Random non-MCAT and only peripherally related to the MCAT thread - Part 3

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3rd time is a charm! 🙂 Welcome to the best thread on SDN: The Random Non-MCAT thread--PART 3!

This is a place to chill and talk about anything besides the MCAT. 😎



And remember......

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Arsenic said:
hey gujudoc! 😀

yeah, since miami is on a systems based curriculum (ie Renal, Respiratory, GI, etc..) and the pre-clinical shelves are only offered by discipline (ie Pathology, Physiology, Micro, etc...) we dont take the basic science shelves, only the clinical science ones. When we cover renal for example we do everything about the kidney together, path, phys, pharm, etc... so it wouldnt work. Too bad the NBME doesnt offer shelves by systems or I'm sure my school would make us take them. In a way I would like that more since we'd be taking step 1 practice questions from the first month of medical school.
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Yeah what USF does is have their classes organized as Physio, anat, etc.

But to make it systems based they have each system taught at the same time.

So for instance, if they have anatomy, histology, and physiology at the same time, then they'll learn about the cardiology part of that all at the same time and then when they start say endocrinology, they start that at the same time together for the 3 subjects but the 3 classes are still scheduled as being physiology, anatomy, and microscopic anatomy rather then as endocrinology or cardiology or whatever.
 
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AWhitehair said:
Yeah, sorry for that. I was in the middle of registering and I was freaking out a little. Needed advice ASAP...but I am good now. Taking it at UCF. I didn't know you took the MCAT twice?
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Hmmmm if you had PMd me I would have let you know how the USf site was.

USF site has small desks. Its in the LIF building on the top floor where there are small classroom desks and it is very cold so it is good to bring a jacket otherwise you'd be shivering. I never had bad proctors although others have had bad experience here.

The good test centers in the Tampa Bay region are actually at the sites that are built with specific areas which are meant only for standardized testing and those sites are usually at community colleges like the various HCC branches which give you big tables in which you can spread out and in which there are comy chairs and the proctors don't necessarily stay in the room because there are huge windows through which they can see you so they don't need to stay in the room.

I don't know anything about UF or UCF though.
 
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Arsenic said:
aww meg, no problem my friend. 🙂 i'm sorry, i had no idea what they were either before med school, i hadnt even heard about them. sorry! 😳

ok, so the national board of medical examiners (NBME) are the ones that make steps 1, 2, and 3. the NBME is basically to med students what the AAMC is to premeds. the NBME offers subject exams to medical schools that are called "shelf exams" by med students. those subject exams are suppose to model the format and content of how that subject will be tested on the steps. at my school we only use shelf exams during year 3 for pediatrics, OB/gyn, family medicine, psychiatry, internal medicine and surgery. Those are the only clinical subject exams offered by the NBME and we take them all. Our school uses our grade from those exams and factors that into our rotation grades. So my peds shelf grade will be a big chunk of my peds rotation grade. In a way I love these things because they force you to read the review books and answer USMLE questions from the beginning of 3rd year. All the clinical shelfs I'll take this year are basically identical to the content and style of the USMLE step 2 that I will take next summer.

Some schools like EvoDevo's at San Antonio use shelf exams for the basic sciences as well, so they take the shelf for Micro, Pharm, Physiology, Path, etc.... Those are similar to the content and style of step 1. My school didnt use them because we are on a systems based curriculum for the first 2 years and those shelfs are broken up by each individual science.

Only the USMLE Step 1, 2 and 3 are used for licensure. The shelves are just practice subject exams in a way, except that a lot of schools like mine use them as final exams pretty much so they are very important.
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Ooooohhhhhhh! I get it now. THANKS!
 
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YES!!!!!!!!! Hubby is on his way home!! :clap: So its cleaning up the house and packing.

I don't know my neighbors very well but I was going to let them know we'll be gone for 3 weeks so if they see anything strange they can call the police. I think I'm going to drop off my cell number as well. Would you guys do this? I mean I've talked to them. They seem nice. Its two men (whom we believe are a gay couple). But its not like we have a huge bonfire get-together each weekend 😛
 
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mshheaddoc said:
YES!!!!!!!!! Hubby is on his way home!! :clap: So its cleaning up the house and packing.

I don't know my neighbors very well but I was going to let them know we'll be gone for 3 weeks so if they see anything strange they can call the police. I think I'm going to drop off my cell number as well. Would you guys do this? I mean I've talked to them. They seem nice. Its two men (whom we believe are a gay couple). But its not like we have a huge bonfire get-together each weekend 😛
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:hardy:

i'd tell them mush.
 
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mshheaddoc said:
So you packed up A?


