1. You Can’t Learn Everything – Newsflash…there is a ton of material presented to you during medical school. It is hard to explain exactly how much to anyone who hasn’t gone through it. One of the hardest parts about first year was learning what exactly to learn/understand/memorize and what to…kind of ignore. At my school a lot of the lectures are given by PhD’s. This makes for interesting lectures, but also sometimes leads to a lot more information than is needed. I know I couldn’t possibly memorize everything, so I picked my battles carefully.

2. Don’t Buy All the Textbooks – The summer before school started we were given a list of “required” textbooks. I didn’t buy them all, but I did purchase a few in subjects I thought were going to be especially tough. Looking back, I didn’t really use them. There wasn’t much enough time, and pretty much everything I needed was in my syllabus and/or review books (speaking of review books, Board Review Series Physiology was a life saver and really cheap). My advice, find someone in the class ahead of you and ask what books you actually need. Otherwise save some of that loan money!

3. Medical School is Hard - It isn’t that the material is very hard, because to be honest, it really isn’t that bad. Although there is a ton of information (see #1), the hard parts of medical school might surprise you. School can take over your life, especially when exams are close. The studying, and grind of studying then seeps into other aspects of your life: relationships, working out, eating right, having fun, etc. all take a back seat to medical school. Unfortunately, I was definitely guilty of this sometimes during the past year.

3a. Medical School Is Hard Again - Oh yeah, even though living a balanced life is super important, medical school and studying is ever present. Feeling a little sick? Had a huge fight with your significant other? Too bad, you still need to study. Of course life happens and everyone takes days off, but med school is a huge commitment and a lot is expected of you no matter what is happening in your personal life.

4. Learning is Much Easier When It’s Interesting - Hopefully if you are going to medical school, learning about the workings and illnesses of the human body is interesting to you. Because that is exactly what med school is! I know that I was bored to death in some of my undergrad courses, especially if they didn’t really seem applicable to my interests (I’m looking at you organic chemistry!). However I found at least 90% of what we learned about this year fascinating.

5. I Kind of Hate Anatomy – For me, working on a human cadaver was “cool” for about a week. After that it became a pain and a time sink for me. I just couldn’t get excited by the subject. I felt like I was memorizing words and tiny details that I would never remember or use again. Anatomy also never came easy to me. It took me so much longer to learn anatomical structures than it did physiology or biochemical pathways.

6. Living > Working – There are some people in my class who eat, breathe, and sleep medicine. They spend most waking hours in the library…I am not one of those people. I have little interest in matching into dermatology or orthopedics and so I’m not worried about honoring every class. I know I picked the right field. I mostly love medical school and I am so excited for my future in this career. However at the end of the day, I want a fantastic life outside of the hospital. I want to travel the world and work to live, not live to work.

7. Do You – I was used to being one of the smartest people at my undergraduate. School (and A’s) came easily to me. Suddenly I was thrust into a situation where I was always surrounded by brilliant people. I am no longer the smartest person in my class, nor even close. I am proud that I never allowed this to bother me. The grades, study habits, and personalities of my classmates didn’t change the way I went about getting my work done. Being much closer to the average is a weird feeling at first.

8. Loans Suck – I don’t like worrying about how much money to take out each semester. I really hate thinking about how much debt I will have hanging over my head after I graduate. I know I will pay it off, I just don’t like it or the 6.8% interest rate.

9. Get Ready for These Questions – What kind of doctor are you going to be? Why does my _______ hurt? How many more years of school/training do you have? I think I got asked at least one of these questions every time someone found out I was in medical school.

I still can’t believe how much I learned in a year (or how I still really know nothing about medicine). It was the most difficult year of my life, but also the most rewarding. The year both flew by, and crawled along at a snail’s pace sometimes. I am so happy that I have a summer off to rebalance myself before second year and the weight of Step 1 scores. Most of all I am trying to enjoy the journey, not just looking towards the destination.

The post Thoughts About the First Year of Medical School appeared first on The Hero Complex.

I should probably step back and clarify that last statement. It is “probable” if you use the right MCAT prep materials, dedicate enough time to studying, take lots of practice tests, and have decent reading comprehension skills. Not too bad, right? Most people don’t study enough, or “study” by going to the library with a friend and flipping through a couple of random MCAT prep books. That doesn’t count. I am talking hours of intense, dedicated, active reading and studying. It is a lot of work, but there are a ton of resources to aid you in your quest.

