I got an email today from John over at The WikiPremed MCAT Course – An Open Access Learning Program for the Premedical Curriculum.. In the email he shared with me about the WikiPremed MCAT Course website that he and his team have been working on for a few years now.

I thought it sounded interesting so I clicked on over to check it out.

It really looks to be like a great resource for pre-med students who are trying to study for the MCAT. Even better, it’s a whole lot more affordable than the Kaplan or Princeton Review courses.

In addition to their online learning modules, they do provide written materials, flash cards, etc.

If you’re a premed student, consider checking them out. Even if you do go ahead with one of the more well-known review courses, it looks like this could be a really nice addition to your study regimen.

Also, another idea would be to read through the modules covering the sections you are learning in your Physics, Biology, Chemistry, or Organic Chemistry class.

You can click on over to the Wiki by using the link above (at the beginning of this post) or the link to the right under the “Student Resources” section.

Related Post: What is Loma Linda University Really Like?

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while now. Occasionally I get a question like this: I’m not Adventist, but I am a Christian. Should I apply to Loma Linda University?

In a previous post (What is Loma Linda University really like?) I wrote that I have not heard any complaints. Although I did write that I had never asked any of my classmates directly. Well last week I got the chance to ask two classmates who are not Seventh-Day Adventists how they felt about Loma Linda University. The gist of what they said is that while they might not believe everything Adventists believe, they are happy with their decision to attend a Christian medical school like Loma Linda.

I also found a blog entry by another classmate. He is Episcopalian and he writes about his thoughts on Loma Linda University at his blog Northwest Anglican. The post is titled Surviving Medical School with Faith Intact.

This article is from Spectrum Magazine and references the article above: Thoughts from an Episcopalian at Loma Linda University | Spectrum.

A quote from the post:

Another conversation I’ve had with some of my classmates is a “what if” conversation considering whether we would have gone to some of the more prestigious schools we applied to had we been accepted. And there was a time when I would have said, “yes,” that if I had gotten into Harvard or Mayo Clinic that I would have gone there. But looking back on this year and considering things with the eternal perspective of the importance of my soul, I would have to say, “no.” Think what you will about Seventh-day Adventist theology, but I have to say that they have founded and nourished an institution where a Christian can become a doctor and where they can be affirmed and encouraged in their faith in Jesus Christ. For this I am very thankful to my Adventist brothers and sisters.

Hopefully this will help those trying to decide which medical schools to apply to.

Related Post: Loma Linda University: Perspectives from non-Adventists

Important Note: This post was written near the beginning of my second year.

In this day and age it’s really easy to become cynical about what is printed in brochures. We all know what it’s like to buy into some sort of hype and become disappointed with the end product. So we all learn that it’s best to do some research — that we shouldn’t believe everything the salesperson tells us.

Choosing a medical school can be tough. It’s like shopping for something very, very expensive. In a way, you’re shopping for four years of your life and an education that will hopefully launch a long career. And every once in a while I get questions about what Loma Linda is like.

Well that’s a fair question and I’ll try to give my perspective on the school in this post. I will say, however, I don’t have any strong negative opinions about the school. I do have some strong negative opinions about the summer heat, though.

With that said, here’s what I think about Loma Linda University School of Medicine:
*****
Location
Loma Linda University is located in the San Bernardino County, about an hour east of Los Angeles. We have mountains, desert, ocean, and a large metropolitan area nearby. It’s got something for everyone. The only complaint I have about this place is the summer weather. It can get uncomfortable hot in the summer. And that is really annoying when you have to walk around in a tie and white coat.

The area also has a pretty bad smog problem. Clear blue skies are not the norm. Don’t expect a San Diego blue in the sky.

