The New MCAT

By: Fatamah Esa

Starting in April 17 of 2015, the AAMC, which is responsible for producing the MCAT, have modified the test. According to AAMC, “ the exam has been updated to reflect the changes in medicine and science and to test examinees on not only what they know but how well they use what they know.”(Changing)  The test was last revised in 1991 and due to the enormous change in the healthcare industry the test was altered to adapt to those changes.

The MCAT is now a longer, harder and broader test than before. It has nearly doubled in terms of number of questions, going from 144 to 230 questions. The once five hour test is now approximately seven hours long. These changes of time and question length are a result of new topics that are included such as Psychology, Sociology, Biochemistry and Statistics. The MCAT has developed in a way so that it isn’t for students who cram four years of information into a three to four months of study sessions. “It is for those students who can take scientific facts presented to them and make sense of them enough to solve particular problems” (MCAT PREP). For more information regarding the content and scoring of the MCAT check out the post The Dreaded MCAT.

All of this information might be intimidating for a pre-med student, but this shouldn’t be the case if you truly feel passionate I’ve gathered some tips and advice on what will be helpful in scoring well:

• It’s never too early to start studying. Even as a freshmen everything you are learning now in general chemistry or biology will be on the test. Don’t wait till the last year and try to cram the material because that is overwhelming, especially since there are more things to know now.
• Practice, practice, practice. You cannot expect to get a good score unless you try hard to learn the material. There are many practice books to choose from like Kaplan, Berkeley, and Princeton Review (Princeton is especially good and recommended). There are also usually some MCAT prep classes located on campus (MSU does anyway).
• Instead of just memorizing the fundamental concepts and definitions as is try to understanding it logically; this will allow you to connect between the ideas in all sciences classes and therefore helping you to better reason through a problem.
• Make sure to familiarize yourself in all the needed the subjects by taking the needed courses.
• CARS or Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills doesn’t have a required course but a person who reads widely (from storybooks to the news) has a distinct advantage.
• How should you divide your time during preparation? According to MCAT-PREP, “We believe that the best preparation is one where you spend 1/3 of your time completing your review; 1/3 of your time completing practice questions to confirm your understanding; and finally, 1/3 of your time completing full-length MCAT practice tests to integrate and apply your learning under timed conditions.”

The new and improved MCAT will be more challenging than the old MCAT. However, if you follow these tips, work hard, and really believe in yourself, you can succeed.

Sources:

"Changing the MCAT Exam." Changing the MCAT Exam. AAMC, 2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.

"MCAT 2015 Changes: Longer, Broader and Harder." MCAT-Prep. RuveneCo, INC, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 

2015.

Helpful Organization For Aspiring Dentists.

Logan W.,

Succeeding in the dental field or any other pre-professional field may seem like a daunting task, however you are not alone.  For each respective field there are professional organizations that can help students and professionals succeed.  These groups help dentists in many ways such as: planning, education advice, hold seminars, and many others.  For the dental field there is the American Dental Association (ADA).

For students specifically the ADA provides information on:

• Managing student debt
• Dental Admission Test information
• Education pathways
• And much more

Members of the ADA can get access to special rates to lessen the burden of massive student loans, they also have access to DAT test supplemental help.  Members will also have access to advisors who can help plan the next steps for pre-dental students and prepare them for success. 

The ADA is devoted to making sure that dental students and practicing professionals alike succeed and become the most skilled dentists they can.  They also provide a plentiful amount of information on all of the steps necessary to improve studies after graduation and to improve dentists private practices.

Sources:
"Home - American Dental Association." Home - American Dental Association. American Dental Association, 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. <http://www.ada.org/en>.

When Everything's Over

By: Patrick Ashcraft

Most people look at medical school as such a commitment. When you hear medical field you think lots of college and with that comes lots of money being spent. Some of the controversy is that paying that much money might not be worth it in the end. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans with a bachelor degree have a weekly average earning of $1,102. So for doctors to be in medical school for four years at least they are missing out on at least $57,304. These numbers aren't even considering the costs of schooling. The average cost of medical school is a quarter of a million on average.


All of those facts seem scary but once you realize what you'll be making when you have a steady job in the medical field it does not seem too bad. Most medical practicers make a very profitable living and rarely have problems with money. So in the end, it is definitely worth all of the time, effort, and money spent.


Works Cited:
"Is Medical School Worth It Financially?" BestMedicalDegreescom RSS. Web. 22. Nov. 2015.

The Difficulty of Medical School

By: Dalin C.

Medical school is very tough and time consuming, for many different reasons. First, students are normally taking four classes, which does not seem like a lot, but those four classes add up to 24 credits. Since they are taking 24 credits, that means there will be a lot more material being presented in the classes.  Second, the courses that medical students take are extremely challenging. Third, medical school is very time consuming and requires large amounts of studying to succeed.

