Class of 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cyberdyne 101]

You do know that pre-operative depression and/or anxiety is a good predictor for post operative back pain right?

There is a pretty large body of research showing that depression causes physical as well as mental symptoms, muscle/body pain being one of them.

If you have abdominal pain and rebound pain, the differential usually tries to rule out appendicitis before jumping the gun to cancer. Medicine is often algorithm based and that's a logical starting point for some of this. If the physicians were dismissive, then that's a totally different issue!

Yep I'm fully aware of all of this.

I was referring to their dismissive tone. It's inexcusable.

Edit: I mean seriously, there are 100 million adults in this country who suffer from chronic pain. We are also lagging in this regard.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ridethecliche]

Sorry to hear they were that unreasonable :/

 

[RedPhys]

75 degrees where I'm at right now, not sure what snow is!

Isn't Miami the best?

 

[BengaliBrat]

I don't think interviewers keep a list of buzzwords that automatically doom a candidate if uttered during an interview (outside of blatant racism, sexism, etc). Medicine is an imprecise science and it would be ridiculous for the school to take such a dogmatic stance, especially since they're interviewing a prospective student. It'd be different if you were at a residency interview and proclaimed that your medical education was just plain nonsense.

It really saddens me to see you upset. You often make me laugh and smile with your poetic posts. I realize that this is immensely frustrating, but keep in mind that the school you enroll at will be very fortunate to have you as a student!!

@Cyberdyne 101, @hellanutella, @aprimenumber, @FriendlyFH , @ridethecliche, @Scribblers, @Ace Khalifa , @sunflower18--and all you other wonderful folks not yet named here by name--thank you and thank you and thank you some more. A lady needs support like this from unseen friends. (And unseen undergarments!! ) Sorry--I didn't mean to dump on you all. It was one of those "one thing after another" experiences, a real Comedy of Errors. Just to clarify what happened, I didn't go in determined to preach the gospel of alternative medicine. I was asked about my personal statement.

I spent some time on a tea plantation in the Himalayas, lured there by the promise that I would be volunteering at "a clinic." When I arrived, I was shocked to discover that there were no physicians, no nurses, no pharmacists. The medicines (donated from kind overseas folks) were mostly expired and in short supply anyway--and not always well-matched to the problems that the tea workers actually suffered from. There was some equipment, but none in working order. What textbooks were available were, I'm pretty sure, put into print soon after Gutenberg got that press operational. In short, the "clinic" didn't really exist. What WAS there was one plucky tea worker volunteer who spent every day trekking from one mountain village to another to comfort people in pain or facing imminent death. She had basically no resources beyond her beautiful and indomitable spirit, her inexhaustible compassion, and her willingness to learn whatever she could and to make use of whatever was available. I accompanied her.

She could not offer much. She would chant a little. She spent a lot of time listening. When her touch did not exacerbate the pain, she massaged. And when ayurvedic or homeopathic medicines came her way, she employed them--just as she used any "mainstream" or allopathic remedies that she could get her hands on. My personal statement was about how that experience strengthened my determination to go into medicine, so that I could provide some of the knowledge that could help and perhaps secure other tools that might be of aid to such people. I also mentioned that the willingness of this Gurkha woman to use whatever tools were available impressed me, and how I thought her sheer "there-ness" aided healing.

My interviewer opened by asking me some questions about what I had observed and written about in my personal statement.

"Homeopathic," though, triggered a pretty intense reaction, although (regardless of my private feelings), I was not advocating that path to healing. My interviewer had very strong opinions on the topic, suggesting that I might have done better to administer poison than to give homeopathic remedies. She had a great deal to say along these lines. Interrupting her seemed a poor idea. When I attempted to recover after that painful interlude ("I see your point. Absolutely.") I did not know quite how to correct the bad impression without either triggering another monologue or sounding as if I were willing to say pretty much anything in an attempting to bluff my way into the school. Quick thinking is not my strong suit--I'm a deliberator. (No worries that I will end up in emergency medicine!!)

I don't want to come across as blaming the interviewer. I respect her views and understand her wish to warn me off treatments that she clearly perceives as dangerous. The fault was mine, for 1) not having considered the sentence more carefully before uttering it and 2) not having the social deftness to redeem the interview. I did write a carefully considered thank-you note to the interviewer. In it, I mentioned how glad I was that we shared an enthusiasm for therapeutic touch and massage. I didn't think re-visiting the fall-out of the "homeopathic" mention was a good idea--but perhaps I was mistaken.

Anyway, whatever transpires next, the interview was certainly educational! Also in keeping (perhaps) with my faith tradition, I believe that we do travel roads that are intended for us and that what may seem to be a disaster in which we fall gracelessly is in fact just a redirection so that we move in another direction. (Yeah, yeah. I know that this philosophy can be dismissed as fatalistic. Still. . . .)

Like that ancient Taoist teaching story about the farmer and the series of events surrounding his horse. . .

http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/Taoist_Farmer.html
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/zen.html

Anyway, however "bad" the interview was, look at all the good it brought my way--such an outpouring of kindness and encouragement from friends whom I have never seen! Grateful--that is BengaliBrat today!!

 

[dechristine]

About alternative medicine: I recently traveled back to China to visit relatives (super fun, and I got to see pandas!). When I told them that I wanted to go to medical school, the first thing they asked was if it was for "Eastern medicine" or "Western medicine". I went to a hospital and the doctor I saw, who has his (whatever the Chinese version of an MD) and a PhD, prescribed both medication and told me to stop eating so many spicy things. Eastern medicine is very legitimate to them and I think it's a disservice to just dismiss it (why we need cultural relativism!), especially since it has brought us some gems like aspirin.

 

[breakintheroof]

I spent some time on a tea plantation in the Himalayas...
...and how I thought her sheer "there-ness" aided healing.

This is a moving story, thank you for sharing it.

I did write a carefully considered thank-you note to the interviewer. In it, I mentioned how glad I was that we shared an enthusiasm for therapeutic touch and massage. I didn't think re-visiting the fall-out of the "homeopathic" mention was a good idea--but perhaps I was mistaken.

I think this was the best course of action. I hope it works out well.

 

[BengaliBrat]

About alternative medicine: I recently traveled back to China to visit relatives (super fun, and I got to see pandas!). When I told them that I wanted to go to medical school, the first thing they asked was if it was for "Eastern medicine" or "Western medicine". I went to a hospital and the doctor I saw, who has his (whatever the Chinese version of an MD) and a PhD, prescribed both medication and told me to stop eating so many spicy things. Eastern medicine is very legitimate to them and I think it's a disservice to just dismiss it (why we need cultural relativism!), especially since it has brought us some gems like aspirin.

I love the fact that Eastern medicine insists that everything matters--in creating the illness and in addressing it. I particularly like the Chinese emphasis on balance--the yin foods and the yang foods, the need for exercise and mindfulness, the preference for natural treatments, the acknowledgment of qi. I understand, though, that St. Louis is quite a distance from Shandong province. . . Obviously, @dechristine, I agree with you and appreciate the kind words!

 

[dechristine]

I love the fact that Eastern medicine insists that everything matters--in creating the illness and in addressing it. I particularly like the Chinese emphasis on balance--the yin foods and the yang foods, the need for exercise and mindfulness, the preference for natural treatments, the acknowledgment of qi. I understand, though, that St. Louis is quite a distance from Shandong province. . . Obviously, @dechristine, I agree with you and appreciate the kind words!

You're welcome, I hope you hear good things in the future! Haha it has actually really bothered me at times that my mom, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology, has gotten into things like longetivity (?), where a master opens up your chakras and that you can heal yourself by harnessing chi and putting your hands over the places that need healing.

 

[Tman90]

.

 

[sundancing]

BengaliBrat had a series of negative experiences connected with her interview with WUSM. . .bad weather (going and coming) with flight cancellations and way-too-predawn travel, very chilling drafts in an otherwise great room in Olin, no pizza party because of the Super Bowl, and, worst of all, the worst-yet interview. Sometimes the chemistry just works from the outset. Sometimes just the opposite. I made the terrible error of mentioning a forbidden word as I described my overseas clinic experience. The word? "Homeopathy." As I wrote to one of my mentors, I think I would have fared better with my interviewer had I suggested that the healthiest diet would include quantities of human flesh. Oh, dear. How did that sensible-shoe-wearing foot cram itself so irretrievably in that orthodontist's dream mouth? Great campus, really nice students, wonderful opportunities--all vanished once the no-no was uttered. Sigh. And other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? Sigh again.