Facilities
This is probably LLUs weakest area. While the Medical Center is state-of-the-art, the educational facilities are not. The school, founded in 1909, is old. And the building with the freshman amphitheater and anatomy lab feels just as old sometimes. It is better for the sophomore medical students who have classes in one of the newer buildings on campus, Alumni Hall. But as a Freshman, I really found it hard to enjoy sitting in lectures. However, it should be noted that the university is undergoing major construction work and soon the incoming students will have a brand new amphitheater and one of the largest anatomy labs in the country to use. The simulation center will also be moved to this brand new building. (See my post: Loma Linda University Centennial Complex.)

The main library could also use a new building. When exam week approaches, it can get hard to find a spot in the library. I would consider it small relative to other university libraries. Fortunately, medical students have access to other study areas on campus.

Faculty
It is not unusual for a professor to have prayer before beginning his or her lecture. As far as I remember, a faculty or staff member said a prayer before almost every exam. When a faculty or staff member didn’t, a student had volunteered.

They faculty here have been very friendly and inviting.

Anatomy can be a tough course. One thing I appreciated from our anatomy faculty was their willingness to come into the lab to conduct reviews for small groups. We would schedule a review with one of the professors and they would meet us in the Anatomy lab (sometimes as early as 7 AM or as late as 9 PM) to answer questions and point out important clinical structures that are difficult to explain in a lecture or during lab sessions when the labs are crowded. One PhD or MD, a cadaver, and about 8 students is a pretty good learning ratio.

One of our Biochemistry professors also has done reviews before each exam where he will take an hour to quickly go over the high points. It’s usually very high-yield.

One of our Pathology professors also records an audio review for each lecture (lectures are 50 minutes long) that can be downloaded by the students. These reviews are typically about ten to fifteen minutes long.

There are lecturers that I don’t particularly like for one reason or another. It might be the pace or their style of presentation. Sometimes I choose to skip those lecturers. Some of my classmates never go to lecture. Others have perfect attendance. So I guess this is a personal preference.

The school does not record the lectures but does provide a syllabus with notes. The notes are prepared by the lecturers. Some are very detailed that it feels like reading a text book. Some are abbreviated and presented in the form of an outline. And the worst ones (for me) are the handouts that only have the powerpoint slides printed out. I prefer highlighting written text than scribbling something next to pictures.

Pine Springs Ranch
Each year the School of Medicine plans a retreat to Pine Springs Ranch. It is held at the end of September and is a great time to get away from school. The two-night stay and meals at the camp cafeteria are all paid for by the school. The highlight of the weekend is the talent show on Saturday night that showcases the talents, or lack of talent, of students and faculty alike.

Students
The students, on the whole, are friendly. Admittedly, I’m not buddy-buddy with everyone in my class. But I also haven’t ever had a confrontation with anyone, verbal or physical.

I don’t feel like I am in a cut-throat environment. People freely help each other. This may be a result of the school’s grading policy (Pass/Fail). It might also have something to do with the fact that most students, if not all, are attending Loma Linda because they want to be in a Christian environment.

Curriculum
The School of Medicine is currently transitioning to a system-based approach. We still have individual classes like Pathology, Pathophysiology, etc., but when possible, they are coordinated so that they are discussing the same organ system at the same time. I like this approach. It feels like you’re attacking the same topic from different angles. It’s a good reinforcement.

Religious Affiliation
The school is run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I have no problem with that, although I am a Seventh-day Adventist. I have many other classmates who are not Seventh-day Adventists and I have not heard any complaints from them.

The school does require religion courses. But they don’t try to convert the students to Seventh-day Adventism. Religion classes include courses like “Medicine, Humanity, and God,” “Wholeness for Physicians,” “Medicine and Ethics,” and “Art of Integrative Care.”

First and second year students are also required to attend weekly chapel services every Wednesday. The hour-long chapel services is held at 11 and so Wednesdays usually have 3 lectures instead of 4.

As a Christian school, Loma Linda expects its students to live according to traditional Christian principles. For some that is a ridiculous expectation and they choose to apply elsewhere.

Service
Loma Linda University has a long history of being involved in the local community. The San Bernardino County has a shortage of healthcare. School drop-out rates are one of the worst in the state of California. There are a couple of programs that were started by medical students to help the children of the surrounding community. One program utilizes medical students as tutors for local schools who need help. Another program mentors pregnant teens. Another program is aimed towards mentoring young men in high school. There is another program called STATS which stands for Students Teaching AIDS To Students, which should be self-explanatory.

During the summer, the school usually organizes medical mission trips. These trips have participation from all the University schools including the schools of medicine, dentistry, and nursing. This past summer there were trips to both Africa and South America.

These summer mission trips draw interest from many students who are between their first and second years of medical school. The Class of 2010 created a video to share their experiences from their first summer. You can see the videos here.

If one is interested in service, there are plenty of opportunities for that.
*****

Hopefully this gives a little bit of a picture of what Loma Linda University is like. Choosing a medical school is a personal process. Loma Linda University is not for everyone, but I’m glad it was for me. If you have specific questions, feel free to leave a comment or email me.

I was browsing some medical blogs and found a link to an article at HowStuffWorks.com. Dr. Carl Bianco, MD, has written a pretty good overview of the traditional path to earning the two initials.

I didn’t get a chance to read through the entire thing, but from the looks of the contents listing, it covers a lot. Dr. Bianco discusses everything from high school, college, medical school, residency, and the licensing exams.

Here’s the link to the article: Howstuffworks “How Becoming a Doctor Works”

The other day someone posted a comment asking if I had any “words of wisdom” regarding these things called “personal statements.” So I thought I would add a post about this topic. Now I don’t know whether or not I do have any words of wisdom, but I will offer suggestions.

The first suggestion is to be congruent. When applying for medical school, or anything for that matter, it is often easy to “stretch the truth” to make the applicant look good. But being congruent is important. Writing that your desire to become a doctor stems from your burning passion to help orphaned children with cleft lips in third world countries is fine — that is, if that is the reason behind your wanting to become a doctor. But if it isn’t DO NOT write that. The key is to be honest and sincere. Every individual has a unique background. Bring that out. Show that. If you truly have a desire to help cleft lip patients around the world, then, by all means, do write it! It will shine through in your interview that this desire is genuine and not some fluff meant to tug on the emotional strings of the readers. Honesty and sincerity is key.

The second suggestion I have is to find someone with excellent English skills to read over your statement. And it would be preferable that the person have some knowledge of the application process. I was lucky that my Kaplan instructor had a Master’s degree in English and had already gone through the process of applying (had an acceptance to UCSD School of Medicine). He graciously offered to read my paper over and make comments about it. And this bioengineering major was sure glad to have an English major help. Another resource to use would be Premed advisors. They, in theory, should be knowledgeable about the whole process and would be a great resource to use. Just make sure that they don’t have terrible English!

That, my readers, are my two cents regarding personal statements. If you have any more advice for budding personal statement authors, feel free to post and add.

And a good luck to those writing the statements!

About a week after I had taken the MCAT in August 2005 I wrote a review of the Kaplan Preparatory course that I had taken. That review can be found here. Almost a year and a half later, my opinion of the prep courses is unchanged. But I decided to write some more about preparing for the MCAT because this is one of the most pressing concerns for Pre-med students.

One thing about any of these courses is that they are all pretty expensive. When I took the course, the going rate was about $1400 — and this is in addition to any AMCAS or secondary application fees. So the decision on whether or not to take the course weighs heavily on those applying to medical school. In this post I won’t discuss study methods. I assume Premed students preparing to take the MCAT will have a pretty decent G.P.A. and some study skills. So I will just restrict this post to discussing prep courses.

The first thing to remember when thinking about taking one of these courses is that it is a REVIEW course taught by people who most likely are not as qualified as the professors who taught you the material in the first place. When I took the course, Kaplan’s requirement to teach a subject was that one had to score at least an 11 on that section in an MCAT. So don’t expect to go into the class to learn the material in-depth. It should be a review of things you have already covered in Biology, Physics, G. Chem, and O. Chem classes; so study the material well while in those classes.

The second thing that one should do is assess his or her ability to get motivated to study. The MCAT covers four science subjects: Biology, Physics, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. One useful thing about these courses is that they force you to cover a certain amount of material for each class. It keeps students moving along. For some, this structured approach can be very useful. If you find yourself as one who needs the structure of a class to get you studying, then take it if possible. Others may be able to self-study and keep a healthy pace without the structure provided by a class and these peope may be better off saving their money instead of enrolling in a review course. Plenty of students who take the MCAT without going through a prep course and score very well. And while it can be difficult, this assessment is crucial.

The third thing to consider is practice exams. Practice MCAT exams are extremely important for preparing for the real deal. I think the real value of a prep course is in putting the students through a full-length MCAT under “real-life” conditions. For an exam as important as the MCAT, one does not want to go in not knowing what to expect. Taking practice exams under simulated conditions will helps in pacing. The worst thing that can happen is to have the proctor call time before finishing a section. These practice exams are also important because they build stamina. It is a long test. Sitting for 8 hours gets tiring on the neck. Believe it or not, you build neck muscles in these practice exams! However, I hear the MCAT is going electronic and will be taken on a computer and will be shorter. But you still should be able to sit through a whole thing without fidgeting and as they say: practice makes perfect.

Alright, so you’ve read to here. Should you take an MCAT prep course or not? This is a question each individual must answer on his or her own. A prep course offers structure and an environment in which a simulated MCAT can be administered. But this can also be done without a course. So if you feel you can go it alone, then by all means do so and save the money! If not, then take the plunge, go to class, practice the MCAT and get as much as you can out of it.

Peter Pan and his shadow had a somewhat antagonistic relationship. It made me want to have a shadow like that. Looked fun. Just don’t have an antagonistic relationship with the doctor you end up shadowing. I never got a chance to do it, but “they” say you should. In theory its a great thing to do. It will give you the chance to see firsthand what it is like to work in a hospital as a doctor. So try to shadow the specialty you’re interested in.

Now on to volunteering at a hospital. For some reason ADCOMS absolutely love this. I’ve heard that it shows your desire, compassion, and other qualities they are looking for. It also gives you exposure to hospital life. Most people end up volunteering at the
emergency room because that’s where the action is. I guess that’s fine.

As you volunteer think about what you see. You might think that volunteering is the most useless way to spend your afternoon because all you do is sit around waiting to change the bed sheets. But at least think about the things you see and hear. When I had my interview with Loma Linda, I was asked about my volunteering experience. The interviewer wanted to know what lesson I took away from my experience.

Again, shadowing and volunteering are good in that they give you some exposure to hospital life. But take advantage of the proximity to doctors. Talk to them about medicine. Ask them for advice. Ask them how they chose their specialty. Most doctors are eager to talk to young people who are hoping to one day become doctors as well.

Related Post: More on Shadowing (Not a serious post)

So you’re in college. Your whole future is ahead of you and now you’re thinking about becoming a physician. You’re probably really gung ho about it and want to run to the Records office and officially declare yourself “Pre-Med,” right? Well that’s fine. But there are things you should know.

The quest for the M.D. initials after your name begins with college. Every single class and grade will be up for review by the Admissions Committee (ADCOMS) of the medical school you apply to. Talk about pressure, right? So make sure that you do your best even when you think the class is a waste-of-time-general-study class. It does show up. But everyone should choose the major that they enjoy. DO NOT choose Biology if you’re not interested in studying about plant and animals. If you’re interested in business than pick that. If you’re a thinker, be a philosophy major. If you’re good in math, think about Mathematics, Physics, or Engineering. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A BIOLOGY MAJOR TO GET ACCEPTED INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL. Actually, one book I did read (which is maybe ten years old) claims that the ratio of those accepted to those who applied is highest for philosophy majors.

