Any black female pre-meds out there? part 01

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Excuse me in advance for jumping in. I just wanted everyone to know that I have been looking for a forum similar to this for a minute. I read over some of the posts and I was so encouraged. I'm a graduate student, waiting for AMCAS to verify my application. I look forward to the fellowship.
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Good mornin to the Beautiful Black Queens of America! Just wanted to say wassup. Have a blessed day and keep fightin the good fight!
 
Hey guys thanks for the well wishes!!
Njbmd, I plan to use all the skills that I learned in the field to help enlighten some of the girls paths at the school. I remember when I first became a med assistant, I was so afraid that I would give the wrong injection or perform phlebotomy incorrectly. So now that I am in this position I can share all my wonderful experiences to help them on their way!! :D

jnuska, thanks! Orgo is going wonderful, but it's on a whole different scale when she talks about hybrids and the sp orbitals! :eek: Now they expect you to visualize everything and put it on paper and words!! I am enjoying learning something other than G. Chem though. :rolleyes: Today we started learning about the constituents and nomenclature :eek: :eek: and I thought G. chem nonmenclature was bad??!! Anyways, it's just gonna take alot of practicing with the skills and I am determined to get through this class. My 1st Orgo quiz went fine and I will know today how I scored so I'm just waiting for that, but everything else is just peachy including that darn spanish. :confused:
 
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Hola cognizance y BlackDr2b. Como ustedes? :D Glad to have you here with us!! (Just thought I would practice my espanol skills!) Hasta luego!! ;)
 
Thanks for posting the link. That sounds like a great opportunity to see Penn and do some networking.
 
Good morning everyone! Just finished my work for the day and headed for an appointment. I guess I will try to pick up my organic book and start looking over some of those constituents and alkanes. I think that so far nomenclature is going ok and doesn't seem tooo hard, but I know I better brace myself b/c every time I get going with some new concept everything just changes on me. :D I'm good to go though b/c I have a pretty good instructor who cares whether we learn (understand conceptually) the material and not just memorize the stuff. I'm pretty excited to be this far with my prereqs thought I would never see organic. :eek: :laugh:
Well I hope everyone is having a wonderful day so far and try to get some laughs in before the end of the day.:laugh: :laugh:

P.S. Thanks nervousivy for the info!!
 
Well, that nip of Fall was in the air this morning. In a few months, the leaves will be changing colors on the trees and winter will be in the air. The Autumnal Equinox was yesterday!

I am sorry to see summer go. Those wonderfully hot and humid days are actually my favorite thanks to the Jamaican genes that I received from my father. I just wish I had gotten his accent too. :D But I did not.

My students had a test today, given by me. It was a warm-up for USMLE Step II. I personally believe that my tests are harder than the actual exam because I look for obscure diseases that illustrate at least three levels of thinking.

Today's test involved some of the complications of the mitochondrial diseases. They are rare and often devastating. I figured that if they have these under control, the stuff in rheumatology should be pretty simple. Still I threw in a lupus case for fun and a Marfan's too.

Now, I am going to take an evening and relax. Going to early mass in the morning and off for a nice run in the morning air.


My latest Podcast is up too. It is about: Preparing for Your Medical School Interview. Here it here: http://img.studentdoctor.net/podcasts/20060923sdn.mp3 or go to the SDN Podcast Forum and click. Enjoy all. My next Podcast is already in production and will be up soon.

Hope everyone is having fun studying. :cool:
 
Hello everyone,

I'm new to this thread... Good luck to everyone applying now!

I'm applying next year to enter in Fall 2008... and i'm VERY nervous about my credentials :(

I'm done with undergrad already, and had a 3.53, & between 3.4-3.45 bcpm (depending on how certain classes are counted) from an ivy undergrad... I started off well freshman year, then hit a very bumpy road in my life and ended up with a low GPA during those three semesters, and then averaged a 3.7+ during my last 3 semesters. I don't know if the high grades during my last 3 semesters will be enough to show adcoms that my low semesters were just an anomaly and that I *can* perform well consistently...

I hate acting like a neurotic pre-med (ugh) but I'm just concerned because I'm interested in research (but not pre-md/phd), and I hear that to go such a route, attending a more well known school is preferable.