But trying to be philosophical. Perhaps I'm sposta enroll somewhere else? (As in, somewhere where I'm accepted?) Also, Duke finally broke the news that I will never be a Duchess. Alas.

Ok. I'm gonna sound like the biggest creep. I have yet to be accepted into the M.D. class of 2019, but sometimes I randomly browse this thread and don't usually contribute. And I have noticed that you have such a creative and engaging writing style. It's wonderful. I hope you become a novelist or a short story writer as a side job.

 

[sundancing]

You're welcome, I hope you hear good things in the future! Haha it has actually really bothered me at times that my mom, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology, has gotten into things like longetivity (?), where a master opens up your chakras and that you can heal yourself by harnessing chi and putting your hands over the places that need healing.

Are you referring to reiki? A member of my immediate family is a reiki practitioner...I have mixed feelings about it.

 

[ridethecliche]

@BengaliBrat , She certainly didn't react strongly to you in person, just to a topic at hand. Did the rest of the interview take a similar tone or was it solely contained to that topic.

I think you should have written about it to your interviewer though. If you sent her an email, I think you should write something very similar to what you wrote here and explain that you were not a caregiver here and that it wasn't really your place to tell an entire community that their health beliefs were wrong while you were unable to offer any alternatives or provide care yourself. However, I think that could have been helpful since it showed that you were still thinking about these things way after your interview.

You're welcome, I hope you hear good things in the future! Haha it has actually really bothered me at times that my mom, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology, has gotten into things like longetivity (?), where a master opens up your chakras and that you can heal yourself by harnessing chi and putting your hands over the places that need healing.

I don't know. People make fun of ayurvedic and eastern stuff and there were recent studies that implicated tumeric (a component of most ayurveda) in cutting inflammation and fighting infection.

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/turmeric

 

[breakintheroof]

I think you should have written about it to your interviewer though. If you sent her an email, I think you should write something very similar to what you wrote here and explain that you were not a caregiver here and that it wasn't really your place to tell an entire community that their health beliefs were wrong while you were unable to offer any alternatives or provide care yourself. However, I think that could have been helpful since it showed that you were still thinking about these things way after your interview.

I think this would have been appropriate, @BengaliBrat, if you felt that you could succinctly address the points raised. It's difficult to respond appropriately to a rant. Anything that sounded like a defense of homeopathy could be interpreted as further provocation.

Should your interviewer respond to what you have already said, a dialogue has been opened. In that case, if you feel comfortable doing so, I'd agree that you have an opportunity to explain your point of view. You wouldn't want to risk an argument, however, by explaining yourself too much. I would say something like, "I also want to thank you for our interesting discussion about homeopathy. In reflecting on my own experience, I came to a similar conclusion because [something where you agree with them]. My experience in the Himalayas was difficult in part because [you weren't able to act on these feelings as @ridethecliche described]."

 

[wishingprayinghoping]

If your fortunate enough to have at least one acceptance, how do you decide which interviews to go to and which to decline? Especially when you are double checking that you have overdraft protection just in case. Also if you already have received a very (VERY) generous scholarship would that play into the consideration of going to other schools that might have stronger reputations. Im not comparing like an average state school to Harvard. More like msar median mcats of 31-32 private schools? And of course considering the fact that I might be interviewing for Waitlist spots at this point of the cycle.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Ok. I'm gonna sound like the biggest creep. I have yet to be accepted into the M.D. class of 2019, but sometimes I randomly browse this thread and don't usually contribute. And I have noticed that you have such a creative and engaging writing style. It's wonderful. I hope you become a novelist or a short story writer as a side job.

Her writing style is magnificent!

 

[joonage]

I really don't want to do my taxes .... nor FAFSA ... ugh ...

Anyways, quick question. The doctor I've been shadowing for a while is writing me a LOR and she offered to just hand the letter straight to the dean of admissions since she knows her. You think that's okay? I'm sure the dean will hand over the letter to my main committee member so I guess it wouldn't hurt?