I want to add a little sidenote before I start recommending MCAT prep materials. To be honest, this post began as a “rant” against enrolling in dedicated MCAT Preparation Courses. I think that the majority of students can tackle the MCAT more efficiently, and a lot more affordably than MCAT courses. All of the material on the MCAT should’ve been taught to you in your undergrad science prerequisites. If you don’t believe me, then follow this link to the content outlines for all of the MCAT subsections. The Association of American Medical Colleges tells you exactly what is on the test.

Kaplan charges $2,299 dollars for test-prep material which are mostly online (this includes diagnostic and practice tests), and 36-hours of classroom sessions. ExamKrackers on the other hand, comes in at $3,400 for a bunch of test-prep material, and 27-hours of classroom time. I don’t know about you, but that is a ton of money for my budget. Not to mention that just registering for the MCAT will cost you $270!

My point is that a lot of students don’t have this kind of money, and a ton of people don’t learn well in a classroom/lecture setting. If you can stay focused in the library, stick to a schedule, like working at your own pace, and are a self-motivater, than a $2,000+ prep course probably isn’t for you. A lot of my friends and classmates in college just assumed they needed the course and never broke 30. I studied on my own and scored a 37, which put me in the 98th percentile for all test takers. It is a personal decision, and with the right teacher and MCAT class can be great.

Anyways, without further ado, here are the MCAT prep materials I recommend using:

Content Review:

ExamKrackers Complete MCAT Study Package - I think this is the best content review out there. If you feel fairly strong about your science background, this is your best bet. If you are lacking in the sciences, than you probably should look into supplementing your content review with one of the following.

The Gold Standard MCAT

Kaplan MCAT Premier 2013-2014

Also check out my Anki MCAT flashcards. They are cheap, and contain over 600 vocabulary words to further ingrain knowledge into your brains for the test.

Practice Questions:

ExamKrackers 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning - My favorite MCAT prep book. These 14 practice exams are clutch for improving your verbal reasoning score. If you haven’t used this book before taking the test, you are doing yourself a disservice.

ExamKrackers also offers 1,001 discrete questions for each of the subjects. Here is physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, and biology.

Practice Tests:

The best practice tests are the ones you can buy directly from the AAMC. They are easy to buy, and should be saved for very last in your content review for the MCAT.

Gold Standard offers 10 practice tests for $150 dollars. I have written about these before, they are tough but really good practice for the real deal. I thought they really helped me raise my score a few points at the very end of my study period.

The post MCAT Prep Materials appeared first on The Hero Complex.

I was a patient transporter for awhile, and the Emergency Department (ED) was my favorite place to work in the hospital. This post is all about my future (knock on wood) specialty. 

In 1966, the National Academy of Sciences published the “Accidental Death and Disability, the Neglected Disease of Modern Society,” more commonly known as The White Paper. This influential report highlighted the poor state of emergency care in the United States. Shortly thereafter the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) was established with Dr. John Wiegenstein as the acting president. The ACEP worked to create a new specialty, along with a dedicated residency program…the idea for Emergency Medicine (EM) was born.

An educational program was developed including training material with the goal of attaining specialty board status and recognition. It seems simple now, but the idea that EM should be practiced by board-certified EM physicians was a foreign concept just 30 years ago. In the late 60′s, Dr. Herbert Flessa applied to the AMA to start a new residency program (which interestingly fell under a family medicine residency) at the University of Cincinnati. A little trivia factoid for you: Dr. Bruce Janiak was the very first EM resident at Cincinnati in 1970.

Way back in the 1970s, the Los Angeles County, University of Southern California (LAC/USC) Medical Center was getting over 1,000 emergency visits per day. Something had to change, and the hospital came up with a great answer. They decided to create the very first Department of Emergency Medicine, and Dr. Gail Anderson was appointed chairman.

Since then, EM has come a long way. It is its own recognized medical specialty. EM residencies are 3 or 4 years in length, and there are over 150 different programs in the United States. Now there are even 1-2 year fellowships available for sub-specialization. These include: hospice/palliative medicine, medical toxicology, pediatric EM, sports medicine, hyperbaric medicine, and more.