Most students find that the first two years of medical school are the toughest. They are excited for medical school and then get slammed with 24 credit hours and a lot of studying. The students have to take many challenging courses like Biochemistry and Pathology. Most students say that these are two of the hardest courses they took in medical school. Studying for medical school is a lot different than studying when a student is an undergraduate. It is a lot different because of how many credit hours and the increased amount of material. Monday through Friday, most students go from 8:00am to 5:00pm listening to lectures, going to classes/labs, and studying. From 5:00pm to 8:00pm they eat dinner and spend some free time. Then from 8:00pm to 11:00pm they study their material again. All of this may vary depending on who the student is and their courses, but on average this is how their weekdays go. On the weekends, it depends on the student if they want to study the whole weekend, half of it, or none of it. Studying is crucial for succeeding and will consume a large amount of time during medical school.

During the student's third and fourth year, it start to get a little easier. It gets easier because they start to do clinical rotations and learn basic clinical skills and general clinical information. These rotations are still very challenging and can take up many long hours of the day. Some students find themselves running on a few hours of sleep and working long shifts. During their fourth year, less time is spent doing rotations in the hospital and makes the students like a little easier. They have to take their board exam at the end of the year, but during their fourth year they can relax a little bit.

Medical school is very challenging and will take up the majority of your time. It requires an enormous amount of studying and time spent learning the material, but in the end when you save someone's life, it will be worth it.

Works Cited

"The Medical School Experience." StartMedicine.com. CRG Student Doctor Network. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Doctors life

When you have achieved the status of becoming a doctor, you have perks that come with the job as well,  that also includes having a good paying job and helping the sick. 

Advantages of becoming a doctor are:

• Respect: A lot of doctors feel rewarded when it comes to saving peoples lives. They are respected for the work they do in the community as well as by making a difference in peoples lives.
• Income: When it comes to income, doctors are payed very heavily for what they do because of how much responsibility they have over another persons life. 
• Personal Satisfaction: Doctors enjoy providing excellent healthcare to patients because it makes them happy, when they are able to find a problem with a patient and be able to improve a patient's health. 

Not everything in the medical field is all great. There are at times where things are not enjoyable as others. 

Some disadvantages of being a doctor are: 

• Time Consumption: Becoming a doctor is very time consuming. Often times there are long periods of training and long hours making it difficult to find time for family and leisure. 
• Stress: Often, their are times where doctors see things that mentally can be challenging, such as death or very disturbing images. Doctors are also constantly paying back tuition costs for medical school as well, causing them to work harder and strain their bodies in order to provide for family and also get rid of debt. 
• Lawsuits: Doctors can face lawsuits for medical malpractice. This can potentially destroy a doctors career and credibility. 

Works Cited: 

"Advantages and Disadvantages of Becoming a Doctor." Study.com. Study.com, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.

Prompt #1: Asking Questions and Breaking Assumptions

By: Fatamah Esa

When thinking about the medical field, we usually picture nurses checking vital signs or drawing blood for lab tests, doctors asking the patient questions deep in thought while writing on a notepad, medical assistants handling schedule appointments and answering calls, or surgeons in the ER hard at work. There are a lot of preconceptions of the medical field but here is a short list:

• It is difficult to get into medical school.
• Being a surgeon requires an immense amount of skill and intelligence.
• Doctors come up with patient diagnosis and preferred treatment.
• Doctors and surgeons are well compensated.
• Nurses take care of patient needs such as distributing medicine, bringing meals and clean sheets, and reviewing patient’s situation/progress.
• Medical technicians help doctors’ determine diagnosis by analyzing CT scan, MRI, ultrasound results.
  
  

As an introductory textbook for the medical field, I choose Introduction to the Health Professions to examine how useful it is as a resource. Part one of the book, which is six chapters, wasn’t very helpful in the sense that it diverted from the topic of discussion, which is an intro about the medical professions. Instead the book talked about impact of technology on field, an overview of healthcare reform, costs and how one can pay their medical expenses (Medicaid & medicare) and historical events that had impacted health care such as High Deductible Health Plan and history of infectious diseases.

Part Two of the book spans nineteen chapters and this where the book really dives into the topic. Each chapter talks about a specific profession the first being doctors. It gives you an insight about the common perceptions of being a doctor and the realities of what it actually is. I found the book to be extremely helpful because it gave an introduction of not just the medical field but it broke it down to provide information for all professions in the medical field, which is extremely helpful. I think this resource or book is nice resource for those looking into the medical field and looking to pursue a career in the field. I

Sources:

Stanfield, Peggy, Nanna Cross, and Y. H. Hui. Introduction to the Health Professions. Sudbury, MA:

Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2012. Print.

Anesthesiology

By: Patrick Ashcraft

Anesthesiology is a very vital branch in the medical field. Anesthesia is used in before, during, and after surgery for putting the patient to sleep and taking care of pain. There are three different categories of anesthesia, they are: general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, and local anesthesia.

General anesthesia is where you are completely unaware of any feelings or pain while asleep and have no recollection of anything that goes on. This is often given through a gas mask or through a vein which would be an IV.

Regional anesthesia is where the doctor injects medicine into a "cluster of nerves" of the area that has to be operated on, while given this anesthesia you may be awake or given medicine to put you to sleep, but no matter what you don't feel pain or sensations of the area.

Local anesthesia is where the anesthetic drug is injected into the location that is requiring the operation, this is usually not an operation that you are asleep for.


Works Cited:
An Overview." Anesthesia Overview & Information. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.