 

[hellanutella]

I know! Just reading the first few sentences about her Himalayan adventure and I was hooked... and I was actually disappointed when her post ended. I wanted to hear more about her triumphs and trials there! BB should team up with budding fellow novelist ResearchIMMN and churn out some beautiful prose together.

 

[ridethecliche]

If your fortunate enough to have at least one acceptance, how do you decide which interviews to go to and which to decline? Especially when you are double checking that you have overdraft protection just in case. Also if you already have received a very (VERY) generous scholarship would that play into the consideration of going to other schools that might have stronger reputations. Im not comparing like an average state school to Harvard. More like msar median mcats of 31-32 private schools? And of course considering the fact that I might be interviewing for Waitlist spots at this point of the cycle.

It depends on the school honestly.

I just turned down an interview I would have gone to if I didn't have an acceptance, because I realized that there were certain things in that program that made me uncomfortable that the place I was accepted to didn't have issues with.

The question is : Would you go there if accepted? What if you got a better aid offer?

If the answer is yes, I'd go interview.

 

[joonage]

Top?

Been a while since K-pop Top~

 

[ridethecliche]

@BengaliBrat , this is what the thread just did to ya! It does the same to others too!

 

[researchismymiddlename]

BengaliBrat had a series of negative experiences connected with her interview with WUSM. . .bad weather (going and coming) with flight cancellations and way-too-predawn travel, very chilling drafts in an otherwise great room in Olin, no pizza party because of the Super Bowl, and, worst of all, the worst-yet interview. Sometimes the chemistry just works from the outset. Sometimes just the opposite. I made the terrible error of mentioning a forbidden word as I described my overseas clinic experience. The word? "Homeopathy." As I wrote to one of my mentors, I think I would have fared better with my interviewer had I suggested that the healthiest diet would include quantities of human flesh. Oh, dear. How did that sensible-shoe-wearing foot cram itself so irretrievably in that orthodontist's dream mouth? Great campus, really nice students, wonderful opportunities--all vanished once the no-no was uttered. Sigh. And other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? Sigh again.

But trying to be philosophical. Perhaps I'm sposta enroll somewhere else? (As in, somewhere where I'm accepted?) Also, Duke finally broke the news that I will never be a Duchess. Alas.

After my own travel woes yesterday coming back home, I understand But on the interview -- I agree with whatever has been stated thus far, it sounds like the topic was touchy for her and although it might have soured the interview according to your perspective, I actually am pretty hopeful that it has little bearing on the outcome of the interview. Maybe the interviewer had a rant that didn't reflect so much on your opinion (or what she perceived as your opinion) as much as the topic itself. I am hopeful that she will have considered the rest of the interview in a more holistic manner and appropriately judge you as the experienced, devoted, unique and lovely person and future doctor that you are! Sorry to hear that you didn't see the chemistry right away -- I am honestly curious what will happen when I visit

That bolded phrase is GOLD. May I borrow that sometime? I'm kidding, but goodness Bengali you have SUCH a rich way with words that I am always in awe reading your fluid-like but deep posts.

The other phrase in italic is one of my favorites -- I actually read a similar variant of it in a piece by Steven Brill in last week's issue on TIME regarding a capitalist-friendly (and hence much more welcome in this single-payer-averse US system) set of solutions to fixing the skyrocketing costs of healthcare. It's a must read, although I can't say I fully understand the details myself. Basically the crux is to encourage the formation of provider-insurance oligopolies such as that in the Cleveland Clinic (ideal) or UPMC (but less profit-crazy), leaded by physician-leaders (such as that of the Cleveland Clinic)... thereby eliminating middlemen insurance companies and aligning interests between the provider and the insurance company (since they are in essence one entity in this system...) But ANYWAY He used that phrase to talk about WHY it was so hard to fix healthcare... because when we are on the gurney, we don't care about the cost -- we want a good result no matter what it takes. Considering cost when you are actually in desperate need of the healthcare intervention is like asking "Mrs. Lincoln what she thought of the play"... anyway, that was a long digression

@Cyberdyne 101, @hellanutella, @aprimenumber, @FriendlyFH , @ridethecliche, @Scribblers, @Ace Khalifa , @sunflower18--and all you other wonderful folks not yet named here by name--thank you and thank you and thank you some more. A lady needs support like this from unseen friends. (And unseen undergarments!! ) Sorry--I didn't mean to dump on you all. It was one of those "one thing after another" experiences, a real Comedy of Errors. Just to clarify what happened, I didn't go in determined to preach the gospel of alternative medicine. I was asked about my personal statement.

