Home › Archive for Articles
Blog Archives

American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Merge

Posted on by by

As many of you know, in March the American Osteopathic Association (AO), American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) jointly announced a memorandum of understanding to consolidate the graduate medical education system.

I would recommend reading a short article about the merger called “Proof of Equality or a Loss of Identity?” in the recent ACEP Now magazine. (The magazine is a a publication of the American College of Emergency Physicians. The article starts on page 5.) The piece is a short summary written by J.D. Polk, the dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Des Moines University. The article takes on a positive tone, highlighting the increased influence a unified front could have in positively affecting graduate medical education funding.

Tags: , , ,

Expert (Goofy) Writing Tips

Posted on by by
This entertaining list of writing don’ts offers a comic break for applicants who are working feverishly on their medical school personal statements. The rules are based on the wit and wisdom of the late New York Times’ William Safire and the copywriter Frank LaPosta Visco. Enjoy!
  1. A writer must not shift your point of view.
  2. Always pick on the correct idiom.
  3. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
  4. Always be sure to finish what
  5. Avoid alliteration. Always.
  6. Avoid archaeic spellings.
  7. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
  8. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
  9. Be more or less specific.
  10. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
  11. Contractions aren’t necessary.
  12. Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively.
  13. Don’t indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.
  14. Don’t never use no double negatives.
  15. Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
  16. Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
  17. Don’t use commas, that, are not, necessary.
  18. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
  19. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
  20. Employ the vernacular.
  21. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
  22. Eschew obfuscation.
  23. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
  24. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
  25. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
  26. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
  27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
  28. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
  29. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
  30. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
  31. It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions.
  32. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
  33. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
  34. No sentence fragments.
  35. One should never generalize.
  36. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
  37. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
  38. Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas.
  39. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of ten or more words, to their antecedents.
  40. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
  41. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
  42. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
  43. Profanity sucks.
  44. Subject and verb always has to agree.
  45. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
  46. The adverb always follows the verb.
  47. The passive voice is to be avoided.
  48. Understatement is always best.
  49. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
  50. Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers.
  51. Who needs rhetorical questions?
  52. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
Tags: , , ,

Optimizing your Medical School Application: AMCAS

Posted on by by

The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS®) is a centralized application processing program for medical school candidates. AMCAS’ application has multiple sections, including demographics, academic record, experience and personal statement. The experience, or activities, section is where applicants describe their accomplishments – research, clinical, volunteer, teaching, paid work. The AMCAS experience section allows the applicant to demonstrate his or her distinctiveness as a candidate. Read more ›

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fellowship Admission

Posted on by by

Matching to a fellowship program is a competitive endeavor. Even strong residents can have difficulty getting fellowship positions in certain sub specialties. Those candidates that do match may not get their first or second choices, leaving them in suboptimal locations or programs. Consequently, professional fellowship admissions consulting has become increasingly important in optimizing fellowship applications, improving candidates’ chances of being admitted into the sub specialty programs they desire. Read more ›

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fellowship Interview Advice

Posted on by by

Matching to a fellowship program through the NRMP® (National Resident Matching Program) or other means is a competitive endeavor. Even strong applicants can have difficulty getting positions in many subspecialties. Those that do match may not get their top choices, leaving them in suboptimal programs and locations.

Consequently, optimizing your performance during the fellowship interview is critical. But what are fellowship directors looking for during the interview process?

First, they are seeking someone distinctive. Your goal is to distinguish yourself from all of the other applicants by showcasing your accomplishments. Anyone can say s/he is intelligent or goal oriented. Fewer candidates can prove it. Read more ›

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more

Receive FREE Insider Medical Admissions Tips.

Sign Up

Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the White Coat Investor podcast:

Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the FeminEm podcast: