2018-2019 University of Miami (Miller)

[socloseithurts]

Not sure if this is what OP means, but I think it’s that residencies at Jackson/UM are notoriously difficult. The hospital here is not an academic ivory tower by any stretch - it’s a county hospital that is serving a gigantic underserved population. This has pros and cons, but it means the hours can be long, the system somewhat inefficient, and the patients not always the most rewarding.

Personally I’d rather have a training site that is up to its ears in sick patients (like Jackson) because it’s a place where med students can actually have a roll in patient care.

And while treating the same homeless guy for alcoholic pancreatitis 4 Times in a month can be infuriating, helping someone in need, who really has nowhere else to go is profoundly rewarding. The other day I helped one of my patients get a Jackson card (free healthcare for those in need) so they could have a hysterectomy for painful uterine fibroids. You won’t see that stuff in a lot of places.

What is the relevance of the difficulty of residencies to a medical student? If you don't stay at that institution, isn't it irrelevant? Am I missing something? (Does it mean rotations are more difficult during the 3rd year or something?)

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[medschoolzombie]

What is the relevance of the difficulty of residencies to a medical student? If you don't stay at that institution, isn't it irrelevant? Am I missing something? (Does it mean rotations are more difficult during the 3rd year or something?)

Well part of it is the fact that even if you’re not a resident you’re still gonna have to deal with any potential problems that can occur there as a med student since you’ll be rotating there. The effects of Rotating with miserable/overworked residents will always trickle down to the med students.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when it comes time to applying for residencies, most people apply to their home institution really either as a backup or their primary choice. If it’s really that difficult then that may not be a welcoming environment

 

[med_cow_2019]

Not sure if this is what OP means, but I think it’s that residencies at Jackson/UM are notoriously difficult. The hospital here is not an academic ivory tower by any stretch - it’s a county hospital that is serving a gigantic underserved population. This has pros and cons, but it means the hours can be long, the system somewhat inefficient, and the patients not always the most rewarding.

Personally I’d rather have a training site that is up to its ears in sick patients (like Jackson) because it’s a place where med students can actually have a roll in patient care.

And while treating the same homeless guy for alcoholic pancreatitis 4 Times in a month can be infuriating, helping someone in need, who really has nowhere else to go is profoundly rewarding. The other day I helped one of my patients get a Jackson card (free healthcare for those in need) so they could have a hysterectomy for painful uterine fibroids. You won’t see that stuff in a lot of places.

I mean, I think it really depends on what your interests are. Some people like a challenge, and also, just food for thought, some people might also find the homeless alcoholic "someone in need, who really has nowhere else to go"...

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

What is the relevance of the difficulty of residencies to a medical student? If you don't stay at that institution, isn't it irrelevant? Am I missing something? (Does it mean rotations are more difficult during the 3rd year or something?)

Well part of it is the fact that even if you’re not a resident you’re still gonna have to deal with any potential problems that can occur there as a med student since you’ll be rotating there. The effects of Rotating with miserable/overworked residents will always trickle down to the med students.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when it comes time to applying for residencies, most people apply to their home institution really either as a backup or their primary choice. If it’s really that difficult then that may not be a welcoming environment

Good train of thought. Difficult residencies can have a number of pros and cons. Also it’s important to note that not all the residencies are “difficult”.

Let’s take 2 examples:
1) you could end up on a team of residents Who are overworked and stressed out. You ask them to teach you how to read an EKG but they don’t have time. You sit there and wait for someone talk to you, but everyone is running around doing things, so you end up just browsing SDN on your phone.

2) you’re on a team of residents who are overworked and stressed out. You show up, and immediately offer to call social work for the patient held up at discharge. You run down to the floor and see why your patients 10am labs didn’t get drawn. You write a great progress note so your intern can copy/paste it into the file and leave 15 minutes early. They are very greatful for your contribution for the team, so over lunch the resident sits down with you and shows you their technique to read an EKG. The intern has some spare time now, so they show you how to do a new physical exam maneuver (which you can use to impress the attending on rounds later). And the attending is happy that the team is moving quickly, so you get a good Evaluation.

Difficult residencies make for stressed residents, but also residents that will LOVE you if you help them.

IMO the worst thing in the world is an indifferent resident. A resident who just doesn’t need you has no incentive to teach or involve the med student in care.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

I mean, I think it really depends on what your interests are. Some people like a challenge, and also, just food for thought, some people might also find the homeless alcoholic "someone in need, who really has nowhere else to go"...

