medical school

i can see this thread is going to be a huge hit

nice knowing you

gbx, there is no doubt in my mind that you will get in!

I'm sorry that I gave up being a pre-med a long time ago, but I do remember how intense even the anticipation of making an application is... Where are you in the process? (Didn't you say that you have an interview in January?)

when u tryna start? where?

next fall

first interview on january 10th (minnesota)
haven't heard from anywhere else yet (yeeks!)

would really like to go back to my alma mater (<---- first time i have used that word) or vermont or colorado

i seem to think that i'll have time to do fun stuff outside

who is your interview @ mn with? i had m1les, who values research experience very very highly. woe unto you if you're without.

good luck!

i am without :-/

wait i believe i recall you posting an mcat of 36 or something (i've read here for many years now) and you seem like a smart and interesting dude on here too, just have a good answer to "why minnesota in particular?"

34

answering that is easy! i am from here!

also genuinely interested in fl3x md and their school of public health/int'l health opportunities

That's maybe not actually a good answer. The first one.

:/

I'm also trying to do this right now.

The thing that is terrifying me is that I had every Secondary application done by like, mid-September, and I still haven't heard anything from ten of the twenty schools I applied to. I heard from four schools pretty quickly after sending my secondaries in, and so I thought it was all going to keep on moving as fast as the secondary process. And then my inbox just stopped dead after the first week of October. I still check it like three times a day though.

Or rather it's a good answer but not one the interview is looking for, i think?

Whenever I have gotten the "Why do you want to come here out of everywhere else in the country?" question, it's sounded more like they were trying to make sure they didn't offer a seat to someone who was just going to turn and run as soon as a better offer came along.

I live in California, but my first round of interviews were all on the East Coast, and I guess past experience with Californians suggests that we act interested in the East Coast until the UCs come along and offer $20000 less in tuition. The only time the interviewer didn't actually say something like, "Why in the name of God would you want to leave California" is when I had an interview during the October brushfires.

If you show them that you are a dude who really wants to go to medical school in Minnesota more than anywhere else, hopefully they'll bite. And if they like you, but are afraid you might ditch them for somewhere else, they'll waitlist you and give you the chance to write an impassioned letter about how everyone else is playing for second place in your heart. Or something.

:D :D :D

i go to minnesota

congrats!

thanks, pal!

i am going to fix healthcare

is the plan

Yowza! Rah!

Though I guess this means you're not moving to Portland.

now have a beer or two to celebrate--that is an order

HAHAHAHAHA! A doctor fixing healthcare!

Yeah :-/

Though I'm still thinking I might try and do a mid-school MPH out there. We'll see.

xp - i bought a bottle of "bubbly" and split it with my roommates already. Now I am taking beers to the bike workshop and will celebrate by fixing a bottom bracket that sounds like the Xhosa

kate78: quiet, you.

hey, way to go

yaaaaaaay congratulations!

you can be the white atul gawande

I guess this means "no" to vet skoo?

quiet, you, too, Laurel. i was just into animals that day.

"into" "animals"

i'd be cool with being jonathan kaplan

SO MANY RESPONSES, I CANNOT CHOOSE.

Go sleep with some cute Israeli nurses.

how come nobody ever tells me to do that

actually i'm just gonna be a dermatologist with a time-share in florida

I hear the skiing is choice.

cio and sky me

nobody got my joke about the Xhosa :-(

Sorry, I don't know about any bike parts made after 1974.

i should have said !Kung instead, huh

IT WAS A JOKE ABOUT PEOPLE THAT SPEAK A LANGUAGE WITH CLICKS, LIKE MY BOTTOM BRACKET

Ahahahah I just assumed it was a manufacturer I didn't know. Clearly this is why a Laurel does not go to medical skoo.

