of a doctor. Only applicable in some states.
- PhD: Doctor of Philosophy
- PI: principal investigator (of a lab)
- PIC: Pharmacist In Charge
- PICU: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
- PM: Private Message
- Post-bac: Coursework taken (typically after earning a bachelor’s degree) to allow applicants to meet medical school admission requirements. May be useful for students with degrees in non-science fields; can be formal or informal; short for post-baccalaureate program
- Pre-Candidate School: A pharmacy school which has begun the process of becoming accredited, but has not yet done so
- Pre-req: Undergraduate course listed as minimum requirement for entry into medical school (e.g. general chemistry)
- Primary Application: single initial medical school application submitted online via AMCAS (MD) or AAMCOMAS (DO) or TMDAS (Texas schools) for verification and forwarding to individual schools.
- Primary Care: Typically the specialties of Family Practice, Pediatrics and general Internal Medicine
- PRN: As needed
- PS: Personal Statement
- PsyD: Doctor of psychology
- PTCB: Pharmacy Technician Certification Board
- QFT: Quoted For Truth
- RD: Resident Director
- Re-Applicant: Applicant who has also applied during a previous cycle
- Reciprocity: An agreement between states to issue practice licenses to applicants licensed in other states
- Residency: A period of time after completing school during which a physician or pharmacist receives intensive training in a particular healthcare specialty
- RN: Registered Nurse
- ROAD: Radiology, Ophthalmology, Anesthesiology, Dermatology – medical specialties considered by some to afford a good mix of income and quality of life
- RRC: Residency Review Committee – verifies residency programs meet minimum training requirements for a specialty
- Secondary Application: additional follow-up application for individual schools, which is submitted directly to the school. Content, fees, and methods of selecting applicants for distribution vary widely.
- STAT: Immediate, said when something needs to be done immediately.
- SDN: Student Doctor Network
- SICU: Surgical Intensive Care Unit
- Sig Codes: Short hand abbreviations used to describe the directions of a medication therapy. Examples include, but are not limited to: BID, TID, OU, AD, PRN….
- SMDEP: Summer Medical and Dental Education Program
- SMP: One-year masters degree programs (usually) that allow you to earn an MS in biomedical sciences or a related field. They are usually done by people who have a science background and are looking to make their application more competitive, for GPA or other reasons.
- TBR: The Berkeley Review, test preparation review materials and service
- TMDSAS: Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service
- TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language
- TPR: The Princeton Review, test preparation review materials and service
- URM: Under-represented Minority
- USMLE: United States Medical Licensing Examination, a 3 step medical licensing test all MD’s must take. Step I is taken after the 2nd year of medical school and is a major determining factor in residency placement, Step II is taken prior to graduation and Step III is taken following your first year of residency. In the future, a combined Step I and Step II exam in the third year will likely be used
- US News Rankings: Annual ranking of colleges and professional schools by U.S. News and World Report (magazine)
- Waitlist: List of students who will be offered acceptance if seats become available at a given medical school
- WAMC: “What Are My Chances” threads – designated posting area for all questions related an applicant’s chances for admission
- WICHE: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. WICHE provides a program for medical students from Alaska, Montana and Wyoming
- WWAMI: A program for medical students from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho