Medaholic

Sorry for the lack of updates. I have just started YET another summer of research and there’s an awful lot to learn. I have also been doing some traveling here and there and enjoying one of my last summers.

The Waitlist

I know firsthand from talking to my classmates that a lot of medical students that were accepted off the waitlist often feel like they are second-rate students. They weren’t good enough for the first round of selections and they only got in because the school had a quota to fill.

They call this the alternate syndrome.

The Solution

To any applicant accepted off the wailist, let me reiterate and repeat that regardless of your background, degree or ranking by the admissions committee: everyone is starting at the same starting line

Medical school is a brand new start. A clean slate for everyone. If you keep comparing yourself to others and what they have already done, you will miss the picture of what you are about to do! Medical school is an interesting and challenging period and each individual handles it differently.

Some of the best undergraduates end up being below-average medical students while waitlisted students excel. Your past matters only up to a point. When you begin medical school, your efforts and dedication from there on will determine how far you will go.There really is no difference between the 100th ranked student and the 101st who just happens to be on the waitlist.

So if you just got off the waitlist, congratulations! You are going to be a medical student and eventually a doctor. What do you call a medical student that graduated at the bottom of his class? A doctor. Don’t let this alternate syndrome mentality prevent you from trying and being your best.

First: I would like to thank everyone for their comments / emails / support. I greatly appreciate them all.

I have been running this site for almost a year now. During that time, I have had several popular posts, I made a fairly complete flow chart outlining the whole medical school admissions process and I have had several thousand readers. However, I believe this site is not sustainable without some changes and further personal  incentive.

I’m not trying to be greedy. There is a cost to run this site, it’s approximately $80 a year for the server, domain name, etc. Additionally, the time needed to run this site, maintain it, and create more content can be quite a burden. For all the time (and time is precious) I put in, I don’t get any money out of it. And lately, less and less satisfaction. If only this site could be more sustainable…

I believe if there was a reward system (Either personal satisfaction or monetary) in place, I would be more inclined to create content. I know this is the internet, information should be for free! But considering my knowledge and experience, I think I could go out and easily charge $50 / hour doing medical school admission consulting. I don’t want to charge money for this site. For my qualifications: I got into medical school early, I did well in my undergrad studies,  and I believe I did fairly well on my interview. Furthermore, I have helped out with the admissions process, reviewed essays and references, been an interviewer and have successfully helped more than 10 people I know successful get admitted.

So I’m asking readers, What should I do? Should I switch to advertising, a subscription, sponsorship or a donation model to keep this site running. Each will have its own pros and benefits. It sucks that I have to even consider this, but I have to consider my own needs too and as a medical student with doing well in my studies as a priority and growing debt, I don’t want to have to worry about this site.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for posting comments, I appreciate all of them. Some of them are very helpful, encouraging and thought provoking.

EDIT: The main purpose of running this site is NOT for the money. A commenter posted out that there are a lot of free services out there I could use to. After reading that, I think what I actually want is a connection between the effort and work I put into this site and a reward or personal satisfaction. (I posted in the comments about this). I am not planning to shut down my site, just perhaps find some motivation and reevaluate my reasons for running this site.

It feels like I’m writing to an empty audience sometimes, a monoquily if you will. The main purpose of this blog is not to journal my day, write about my feelings and thoughts (although I do that now and then). It want to help people understand the medical admissions process, help them become better students and make them more informed about health issues.

Perhaps it’s a writer’s block or burnout, but there are days when I log-on and I just don’t want to do anything. Somewhere along the way, I lost a bit of the joy I had in the beginning. It’s partly due to doing the same thing over and over again - helping people with their “What are my Chances” questions or the should I take Organic Chemistry in the summer? - but another aspect is it’s hard to get satisfaction out of helping an anonymous person you have never met and who’s only purpose in contacting you is to get something out of it.

I help out people all the time in person, giving them strategy and tips on how to do better in school, what medical school is like, etc. And although that’s the same thing, I get some personal satisfaction. I can see my results. I will hear back from them if they get into medical school and that makes it worth it. There is a connection between my efforts and a final reward, whether that is personal satisfaction or gratitude.

I have nothing against primary doctors. Family physicians and front-line health care workers are important. They are severely understaffed. The shortage is a real concern. But the more I think about what I want as a career, what type of a balanced life I want to live and what type of things interest me in medicine, the more it seems as if becoming a specialist is for me.

While looking at how doctors choose their residency, I came upon a survey published in the CMAJ.

And don’t get me wrong, it’s not the prestige and money that’s attracting me to choosing a specialty. I think it’s the academic challenge and ability to pursue intellectual interests is what appeals to me. I love teaching, I have tutored and taught science classes for the last 4-5 years. I enjoy research, as long as I get a fair bit of autonomy and responsibility.

Finally, I love academia. I’m pretty certain I want to pursue academic medicine, practice in a university-hospital setting, have teaching hours. If I didn’t pursue medicine, graduate school would have been my next choice.

I guess I still haven’t gotten any closer to deciding on what specialty I would like. More to come, as I find out myself.

