Pre-med Discussion (Part 1)

Pre-med Discussion / Q & A: (Part 1)

1.    I’m planning on taking the MCAT in 2013. While I’m on my winter break, should I start studying now?

Great question.  First, it kind of depends. That is, it depends on when you’ll be taking the MCAT. If you’ve signed up (or are planning to sign up) for one of the earlier dates (Jan or March) then yes, I’d suggest that you get started now.

With that being said however, don’t inundate yourself with studying either. You no doubt just got through with another challenging semester; give yourself a little break. The most important advice I can give you though is to make a schedule for yourself and stick to it. For example, give yourself a break through Jan 6^th and start your MCAT prep on Jan 7^th. Don’t have the ambiguity of whether or not you’re going to study looming over your head. Have a plan and stick to it.

I found some helpful online study schedules that I followed for my prep. I’d be happy to email you them if you are interested.

2.    Hi Joe, I want to take the MCAT next year, but I don’t know the testing dates.

Hi, the AAMC posts the official testing dates on their website (aamc.org). Not all testing sites have every date available however, so you’ll want to look up the nearest testing site(s) to verify.

No site will have the reverse though; that is, no testing site will offer MCAT examinations on days that are not listed on the AAMC calendar. Hope that helps. I’ve also included the direct link for the official AAMC 2013 MCAT calendar below.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/258544/data/2013-mcat-exam-schedule-us-canada.pdf

3.    Did you use an MCAT prep company? If so, which one? Did you like them?

I did use a prep group. I went with Kaplan for a number of reasons but the primary reason was that I wanted a scheduled, structured setting and one that would afford me direct (face-face) contact with the instructors. The Kaplan course also offered unlimited access to the official AAMC exams and an online Q-bank, which I really enjoyed.

With that being said however, I was not 100% satisfied with their program. I definitely prefer the Examkrackers (EK) lesson books over the Kaplan prep materials. EK just seemed to “speak my language”, if you understand what I mean. I would read a passage on circuits for example, shake my head in confusion in a “what the hell do you mean Bernoulli?! ” sort of moment and boom. After the passage, a little saltine cracker cartoon would break down the passage in clear, easy to read prose. Kaplan seemed (to me) to follow a shotgun approach, whereby they’d throw everything at you but the kitchen sink, rather than delivering a clear and concise set of principles to follow. Just my take anyway…

4.    What about extracurriculars? What should I do and when?

You ask me excellent, excellent question Mr. Dan Malone  (sorry, Iron Sheik reference there). The Readers Digest version of my answer is this – do what you are passionate about. I loved pro wrestling. That’s what I did for many, many years. In fact, ¾ of my personal statement is about my career in the wrestling biz.

Don’t do something just to check a box. Application committees see right through it. Plus, if you don’t enjoy it, odds are you are going to do a lousy job and have a poor experience. 

When Tragedy Strikes...

Thank you all for joining us last evening....we are profoundly saddened, as many of us are. Alexia and I hope that you will join us by keeping the victims and their families in our thoughts and prayers.

A special thanks to St. Michaels Church for hosting us last evening and to those who turned out in support.

Fox 40 News Report

News 10 Report

Personal Genomics and Obamacare: Medicine of the Future

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act earlier this year and the re-election of President Obama last month; it appears as if we are indeed on a precipice of a drastic shift in focus with regard to how medicine is practiced in this country. In the coming years there will be a dramatic emphasis in the area of preventative medicine with respect to patient care. That is, rather than simply educating patients about their disease and effectively treating their symptoms, under Obamacare, physicians and other healthcare providers will be rewarded in the form of financial incentives and rewards for keeping patients healthy! What a concept.

With this new focal point however, some important discussions need to be had. Many people are unaware that current technology exists that could in fact help identify pre-cursor markers, or genomic “red flags” for various diseases and ailments. For example, mutations in the BRCA family of genes could indicate that a person is more susceptible to various breast and or ovarian cancers. The question then becomes – do you want to know what secrets lie within your own genetic makeup? And how can this information be best utilized for you and your family? These sorts of questions has led to a relatively new branch of biotechnology and medicine called “Genetic counseling”, whereby trained medical professionals help to review potential preventative treatment options for the patient and their family.  

Since the initial completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) in 2003, there has been a race in the bioinformatics and related industries to learn more about how to synthesize this vast amount of genomic data into information that can help improve (and impact) the lives of humankind. Personal genomics groups such as 23andMe, Illumina and others are looking to do just that. For a not-so-nominal fee, of anywhere from $399-$499+ one could send a sample of their saliva in order to obtain the percentage risk of the expression of diseases and traits ranging from chronic migraines to Colorectal Cancer and everywhere in between.

            The potential benefits of having this information at your disposal are almost limitless. Should this technology become readily available, the growing discussion of personalized medicine could come to fruition. The conceivable implications of this would be that your physician could personally tailor his or her treatment based on your personal genome in order to optimize your results and minimize adverse reactions. Can you imagine the decrease in healthcare costs in this country if we were able to eliminate the current pharmaceutical cost that goes into the constant search for the next “magic bullet” or “miracle pill” that will treat its target ailment with limited side effects? With personalized medicine, physicians would be able to completely sidestep this “trial and error” process and jump right into the optimization of patient health and safety. With the seemingly endless list of benefits, there are of course risks and concerns with regard to this process.

            One of the major concerns with regard to personal genomics is the fear that insurers will be able to get a hold of your genetic information to determine whether you are a financial “risk” to them. There is some legitimate concern here as currently there are no provisions against such practice.  Currently the U.S. federal legislation has only enacted the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), signed into law on May 21, 2008, which currently only protects employee’s from their employer using ones personal genome as a criteria for hire or salary. The current verbiage does not address exclusion criteria afforded to health or life insurance companies however.  With the available information however, the potential risks and benefits, I for one am all for it.

            The Personal Genome Project (PGP) headed by Dr. George Church at Harvard’s School of Medicine is seeking volunteers through an open-ended research project that will collect the genomes of participants in order to better understand the traits and characteristics that contribute to human disease. Participants agree to have their genome sequenced and available for public viewing on the World Wide Web. For those whom are apprehensive about this practice but wish to have their genome sequenced, currently their best option would be to fork out the cash for private screening.

I for one feel that the old adage of “knowledge is power” reigns more true than ever here. If I am at risk for Parkinson’s, Prostate Cancer or Rheumatoid Arthritis for example, I’d like to take the necessary preventative measures and treatments now in order to reduce my incidence of their expression.  This technology can be an incredibly useful and potentially revolutionary tool in the field of medicine and research. It is going to be incredibly exciting to see how it is incorporated into the new vision of preventative medicine under Obamacare going forward.