!Kung would have worked. I figured you were talking about some noise album or psych band or some shit

congrats

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

way to go duderoo

very same

my friend is an immigration lawyer and tells me that asylum seekers that have psych evals have a much higher success rate (at least in this jurisdiction)

that's great that you're doing them -- is that a formalized thing through school?

lol thinking gbx is going to the USDA

a couple of lawyers came to give a talk about it last year at school, and I got in touch with their group who does this stuff. when they get a case they have one of the psychiatrists do an evaluation while we take notes. then we draft an affidavit and the psychiatrist reviews it and signs it. what your friend said about the usefulness of the psych eval is what I've heard too

so great that you're doing that, the lawyers need as many docs as possible -- there's basically three (!!!) doing it in new mexico

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/us/politics/sessions-domestic-violence-asylum.html

fuck

k3vin are you a cardiologist now

nooo I am a simple semi-academic hospitalist, and I love my job so much! general medicine is endlessly fascinating and I love our pts and learning new stuff every day. I did seriously consider cards and ID but came to the conclusion that I am v v old and in a lot of debt and it’s hard to beat what I’ve got going now. as it turns out for partner-related reasons I’m moving across the country this summer and just accepted a new job at UCLA.

what’s new with you?

that's really great! semi-academic sounds like a dream rn

i'm the medical director of the BH service at our local hospital and while i very much enjoy clinical work i do not enjoy all the other stuff, i just wanna see patients

I am very glad you did not pursue cardio, those guys (and by guys I mean TOO MANY MALES) are like the dorky orthobros.

I am 90 miles north of LA and my amazing PCP and cancer docs are with the Santa Barbara outpost, also spent time on main campus and am jealous of all the delicious Persian food you will have at your disposal. Keep in touch and we can do LAFAP!

Gbx I bet you are super awesome at your job, even the dreaded admin parts. Thank you for going where quality care is most needed.

*Santa Barbara outpost of UCLA. That org sure knows how to follow the money

Currently studying for the med school entry test (GAMSAT). Absorbing my whole life, but enjoying the process.

hey quincie! i think i am just generally OK at my job (the admin parts) but i appreciate the encouragement. i'm learning that in some important and also very stupid ways that the admin part is pretty essential in our very broken healthcare system (esp here in NM)

HP -- how does med school 'work' in australia? like do you apply after undergrad or are you applying right out of high/secondary school?

There's two routes! Not as familiar with the out of high school one, but from what I know it's for the top 99.99% achievers who do a small but not quite so hard test, followed by a 6 year degree, 2 year fast tracked bio-science undergrad, 4 year med school proper.
I'm taking the other route, where you do any undergraduate (literally any, I did a bachelor of philosophy/bachelor of theology) and then take this ridiculous gamsat test. To get an interview, universities weight your undergrad marks and your GAMSAT marks 50/50. The combined score needed for an interview is about 170%, I.e. 100% top marks in university and a 70% on the test, or vice versa/any combination of the two. I'm going into the test having received straight high distinctions for my degree filling 100% of the 170 quota, but still to get a 70 on the gamsat feels like a nearly impossible task. It's a 3 part test, humanities, two essays and sciences run over a whole day. It is ridiculously difficult, but I'm committed to the journey and think I can notch a 70 after a few trys. I'll be happy with myself as long as I can get 50+ on this first attempt next month. That's something I can build from

Loving your job, no regrets gbx? Any advice you'd give? I'm very much excited for this ride, have tentative plans of pursuing anaesthetic and less tentative plans of giving myself to some humanitarian work down the line. That's my drive for this whole thing really, which I'm glad to have as it is a very powerful motor to making sure this happens

I can confidently say I'd hit a 70 (or at least very close to it) on the test first time If there was no time limit, but the amount of info they ask you to absorb to answer a question 90 seconds seconds is absurd. It really feels like primarily a stress test from all the practice exams I've done.

If you're a rural applicant the combo score drops to 1.55 and my wife and I live 20 minutes away from a "rural" area which we have dreams of moving to in a decades time.... its not feasible to move now tho and you need to live rural foe 5 years for it to count. So close but so far!

I'm taking the other route, where you do any undergraduate (literally any, I did a bachelor of philosophy/bachelor of theology) and then take this ridiculous gamsat test.

that's roughly the process here in the US as well. I was an English major and did ultimately have to go back for some post-baccalaureate classes in order to qualify for admission

i love...parts of my job. the US healthcare system is pretty busted and that can lead to a lot of indirect moral injury if you're not careful (eg my clinic is so short-staffed, and my patient panel so large, that there have been times that the soonest follow-up appointment I can get someone is months out. this is Not Great for when someone is in crisis). but ultimately very rewarding, yes. do i sometimes think that i should have been an electrician? also yes

Combine careers. Go into surgeries in a jumpsuit and explain loudly why the previous electrician really fucked up the cables and didn't know what they were doing as you blare loud music of some sort from your iPhone, all while the surgical team are anxiously waiting for you to fix the issue with the essential piece of equipment for the ten-hour procedure that stopped working halfway through.

hmmmm yknow maybe not

Lol Ned. Sorry to hear about that. The US healthcare system does give me the heebie jeebies but glad to know there's doctors that care working in it

Test finished, now the painful 2 month wait for results......

good luck! these exams, and the wait for the results, are always excruciating. and if it’s anything like the US, there will be another 2-3 tests with similar stakes. it does get better eventually!

Thank you! I have no patience so these two months will be painful. Just this one and then an interview and we get into med school! Obviously that's where it REALLY begins. You're Dr.'ing? Or just in the know?

I am doctoring!

Got my marks back. I should be starting med school next year :)

They just let anyone in these days!

way to go!!

Thanks Kevin!

okay I know everyone that would read this thread is probably a yank, and so some advice will be lost in translation, but surely some advice will carry over.

I have provisional acceptance to Usyd's med school (another state, don't want to move), and should have an interview for a school 15 minutes from my house in the next few weeks. i.e. med-school is on next year!

What should I know for a career in medicine! Why shouldn't I be thinking about specialising in anaesthetics right now? Why in the hell would I want to go a medical, rather than the far sexier clinical route? Why should I do some pre-study on anatomy/physiology as a non-science-background applicant? Why should I say bugger to pre-study and just go to the beach/watch baseball before it all kicks off next year? Why should I give up my hopeless optimism and affirm that this will be far tougher than I can comprehend? Why should we not try for children during med school? Why should I move overseas as a doctor? Why should I stay in sunny, well paying, public health-Australia? etc. etc. etc.

Advice to a med-hopeful appreciated! thanks ilxor. <3

Well I lectured in medical degrees for 20 years across the eastern Aus states so I can probably help. Congrats on your offer!
Quite the range of questions there. You sure can think about specialising now but you will come to understand the specialties in a whole new light over the coming years, you'll encounter the culture of each and the kinds of people who do them. Not joking, some are distinguished by whether you're a League or a Union enthusiast (or they were in the darker ages). Second question might have a typo? do you maybe mean undergrad vs postgrad med courses? Third, if you have an offer from USyd it means you did pretty fckn well in the UCAT and will be able to handle the basic anat/physiol they assume. They offer a combined Arts / Med course so it's clear that there's no assumed biomed background for year 4. As for choice of school - it boils down to the professional networks you will build, because all the courses conform to the AMC syllabus (but differ in their teaching approaches). One consideration is whether the anatomy is taught by cadaver dissection or some half-assed approach like prosected, plastinated specimens or VR garbage. It's good to know the actual body if you're going to heal it.
It will be very tough, and really the number one question to be honest with yourself about is whether you can handle being needed all the time, in your working life. Anyone going in expecting a kind of House MD scenario with intriguing puzzles to solve will be slaughtered by rotations and interning. It's a hard profession but many love it.
And by all means live life, try for kids, think about where you want to practice and where your quals would be recognised. #1 tip is to talk to doctors about their work, if they have time. GOOD LUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Wow thanks for the post Matt! Neither league or union but lean league.... does that bode well for anaesthia-training? I was thinking medical (theory/diagnostics, not necessarily hands on with patients) vs. Clinical (hands on, surgery room, scrub up) as a dichotomy for specialities, but maybe that dichotomy doesn't exist. I'm going the post-grad route, so gamsat test, undergrad already completed (philosophy). Yeah I think the school next to me might not do real cadavers... they're one of the smallest in Australia (Griffith sunny coast)..... not sure about uprooting my whole life on that one point though even if it is very important. Tough one.

Live life. Got it. I'll keep doing that and hope for the best. Fingers crossed!! 🤞

Ah gotcha - well I guess the divide might be between diagnostic type things (pathology, radiology), dealing with unconscious people (surgery, anaesthesiology), physician, GP, etc. I wouldn’t know myself! But you’ll experience everything so you’ll have a pretty clear idea. I’m not a medical doc myself btw.