Despite helping the sick and needy, it still surprises me as to how rude some doctors can be to their staff, students and patients.

A simple please or thank you. Facing your patient when talking to them. Not yelling at people to follow instructions. Being punctual with your appointments, apologizing for the long waits.

Perhaps they have been in a position of power too long or that patients are willing to do anything they say, but doctors should not look down on their staff and patients.

People say bedside manner does not matter as long as your doctor is smart, finds the right diagnosis and gets the job done. I disagree.

The process is just as important as the end result. Compassion is as important as hard work and precision to details. It’s not that one is greater than another, it’s that both are needed!

“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care”

And patients who have doctors who care are much more compliant with their treatment and much more likely to follow instructions. Manners do matter.

Looking back over my first year of medical school, I can say it has exceeded my expectations. It was life changing. It was exciting. Definitely thought provoking. School was tough and I ended up learning a lot about myself as a person. Thinking back, there’s nothing I could have done the summer before starting to prepare myself for this journey.

Don’t Pre-Study - There is really no point in reading textbooks, studying anatomy, learning biochemistry or doing anything academic related before starting school. For one, they’ll teach you all the medicine you will need, and in a more organized and structured format. Secondly, you will be learning medicine for the rest of your career. It really is life-long learning, the education doesn’t end in the classroom. What’s an extra 3-4 months of your own self-study, before you know anything, going to do? You won’t even know what you don’t know. You will have no clinical setting to learn and practice in.

What you Should do - There are a number of activities I would recommend people do before starting medical school. A lot of them are practical and many of these things will help answer questions you will eventually think about.

Get a Job - Medical school is expensive. If you can, be productive with your time. Do something you like where you can learn. Most people find it hard to hold a job while studying for classes in medical school. The more you earn now, the more less worried you will be financially during next year.

Travel - See the world. Remember, these are one of the last summers where you have large chunks of time do pursue anything you want. For people going into 3 year programs, your summers are over! Take advantage of the few remaining breaks you have to do something you have always wanted to do. Continue Reading…

Finally done school! 3-4 months pursue other hobbies and do anything else other than medicine.

Congrats to all the readers who received an acceptance into medical school. Enjoy this last summer before your long journey begins. To everyone who was waitlisted, best of luck in your wait and hopefully someone will free up a spot for you. Finally, for those rejected, don’t give up! If this is your goal and you want to become a doctor, you will get there. It’s only a matter of time.

Feedback: I have now worked on this blog for almost a year now. I’ve gotten lots of wonderful comments from readers but I want to know a few things.

Has this blog helped you in anyway? It’s always nice to hear success stories, and if I was able to provide you with something useful on this site, what was it?

What type of articles would you like to read? More stories from medical school? Admissions information? More about me?

When I check the stats for this site, I see that every week hundreds of people come to read what I have written. However, few leave comments or provide feedback. As a writer, I find it frustrating sometimes not knowing who my audience is. Are you mainly high school students looking for university advice? Current medical students or residents? Interested public?

Let me know.

To all the readers from medhopeful.com, thanks for checking out this blog. If you haven’t checked out medhopeful.com yet, I highly recommend it. The site is run by a close personal friend who is smart, humble and always willing to help others. There are a lot of great articles there, especially regarding scholarships (Josh won over $200,000 worth of scholarships) and university life, so go check it out!

With medical school decisions coming in less than a week, I thought I would share my thoughts on How to Decide which Medical School to attend.

There are 17 medical schools in Canada, 130 in the United States and many more overseas. In order to differentiate each of them and find which schools are right for you requires you to have some necessary criteria. Each person will assign different values to these criteria, but if you know ahead of time what you want and you set boundaries, it will make choosing which medical schools to apply to and attend a much easier process. 

I know this topic is not a new one and I have drawn from several sources to compile this post. There will be many similarities between this and choosing a university for undergrad. If you want more viewpoints, I have provided some links at the end of this article.

Factors to Consider when Deciding on a Medical School

1. Location
2. Academics
3. Finances
4. Student Life
5. Personal

Continue Reading…

I never thought I would have one of these posts…I remember when I was in high school and university, I stumbled upon several medical student blogs. They were often full of anecdotal  stories, their frustrations and rambling thoughts. Every once in a while, they would have nothing to write and instead post up a bunch of links and act as a middle man. I promised when I started this blog, I wouldn’t fill it with mindless rants, I would always have something to say or share.

Drawing Blanks - Well, I really have nothing to write about at this moment. My schedule has gone into overdrive with several exams looming, papers to write, several meetings to attend, summer plans to arrange all along with keeping some sanity in my personal life. When school is finally done this year, I promise I will write a few reflective posts on how I have changed and what I have learned. I will also talk a bit more about admissions having seen firsthand the entire process from start to end now. It’s definitely interesting how much work gets put into it.

Lastly, I will be possibly working on a complete guide to medical school admissions. I know there are already a lot of resources out there, but no definitive work has really synthesized all the information. I know it’s a large task to undertake, but I feel like I have a clear and thorough understanding of most of the components and it would be valuable to share it with everyone.

So without further delay, here are some links

Doctor Diaries - An NYT article about a documentary of 7 doctors from when they began medical school over twenty years ago to where they are now. I haven’t watched it yet, but it does look promising. When I do have time, I’ll be sure to check it out.

Physical Exam - Another excellent article by Dr. Pauline Chen about the importance of having good clinical and bedside observational skills. Especially with all the high technology, the “art” of medicine is largely being supplanted by the “science.” Definitely some food for thought. Perhaps more training and importance placed in these basic skills will help keep health care costs in control?

A Better Health Care System - A piece written by Atul Gawande in the New Yorker (I swear I don’t live in New York!) I came upon this article while I was writing a paper on health care costs and reform and he definitely frames the current situation very accurately. A lot of the main arguments presented here relate to the current shift to electronic health care records around the world.

Google Flu Trends - If you haven’t already checked out Google’s Flu Trends, it’s a nice collection of data from google.org on the incidence of flu in America. With all this talk about Swine Flu (it’s the new “thing”), it’s reassuring to know that many people have been expecting and preparing for a crisis like now. The head of google.org, Dr. Larry Brilliant, recently stepped down from executive of google’s philantropy arm to lead the Skoll “Urgent Threat Funds” which includes preventing future pandemics.

Don’t Become a Doctor - One of my absolute favorite series by Incidental Findings, it’s of immense value for anyone to read this - premeds, medical students, residents, doctors and the general public. I am playing around with the idea to start a Reasons to Become a Doctor Series. Obviously, with my limited experience I would be unable to contribute much, but by recruiting other medical bloggers I would like to get as many perspectives on this issue as possible. Similar story from Forbes.

Stay tuned for more original content coming soon!

It doesn’t take long after I begin to feel comfortable with my schoolwork, clinical science, the study of medicine in general before reality reminds me of the work still to be done. I am humbled again and realize that for every question I know, there are a dozen which I have no answers too.

Shadowing - I’ve been spending more time outside of class following doctors and surgeons around, partly to get more of a clinical exposure and partly to see what specialties I would be interested in. If you are a medical student shadowing someone, it is the preceptor’s responsibility to PIMP you. (PIMP being an acronym for Put In My Place, a process where the doctors ask increasingly difficult questions until you feel inadequate and are motivated to do your homework)

Being asked questions is a good way to learn and put your classroom teachings in context. For example, a physician may point to different parts of an X-ray and ask you about anatomy and physiology. You feel confident when you know the answers. When harder questions are asked such as the pathology and symptoms of certain diseases come around, you become less certain. Soon enough, there will be questions where you will be completely lost on. It is always nice to be reminded of the gaps in your knowledge and it always motivates me to do better.

Experts -  Shadowing any doctor (or any other highly accomplished professional for the matter) is always inspiring. As I observe them talking with patients and going over cases, I can see the clarity of their mental processes and how much care they put in. Watching a surgeon perform an operation smoothly and precisely is awe-inspiring.

I wonder if I will be like my mentors? Will I have their bed-side manners and clinical judgment? Will I miss something important and cause harm? It’s even harder to imagine that in three short years, I will “officially” be a doctor (albeit one in training) and that people will trust me with their lives and secrets.

A Work in Progress - Which brings me to my final point, I am still incomplete. I have just started on this long journey, and if you ask any physician, they will tell you that the learning never stops. All doctors are life-long students of medicine.

Rome was not built in one day. Likewise the surgeons, internists, specialists and family docs who right now seem to have such innate ability to interact, diagnose and treat patients did it gradually through many stages. That’s why, each morning I make it my goal to be a better person than I was yesterday. Although my daily challenges and successes may seem insignificantly small, through an accumulation of baby steps, one day I hope I can be a good doctor.

For applicants this cycle, the wait is almost over. You have finished or are just completing your last set of exams. Some of you may be taking your last undergraduate class ever. And all that is left is the dreaded countdown till decisions day.

There is few I can say that will make the wait easier. You can pour over the statistics as much as you want, how many people are interviewed and out of that number how many acceptances are sent out, and you can talk to as many people about what your “chances” are, but in the end you will still have to wait.

I remember when I was waiting, I would feel great one day and the next I would be a wreck. The worry and anxiousness drove my crazy, until I realized that worrying had no benefit at all. There was no reason to figure out the admissions game worked if I knew I had given it my all. I did not bother other people to see how they thought they did on the interview. Even when the big day came, I didn’t make such a big deal out of it. I didn’t have any celebrations / grieving parties planned, it was just like any other day.

I did lose a little sleep the night before, but at that point, I knew it was already out of my hand and had already been decided. As long as you were satisfied with your efforts and you gave it your best, there’s no need to “try” anymore.

Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at the hand. - Dale Carnegie

Waiting for admissions decision is no different than waiting for your exam marks, course grades, MCAT scores. The stakes may seem higher and the implications of not making it in seem more dire but not making it into medical school is not the worst thing that can happen to you.

So to all those waiting, hang in there. Patience is an important virtue to learn. Hope everything works out.