What do you think?
 
I'm new to this thread... Good luck to everyone applying now!
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Welcome to our not-so-little thread. As you can see, we are glad to have new folks and even happier that some of our regulars are around to support the new folks. Again, welcome!

I hate acting like a neurotic pre-med (ugh) but I'm just concerned because I'm interested in research (but not pre-md/phd), and I hear that to go such a route, attending a more well known school is preferable.
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You can do research as a medical student or as a resident. Some medical schools are more research oriented but attending a less-well known medical school does not put you out of the running for doing summer research at places like NIH or the CDC. You should look at the websites for those places and once you are accepted to any medical school in this country, you should start looking at identifying what kinds of research you might like to do.

At the residency level, the world is your oyster! Many residencies especially academic ones, have research years built into their programs. For example, if you are interested in a competitive surgical fellowship, you actually need to do some research and get a few papers out. I am currently doing a research year in my general surgery residency. I have projects in peds surgery and trauma surgery in the works along with teaching duties too.

The key to getting into a good academic residency is doing well in medical school (again, any medical school in this country). Bottom line: Apply broadly and have a choice. Then choose the medical school where you are most comfortable and where you can excell.

Again, welcome to the group!
 
How is everyone? So, I just finished my first exam of the week. It was biochem. There was 127 questions. Most of the questions seemed to be pretty reasonable but 127 questions is not so reasonable. I pray that I made at least a B. I would also like to ask all of you belivers out there to pray for me that I confidence and do not doubt myself on any of the remaining exams that I have. Well, I gotta study for Anantomy and embryology. I hope that you all have a blessed day.
 
Just wanted to say Good Mornin Ladies!
 
Good morning everyone!! (really it's afternoon but feels like morning to me!!) :sleep: :sleep: :sleep: :sleep: Have a wonderful day guys. :)
Hang in there DivaDoc12!
 
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i've missed ya'll for almost a year!! hope all is well.. i am just tryin to stay alive on my first rotation...SURGERY...

:)

~L
 
On the front page of the Washington Post online is a video of my surgery professor Dr. LaSalle D. Lefall, Jr. It is definitely worth having a peak at. Go to http://www.washingtonpost.comand have a listen. It is toward the bottom of the page and you have to endure 15 seconds of a stupid ad but it is well worth the wait.

Dr. Lefall graduated from Howard University School of Medicine in 1952, first in his class. He is still practicing and operating today. He was one of my most inspiring professors and one of the main reasons why I am a surgeon today.

This video is part of the Post's "Being A Black Man" Series that has been running. It's been a great series with some interesting highlights. It is amazing that I can here Dr. Lefall whispering in my ear everytime I operate. This is the mark of a good mentor.

Check it out. :thumbup:
 
:eek: !! This class is disgustingly rediculous! :laugh: I had my first exam last night and I walked in with confidence but walking out I felt like the biggest goof on the planet. :confused: Orgo is pretty challenging but I am determined to get through it with sweat and blood if I can just make it through that hybridization and trying to draw it on the orbitals. I guess I should start seeking out a tutor or just someone to study with.
Hope you guys are having a good day. Oh wait, its 7:30am and some of you are probably in bed right now. I have been on the wards since 5am and I still have to go to school at 9:30ish. Can't wait to get to Orgo today. :rolleyes: Talk to you guys later.
 
Hi all!
Wanted to drop in and say "hello" to everyone! I am encouraged by what I read here! I've started Gen Chem class this fall and so far, so good! I just received an "A" on my first exam! What a RELIEF!! It's been quite a while since I've had chemistry! I'm on my way!!! Take care - and "keep on keepin' on"!
 
sistahnik said:
:eek: !! This class is disgustingly rediculous! :laugh: I had my first exam last night and I walked in with confidence but walking out I felt like the biggest goof on the planet. :confused: Orgo is pretty challenging but I am determined to get through it with sweat and blood if I can just make it through that hybridization and trying to draw it on the orbitals. I guess I should start seeking out a tutor or just someone to study with.
Hope you guys are having a good day. Oh wait, its 7:30am and some of you are probably in bed right now. I have been on the wards since 5am and I still have to go to school at 9:30ish. Can't wait to get to Orgo today. :rolleyes: Talk to you guys later.
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Just hang with it and dig in harder. The first part of Organic is pretty counterintuitive. (There is a reason why I wasn't very "carbon-friendly" when I took Organic but I was determined to master it. Getting a tutor is a great idea because you can talk through some of this stuff. Hang in there and be the last woman standing!:)
 