One of my favorite aspects about EM is that it is shift work. That is, doctors know their exact schedule for the coming months, and they never take their work home with them. Most hospitals have shifts that are 8 to 12 hours long. From talking with EM physicians and reading the SDN forum; it is recommended that EM docs work around 40 hours a week or so (avoiding burnout).

I love the camaraderie of the ER. I really feel like it is one of the places in every hospital where nurses, technicians, doctors, social works, and administrators all like each other. You have to work well with others (think team sports), and have a sense of humor about things.

My favorite thing about EM is that it is a combination of thinking and using your hands. I want to be a “Jack of all trades” (or if you are negative a “master of nothing” haha). EM is all about breadth of knowledge rather than depth in any single specialty. Quickly diagnosing someone is crucial, especially if the problem is life threatening. However, as an ER doc you also get to perform some cool procedures. Airway management is paramount, which can involve intubation and sedation. Lumbar punctures, sutures, ultrasound guided central line placements, NG tube insertion, arthrocentesis, defibrillation, and putting in chest tubes are just some of the examples. For something a bit more intense (and very rare) check out an emergency thoracotomy **warning graphic picture**

Also awesome…the job pays quite well. According to the AAMC, the annual salary ranges from $239,000–$316,296. Take a look at the graph from MDsalaries.com for even more information.

I think that an ability to think quickly and care for a wide variety of patients including trauma victims and sick children is required in this profession. Generally EM docs are calm under pressure, and have a variety of interests in and outside of medicine. I have found that I have loved bits and pieces of every specialty and body system we have learned about so far in medical school. Also on a sidenote, I have always wanted to be the guy in the crowd that can answer the call when someone yells “Is anyone a doctor?!” If this sounds like you, EM may be something you want to research further.

However, Emergency Medicine does not come without its disadvantages…

• The ER is open 24/7, 365 days a year. That means you will be working on Christmas or your birthday some years. 
• No Follow-Ups – This isn’t the specialty for you if you care about continuity of care. There is no getting to know your patients on a deeply personal level, or seeing little Johnny grow up and get married.
• Pressure – Is that patient you sent home with “heartburn” having a massive coronary? Can you handle multiple crashing patients and their families. Chances are you will see death, child abuse, and other terrible things on a regular basis.
• Circadian Rhythm Disturbances – Some shifts may be like a traditional work day, however you will work overnight or during other awkward hours. Constantly changing your sleep schedule can leave you tired and grumpy.
• Drug Seekers – Every ER has “regulars” that come in with vague symptoms to game the system and get high on narcotics.
• Working in a Fish Bowl – The ER is the entrance gate for the hospital. That means that if you admit a patient, every doctor that comes into contact with the patient afterwards will be evaluating and judging your workup of said patient.

The post Emergency Medicine appeared first on The Hero Complex.

The following is an anonymous submission from a member of the Student-Doctor Network forum. I thought it was helpful, poignant, and made for some thoughtful discussion:

This semester I served as an interviewer at a multiple mini interview (MMI) for medical school applicants. Just one year prior, I was the one sitting outside the door, with my fingers crossed that I would do well. Flash forward back to the present, and I was slightly preoccupied with my first medical school exam coming up and also struggling to use my stethoscope (my hands make too much noise and I can barely hear a heartbeat . . . oh yeah, and I had to remember which side of the stethoscope to use – diaphragm or bell). In one year I went from the hopeful interviewee to the intimidating interviewer.

As I looked across the room at the faces of some of the premeds, I saw some of the different phases that I went through as a premed. I saw my hopeful stage, my panic stage, my robotic-MCAT stage, and my feeling-awesome stage. The luxury of this hindsight urged me to share the lessons that I had learned as a struggling premed.

One piece of advice that I want to share is my tortuous relationship with hope. It is a delightful mistress to cling to, and a dangerous cliff to drop from. Hope can be a danger if you abuse it. Please be cautious of how many eggs you put in the hope basket. When I first committed be being a “pre-med,” my blind ambition made me avoid confronting my weaknesses and become confident in a house built in a weak foundation. I used hope as justification for actions that were ill-advised, and to allow myself to take shortcuts.

