I went to the Ross information session, where incoming 1st semester students were invited as well, yesterday in Santa Monica and it was a great session. Most of the information that was presented during the session I was already aware of, but it was good to have that opportunity to ask further questions to the panel, which included Ross University administration, current medical students, practicing physicians, and residents. They were all very informative and honest about their experiences at Ross. Some of the information they presented was the significant correlation between RUSM GPA and USMLE step 1, which indicates that Ross does a excellent job of preparing students for the step 1. That's the goal to do well on USMLE right?
We also had a new student orientation at the Hyatt hotel where they bought drinks and appetizers for us. We got a chance to meet the other incoming students, Ross staff, practicing physicians, and medical students. It was a great opportunity to get insight about the details of the island and what to expect coming in. Two of the students were completed their rotations in my hometown so it was nice to have that in common. Everyone seemed very nice, and they all felt like going to Ross prepared them very well. Having a alumni group that large means that most hospitals are familiar with Ross University, making it easier to get a residency.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Pre-Med Extracurriculars
Some of the extracurriculars I have done, I ended up regretting. Two in particular are research and volunteering in the hospital. It seems taboo to say that I didn't enjoy those two experiences. My research probably ended up being more of a detriment instead of an asset to my application. During the interview for American University of Antigua, my interviewer brought up that my research professor, who wrote my l.o.r., brought up some concerns.... my heart stopped when I heard this. I then had to try to think about the concerns on the spot, which I was sure had to do with my haphazard attendance during to the research lab. The ongoing punchline among the research group became... where's Terrance? I didn't enjoy the research, but I continued out of a sense of obligation.
Volunteering at the hospital wasn't too much fun either. I was mostly just stocking the same areas over and over until my 4 hours were up. I enjoyed talking to the patients, techs, and some of the nurses. One of the nurses had the audacity to say aloud, "this is fucking disgusting" when changing the sheets of an elderly patients who smelt bad with sores all over her body. The day just seemed to drag on, when the department was slow. There's only so many blankets or cups or water to bring. However, it was a valuable experience to see how each of the health professionals worked together. It was slightly disturbing to see how little time the physicians spent with the patients, they spent a lot of time in their isolated room on the computer.
My favorite experience was shadowing a nurse practitioner who operated the clinic under a physician who was rarely there. I admired how he interacted with his patients and how they genuinely trusted him. He took his time to diagnose the patients and had a personal relationship with them. He was able to prescribe medications, but still had some limitations as a nurse practitioner; he said that he would've went to medical school if it weren't for him starting a family at an early age.
Volunteering at the hospital wasn't too much fun either. I was mostly just stocking the same areas over and over until my 4 hours were up. I enjoyed talking to the patients, techs, and some of the nurses. One of the nurses had the audacity to say aloud, "this is fucking disgusting" when changing the sheets of an elderly patients who smelt bad with sores all over her body. The day just seemed to drag on, when the department was slow. There's only so many blankets or cups or water to bring. However, it was a valuable experience to see how each of the health professionals worked together. It was slightly disturbing to see how little time the physicians spent with the patients, they spent a lot of time in their isolated room on the computer.
My favorite experience was shadowing a nurse practitioner who operated the clinic under a physician who was rarely there. I admired how he interacted with his patients and how they genuinely trusted him. He took his time to diagnose the patients and had a personal relationship with them. He was able to prescribe medications, but still had some limitations as a nurse practitioner; he said that he would've went to medical school if it weren't for him starting a family at an early age.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Don't Cut Yourself Short (Postbacc vs. Caribbean Schools)
My aunt Alma, who is a nurse, gave me the number to a student who attended UCLA/ Charles Drew Medical School. Alma's coworker, also a nurse, is the mother of the previous medical student, Susan, who is now doing her residency at Kern Medical Center. When Alma informed her coworker that I would be attending medical school in the Caribbean, she replied with, "I'm so sorry to hear that." She gave Aunt Alma her daughter's phone number so that I would contact her and hopefully change my mind.
I ended up calling Susan to figure out why she was so unreceptive towards Caribbean medical schools. She mentioned a few reasons including: her experiences alongside IMG's have shown they are not as prepared, her friend from the Caribbean had over $300,000 in debt, thus concluding that Caribbean schools are 2X as expensive, you won't be able to get a good residency, a postbacc would prepare me better for medical school. There was a conference at my local school where a UCLA medical school student said that the Caribbean students he rotated with very well prepared. The median debt for Ross students is $232,743 in federal student loan debt, as posted on their website. A quick look at the residency placements posted on the Ross website will indicate placements into very prestigious hospitals and specialties. Therefore, don't simply rely on the opinion of one person when making a decision.
Ultimately, I didn't want to be 30 when entering residency. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I would prefer the opportunity to do it at 26. The only way I would consider doing a postbacc is if I either didn't feel academically prepared to enter medical school or if I was set on getting to an extremely competitive residency. Going to a U.S. medical school does give you a much better chance to get into a very competitive residency, but it is still very much possible from a caribbean medical school. NRMP.org provides very detailed statistics on the % of residents that are IMG's.
My point in saying this is to do your own research, in some situations a postbacc might be a better option for some, but some will discourage you based on outdated information. For me I wanted to get done as soon as possible and am fairly certain that I want to go into a primary care practice. In essence you are pushing your med school education back 2 years with a postbacc: 1 or more years of classes and a year application process, not to mention the stress of not knowing if you will even get into a U.S. medical school as they are unbelievable competitive. I made the decision to start school earlier, which means less loans, and a quicker opportunity to pay off the loans I do accumulate. Medical school is a long enough process in itself, I did not want to lengthen the process.
I ended up calling Susan to figure out why she was so unreceptive towards Caribbean medical schools. She mentioned a few reasons including: her experiences alongside IMG's have shown they are not as prepared, her friend from the Caribbean had over $300,000 in debt, thus concluding that Caribbean schools are 2X as expensive, you won't be able to get a good residency, a postbacc would prepare me better for medical school. There was a conference at my local school where a UCLA medical school student said that the Caribbean students he rotated with very well prepared. The median debt for Ross students is $232,743 in federal student loan debt, as posted on their website. A quick look at the residency placements posted on the Ross website will indicate placements into very prestigious hospitals and specialties. Therefore, don't simply rely on the opinion of one person when making a decision.
Ultimately, I didn't want to be 30 when entering residency. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I would prefer the opportunity to do it at 26. The only way I would consider doing a postbacc is if I either didn't feel academically prepared to enter medical school or if I was set on getting to an extremely competitive residency. Going to a U.S. medical school does give you a much better chance to get into a very competitive residency, but it is still very much possible from a caribbean medical school. NRMP.org provides very detailed statistics on the % of residents that are IMG's.
My point in saying this is to do your own research, in some situations a postbacc might be a better option for some, but some will discourage you based on outdated information. For me I wanted to get done as soon as possible and am fairly certain that I want to go into a primary care practice. In essence you are pushing your med school education back 2 years with a postbacc: 1 or more years of classes and a year application process, not to mention the stress of not knowing if you will even get into a U.S. medical school as they are unbelievable competitive. I made the decision to start school earlier, which means less loans, and a quicker opportunity to pay off the loans I do accumulate. Medical school is a long enough process in itself, I did not want to lengthen the process.
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