Hey there njbmd thanks for the words of inspiration! :) I am surely going to get with someone and I guess you are right in saying to dig in more b/c this class is more than memorizing on the surface you actually have to see it.

lpressley130, can we switch classes? I almost wish I was back in G. Chem! :D
Take care everyone , I'll be back a little later got to go to Orgo and Spanish. ;) I'm am going to be the last woman standing!! :laugh:
 
Good morning everyone and good luck/congrats to all the future docs in the house! !!

I'm neck deep in classes too with a plate full of Pharm and Molecular Physio. Soon, I'll be adding a HUGE serving of Kaplan MCAT prep for my LAST effort at reaching that elusive 30+!!!

Hang in there everyone!!!:)
 
hey there 1path! Good to hear from you again. I am knee deep in a pile of Orgo terms to master and concepts to learn to manipulate. Well off to the cribo to eat some good ole' spaghetti. ;)
 
sistahnik said:
hey there 1path! Good to hear from you again. I am knee deep in a pile of Orgo terms to master and concepts to learn to manipulate. Well off to the cribo to eat some good ole' spaghetti. ;)
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To Sistahnik: Just don't start looking at that plate of spaghetti and thinking about Kekule structural representation of the benzene molecule or considering the meatballs in sp3 orbitals. If that happens, you are studying too hard. :scared:


To everyone else: It's finally Saturday and I have a lecture to give on an inherited form of macular degeneration. Powerpoint, check. coffee, check. Yes, I am ready. I have a wonderful film that I have incorporated into my Powerpoint that shows the world through the eyes of someone with macular degeneration. Should be fun !!

Hang in there everyone and keep plugging away.:thumbup:
 
I haven't posted a comment in awhile!! I hope everyone is doing well. I'm in the middle of (secondary applications/interview/finishing experiments to write dissertation) land. Pray for me!!!! I need it. :love:
 
PHD_2007 said:
I haven't posted a comment in awhile!! I hope everyone is doing well. I'm in the middle of (secondary applications/interview/finishing experiments to write dissertation) land. Pray for me!!!! I need it. :love:
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Good luck getting that dissertation done!
 
Hello Ladies! Long time no write. I'm polishing my qualifier which went over well with one of my mentors. Amen!

I am moving into my first apartment next week! This will be the first time in 7 years that I haven't lived in a college dormitory. It's a furnished apartment too, which is good b/c I don't drive and buying furniture would have been a chore.

I just read an AP article on health disparities in preventive medicine in the US:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060929/hl_hsn/minoritygapinmedicalscreeningtestspersists

I had been gearing towards an academic career, however I think entering this area would be fulfilling and would unite my passions in an interesting way. Just a possibility. No way I can tell whether or not this is for me without more exposure to this area.

Alright -- more packing to do (I'm so looking forward to settling down for the next few years with no more packing or unpacking to do!).

God Bless,

~GraC
 
1Path said:
A career in health disparities doesn't have to exclude a research career. In fact, the NIH has an entire division dedicated to health disparities research from bench to bedside.

http://ncmhd.nih.gov/
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Hey Path,

I know that I could have a research career in health disparities. I could devote research time to Lupus and other immunological diseases that disproportionally impact minority health. I guess the question is whether to focus mainly on patient care or research. In theory, I could do both. Practically speaking though, I don't plan to spend 12 years pursuing medicine to only spend 25% of my time practicing medicine. Physician-scientists in my lab love their jobs however dividing time does come at a high price.

I'm familiar with NCMHD -- it's right across the street! I know there are many ways to address health disparities (there are scientists in collaboration with physicians, physician-scientists, physicians alone, public health practioners, etc etc). This is why I find this field so fascinating.

Happy Monday!