This behavior caused me to take the MCAT pre-maturely and do poorly. I used hope to deny my academic need for help. I was bad at the verbal section so I made myself believe that admissions staff did not care about this section. I hoped and prayed for this enough, and actually convinced myself that verbal was useless. Therefore, I half-heartedly studied for verbal, focusing on BS and PS. I was in denial and ill-prepared but blinded by my own ill-placed positivity.

When I took my first MCAT I came home and basically didn’t talk to anyone for a day. I felt like I was a derailed train. When I emerged from my fetal position I dragged out the “H”-word again. I again started to convince myself….”Maybe I will be lucky. Maybe I managed to guess the hard questions correctly. Maybe I did better than what my gut is telling me.” I crawled through the SDN forums looking for affirmation that I had done OK.

As you can imagine, hope was not enough…at all.

When the miserable month of waiting was over and I opened my score and was deflated. Hope (ignorance?) had failed me. I earned a 26 on the most crucial test of my life. Unsurprisingly, I scored a 7 in verbal. This automatically discounted me from several schools that required minimum subsection scores of 8 or above on all sections.

Well what about the rest of my application? At this stage I had one academic letter from a community college lecturer, I had a year of hospital volunteering and I had some work as a home care aid. I had no research, no leadership roles, and no awesome pre-med accomplishments on my resume. My GPA was acceptable, but I had a few low grades that were also reflected in my MCAT score. I had pegged a lot on my MCAT. I hoped that someone would still see me, wringing my hands with my less than stellar application, and know that I was worth it.

Because of this behavior I wasted money on an application cycle that I was clearly not competitive in. I had pegged so much hope on my first MCAT that when I finally admitted defeat the disappointment was almost paralyzing. I nearly gave up.

Hope did not bring me here. Hard work and persistence dragged me through the MCAT, twice. Passion and enthusiasm connected me with research and work opportunities. Confidence brought me success in my classes and my interviews…Hope almost dropped me out of the race.

Hope gives you the boost to move forward in the arduous path to medical school, but you certainly can’t hope/pray your way to an acceptance. Use it to stay positive, but don’t hide behind it. Identify your mistakes, weaknesses and then use motivation to strategize solutions. As one of my mentors told me, “Hope without action is not enough for this process.”

Hope is a tool, but do not abuse it. Trust in hard work and smart preparation to get you into medical school.

The post Hope and Getting into Medical School appeared first on The Hero Complex.

The Intern Blues: The Timeless Classic About the Making of a Doctor is the collection of feelings, lessons, and travails from young doctors: Andy, Amy, and Mark as they reveal their own very personal, and gut wrenching monthly narratives of how they survived their intern year. Robert Marion (Bob) collects these notes and also makes monthly comments about the interns, or interjects commentary about his own intern year.

If you didn’t know, an “intern” is a first year resident. Almost immediately after graduating medical school and finally earning that M.D., young men and women are thrown into the hospital to begin their grueling training. Interns may work 80 hours a week or more, and are expected to perform at the highest level or risk harming patients.

These interns are specializing in pediatrics. We hear such stories as a 13-year-old rape victim, children suffering injuries from exploding firecrackers, and perfectly healthy adolescents being suddenly diagnosed with leukemia. These interns don’t just deal with patients and their families. They also have to learn to negotiate with nurses and medical technicians, and survive being supervised by chief residents and attendings.

“I’m going to kill them, I’m going to kill them all!  I was on last night and today was the worst day of my internship.  It’s bad enough spending the night running from room to room trying to keep twenty-eight babies from dying, but to do that and to have to spend the next day being nice to Rhonda and putting up with all the shit the chief residents are handing us, that’s a little too much.  So it looks like I’m going to have to kill everybody to get any peace.”   -A quote from Mark after only 2 months of his internship.

I would say it goes down hill from there…

Medical students should read this book so they can try to mentally prepare for their own year as an intern (if that is at all possible). This book touches on all the emotional highs and lows, the constant exhaustion, and the medical lessons interns will learn as they make the life and death decisions as a doctor.

Families and friends of interns should study this book so that they can help and not add to the intern’s burden. The mood swings, and little time available for family is a given. This book will hopefully enlighten family that is being ignored by, or being the target of emotional outbursts by their loved ones currently in such a program. It should not be taken personally.

I especially recommend any college students thinking of a medical career read this book.  You will find out that the process to be an M.D. is physically and mentally exhausting and exacting.  You will find out how tough it is to have those letters after your name, and just how much is expected of you. You can use this book as part of an educated decision on whether to undergo the medicine route.

Robert Marion closes the book by catching us up with all three interns ten years later, which is a great ending to a great book. The intern’s words have replayed over and over in my head since I finished the book over a week ago.  I recommend you listen to their stories.

The post The Intern Blues Book Review appeared first on The Hero Complex.

Using Anki in medical school is easy. It has worked wonders for my studying, and helped me honor over half of my courses. More importantly I am remembering information presented months ago, instead of forgetting everything right after the test.

My study skills from high school and college were not up to par for medical school. I knew this, and wanted to make a change before starting med school. I didn’t want to waste my precious time on inefficient study methods, nor did I want to cram information into short-term memory only to relearn it months later for the Step 1 medical licensing exam. After coming across multiple blog posts about how awesome Anki is, I decided to take the plunge and use it for all of my medical school material.

My medical school has roughly 4 hours of lecture a day, everyday, for about 6 weeks before we take a cumulative block exam (a 6-7 hour computer-based monster). We use a systems based curriculum. This means all of the traditional subjects: biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, histology, cell biology, genetics, embryology, etc. pertain to a certain body system. For example, this current block we are learning all about the gastrointestinal and renal systems. As you can imagine, the organ systems and how they work are not simple subjects. Everything you’ve probably heard about the volume of information presented in med school is true. Luckily, I found something that works for me.

My Medical School Notes From 1 Semester

The first thing I love about using Anki in medical school is that making the cards helps me learn the material. The spaced repetition is obviously crucial for putting information into my longterm, working memory, but I have found that making the cards is really helpful for me. I go to most classes and within a week of hearing the lecture I take another pass through my notes. Whenever I come across an important point, list, or fact that I think I will need for the exam – I make an Anki flashcard. This method allows me to see the lecture for a second time, and also to discern what information is important and what is just “fluff.”

Guess what? The thousands of flashcards I have made for medical school can never be lost, and will still be around in a year or so when it is time for USMLE Step 1 review. They don’t take up room in my apartment or have to be packaged and transported to the library. All I need to use them is my computer, tablet, or phone. The portability is a huge plus in my book.

The Anki program uses an algorithm to determine how frequently cards are redelivered to you. That is, you don’t have to waste time reviewing things you know. If I already really understand a flashcard and have answered it correctly a few times, I probably won’t see that card again for a few weeks. I use the default settings for the algorithm as I think they work for me, but you can customize them.

The best part though is that this program is 100% FREE! Seriously, you can go download Anki 2 right now, no strings attached, and try out the program for yourself.

No one likes memorizing facts, definitions, medications, symptoms, etc. However it is pretty essential to success in the medicine/science fields. It is crucial for competitive MCAT and Step 1 scores. Using Anki in medical school has helped me with this dull task. It makes memorization bearable. It doesn’t help me understand things, but for remembering and recall I’ve never used anything better.

Disclaimer: I have no financial relationship with Anki. I did not offer to write this series of blog posts, and I don’t receive anything from them if you download it. In fact, I don’t even know who is in charge of it. 

The post Using Anki in Medical School appeared first on The Hero Complex.

Dear Son,

I am so very proud that you are becoming a physician and that you chose this profession, not for the prestige or the financial advantages, but because you want to help people.

You invested an unfathomable amount of your time, energy and money to become a doctor. Your patients are extremely grateful for your commitment to be the best health care provider for them, even if they never voice these words.

Being a great doctor requires more than years of medical education and thousands of hours spent in residency. You need to be trustworthy for your patients and in turn you need to trust them.

Remember that you will help those with more and with less education than you. You will treat people with more and with less money than you. You will aid patients that are very similar to you and those that couldn’t be more different. You must be trustworthy to each and every one of them. What do they have in common? They need you.

Your title and your knowledge may give you a presumed power over your patients. Always respect that power and never think so highly of yourself that you make your patients feel inferior. Remember when someone is in need, that someone is vulnerable. Don’t dishonor that vulnerability. Be kind. Be patient. Keep their secrets. If you don’t know how to treat someone, be honest and refer that patient to another physician. Your ego is never as important as your patients’ health.

