Special MCAT Testing Conditions

[KLeigh]

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Hi all,
I just wanted to get people's opinions on the Americans with Disabilities Act providing MCAT test-takers with special testing conditions. I don't want to start any arguments 😛 , I just wanted to know what the test-takers as well as the admissions committees think about this. I am NOT planning to apply for special test-taking conditions, even though I have ADHD, because I do believe that part of the MCAT score includes the analysis of a person's ability to work quickly and effectively, regardless of nearby distractions and the pressure of time-limits. That's not to say that I would look down upon someone who requested special conditions--in fact, I'd like to hear the opinions of anyone supporting this act just as much as I want to hear from those who do not. And please be kind--I know this could be a touchy subject!

 

[DrBowtie]

Seems as though people with mental or behavioral problems shouldn't be given extra time to think about questions. It is the test that often determines who will be giving care to the next crop of patients. Medicine requires good decision making skills and often the decisions must be made under the pressure of time. You can't ask a dying patient to hold on so you can figure things out.

KLeigh, I applaud you for realizing that you will need get over this at some point so why not start now.

Edit: After posting this I realize it will probably be heavily flamed but, I guess I'll take the heat.

 

[chaeymaey]

One my friends was taking the MCAT at the same place as me and we were talking about this as we waited in line. She has dyslexia and she was saying that she didn't feel that it would be right if she registered as disabled because all throughout school she has been trained to deal with it, so why should the MCAT be any different? I have never been in this situation myself, but I understood her rationale.

 

[xxbruinxx]

hi

i had a brain tumor as a child....i underwent surgery, and everything was taken care of.

i do get extra time on tests at my school, however, did not get extra time on the MCAT b/c i didn't want to go through the entire process.

i realize they need to verify the disability, but at the same time, they make it the process too difficult

 

[Megalofyia]

Something that peopel should be aware of is that if you do take the test with accomodations the schools will know this.

This isn't the case with other standardized exams like the SAT and GRE.

Aside from that the MCAT is a ******ed test that neither says how well you will do in medical school nor what sort of doctor you will be. All together it matters as much as a rat's ass how you take the test; there are other things that are far more important.

 

[USArmyDoc]

I think extra time for a disabled student is beneficial. If that person has a serious problem, how could the be judged on the same level field as the person who does not? From personal experience, I have nuerological problems (to put it lightly) and I was granted extra time. Consecutively, on every test, I would suffer from seizures. We all know how time restrained we are to begin with, try having two seizures in the PS section and let me know how much time you really have to perform and perform well. Just my opinion.

 

[USArmyDoc]

Brett,
I respect your opinion and everyone else's opinion in this forum. However, with all due respect, I think that what you said was a little ignorant. How would you feel if someone told you that because of a disability you have you cannot apply to medical school. Discrimination? Maybe, maybe not. I do not want to start a flame war, I am just stating my opinion as you have stated yours. Good day guys.....

 

[DrBowtie]

Brett,
I respect your opinion and everyone else's opinion in this forum. However, with all due respect, I think that what you said was a little ignorant. How would you feel if someone told you that because of a disability you have you cannot apply to medical school. Discrimination? Maybe, maybe not. I do not want to start a flame war, I am just stating my opinion as you have stated yours. Good day guys.....

Of course extra time for a disabled student is beneficial, as extra time for any student is beneficial. The point of the MCAT is to be used as a factor in judging a person academic record. It helps compare a person with a 3.2 and a 3.6 from different schools with different levels of grade inflation. It is a standardized test meaning that the protocals and materials are the same nationwide. Extra time definitely is an advantage and therefore detracts from the validity. It would be unrealistic to gauge your competitiveness amongst other candidates.

There is a difference between a limited disability and not meeting technical standards. I assume by your handle you are familiar with the fact that not all people have the physical attributes to be in combat or a pilot. In your specific case, yes you might have the mental capacity to become a doctor from an intelligence perspective, but do you feel that having seizures would limit your practice?

If I was a patient, I would certainly not go to a doctor who continues to have seizures. I would not want the surgeon to have a seizure with scalpel in his hand cutting on me. Furthermore, even during consultation, I think a patient might be a little scared to come back if a seizure happened during a H&P.

I really don't consider this an elitist perspective (although some might) but there are some careers that one must objectively assess if their disability would endanger a patient.

 

[Megalofyia]

If I were an epileptic I'd actually probably prefer a neurologist who understood me from my perspective. USarmydoc never said he wanted to be a surgeon.. you are just pointing out extreme situations.. and as I said above the MCAT is still a lousy test at evaluating people. It doesn't really accurately evaluate two people; it's just convenient to say it does because it keeps things on an elitest level.

 

[DrBowtie]

An extreme situation? Everyone is SCHEDULED to go through a surgery rotation. Whether or not this person is excused is another matter.

 

[Megalofyia]

He doesn't DO the surgery.. have you ever seen med students ACTUALLY do surgery? Maybe they stand there and hold a light or just watch. Last time I was shadowing a surgeon the students I was with just stood by the wall further away that I was. Shoot I got to do more than they did by being able to make a phone call for the surgeon.

 

[USArmyDoc]

Brett,
Right now I have uncontrollable seizures do to a traumatic head injury I suffered. They are, however, being slowly controlled on medication. So eventually it will all be fine. But it was necessary to get the extra time so I am not at a disadvantage to the rest of you guys. Brett, is that what you would like for me to be at a disadvantage? Regardless of how you feel, epilepsy is not a disqualifier for a doctor.

 

[DrBowtie]

I feel that it would not be an equalizer but an advantage...
If you didn't have a seizure during the test then why would you need extra time?

