June 2011
19 posts
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Addison's, Cushing's and Grave's, oh my!
Today is the comprehensive final for my pathophysiology class. Did I learn a lot? Absolutely. Was it a shitty way to start the summer? Definitely. Will I be ready for this month and a half long break? Undoubtedly.
It’s been a rough five weeks, especially for the amount of material we went over. I think this will be a good foundation for medical school though, so it was definitely...
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Quick Tips for Premeds
I think, as a student, there are a few things that are imperative to being successful that are rarely focused on. The first two are pretty basic. Be on time. Better yet, always be ten minutes early. When asking physicians, professors and other professionals to write recommendations for you they will always remember if you were punctual. In fact, several times people have raved how responsible...
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TheNotQuiteDoctor's MCAT Advice
I often get asked for help/direction on MCAT studying. This obviously will not be anywhere near a comprehensive study approach, but it is a few pointers into what I encountered when studying for the MCAT and subsequently taking it. If you have more tips or resources, please comment and expand this document.
TheNotQuiteDoctor’s MCAT advice:
Overall Advice
Approach each problem like it is a trap. ...
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“A doctor must work eighteen hours a day and seven days a week. If you cannot...”
– Martin Henry Fischer (1879-1962)
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“One day you wake up and everyone has moved on. They all grew up, except you. ...”
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“I have this friend who is the exact opposite of me. Kind of morally ambiguous...”
– BH when leading into a story
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Personal Statement Woes
I should be writing my personal statement. Instead I am writing a blog about writing my personal statement. Ironic huh?
So far my personal statement has been the hardest part of the application process. How do you sum yourself up in a few short paragraphs? How do you recount the multitude of personal accomplishments that you have achieved in life? And above all, how do you not sound...
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Sometimes I feel pathophysiology is incredibly sad. While I get to learn the cool mechanisms of disease I often forget that people have to live through the clinical manifestations. As I study the muscular dystrophy section the words “death by late teens” pop off the page. Sometimes it is too easy to dehumanize these facts and statistics, and yet too depressing to empathize with every...
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Vermont is setting an example →
How Vermont is doing the U.S. a favor.
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Decisions, decisions: How I chose where to apply
There are many factors that go into deciding which medical school to attend. Obviously, not everyone will choose based on the same criteria. For example, a friend from high school has wanted to attend the same school his entire life and did so in spite of better offers. Recently, my ideas on selecting a school have dramatically changed.
I originally wanted to go to the school with the most...
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“Win the under hook, and you win the half guard battle.”
– Coach
"If you want to be a doctor, be a doctor."
Here is a NY Times Op-Ed piece on an interesting trend in medicine. I think it brings up some valuable and possibly controversial points. But overall I agree with it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/opinion/12sibert.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Being a doctor is more than just a profession. An accountant can leave the office at five and cease being an accountant. A teacher can stop being a...
“I’m spending the night with pizza and pathophysiology.”
Coffee House Etiquette
If you are going to sit at a coffee shop and text, turn your damn phone to vibrate or silent. This repetitive dinging sound makes me want to liver punch somebody.
According to Rush global warming is a hoax.... →
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Good People Do Exist
My passion for martial arts often surprises people. I have been fortunate enough over the years that I have been able to receive the majority of my training for free. In high school, two black belts from my church taught free Goju Ryu (Karate) classes. After moving for college I trained with various clubs but never found one I liked.
Right about the time I went back to college I joined a jiu...
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How Should We Pay Physicians?
Something that comes up frequently when talking about socialized medicine versus free market, or any other health care system for that matter, is pay. How should a physician be paid? Recently, I recieved a literature package from The Lucidicus Project (more on them later), which argued for free market health care. This package included several books and an audio CD of a lecture by Leonard...