I'm so excited to be going home for a few weeks! I'm supposed to stop by Misty's house on the way home, but I haven't heard from her. She works alot and is studying for MCAT in Aug too!
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no way mush :laugh:

i've been listing my step 1 books and some other books from 1st and 2nd year on half.com
 
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Arsenic said:
yeah, since miami is on a systems based curriculum (ie Renal, Respiratory, GI, etc..) and the pre-clinical shelves are only offered by discipline (ie Pathology, Physiology, Micro, etc...) we dont take the basic science shelves, only the clinical science ones. When we cover renal for example we do everything about the kidney together, path, phys, pharm, etc... so it wouldnt work. Too bad the NBME doesnt offer shelves by systems or I'm sure my school would make us take them. In a way I would like that more since we'd be taking step 1 practice questions from the first month of medical school.
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You know, I had no idea until just now that there was such a thing as a pre-clinical shelf. I have never heard of these. We had a disciplined based pre-clinical schedule, but didn't take them.

I thought that the shelf exams were a billion times harder than the boards. The questions you will have on peds on Step 2 won't be nearly as difficult as what you had today. That was my impression anyway.
 
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beary said:
You know, I had no idea until just now that there was such a thing as a pre-clinical shelf. I have never heard of these. We had a disciplined based pre-clinical schedule, but didn't take them.

I thought that the shelf exams were a billion times harder than the boards. The questions you will have on peds on Step 2 won't be nearly as difficult as what you had today. That was my impression anyway.
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sounds great, some of those questions were straight up wtf stuff. it felt good to see some stuff that was right out of pre-test though. 😀 how long did it usually take to get the shelf grades back beary?
 
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Arsenic said:
sounds great, some of those questions were straight up wtf stuff. it felt good to see some stuff that was right out of pre-test though. 😀 how long did it usually take to get the shelf grades back beary?
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It takes quite a while to get the shelf grades back. It actually was a huge problem for me because I did ob/gyn dead last (MSTP schedule screwup). And the med school wouldn't give me my degree until the shelf scores were back, which mean that the State of Michigan wouldn't start my licensing paperwork, etc. I think it took about 3 weeks.

Congrats on finishing peds!!

And happy weekend everybody!! :hardy: :clap:
 
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beary said:
It takes quite a while to get the shelf grades back. It actually was a huge problem for me because I did ob/gyn dead last (MSTP schedule screwup). And the med school wouldn't give me my degree until the shelf scores were back, which mean that the State of Michigan wouldn't start my licensing paperwork, etc. I think it took about 3 weeks.

Congrats on finishing peds!!

And happy weekend everybody!! :hardy: :clap:
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thats right..... i remember that. sorry beary but it all worked out in the end. 😀

3rd year has made me totally appreciate weekends. 😍 the first couple of weeks of peds had just 1 call night i think but i had been on a q4 call schedule for the past 4 weeks! OB only has TWO CALLS from what my friends tell me that just finished it but the daily hours suck, pretty much a 6 to 6 type of thing everyday for the next 6 weeks.
 
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Arsenic said:
OB only has TWO CALLS from what my friends tell me that just finished it but the daily hours suck, pretty much a 6 to 6 type of thing everyday for the next 6 weeks.
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Whoa! Do you have to do nights on L+D? That was the worst.
 
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WilliamsF1 said:
Man, all these talks about step/shelf and board exams always makes me think twice about going to medical school. 🙁 Sigh...
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dont be scared! med school is exactly that, school, so of course there are tests but at the end you're an MD! 😀 You'll be taking board exams until the day you die in medicine to recertify your license but it'll keep you sharp. man, all the docs i know that are 70+ and teaching/practicing are sharp as tacts! we had 3 of them on peds, 2 were sharp and 1 was brilliant.

in the end you have to really love it or you'll be miserable, i think thats why they make it so hard to get in with all those premed classes and then the mcat and interview trail. as much as i complain about it i would absolutely die if i couldnt finish med school, and not just because of the loans i'm in the hole for already either. 😉 😍
 
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Yep. I'm going to go for my masters too while I'm applying. Its a 2 yr program but its at my first choice school (and only choice probably) so I'm hoping I can finish while I'm in the program.

I will probably take it either April or August. I'm afraid August is too late to apply though ... but I'm taking a full load this year ... fall and spring.
 
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Apparently I got the neighbors mail today (and didn't get any mail for us 🙁 I'm worried it went next door and the house is vacant and they have a mail slot in the door *sobs* ) so I went over and talked ot them, gave them our number to call with any issues.


I'm thoroughly sick of firefox and not being able to copy into word. This just started happening a few months ago for me too 🙁 I'm in the process of switching to opera now.
 
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mshheaddoc said:
Apparently I got the neighbors mail today (and didn't get any mail for us 🙁 I'm worried it went next door and the house is vacant and they have a mail slot in the door *sobs* ) so I went over and talked ot them, gave them our number to call with any issues.


I'm thoroughly sick of firefox and not being able to copy into word. This just started happening a few months ago for me too 🙁 I'm in the process of switching to opera now.
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not even when you hold down control and c at the same time? try highlighting something and then hitting those 2, then control and v to paste into word.
 
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