This article is reprinted with permission from the American Student Dental Association. It originally appeared in the February 2014 issue of ASDA News.
Interviewing is a stressful experience. Knowing some typical interview formats and the expectations of your interviewer can help put your mind at ease while pursuing acceptance into dental school.
Where would Harry be without Dumbledore? We all need mentors, and they can be critical throughout your career development. Whether you are an undergraduate thinking about applying to graduate or professional school, a medical student wading through residency options or a post-doc looking for faculty positions, the relationships you develop with your mentors can be invaluable. Mentors can give advice, provide encouragement or a reality check, offer insight from their experience, and expand your network by connecting you with their own friends and colleagues. The ideal mentoring relationship is one that evolves over time where the mentor takes a genuine interest in the success of the mentee. We all recognize that mentors are important. But how do you find them? And, once you have, how do you nurture the relationship so it can thrive?
For many students interested in a career in medicine, the period after the final year of undergraduate education represents a time of transition to medical school or to furthering their experiences and their education in preparation for applying to medical school. This month’s article from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) focuses on those two pathways.
Brian Walcott shares his thoughts on neurosurgery and research and offers some advice for students.
The National Health Service Corps creates a win-win for doctors and underserved communities by financing medical education and bringing health care to those who need it most.
By Mary Calhoun
I had been terribly sick for three months before finally going to the doctor. It felt as though I had the flu and just couldn’t shake it. The doctor did the necessary tests and told me he thought I had lupus. Since one of his patients had just died from the disease, he wanted me to see another doctor; he could not have picked a better one.
The rheumatologist I saw a week later did a ton of lab work on me, but not before asking a boat load of questions and attentively recording every word. I noticed the concern in his voice and wondered if I should be worried. When I returned a week later, the doctor walked in with solutions to how we would kick the monster.
Dr. David Matsumoto (davidmatsumoto.com) is the founder and director of Humintell (humintell.com), which provides training in the fields of facial expression of emotion, nonverbal behavior, detecting deception and cultural adaptation. He is also a professor of psychology at San Francisco State University (SFSU), and founder and director of SFSU’s Culture and Emotion Research Laboratory, which focuses on studies involving culture, emotion, social interaction and communication. Matsumoto received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Japanese from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (1981), and his master’s degree (1983) and doctorate degree in Psychology (1986) from the University of California, Berkeley.
The doctor business is win-win: doctor wins, patient wins. In sharp contrast, the legal profession is a win-lose dichotomy. That is one reason why we choose medicine. It is a huge difference in psychology that gets into our very bones. Becoming a doctor is a highly noble pursuit. Being a doctor is fun, exciting, worthwhile, productive and assuredly positive. Doctors create wealth in the world by increasing the ability of people to pursue their happiness. What in the physical realm could be more worthwhile than that?
But medicine can be an all-consuming life choice. Before embarking on it, ask yourself if you can tolerate sacrificing a large percentage of everything else you enjoy to do, and everyone you like to be with, for a long time. The job is great. No doubt about it. But don’t naively minimize the sacrifices. Is it worth the sacrifice? Don’t let anyone other than you decide that.
Congratulations! You’ve made it through O Chem, survived your MCAT, traipsed around the country to every interview you could fit in your budget, and received that elusive acceptance email. Once you take a moment to celebrate, you will realize that the real challenge lies ahead. Medical school serves as the launch pad to your career and excelling there can open the door to opportunities. Whether you want a career in academics or private practice, psychiatry or radiology or orthopedic surgery, doing well in medical school is critical to getting into the residency that will get you there. But how do you “do well”? “Study hard and do well in your clinical years” was advice I heard a lot, but hardly pointed the way to success. Now, as a fourth year medical student, I realize there are certain key habits of the successful medical student. I wish I could claim all the habits for myself – rather, they are an amalgam of what I’ve learned and what I’ve observed in others. They can help lay the foundation to your successful future.
The number of North American students attending European medical schools is increasing, but studying medicine in Europe is not without its challenges.
Think of the medical school interview as a giant, modern dating ritual. Your AMCAS application and secondary essay were the first two online dates, and now you have agreed to meet each other in person. The admissions committee already has a rough skeleton of the greatest hits of your adult life, and they have decided that they really like you. However, before they will extend a proposal, they need to meet you in person, and they are willing to spend enormous amounts of their time and your money to arrange this meeting. What your interviewer writes about you for the admissions committee will either make your application come alive, remain flat on the paper, or tragically fail.
Diana Marie Padgett, MD, an anatomic and clinical pathologist, is president and treasurer at Pathology Associates of Harrisonburg (Virginia), as well as medical advisor to Blood Bank and Point of Care Testing. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in biochemistry from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she graduated summa cum laude (1998). She received her MD from University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis, where she graduated summa cum laude (2003). She also has a one-year degree in Dutch studies from Leiden University (1997), and has successfully completed USMLE Step 1 (2001), Step 2 (2003) and Step 3 (2005). Dr. Padgett completed a residency in combined anatomic and clinical pathology at University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville (2003-2007), and a fellowship in pediatric and development pathology at University of Tennessee Health Science Center/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis (2007-2008).
Dr. Padgett is board certified in combined anatomic and clinical pathology and pediatric pathology. She previously worked at St. Jude’s Research Hospital Department of Structural Biology in the Professional Oncology Education Program (1999), as well as University of Tennessee, Memphis, Department of Ophthalmology as a senior research assistant (1998-1999). Dr. Padgett has been published in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Infection and Immunity, Surgical Neurology, Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, American Journal of Neuroradiology, and Ophthalmic Research.
Erica L. Mayer is a medical oncologist at the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as an associate physician at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She’s the faculty education coordinator for breast oncology and director of advanced fellowship in breast oncology at Dana-Farber, as well as director of clinical research at Dana-Farber and Women’s Cancer Center at Faulkner Hospital. Mayer received a bachelor’s degree in both biology and history from Williams College in Williamstown, MA, where she graduated summa cum laude (1995). She received her MD from Harvard Medical School (2000), and her MPH in clinical effectiveness from Harvard School of Public Health (2005). Dr. Mayer’s postdoctoral training included a clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School (2000-2006), a residency in internal medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital (2000-2003), a chief residency in internal medicine at Faulkner Hospital (2002-2006), and clinical fellowships in both medical oncology and medicine at Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, respectively (2003-2006).
Dr. Mayer is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Cancer and Leukemia Group B, and Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium. She’s involved in numerous funded research projects focusing on the role of novel biologic agents in the treatment of advanced breast cancer, and she has been published in numerous peer-reviewed publications including Nature, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Clinical Breast Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, American Journal of Surgery, Annals of Oncology, and Clinical Cancer Research.
Dr. Teri Geist shares her perspective on the field of optometry and advice for students.
Dr. Catherine Arthur shares her perspective on the field of veterinary medicine, and advice for students.
Dr. Jerome Daby shares his thoughts on the field of dentistry and advice for students.
Dr. Gregory Frazer shares his perspective on the field of audiology and advice for students.
Susan Schriber Orloff shares her thoughts about the field of Occupational Therapy and advice for students.
Dr. Brendan Pratt shares his perspective on the field of child psychology and advice for students.