I spent some time on a tea plantation in the Himalayas, lured there by the promise that I would be volunteering at "a clinic." When I arrived, I was shocked to discover that there were no physicians, no nurses, no pharmacists. The medicines (donated from kind overseas folks) were mostly expired and in short supply anyway--and not always well-matched to the problems that the tea workers actually suffered from. There was some equipment, but none in working order. What textbooks were available were, I'm pretty sure, put into print soon after Gutenberg got that press operational. In short, the "clinic" didn't really exist. What WAS there was one plucky tea worker volunteer who spent every day trekking from one mountain village to another to comfort people in pain or facing imminent death. She had basically no resources beyond her beautiful and indomitable spirit, her inexhaustible compassion, and her willingness to learn whatever she could and to make use of whatever was available. I accompanied her.

She could not offer much. She would chant a little. She spent a lot of time listening. When her touch did not exacerbate the pain, she massaged. And when ayurvedic or homeopathic medicines came her way, she employed them--just as she used any "mainstream" or allopathic remedies that she could get her hands on. My personal statement was about how that experience strengthened my determination to go into medicine, so that I could provide some of the knowledge that could help and perhaps secure other tools that might be of aid to such people. I also mentioned that the willingness of this Gurkha woman to use whatever tools were available impressed me, and how I thought her sheer "there-ness" aided healing.

My interviewer opened by asking me some questions about what I had observed and written about in my personal statement.

"Homeopathic," though, triggered a pretty intense reaction, although (regardless of my private feelings), I was not advocating that path to healing. My interviewer had very strong opinions on the topic, suggesting that I might have done better to administer poison than to give homeopathic remedies. She had a great deal to say along these lines. Interrupting her seemed a poor idea. When I attempted to recover after that painful interlude ("I see your point. Absolutely.") I did not know quite how to correct the bad impression without either triggering another monologue or sounding as if I were willing to say pretty much anything in an attempting to bluff my way into the school. Quick thinking is not my strong suit--I'm a deliberator. (No worries that I will end up in emergency medicine!!)

I don't want to come across as blaming the interviewer. I respect her views and understand her wish to warn me off treatments that she clearly perceives as dangerous. The fault was mine, for 1) not having considered the sentence more carefully before uttering it and 2) not having the social deftness to redeem the interview. I did write a carefully considered thank-you note to the interviewer. In it, I mentioned how glad I was that we shared an enthusiasm for therapeutic touch and massage. I didn't think re-visiting the fall-out of the "homeopathic" mention was a good idea--but perhaps I was mistaken.

Anyway, whatever transpires next, the interview was certainly educational! Also in keeping (perhaps) with my faith tradition, I believe that we do travel roads that are intended for us and that what may seem to be a disaster in which we fall gracelessly is in fact just a redirection so that we move in another direction. (Yeah, yeah. I know that this philosophy can be dismissed as fatalistic. Still. . . .)

Like that ancient Taoist teaching story about the farmer and the series of events surrounding his horse. . .

http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/Taoist_Farmer.html
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/zen.html

Anyway, however "bad" the interview was, look at all the good it brought my way--such an outpouring of kindness and encouragement from friends whom I have never seen! Grateful--that is BengaliBrat today!!

What an amazing story... don't want it to end! I stand by @hellanutella when she says it is rather pointless to perform post-interview autopsies. I am hopeful that the result will be great!

I know! Just reading the first few sentences about her Himalayan adventure and I was hooked... and I was actually disappointed when her post ended. I wanted to hear more about her triumphs and trials there! BB should team up with budding fellow novelist ResearchIMMN and churn out some beautiful prose together.

OMG This made me laugh out loud!

P.S. @Ace Khalifa, I am scheduled for February 25, staying at Olin... hopefully we can find time to meet up?

 

[Ace Khalifa]

P.S. @Ace Khalifa, I am scheduled for February 25, staying at Olin... hopefully we can find time to meet up?