Lmao that’s what I was going for.

 

[circulatorytraveller95]

Does the clinical experience for the first question in the secondary have to involve shadowing/volunteering?

 

[med_cow_2019]

Lmao that’s what I was going for.

Ohhh, gotcha, my apologies, I read your previous post as comparing that patient to the one you helped later in the paragraph! Glad to see that's the mentality at Miami though!! Makes me want to go even more...

 

[Boola Boy]

Just finished this secondary. I would love to go hear, so I'mma have someone check it first.

Sucks to wait, but I suppose this is why you pre-write. Better to have a polished secondary with few mistakes than a sloppy early secondary.

Good luck everyone!

 

[wesleysnipes]

who else has not gotten the secondary email yet?

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Does the clinical experience for the first question in the secondary have to involve shadowing/volunteering?

Disclaimer - I don’t speak for UM and if you have questions it’s always better to ask them directly.

Imo, I think the main point of the question is to get you to discuss clinical experiences. Those could be from volunteering, shadowing, work, etc. When I was applying my rule of thumb was that if I was around patients, then it was clinical. For example my hospital used to hold cooking classes where doctors and other hospital workers (like me) could cook healthy food with patients. I called that clinical, even though it wasn’t really patient care.

Ohhh, gotcha, my apologies, I read your previous post as comparing that patient to the one you helped later in the paragraph! Glad to see that's the mentality at Miami though!! Makes me want to go even more...

No you’re totally right - reading it now it sounds more like a comparison. Writing has never been my strong suit lol.

 

[volacrity]

Can we abbreviate Miami's school name with UM in the secondary?

 

[Lucky Day]

Can we abbreviate Miami's school name with UM in the secondary?

They use UMMSM in correspondences.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

They use UMMSM in correspondences.

Yea this is how they usually address the school (UMMSM)

My personal and completely unsupported opinion is that UM SOM is a much better acronym, only because an attending at another school once thought I was some sort of masters student (UM MSM) thanks to my email signature

 

[MIfutballfan]

who else has not gotten the secondary email yet?

Me

 

[JugglesMed]

Wow this is a long secondary. Hoping to submit by tomorrow

 

[CheeseIsLife]

Wow this is a long secondary. Hoping to submit by tomorrow

Lol I'm hoping to start writing it by tomorrow.

 

[Snickerdoodle1996]

Should research experience be included within the clinical experience section?

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Probably varies depending on the type of research.

This is just me, but I did some research in a lab working with C elegans - I didn’t list that as clinical. I also had a research project that involved reviewing patients charts and working with various hospital employees (pathologists mostly), which I considered clinical.

Just trust your best judgment - thats usually the right answer

 

[SchwiftyRick]

Anybody else unable to login to the portal to check on application status?

 

[WorkandPork]

application has been reviewed!

 

[Blob_459]

Anybody else unable to login to the portal to check on application status?

Nope I can still login with their initial link, using my AMCAS ID and DOB. I'd just give it a day and try later and if you still have problems give them a call :/

 

[mizcracker1212]

application has been reviewed!

When did you submit your secondary?

 

[WorkandPork]

When did you submit your secondary?

july 10th

 

[Blob_459]

july 10th

Wait reviewed as in you got an interview/were rejected or just that it says your application has been reviewed?

 

[Reader88]

For the chronological lists of activities, are you all putting descriptions too or just titles of activities?

 

[prospmedstud18]

Has anyone figured out anything about the formatting issues? When I check out the preview, all my paragraphs are combined into one. Is there a way to fix this or is that just how it is?

 

[ZukosRedemption]

Where's the link to submit the pic. It says on instructions that the link in the secondary app but I can't seem to find it.

 

[JMS54]

Where's the link to submit the pic. It says on instructions that the link in the secondary app but I can't seem to find it.

When you finish the application, go back into it you will see a prompt to load the picture

 

[volacrity]

For the lists of shadowing and volunteering, how specific should we be?

 

[Snickerdoodle1996]

For the chronological order of activities if one is still current but started before another activity how should that be listed? For example, if I started something in 2014 that is still current how would that be listed in comparison to something I did in 2016?

 

[Snickerdoodle1996]

For the lists of shadowing and volunteering, how specific should we be?

Wondering the same thing. I didn't put any info yet but I'm not sure if it is needed.

 

[bsizzle44]

For the chronological lists of activities, are you all putting descriptions too or just titles of activities?

I also have the same question!