If you want to chat direct does ilx have a pm facility?

Congrats on getting in. I did a non-science major many many years ago and then went to med school. I was behind on some of the basic stuff but caught up pretty quickly. So take it from a stranger on the interwebs, don't bother with the extra studying but know it will be rough in the first couple of months. It will be rough for everyone anyway.

It may be odd to think about this now but it's worth considering if the nearby school will offer you the same professional opportunities after you get your degree as you could get from USyd. I don't know the Australian system but medicine can be pretty snobby about credentials.

Cosign what mattk said about talking to docs about their work situation. The work life of an anesthesiologist is very different than as GP. There are different practice locations as well. University hospital, suburban clinic, small town GP, etc. If you want to be an anesthesiologist, you'll have to work somewhere where there is a reasonably active surgery center.

Good luck

congrats HP!

I think a some of your questions are going to be australia-specific, but if this helps:
- regarding pre-studying, I would not bother unless your school requires it or you think you are relatively weak in that area. I hadn’t taken an anatomy or physiology course for several years when I started medical school (in 2015), and I did just fine. but this is the kind of thing where, if you are the sort of person who convinces themselves they need to pre-study, you will pre-study. my advice would be to enjoy this bit of freedom while you have it, because to answer your other question, the next few years are probably going to be very challenging
- re: thinking about specialty, only really important in the sense that, if you’re sure about a particular specialty, you can get get connected with a mentor early on. at least in the US. otherwise the whole point of med school is to get exposure to all the different stuff
- re: kids during med school, another thing I wouldn’t recommend unless your school gives you leave or something. can always play it by ear obv

welcome to the cult. after you take your secret blood oath we’ll teach you the spells

One consideration is whether the anatomy is taught by cadaver dissection or some half-assed approach like prosected, plastinated specimens or VR garbage. It's good to know the actual body if you're going to heal it.

completely agree with this, but I am old school. I also read the textbooks in school which sadly almost no one does

Well I didn't get the school close to home (got bumped down to Perth the very last day before offers went out 😥) but I do have two offer and we are moving to Sydney! Time to pack up house, buy a stethoscope, get some blood tests, and learn some science!

can’t be the worst thing to move to sydney! congrats man, welcome to the club! kiss the rest of your youth goodbye!!

Haha thanks Kevin, it's an exciting time! Wife just finished her law degree so it really is the start of a new season! We're very excited 😊

I'll be studying with my English-lit/theory PhD friend at Usyd so we'll both have each other for envy-fuel. It's going to be a great time

congratulations! med school is a great cure for insomnia. i got so tired during the clinical rotations that i could fall asleep anywhere

Some otm posts above now all making sense. Insomnia = impossible. Foundation 1st block + non-science-background = omg I’m so behind. MSK 2nd block = okay it’s all coming together I think I can do this. Cadavers = essential + one of the most fun parts of school.

1st year USyd has a clinical day once a week (unique for Aussie med schools) and that’s been a real joy. Talking to patients giving me the fulfilment I was hoping for going into this which is comforting. 1st lot of anat+histo+knowledge+application tests coming up in a couple of weeks. I’d like to do more than scrape by on this first round of tests but worst comes to worse, I have positive momentum right now after feeling behind first block, so feeling good going into block 3 Resp and block 4 CV.

Glad I ended up in Sydney

Go you!

Thanks Matt ☺️

happy you’re enjoying it! year 1 is a whirlwind, and probably the least enjoyable/stimulating, at least in the dominant US paradigm, where most of the content is basic science, where much of it feels like premed content only way harder and with less time to study. it’s really a test of mettle more than anything. I had a good rhythm down but it really didn’t entail much more than living in the library from 10am through midnight 7 days a week

Yeah, basically my rhythm now except it's 8am-9pm. Cultural Australian laziness means we cut an hour so we can get to the pub. At least the libraries are pretty

Thanks for the update and congrats on getting through the first 2 blocks. Awesome that you are getting some patient experience during the drudgery of 1st year. Can help keep up the motivation as you stare at the physiology and all ways it can go awry for yet another organ system.

might have asked this already but what do you do TNMP? I’m an internist