Getting into a medical school is not easy. You must stand apart from all the applicants — and your undergraduate grades are probably the first criteria ADCOMS will look at (unless you’re like the Dean of Medicine’s son or daughter). For those non-geniuses out there, you might have to sacrifice nights where you wanted to hang out with friends to study for a test.

My point is that you need to be sure that Medicine is something you wish to pursue. Be persistent. As an engineering major, I saw lots of people declare themselves engineering majors during my Freshman year. Before the first quarter ended the mass exodus had already begun and by the end of the year almost 1/3 had switched to business. I see the
same thing with people who declare “pre-med.”

Someone once said this about working hard to become a doctor: “You do it because underneath the surface of a young person who loves life and fun there is a compassion to reach others. Medicine is something you can envision yourself doing. You can picture yourself in that respected white coat and you hear the sacred calling of the profession.”

Some view Medicine as just a career choice. Some view it as a calling. I think the way you view it will have huge impact on the success you have in getting into Medical School, in excelling in Medical School, in being a physician, and in the happiness and satisfaction you feel as a physician.

It’s been a little over a week since the MCAT (August 21, 2005). I took the test on a Sunday at U.C.L.A. After about a week of semi-relaxing — I’ve had jury duty and computers to work on — I thought I’d take a few minutes to post my thoughts about the course.

First off, Kaplan’s Pasadena facility was definitely adequate. My only complaint is that finding parking was difficiult and it was a bit far from home. However, those factors did not affect the quality of the actual classes.

Although located in an office building, it was designed as a classroom. There were four classrooms and a lecture hall that could be split into two smaller rooms. A computer lab, conference room, and “student lounge” were also available to students.

The first day of class was spent with an introduction to Kaplan’s policies for their higher score guarantee, parking locations, and other relatively trivial things. Then we were all given a Diagnostic test to establish a baseline score. We did not meet our instructor until the second class session.

Our instructor met us on the second day of class. Fortunately, at least that’s the way I feel, we had one instructor for the entire class (although we did have substitutes a couple times). This was because the instructor scored high enough in all of the categories when He took the MCAT.

On a personal level my instructor was really good. He was really friendly and easy to get along with — and he kept us on our toes by randomly calling on people in the class to answer questions. He said that it was better to be embarrassed now and remember, than to… uh… not…

Anyways, while he was our instructor, he was not someone who had done extensive study in any of the four basic sciences. He was a person who had done well on his MCAT and was now teaching it.

Instruction-wise, the course was okay. I think it was a good reveiw for those who have already covered the material more fully in the school setting. I’d say that the strength of the course lies in the practice exams.

There are five proctored exams given as part of the course. In addition to the five, students may take six more Kaplan tests and 10 MCAT exams previously released by the AAMC. The additional tests are not allowed to be taken from the center and cannot be written on. So it would be best for one to print it out at home (from Kaplan’s website) so that the work can be done on the test booklet instead of scratch paper.

The practice exams are crucial to preparing for the MCAT. It allows students to practice pacing so that come test day, they will be able to finish the real MCAT in time. Being familiar with the length and format of the test will make it so much easier. The MCAT is not something to approach without preparation. A future career depends on it; it also costs about $200 ($210 for Sunday exams).

The Kaplan course I took did not cost me anything since I recevied a free voucher. However, had I not had the voucher I think I would still have taken it. The practice and the pressure to study the material for each class was a huge factor in the score that I will be getting. I’m sure that had I not taken the course, I would not have been as prepared as I was.

My recommendation? Well, the course is expensive. Can you review the material without taking a prep course? Yes you can. However, for some the structure of the classroom lecture is what is needed to push them to study. At the same time, others might be so highly motivated that they can spend hours a day studying and managing their own time leading up to the test. I think that if you need the help getting motivated to study, $1500 is a pretty big motivation. You don’t really wanna waste that much money.