 

[imdrbrightside]

For the chronological order of activities if one is still current but started before another activity how should that be listed? For example, if I started something in 2014 that is still current how would that be listed in comparison to something I did in 2016?

I currently have mine organized by start date!

 

[imdrbrightside]

I also have the same question!

I put ~one sentence describing the activity.

 

[Snickerdoodle1996]

I put ~one sentence describing the activity.

I put ~one sentence describing the activity.

It's going to be pretty much the description from my amcas!

 

[Snickerdoodle1996]

I also have the same question!

I'm not sure if its necessary. I typed some info with mine but it seemed a bit redudant since it said the same as my amcas

 

[Blob_459]

I just put one sentence explaining what I did/ the organizations goal.

 

[LeGOATJames23]

For those that had their application marked as "reviewed," did Casper already send your scores over?

 

[dyingtobemd23]

For those that had their application marked as "reviewed," did Casper already send your scores over?

Not mine! Mine is marked as reviewed, but I only took CASPer last weekend so it won’t be sent to schools until July 29th (that’s 3 weeks).

 

[McDreamer91]

Anyone else who still hasn't gotten the secondary?

 

[swu96]

the first secondary question is really getting under my skin.

"1. Briefly describe the one clinical experience you have had that has most significantly influenced your decision to study medicine. Do not replicate your AMCAS personal statement."

i wrote my personal statement about the clinical experience that made me want to be a doctor, and now the secondary is asking me which experience made me want to be a doctor, but don't replicate my personal statement? does that mean i can't talk about the same experience, or just that i should talk about it in a different way? i worked full-time at this experience for 6 months, so it's definitely the job i had that most cemented my desire to go into medicine.

 

[yakarma11]

I just talked about a clinical experience that reinvigorated my decision to do medicine.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

the first secondary question is really getting under my skin.

"1. Briefly describe the one clinical experience you have had that has most significantly influenced your decision to study medicine. Do not replicate your AMCAS personal statement."

i wrote my personal statement about the clinical experience that made me want to be a doctor, and now the secondary is asking me which experience made me want to be a doctor, but don't replicate my personal statement? does that mean i can't talk about the same experience, or just that i should talk about it in a different way? i worked full-time at this experience for 6 months, so it's definitely the job i had that most cemented my desire to go into medicine.

So this is a tough one. My guess is that this is meant to capture people who wrote their PS about something other than a discrete clinical experience (like a personal experience with an illness for example).

My PS was all about a clinical experience I had, so for that question I focused in on a more specific aspect of that experience. I discussed the story of a specific patient (hipaa compliant obviously) and how it made me want to emulate that physician. I also took it as an opportunity to tailor my response to Miami, focusing in on how one of the pathways they offer would fit well with that experience.

 

[MomJeansandDadJorts]

So this is a tough one. My guess is that this is meant to capture people who wrote their PS about something other than a discrete clinical experience (like a personal experience with an illness for example).

My PS was all about a clinical experience I had, so for that question I focused in on a more specific aspect of that experience. I discussed the story of a specific patient (hipaa compliant obviously) and how it made me want to emulate that physician. I also took it as an opportunity to tailor my response to Miami, focusing in on how one of the pathways they offer would fit well with that experience.

Yeah mine was a little about clinical but mostly about advocacy so I think this is why they do it. But also Im guessing many people have a most meaningful experience related to clinical medicine so idk. Are they asking more along the lines of 1 specific experience within an EC or just the EC in general?

 

[ME1221]

Anyone else who still hasn't gotten the secondary?

crying every day

 

[pmcojm]

crying every day

No secondary here either, and I was verified more than two weeks ago. No idea why.

 

[medstu504]

Has anyone figured out the formatting issue. All my essays and lists are one big paragraph when I check the preview

 

[Blob_459]

Has anyone figured out the formatting issue. All my essays and lists are one big paragraph when I check the preview

I remember fiddling around with that before I submitted but I couldn't get it to have paragraph breaks :/

 

[milgauss17]

Submitted secondary yesterday and then had trouble getting back in. Today I got back in fine, uploaded my photo and now the portal says my application is currently under review

 

[ME1221]

No secondary here either, and I was verified more than two weeks ago. No idea why.

yeah i was verified day 1 and got their "we received your app and will make a decision about sending you a secondary shortly" July 2..
trying to think it just gives me leeway on how soon I need to submit (with the multitude of other secondaries I'm writing) but still fond of this school and wanted to be complete early...