You must be trustworthy so that your patient can feel safe enough to tell you what is really going on. When I was only 17, I exhibited some scary health symptoms for a teenager. However this fear is present in all patients when their body is not doing what it is supposed to do.You need to remember that fear in patients and respect it. To tell my mom what was going on with me was scary enough, but being able to tell my doctor was beyond terrifying. My physician was so kind, and so honest about what procedures I needed to have done and why I needed them done. He treated me with respect. He treated me as an adult. He was trustworthy. I am eternally grateful to him.

Sometimes, things are going on in a family that can affect the health of everyone even if there are no bruises, blood or fever. My mother was a battered wife. My stepfather beat her regularly. He inflicted pain that did not cause external scarring so no one would know what was going on. I told my grandmother and other relatives; they believed me, but no one could convince my mother to leave him for more than a few days at a time. I told someone with authority, my pastor, what was going on at home. He did not believe the teenage girl I was then. My pastor did not help my mother. You need to trust that teenage girl. No, not everyone will be honest with you. But, still you must trust. I am not saying don’t try to verify. But, don’t become so cynical that your instinct is to question and deny. You may save that battered woman. You may help heal her whole family. My mother is safe now but I will always remember the pastor that turned his head at my pleas for help.

So my son, my pride for you is beyond measure. My words are inadequate to describe my awe of what you have accomplished in your life. But as moms are wont to do, I am going to offer you some advice as you get closer and closer to becoming a doctor.

Be trustworthy and trust in both your professional and your personal life. Sometimes you will get hurt. That happens when you trust people. But, please realize your patients are also hurting and they need to trust in you. They are vulnerable. You can only create the openness they need to reveal their secrets to you if they feel that you understand them, and you won’t judge them. Being trustworthy and trusting others are the keystones to being a great doctor. Never lose your faith in people and in a power greater than your own. These things are crucial to being a good person, and you can’t be a good physician if you are not first a good person.

Love,
Mom

The post Being a Great Doctor: My Mom’s Take appeared first on The Hero Complex.

As mentioned, repetition is probably the most important tool for learning any new skill or mastering information. Athletes practice endlessly; repeating movements until they are embedded in muscle memory. Why should learning be any different? In my opinion, the brain may be the most important “muscle” we have. Unfortunately, most of us don’t prepare for exams like athletes do for games.  Take a look at some evidence for all of this, it is called the “Forgetting Curve.” You may have seen it in a psychology class.

The graph shows what your brain does with new information. It is estimated that after a week, if you have not reviewed the information at all, you will probably forget at least 90% of what you originally learned! Sadly, the brain forgets things exponentially. That is terrible, especially for pre-meds getting ready for the MCAT or medical students preparing for Step 1. However notice what happens with just a few reviews! You retain more information, and eventually it becomes a part of your long-term memory, and will always be available for recall. Imagine if you reviewed important information constantly; how much could you store in your brain?

Enter Anki (which is actually the Japanese word for “memorizing”). Anki is a free online application that is downloaded and compatible with both Macs and PCs. Follow this link and go download it….now. It is an amazing spaced repetition flashcard program. Users can create their own note cards, or use decks of flashcards already created by others. Once you have a deck, you can then study the flashcards!

The above is what you see when using this program to study, it is a prime example of a Anki flashcard. Does anyone know the answer to this one? Either way, once you have thought about it, and attempted to come up with the correct response, you click the “Show Answer” button…

How many of you said “Conjugated Protein”? As you can see, the answer shows up underneath the prompt.  You then are faced with some options, did you get the answer wrong? Then you probably want to press “Again” so that the flashcard will be redelivered to you shortly. If you got it right, you can decide how difficult this card was for you. Based upon your answer and how long it took you to answer the question, Anki’s algorithm will decide when to resend you the flashcard for optimal memorization and recall ability. You can modify this algorithm, however I have found that the default settings work great for me.

The key here is to take advantage of the science of spaced repetition. Anki works best when you review your flashcards every single day. Luckily, as the facts become part of your long-term memory, you will only have to review the flashcards every few months. It becomes a habit and really does not take up much time at all.

Next post, I am going to write about why I love Anki for medical school. I have used it since day 1. If you are interested in using spaced repetition and Anki to dominate the MCAT, take a look at the study deck I am offering.

The post Spaced Repetition Using Anki appeared first on The Hero Complex.

