Make sure to watch the first of the Insider Medical Admissions Guru on the Go© stop motion video series. These under-one-minute videos give you professional admissions tips for free… and they are cool to watch! The first one is geared toward residency applicants, but the graphics are so fun, it’s worth seeing even if you aren’t applying to residency. Check out the video below and subscribe to my Youtube channel to see more in the coming weeks.
When Your Debt Affects Your Dates Part 2
The New York Times recently ran Perfect 10? Never Mind That. Ask Her for Her Credit Score, an article that might worry some single pre-meds.
Along those lines, here’s an interesting piece by guest blogger David Z. Presser MD MPH that specifically addresses medical school debt and romance.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Tags: Addresses, Credit Score, Medical School Debt, Meds, Nbsp, New York Times, Presser, Romance
Accelerated Medical School Programs
Great Opportunity or Impending Mess?
I’m sure many of you read last week’s news that NYU and other medical schools will be offering a three-year, accelerated medical school program to eligible applicants
I greeted this news with both encouragement and concern. On the one hand, it’s reassuring that low- and medium-income students who cannot afford the exorbitant costs of a medical education will have the option to pursue their career dreams with less (although still significant) financial burden. Shaving off $20 to $50,000 of tuition and living costs can mean opening up the medical career to those who are understandably terrified of decades of loan repayment.
On the other hand, the NYU accelerated medical students will need to choose their specialties when they apply to medical school. In return, they will be guaranteed a residency slot when they graduate, but presumably, these applicants would have matched successfully to a residency position if they had been in a traditional program. After all, they are being accepted to a strong medical school and are competitive applicants. (NYU expects these students to stay in the top half of their class academically in order to continue in the accelerated program.)
Asking students to pick a specialty prior to even completing one day of clinical rotations begs the question of whether these future physicians will be satisfied in their fields. Studies have shown that doctors who are more dissatisfied provide lesser patient care and are more likely to leave medicine, which will worsen the accelerating doctor dearth.
Take a look here to read the NYT’s article regarding NYU’s new program, and make your own conclusions.
Tags: Career Dreams, Clinical Rotations, Conclusions, Dearth, Eligible Applicants, Encouragement, Exorbitant Costs, Financial Burden, Income Students, Loan Repayment, Medical Career, Medical Education, Medical School Program, Medical School Programs, Medical Schools, Medical Students, Nyt, Nyu Medical, Patient Care, Residency Position
Medical School Applicants: Avoid Missteps in the Admissions Process
Check out my recent, featured interview on the Varsity Tutor blog. Note some of the biggest mistakes candidates make in applying to medical school, the single most important thing medical school applicants should focus on, and why mediocre letters of recommendation are actually bad ones.
Medical School and Residency Interview Social Events: Dine but Don’t Whine
In an effort to attract desirable applicants, some medical schools and residency programs invite candidates to social events immediately before or during the interview day. The events usually include dinner, lunch, or even drinks with the students or residents.
It’s in your interest to attend these events: They show institutions that you are serious about their programs, afford you the opportunity to score social points, and allow you to gain valuable information about the students’ or residents’ satisfaction.
One insider piece of advice, however: Ensure you act professionally even if you are told that what you say will not affect your candidacy or get back to admissions. Even if everyone has good intentions, information garnered from these events can make its way to decision-makers. If you had a bad experience at the interview day, have a significant other who doesn’t want to move, or know your first choice is a different program, these social events are not the time to reveal that information.
For insider help with medical school or residency interviews, contact me.
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
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on The Visible Voices podcast:
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