I am working the day before, but I am completely free on the 25th and the next day. We can definitely hang out after your interview if you're not going straight back to the airport!

 

[ridethecliche]

The other phrase in italic is one of my favorites -- I actually read a similar variant of it in a piece by Steven Brill in last week's issue on TIME regarding a capitalist-friendly (and hence much more welcome in this single-payer-averse US system) set of solutions to fixing the skyrocketing costs of healthcare. It's a must read, although I can't say I fully understand the details myself. Basically the crux is to encourage the formation of provider-insurance oligopolies such as that in the Cleveland Clinic (ideal) or UPMC (but less profit-crazy), leaded by physician-leaders (such as that of the Cleveland Clinic)... thereby eliminating middlemen insurance companies and aligning interests between the provider and the insurance company (since they are in essence one entity in this system...) But ANYWAY He used that phrase to talk about WHY it was so hard to fix healthcare... because when we are on the gurney, we don't care about the cost -- we want a good result no matter what it takes. Considering cost when you are actually in desperate need of the healthcare intervention is like asking "Mrs. Lincoln what she thought of the play"... anyway, that was a long digression

This is the reason a lot of hospital systems are trying to expand if their main business comes from medicaid patients. They try to buy hospitals in richer areas to kind of supplement/buffer their income and make things even out.

The other thing re: your comment on insurance companies. Those companies provide a service and charge their own fees for existing. If hospitals absorb some of those expenses by creating their own health systems for these things and cut out the middleman, they can reduce costs. You also lose out on the issue of insurance refusals etc, because it wouldn't make sense for the hospital to make life harder for its own practitioners. If they support the practice and the treatment, they'll pay for it. Or they shouldn't hire those practitioners to begin with.

 

[MDporfavor8888]

happy to report i got my second acceptance today... from EVMS!

 

[researchismymiddlename]

I am working the day before, but I am completely free on the 25th and the next day. We can definitely hang out after your interview if you're not going straight back to the airport!

Fantastic! Well, I'm driving down since it's only 4 hours away and the interview day ends at 3:30, so let's definitely meet. I'll PM you when the date comes closer.

This is the reason a lot of hospital systems are trying to expand if their main business comes from medicaid patients. They try to buy hospitals in richer areas to kind of supplement/buffer their income and make things even out.

The other thing re: your comment on insurance companies. Those companies provide a service and charge their own fees for existing. If hospitals absorb some of those expenses by creating their own health systems for these things and cut out the middleman, they can release costs. You also lose out on the issue of insurance refusals etc, because it wouldn't make sense for the hospital to make life harder for its own practitioners. If they support the practice and the treatment, they'll pay for it. Or they shouldn't hire those practitioners to begin with.

Hmm, you understand this a lot better than I do, and with that explanation my understanding is solidified. Thank you!!

happy to report i got my second acceptance today... from EVMS!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!

 

[ridethecliche]

WHY THE FARK DOES ANYONE DO RESEARCH?

I'm doing revisions for a manuscript and some of the reviewer comments make me want to throw my computer out of a window.

Paper was on quality of life and they want us to include: a literature review, a survival analysis, change the entire format, etc etc etc.

It's pretty hilarious and infuriating. I'm the 1st author, but I'm going to talk to the senior author and decide which of these things we're going to bother to do.

 

[aprimenumber]

WHY THE FARK DOES ANYONE DO RESEARCH?

I'm doing revisions for a manuscript and some of the reviewer comments make me want to throw my computer out of a window.

Paper was on quality of life and they want us to include: a literature review, a survival analysis, change the entire format, etc etc etc.

It's pretty hilarious and infuriating. I'm the 1st author, but I'm going to talk to the senior author and decide which of these things we're going to bother to do.

Agreed. This video captures how I feel about research (parts of it are just too true for me).

 

[ridethecliche]

Like...

A lit review is a freaking paper in and of itself. Those things are nasty!