~GraC
 
GraC_undr_PrsR said:
I guess the question is whether to focus mainly on patient care or research. In theory, I could do both.
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I think you're right. Successfully conducting research and a clinical career is tough. But this is just one of the many reasons I'm interested in pathology. I've seen pathologists maintain the balance a lot "easier" than the physicians in other fields I shadowed like Oncology, Radiology, and Surgery.

Another often overlooked speciality that works directly with underserved populations is the Public Health Physician (IM, Peds, Epidemiologist, FP) although many people are turned off by the comparativly low pay and govenrment bureaucracy. The hours in this career are quite family friendly though with no weekends or call.
 
Hello everyone!!
Hey there njbmd, you are so funny!! :laugh: :laugh: I am hanging in there. This orgo is something that I can't even explain yet but it's moving so fast that I can see my head spinning. :D :confused: :laugh: As far as studying goes, too much is not even added to my vocab just yet I'm still trying to get a pattern down to keep me abreast in lecture notes and practice problems. Now I am headed home instead of spanish b/c I cannot concentrate anymore I have a really bad sore neck. This crook in my neck has been coming and going for the last month or so and it is really bothering me to the point that I just want to lay down all the time, but not sure what's wrong.:( I guess I should take a visit to my Doc!! Well I will talk to you guys later this week. Have a great day.
P.S. congrats to ya GraC_undr_PrsR, you will enjoy living in your own apt. Have fun :D !!
Hello PHD_2007!
 
sistahnik said:
Hello everyone!!
Hey there njbmd, you are so funny!! :laugh: :laugh: I am hanging in there. This orgo is something that I can't even explain yet but it's moving so fast that I can see my head spinning. :D :confused: :laugh: As far as studying goes, too much is not even added to my vocab just yet I'm still trying to get a pattern down to keep me abreast in lecture notes and practice problems. Now I am headed home instead of spanish b/c I cannot concentrate anymore I have a really bad sore neck. This crook in my neck has been coming and going for the last month or so and it is really bothering me to the point that I just want to lay down all the time, but not sure what's wrong.:( I guess I should take a visit to my Doc!! Well I will talk to you guys later this week. Have a great day.
P.S. congrats to ya GraC_undr_PrsR, you will enjoy living in your own apt. Have fun :D !!
Hello PHD_2007!
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Hey Sistanik,
Stress might be adding to your neck discomfort. It can sneak up on you and soon you wonder why you are sore all over. On another note, all the new vocabulary in Organic gets thrown in right up front. As you get into the course more, you will start to see some patterns to how the material is presented. I always thought it was pretty lame to put the bonding stuff up front (boring) before you get into the synthetic schemes (much more fun).

To everyone else:
Hope all the interviews and stuff is going well. I am off to another boring meeting today but labwork in the evening. Got loads of data to analyze before I can hit the gym for a swim and some iron pumping (my relaxation these days). ;)
 
Hello everyone!!! I hope you all have a good day!!!! :)
 
Just stoppin thru to say good mornin and everybody have a blessed day! :D
 
Hello everyone!! Just wanted to say hello to you guys before I left school, not having a good day just got back my orgo exam #1. :( I am sooo hurt right now and I really want to drop the class but I'm not going to even go there. Anyways, hope you guys have a good one. :love:
 
sistahnik said:
Hello everyone!! Just wanted to say hello to you guys before I left school, not having a good day just got back my orgo exam #1. :( I am sooo hurt right now and I really want to drop the class but I'm not going to even go there. Anyways, hope you guys have a good one. :love:
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Hey Sistahnik,
Did you get in touch with a tutor? Also, be sure to go over your exam very carefully to see where and how you made mistakes so that you do not repeat them on the next exam. Also, have a chat with your professor so that you can get an idea of how to pull up and get "wrapped around" this subject. Many organic professors will "back-load" their grading system so that folks who get off to a slower start but finish strong will not be penalized quite as much.