 

[ThePersianJew]

Of course extra time for a disabled student is beneficial, as extra time for any student is beneficial. The point of the MCAT is to be used as a factor in judging a person academic record. It helps compare a person with a 3.2 and a 3.6 from different schools with different levels of grade inflation. It is a standardized test meaning that the protocals and materials are the same nationwide. Extra time definitely is an advantage and therefore detracts from the validity. It would be unrealistic to gauge your competitiveness amongst other candidates.

There is a difference between a limited disability and not meeting technical standards. I assume by your handle you are familiar with the fact that not all people have the physical attributes to be in combat or a pilot. In your specific case, yes you might have the mental capacity to become a doctor from an intelligence perspective, but do you feel that having seizures would limit your practice?

If I was a patient, I would certainly not go to a doctor who continues to have seizures. I would not want the surgeon to have a seizure with scalpel in his hand cutting on me. Furthermore, even during consultation, I think a patient might be a little scared to come back if a seizure happened during a H&P.

I really don't consider this an elitist perspective (although some might) but there are some careers that one must objectively assess if their disability would endanger a patient.

First, you should perhaps, as trite as it sounds, "put yourself in someone else's shoes." I don't think anyone who is privleged enough to have their health untouched with disease, physical or mental, has merit to say disabled individuals shouldnt have extra time or special accomodations on the MCAT. That's why special acccomodations do in fact exist, because disabled persons must face extra barriers that we do not. Thus, extra accomodations serve as a tool to even out the playing field.

Brett, I can understand your reluctance to visit a physician who you may believe has limited ability because of his condition. Ironically enough, it is such doctors that can better understand their patients and connect with them since they themselve have suffered and endured the patient role. So, call me crazy, but I wouldn't mind visiting a doctor who has endured and prevailed cancer, diabetes, and any other multitudes of diseases. His/her experience allows him to inherently understand things going on in the body, and beyond the symptoms, into the patient's mind and perhaps heart... something which is hard to come by these days.

just my two cents

 

[HistoRocks]

First, you should perhaps, as trite as it sounds, "put yourself in someone else's shoes." I don't think anyone who is privleged enough to have their health untouched with disease, physical or mental, has merit to say disabled individuals shouldnt have extra time or special accomodations on the MCAT. That's why special acccomodations do in fact exist, because disabled persons must face extra barriers that we do not. Thus, extra accomodations serve as a tool to even out the playing field.

Brett, I can understand your reluctance to visit a physician who you may believe has limited ability because of his condition. Ironically enough, it is such doctors that can better understand their patients and connect with them since they themselve have suffered and endured the patient role. So, call me crazy, but I wouldn't mind visiting a doctor who has endured and prevailed cancer, diabetes, and any other multitudes of diseases. His/her experience allows him to inherently understand things going on in the body, and beyond the symptoms, into the patient's mind and perhaps heart... something which is hard to come by these days.

just my two cents

Yeah, that is so true. They may be a wreck physically, and yet their mind has a heck of a determination, e.g. Lance Armstrong, Stephen Hawking. I know these ppl aren't doctors; just pointing out how determined some pplz r, physical disabilities notwithstanding.

 

[DrBowtie]

On my original post, I didn't include physical disabilities, but the discussion kinda evolved into that. I believe it is true that having a sharp mind is more important than a sharp body when it comes to medicine.

 

[USArmyDoc]

Brett,
During the exam I had three seizures, so the extra time allowed to give myself to calm down and recoup. Therefore, it is not an advantage but an equalizer. Sorry you disagree.


In addition, this will all be under control in the future so it will not be a factor (hopefully) in my life. However, right now it is.

 

[DrBowtie]

Army...I am not questioning that yes on that occasion it was the right thing.
I am saying that if you apply for extended time and don't have a seizure during the test, is that equal?

 

[USArmyDoc]

I agree with you Brett 100% then. It would be an advantage. But, with all honesty, it wasn't in my case. 🙁

 

[DrBowtie]

I'm glad we came to some conclusion...
I hope you get your condition under control and wish you good luck in this process/ career.

 

[HistoRocks]

Stephen Hawking actually said being confined to a wheelchair helped him with theoretical physics; because, according to him, its all theoretical reasoning anyway. Figures.

 

[USArmyDoc]

Thanks Brett....I appreciate it and hopefully it'll be gone soon.....And hopefully no one has to have anything happen to them that would cause something to happen. ALthough as a whole, I consider myself very lucky. 🙂

 

[KLeigh]

You guys have brought up some very good points. I think yours is an excellent example, Army, of a situation where extra time for an exam would be quite logical and neccessary. I will admit that I was somewhat closeminded about the idea of extra time for this exam, but one reason I started this post was that I really wanted to learn about people's experiences and thoughts. I think my ignorance led to some close-mindedness on my part, so I am really glad you shared your situation. Thanks, and best of luck to you!

Also, I defintely agree that it is helpful to have a healthcare professional who has endured disease (or illness, disability, etc.) him/herself, beceause it absolutely gives them an ability to empathize and reach a patient in a way others might not be able to. That is exactly why I want to go into psychiatry or neurology (that is, if I get into medical school when I start applying next year!). I'd love to work with adolescents who suffer from sleep disorders, ADHD, depression, and other psychiatric or neurologic disorders because I experienced a lot as a teenager, and remember how hard it was, and how frustrating it was if I wasn't taken seriously. I think understanding where a patient is coming from can be extremely helpful.

 

[USArmyDoc]

Thanks KLeigh, believe it or not hearing that coming from someone helps alot. It has not been the easiest time for me, but I will be fine. There is alot worse. Thank you 🙂