Doing survival etc, doesn't quite fit into the Quality of Life narrative that we're trying to do because that's also a separate paper. One of the most important things that I've learned about in the research world is the 'least publishable unit'. You want to do the least amount of work necessary for a publication. If you have additional data that you'd like to use, make another paper out of it. The stuff that some of the reviewers want warrants 2 separate papers. Some of which we may or may not be working on

But you know, you need to thank them for their incredible insights and say how glad you are and that you're going to pursue future work on their ideas i.e. the paper you're already sitting on and will submit soon after this one goes through lol.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Sorry to hear they were that unreasonable :/

I learned that there are several pre-existing conditions that can make a doctor's appointment a nightmare. In my experience, such conditions include chronic pain, domestic violence, and/or any trace of mental illness. It looks like they're required to ask about this stuff, but some of them clearly don't want to hear certain answers. It's more like, "I'm only asking you if you feel safe at home (or if you're in pain or depressed) because that's protocol. However, I honestly don't want to hear that any of the above have been a problem for you because I simply couldn't care less." It's like they're reading off a script they received in last week's department meeting, and of course, their responses lack compassion, coherence, logic, and practicality...

This sort of negativity has actually driven me to pursue this field.

 

[ridethecliche]

For all that b.s., I can tell you of an attending that fought to get her patient hiv meds when he was held in jail for a few nights.

And of a surgeon that waived his fees when a patient had a recurrence and had lost insurance coverage. Then offered to interview that patient for a job when he learned that his patient's life plans had fallen through due to the recurrent disc herniation.

That second pt, btw, was me.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

For all that b.s., I can tell you of an attending that fought to get her patient hiv meds when he was held in jail for a few nights.

And of a surgeon that waived his fees when a patient had a recurrence and had lost insurance coverage. Then offered to interview that patient for a job when he learned that his patient's life plans had fallen through due to the recurrent disc herniation.

That second pt, btw, was me.

I know that there are plenty of good doctors out there. Unfortunately, with the exception of my physiatrist, I've had pretty horrible experiences.

Anyway, I'm glad that surgeon (literally) had your back. It makes me feel better about the world.

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

Sdn works on phone but not computer for me apparently.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Sdn works on phone but not computer for me apparently.

Is it telling you to download some software?! That's been happening to me on several computers when I've tried to log in.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Does anyone else watch The Americans?!

I just realized I missed the season premiere

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

Is it telling you to download some software?! That's been happening to me on several computers when I've tried to log in.

No just a weird error message :/

 

[FFH]

About alternative medicine: I recently traveled back to China to visit relatives (super fun, and I got to see pandas!). When I told them that I wanted to go to medical school, the first thing they asked was if it was for "Eastern medicine" or "Western medicine". I went to a hospital and the doctor I saw, who has his (whatever the Chinese version of an MD) and a PhD, prescribed both medication and told me to stop eating so many spicy things. Eastern medicine is very legitimate to them and I think it's a disservice to just dismiss it (why we need cultural relativism!), especially since it has brought us some gems like aspirin.

Instead of "eastern medicine" a better translation might be "traditional medicine". The word "中“ is not really about the origin, but more about the choice of approach, which is a historical, traditional one. So "western medicine" is really "modern medicine". Anything that's done in China using modern scientific method would be considered 西医。

it definitely has parts that are based on persistent observations that correctly linked the usage of some plants or the practice of some kind of activities with the change in one's body. Those parts were as much of a cultural belief as a rudimentary scientific practice. Many of the connections made throughout the history were later proven on molecular level to be right. The part where it emphasizes that maintaining an even temper, AKA stress reduction, is good for health. No need to argue with that.

However. A big however.

There aren't that many solid observations. "Traditional medicine" that we now know is inflated by popular cultural beliefs, naive attempts to explain complicated biological attempts with imaginations. It can be taught as a fun class as part of a proper "western medicine" education to give some historical information. But as a degree to its own end? It's like trying to study for physics but the entire scope of the learning are evolved around the personal diary of someone who died many centuries ago. Will there be some valid observations? Sure. But why would you?

Of course, health related practices in each culture (and sub culture) will have parts that might have an observational foundation and parts that are purely cultural based myths invented to explain the then unexplainable. Also, patients will always have their own value system when making medical decisions. Sometimes we are not invited to make the best possible decision on behave of the patient, instead we are there to help the patients make the best out of whatever they consider the best option.

 

[joonage]

Does anyone else watch The Americans?!

I just realized I missed the season premiere

Ah I want to watch this. I saw some trailers and it looks really good. I love that whole Cold War, you're neighbor might be a KBG spy stuff. So fascinating!