The summer before medical school, I came across an amazing post over at Dr. Wilbe, which is a great blog and resource for any pre-med/med student. He described this incredible, free, downloadable program called “Anki,” which he was using to study all the material in medical school. He wrote:

“People use Anki for lots of things. Foreign language learners love it. But I love Anki for med school. There is no way around it. You need to commit lots of information to memory. Brute force is not enough. Studying smarter, not harder is the goal, and in my opinion, Anki is the way to achieve that.”

I couldn’t agree more. I love Anki, and it has helped me honor most of my first year medical school classes. However, I think that is can be just as helpful for pre-meds studying for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). As we all know, there are tons of terms and definitions that must be in a test-takers useable memory in order to score that treasured 30+ on the MCAT. Anki worked incredibly well for Dr. Wilbe on the USMLE Step 1 exam, so I am sure it can work on the MCAT.

Anki uses a concept called spaced repetition, which is a learning technique with a lot of science (and common sense) behind it. Over the course of the next week I will be writing some posts about spaced repetition, online flash cards, and why I love using Anki in medical school.

I know for many of you, it is too late to start making Anki cards for all of your pre-requisite science classes. However, you can still use your MCAT prep-books to make a study deck during your MCAT review period. Or, if you want a head start on MCAT studying, and would prefer to have an already-made resource, you can buy my MCAT Study Deck, and instantly have access to over 650 must-know definitions and principles from the two science subsections.

The post Using Anki to Ace the MCAT appeared first on The Hero Complex.

It is a question I often get emailed about from pre-meds. It is also a discussion that takes place on the Student-Doctor Network just about every other week. Does college matter for medical school applications? Will attending a prestigious private school give you a better chance at becoming a physician than the public State University? Here is the definitive answer that I am going to answer very simply…no. What undergraduate school you attend makes almost no difference in medical school applications. This may not please Harvard or Princeton graduates who are reading, but for the majority of us, it should quell some anxiety.

I don’t pretend to know how every medical school admissions committee evaluates an application. However I can tell you that while interviewing at six medical schools (including Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, and UNC Chapel Hill), I was never asked about my undergraduate schooling. I attended a public liberal-arts institution that many of you have never heard of, unless you live in the Southeast. It is not “prestigious,” and  it probably won’t ever win awards in US News & World Report‘s “Best Colleges” report. However, I received a stellar education and loved every second of my 4 years there.

As a future applicant you should know that all medical school applicants need a stellar GPA, great extracurriculars, experiences in the medical field, good letters of recommendations and a really competitive MCAT score. Do any of these things sound prestigious-school-specific?

Here is the hard truth, how you use your education is far more important than where you get it from. I am almost certain that the basic Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Organic Chemistry courses are 90% the same from university to university. I mean how many different ways can you teach DNA replication or explain gravitational force? Everyone  even uses the same books for the most part! I guarantee you that I scored better on the MCAT than the majority of pre-meds at top-25 schools around the country, and you can too.

The key is to remember all of the information presented to you in these basic science classes. A lot of my friends and classmates would wait until the last minute before tests and shove as much information into their short-term memory as possible. This may be OK for getting a passing grade on the test, but it won’t work as well when the MCAT comes along. The MCAT requires understanding the science not just basic recall of facts (although you need that too!).

All of this means that you should attend the college that you want to: whether that is Yale, the University of Texas, or Sewanee. The most important thing to remember is that you need to go somewhere that you can be happy, and feel at home. When you visit the campus, take a few minutes to walk around by yourself, can you imagine doing that for 4 years? Can you feel at home on campus? A lot of people pick the “best” college, or the university where all of their high school friends are going. And a lot of them end up unhappy, or taking a long time to graduate. This is one instance where you have to, as Lil Wayne says, “do you!”

One final note on all of this, please don’t let college become a financial burden on you, or your family. I was lucky enough to receive scholarship money to go to college, and my family was able to cover the rest of my cost of attendance, without taking out any loans. I can’t imagine having undergraduate debt and then adding medical school debt on top of that. That is soooo much money to pay back, and compound interest is such a powerful force to go up against.

Learn the material from your basic sciences classes the first time through, make some good connections with your professors, get a great GPA (no matter what school you attend), and rock the MCAT. Do these few things and you will get into medical school, I promise.

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