Organic can be tough (and frustrating) to get into at first but after you get a great system, you get moving forward and it all starts to make some sense. Losing a battle does not equal losing the entire war. Check out your options and get a good assessment of what you have to do to get this working for you. Deep breath there, woman! You are going to get this nailed down! We are all pulling for you! Once you DO get this under control, you will be that much stronger! Hang in there! :thumbup:
 
Thanks Njbmd!!:love: I will be meeting with someone in the science dept b/c they are offering free tutoring for science classes this year, but meeting with my professor?? I am not sure how to approach her but eventually I will. :scared: I was so hurt about my grade that I was already willing to drop the class and wait another year to apply to med school (08), which I am planning on doing next year (07), but I don't know right now.:confused: Anyway, I hope you guys have a great day as I am finish taking blood for the day and it's only 9:30 am :D. I guess I should go to the school and possibly meet with someone today to discuss my orgo issues. We are also having our 1st general meeting for MAPS today so I really want to make it for that. YEAH!!:thumbup:
Well talk to you guys later.
 
Hello all!
I haven't been on Sdn lately due to an overwhelming amount of secondaries and just work in general. Yesterday I was at our state's annual health conference and this lady who, I believe, works for the health district spoke about her research topic. Well, after her discussion she made a comment about the lack of diversity in the health field and was almost in tears! She told everyone to look around the room to actually see the lack of minorities in public health (at least in our state). Yes, it was apparent in that room that there weren't many minorities, but I just thought it was ironic that the next breakout session I attended, the minorities totally outnumbered everyone else:) I wish she would have seen this room, just for a little pick me up. I understand her complaint, totally, but just thought it was a little funny.

In other news, I just wanted to say that I got my first med school interview! Thank you Lord! I have been praying for an interview and was so ecstatic to receive an email. Just wanted to share my good news with everyone and to wish you all a happy happy day:D
 
polycon7 said:
In other news, I just wanted to say that I got my first med school interview! Thank you Lord! I have been praying for an interview and was so ecstatic to receive an email. Just wanted to share my good news with everyone and to wish you all a happy happy day:D
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Congratulations on the interview! This is great news!! You are going to do well!:thumbup:


Glad to have you back too!!
 
I am in the 9th week of medical school and I wanted to recommend to the pre-meds out there. Especially those who are just starting undergrad or your pre-reqs for med school. I would highly recommend taking Biochemistry, cell biology, human anatomy, and psychology if your major allows (not all at the same time). It will truly come in handy your first year in medical school. Im not saying major in science, major in whatever you want. But, I would highly recommend taking a more science classes (especially in biochem, cell bio etc..) than the minimum requirements for med school admission. I am just thinking about how overwhelmed I would feel in Biochem right now, if I had not had previous exposure in undergrad. Alot of people do just fine without having had biochem or anatomy previously but, it can only help.
 
Congrats Polycon7!!
Hey everyone, what's up with our thread. We were sinking a little too far to the end of the line. :laugh: Just wanted to stop in and say hello.
Thanks for the advice DivaDoc12. I guess it wouldn't hurt to take some extra biology classes for the exposure and knowledge base before med school. Good Luck to you in med school.
 
DivaDoc12 said:
I am in the 9th week of medical school and I wanted to recommend to the pre-meds out there. Especially those who are just starting undergrad or your pre-reqs for med school. I would highly recommend taking Biochemistry, cell biology, human anatomy, and psychology if your major allows (not all at the same time). It will truly come in handy your first year in medical school. Im not saying major in science, major in whatever you want. But, I would highly recommend taking a more science classes (especially in biochem, cell bio etc..) than the minimum requirements for med school admission. I am just thinking about how overwhelmed I would feel in Biochem right now, if I had not had previous exposure in undergrad. Alot of people do just fine without having had biochem or anatomy previously but, it can only help.
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Don't forget that you can audit these courses (Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Human Anatomy and Psychology) if you do not need the grade or the course as a pre-req for medical school. The audit takes the pressure of a grade off but you get exposure.
 
Hello ladies!!

I haven't posted in a while. THis thread is by far the best up here, very inspirational and informative. Anyone waiting for mcat scores from August to come out tomorrow or sat like me?? I only have one interview so far so praying my new scores will set me free!! :D Wish me luck
 
Yes, I'm also waiting for my scores, and I'm NOT looking forward to looking at them... I've already made my contingency re-take plans and all...
 
Im also waiting for my scores. I'm Soo behind on turning in my amcas i'm still working on my PS :( hopefully i can get it done this weekend.
 
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