premed

What Medical Schools Are Looking For: Understanding the 15 Core Competencies

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When you think about how medical schools will evaluate your application, it can seem like … Read more

Getting In: The Undergraduate’s Guide to Research Experience

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getting in

Undergraduate students do not need told, again, how important it is to be involved in numerous activities: academics, extracurriculars, employment, research, job shadowing, internships, and social life. Students who are pursuing a career in a science or healthcare field (particularly those with aspirations for graduate school) may find even more intense pressure than their peers. This pressure – to check a box in each “category” above and to succeed at all of them – can be quite overwhelming, especially for students who don’t have any experience in one area or another. One of the most common areas with which students struggle is research. Many prehealth students understand that research should be part of their application, but do not know how to get started, or even what “research experience” means. If this sounds like you, check out Getting In: The Undergraduate’s Guide to Research Experience by David Oppenheimer and Paris Grey.

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5 Steps to Earning a 90th-Percentile MCAT Score

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Famous Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz once remarked, “When my teams took second place, the fans called me an idiot. A guy who finished last in medical school is still called a ‘doctor’. Hardly seems fair.”
Lou’s pithy comment may be true for students already in medical school. However, if you are a premed student, finishing last, or even in the middle of the pack, dooms your chances of going to a quality medical school. Every year, students face fierce competition. Scoring “above average” isn’t enough. To be highly competitive as an out-of-state applicant at schools across the country, you need a strong MCAT score—usually in the 90th percentile or above.

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5 Ways to Study for the MCAT Using Your Smart Phone

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You can do almost anything with your smart phone these days. You can video call a friend in China, order pizza with the click of a button, and even see in the dark! So, if your smart phone can help you do these and an almost infinitely large number of other things, then why can’t you use it to study for the MCAT? In this article, I am going to show you that you not only can, but should use your smart phone to study for the MCAT. Here are 5 ways that you can start using your iPhone to study for the MCAT right now:

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4 Ways to Address a Low MCAT Score on Your AMCAS Application

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low MCAT score

Overcoming a low MCAT score on your AMCAS application can feel daunting. Can they really judge my whole application by my performance on one 8 hour block of life!!? Sadly, most schools do put extensive emphasis on MCAT scores. However, a low score is not the end of the world if you are within the range of applicants to a particular school. Ask yourself: What do medical schools look for? The answer is more dynamic than just a good MCAT score…

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Critical Reading: Building Analysis and Reasoning Skills with Confidence

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Anyone who has taken or studied for the MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS)—or any other critical reading test—will tell you that these tests can be incredibly challenging. Why is that true, given that people studying for the MCAT CARS are typically good students? There are several reasons why. Part of the challenge is the subject matter in the passages. Many individuals have not read extensively outside of their disciplines–especially in the humanities and social sciences. Another challenge is that many people today aren’t used to reading material that is written much above the high school level, even college students. Thus, many readers are uneasy with complex sentence structures and elaborate or abstract language. In addition, analyzing and reasoning from material in a new discipline or in a style that is unfamiliar to you is difficult. It can require extra thought for anyone. However, these and other reading challenges don’t need to be roadblocks to your success when you take the MCAT or any other test that involves critical reading. Critical reading, analysis, and reasoning are skills that can be learned and practiced. This article is designed to help you understand the skills you’ll need to read effectively and approach testing for the MCAT CARS and other critical reading tests.

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State Exchange Program Helps Healthcare Students With No In-State School Option

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No available or affordable program for your healthcare profession in your home state? Take heart! Students in Western U.S. states  do  have access to affordable professional degree programs in nearly a dozen healthcare specialties, thanks to the  Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education’s (WICHE)  Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP).

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A Medical Student’s Suggestions on Improving Your Productivity

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While I was a medical scribe in Texas, I had many conversations with doctors about what medical school is like. I vividly remember one instance where a physician responded to the question with, “Medical school is like a course in time management. You’ll really learn how to manage your time and fit everything in as a med student.” Below, I give seven of the most useful tips I wish I had known before entering med school. They are not in any particular order, nor are they reserved for only medical students: these suggestions are for anyone looking to improve their overall productivity.

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Q&A With Richard Beddingfield, MD, Author of Med School Uncensored

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1. Tell us about yourself.
I’m a 38-year-old anesthesiologist practicing at a busy community hospital in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. I am married and have two rambunctious daughters, ages 6 and 3. I grew up in the Southeastern United States, mostly between Florida and Georgia. I headed north for college and earned my Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan in 2001.
After working in information technology for three years, I went back to school to complete my prerequisites for medical school. I attended medical school at the University of Minnesota, graduating with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 2010. I then spent four years in anesthesiology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. I headed back to the University of Minnesota for one year to complete a fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesiology. Finally, I moved to Madison, Wisconsin, starting my first real job as a practicing anesthesiologist in 2015.

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Ending Premed Naivety: Understanding the Realities of a Medical Career

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The only real recollections I have of visiting the hospital before college were once as a child undergoing a tonsillectomy and once as a preteen to visit my newborn cousin. Fast forward ten years or so and suddenly I was a freshman in college shadowing a medical professional and trying to decide if I wanted to commit the rest of my life to medicine. It was the first time I really saw medicine for what it was, and it was nothing like I had imagined.
As someone without any relatives or close acquaintances in a health profession, I grew up with a lot of misconceptions about medicine as a career. Like many of you, I will be the first in my family to attend medical school. On many fronts, I have had to discard my preconceived notions about medicine for an understanding borne of proximity and experience. Before beginning the premed journey, I was blissfully unaware of two components of the medical field: the realities of daily work and the lifestyle demands.

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5 Tips for Finding and Working With a Mentor

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Do you know anyone who raves about their mentor? A mentor can offer you expertise and motivation as you work toward your goal of entering medical school and becoming a doctor. A medical student, professor, physician, or anyone with experience and knowledge in the medical field who is able listen, relate, and help invest in your future can be a mentor. For example, finding a mentor who is a physician can provide you with the perspective of someone currently in the profession. Whereas a medical student can give you the first hand perspective of someone who has recently gone through the application process and is currently working toward their degree.

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How to Have a Successful Premedical Freshman Year

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premedical freshman

The transition from high school to college is stressful for many students, and perhaps more so for those who already have their hearts set on attending medical school. For newly-minted premedical students, the first two semesters of college can represent the first steps toward their professional goals, and the prospect of doing less than their anticipated best is daunting. If you are one such new premedical student, you may be asking what steps you can take to maximize your success in your freshman year of college. How will you manage a new kind of social life? Which clubs and outreach activities should you consider? And most of all, how will you navigate your first academic course load as a premedical student? If you’re pondering any of these questions, read on for some tips about how to have a successful first year in college.

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Dealing With Premed Stress

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premed stress

With another busy semester behind you, you might be using your summer to work or volunteer, prepare for the MCAT exam, or work on your medical school applications. But summer is also a good opportunity to catch your breath and practice a little self-care. Being a premed is stressful, but there are healthy habits you can start practicing now that will help you manage stress next semester, and later when you’re in medical school.

1. Cook at home. It’s tempting to save time by always buying meals on the go, but cooking for yourself can actually be a stress relieving activity. And it’s often the healthier choice. Plus, it will save you money! Try listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook while you cook, or turn it into a social activity by cooking with your roommate or significant other.

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