Also, did you guys watch Sons of Liberty? It was a 3 part mini-series on the History Channel. So good. I love early US history/government. Again, very fascinating stuff!

I'm still on my high from my trip to DC and Philly. So much history everywhere. I would love to live there if it weren't so damn cold. hahaha

 

[joonage]

Also ... no one answered my question about my LOR ...

It'd be alright for the doctor I shadowed to directly hand the letter to the dean of admissions right? She did say she knew the dean and offered to hand it directly to her .... I guess it wouldn't hurt, right?

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Also ... no one answered my question about my LOR ...

It'd be alright for the doctor I shadowed to directly hand the letter to the dean of admissions right? She did say she knew the dean and offered to hand it directly to her .... I guess it wouldn't hurt, right?

I think it's okay. What do you have to lose at this point?

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Ah I want to watch this. I saw some trailers and it looks really good. I love that whole Cold War, you're neighbor might be a KBG spy stuff. So fascinating!

Also, did you guys watch Sons of Liberty? It was a 3 part mini-series on the History Channel. So good. I love early US history/government. Again, very fascinating stuff!

I'm still on my high from my trip to DC and Philly. So much history everywhere. I would love to live there if it weren't so damn cold. hahaha

It's an incredible show! I also love the Cold War/spy themes.

I haven't watched Sons of Liberty. I'll definitely check it out when I have free time. Btw, did you catch the Hatfields & McCoys mini-series?!

Sorry, I'm not the best person to ask about LORs. However, Ace does have a good point. You might as well give it a shot. Good luck!!!!

 

[Tman90]

.

 

[ridethecliche]

Ah I want to watch this. I saw some trailers and it looks really good. I love that whole Cold War, you're neighbor might be a KBG spy stuff. So fascinating!

Also, did you guys watch Sons of Liberty? It was a 3 part mini-series on the History Channel. So good. I love early US history/government. Again, very fascinating stuff!

I'm still on my high from my trip to DC and Philly. So much history everywhere. I would love to live there if it weren't so damn cold. hahaha

You should have applied to miami but then your interviewer might have sat there and accused you of lying on your application.

I swear I'm not bitter.

@Ace Khalifa , did you have 2 interviewers? I.e. one interviewer and an MS 4 that was taking notes etc.

 

[Flintwire]

did you have 2 interviewers? I.e. one interviewer and an MS 4 that was taking notes etc.

I had a faculty member and a student, but after asking the other interviewees I realized most people only had one interviewer in the room ...

I really hope your interview was just a stress interview and you aced it.

 

[ridethecliche]

I had a faculty member and a student, but after asking the other interviewees I realized most people only had one interviewer in the room ...

I really hope your interview was just a stress interview and you aced it.

I can assure you wholeheartedly that the last thing I did was ace that interview.

Also, admissions hasn't responded to my email post interview. I don't think they took kindly to my calling out their star faculty member. I've heard from atleast one other person that their interviewer asked truly bizarre questions that had nothing to do with anything. Someone with 2 interviewers was asked if they did their own laundry... What a weird freaking place. It's like... just move to MMI's already instead of wasting interviewees time. To say I'm livid that I spent that much money to go over there with their intent of solely embarrassing me in the interview would be an understatement. It's so disrespectful that it's amazing that admissions would let it happen if they knew about it at all.

 

[baxt1412]

I GOT ACCEPTED TO MY #1 CHOICE YESTERDAY!!! University of Nebraska!

 

[Tman90]

.

 

[womanofscience]

Does anyone else watch The Americans?!

I just realized I missed the season premiere

Yes!! But I am so behind! And getting even further behind it seems!

I know that there are plenty of good doctors out there. Unfortunately, with the exception of my physiatrist, I've had pretty horrible experiences.

Anyway, I'm glad that surgeon (literally) had your back. It makes me feel better about the world.

And I have to agree here. I've had a physician dismiss some of my issues as simply having a "nervous stomach" because I am female and going into medicine.... since women are not supposed to go into stressful careers :/

 

[Flintwire]

Someone with 2 interviewers was asked if they did their own laundry...

 

[womanofscience]

and what detergent they used , haha!

 

[baxt1412]

and what detergent they used , haha!

All Free and Clear for the win.