Every aspiring doctor wishes to be great, and one way of achieving greatness is to choose the right medical school for you. Choosing a medical school should not be based solely on your parents’ personal wishes or the annual ranking of the country’s top medical schools. It should always be about proper education and all things that come with it. Here are the top five things to look for in a medical school.
* Academic curriculum
The most important thing you need to consider when choosing a medical school is academic curriculum. Education, after all, is still your main priority in medical school. Choose a medical school that offers not only traditional classroom lectures but also non-traditional teaching styles. Selecting a medical school that offers frequent exposure trips is also advisable.
* Faculty members
Behind every great person, they say, is an excellent teacher. If you aspire to be a great doctor someday, then you should consider choosing a medical school with a reputation for having a brilliant faculty. Good educators teach you what you need to know about medicine, but great teachers teach you how to be a great medical practitioner. Professors who will help you enrich both your mind and your soul will help you on your way to medical greatness. Check out the profiles of the faculty of medical schools by visiting their website.
* Physical location
Your four years in medical school will not be spent entirely inside laboratories or classrooms. It is best to select a medical school located in a place where you can actually picture yourself living in. Recurring thoughts of homesickness is unavoidable, but being in a place that feels like home to you is enough motivation to make you stay.
* Financial support
Medical education is everything but inexpensive, so it’s important to choose a medical school that offers a wide variety of financial support options for students. Having a sure financial backer will help you take your mind off financial issues so you can concentrate more on your studies. Medical school is stressful enough, and the last thing you need is to worry about your tuition.
* Extracurricular offerings
The key to balancing medical school work and your personal life is to get involved in activities other than studying. Select a medical school that allows you to participate in sports, journalism, arts, community work, music, and other areas of interest.
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You have the power to turn your dreams into reality, even if it means juggling your responsibilities as a mother and a medical student. Having a baby is never enough reason to give up your dreams of being a great medical practitioner. If you have been dreaming of having an M.D. after your surname ever since you were a child, then you should do whatever it takes to make that dream come true. It is difficult, yes, but it is also attainable. All it takes to be Dr. Mom is perseverance and determination.
Balancing motherhood with medical school
They say that you will only find success if you persevere enough to attain it. Balancing motherhood and medical school work is never easy because both responsibilities require your full attention and absolute commitment. The key to managing both motherhood and medical school is to take everything one step at a time. Multi-tasking might work for some people, but it is best to concentrate on what task before moving on to the next. Not only will this help you avoid confusion but it will also allow you to give undivided attention to everything that you do.
Worrying about your child
One of the biggest distractions in your medical school work is the constant thoughts of “Do we still have enough diapers for my baby?” and “Did the nanny remember to sterilize the milk bottles?” Constant worrying will not do you much good – it will only prevent you from finishing your tasks or comprehending your lessons. Although it is inevitable for mothers to worry, always assure yourself that your child is being taken care of at the moment. Whenever you start worrying about your child, say this to yourself: “I have to focus on my studies. This is for my baby’s future.” Also, you must learn when to ask for help when it is truly needed.
Overcoming physical and mental stress
Medical school, in itself, is stressful enough. When coupled with mommy duties, medical school work becomes even more difficult to endure. Fight the stress and pressure by taking pleasure in small things such as an amazing A+ after long hours of studying for neuroanatomy, a sweet “Honey, I’m home!” greeting from your husband, and a successful attempt at measuring blood pressure. The only way to battle the challenges of juggling motherhood and medical school work is to remember the things that are worth sacrificing for. Besides, seeing your baby smile at you after a long day in medical school is enough to keep you moving forward.
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After four years of spending lunch breaks with cold cadavers in medical school, you may come to a point when you think that, probably, “this doctor thing is not for me.” So, what are you going to do? Apologize to your parents for your very expensive tuition for the past four years? Regret getting absorbed in pharmacology textbooks for four grueling years when you could have watched reruns of How I Met Your Mother instead? Find an alternative career, of course! Don’t put that medical knowledge to waste! Here are some alternative careers for medical school graduates like you:
Be a science professor
Remember how you wished for a good science teacher who can simplify Kreb’s Cycle and explain the significance of Darwin’s theory of natural selection to high school students? Well, now is your chance. Be a science professor. Teach students how to properly write scientific names and how to correctly identify a cockroach’s gender. You have lots of options in teaching. You may teach gross anatomy in medical school, molecular genetics in college, or general biology in high school. You can also serve as thesis adviser to undergraduates or online consultants in different web-based classes.
Be a medical journalist
Have you noticed how some medical journals seem like they were actually written by medical professionals? Well, some of them are. If you have a passion for both medicine and writing, then you can try a career in medical journalism. In medical journalism, you will write medical articles or scientific documents based on the studies of other doctors or scientists. Your background in medical studies will be very beneficial in this field because you will be easier for you to decipher different scientific concepts. If you have a knack for translating highly technical medical jargon into layman’s terms, then your skills will be highly valued in this industry. Medical journals cater to everyday people too, not just to doctors.
Be a biomedical scientist
If you still want to develop treatment methods and investigate medical conditions without wearing a scrub suit, then try a career in biomedical research. In biomedical research, you will conduct studies and perform experiments to help improve the field of medicine. You may research on the growth, health, reproduction, diseases, and overall development of organisms.
Just because you realized that cutting up patients is something you don’t want to do on a regular basis, it doesn’t mean that you have to completely give your dream of helping other people. You can still touch lives even without sporting a stethoscope or holding a scalpel.
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Letters of recommendation are very important in college admissions. Not only will they provide a third-person perspective of you but they will also reveal the information that you forgot to include in your application form or admission essay. The key to submitting great letters of recommendation is to select the right people to write them for you. Here are the people to go to for letters of recommendation:
Professors
When choosing professors for your letters of recommendation, do not focus your selection on how many acronyms are found after their surname or how many books they have authored. Sure, getting letters of recommendation from well-known professors is quite impressive but it will be of no use if the professors don’t even know who you are. Your main criteria in choosing professors should be familiarity. Choose professors who personally know you because they are the only ones who can give reliable answers to questions about your study habits and personality.
Professionals
If you are applying for medical school, what could be more impressive than handing over letters of recommendation from well-known professors? Submitting letters of recommendation from practicing physicians is actually one area that you can look into. Professionals are very good at identifying whether you have what it takes to be successful in your chosen field or not. Because they have experienced the whole process first-hand, professionals can give a reliable assessment of your potentials. Just make sure that these physicians know you well enough to vouch for your capabilities, potential, personality, and talents.
Organization leaders
Are you a member of an organization or a community volunteer? If you are, then it is a good idea to request letters of recommendation from your seniors. Submitting letters of recommendation will reveal your involvement with extracurricular activities and passion for community projects. It will also give the college admission evaluators an impression that you are not only good in managing your time, but you are also dedicated in helping your fellowmen. A hard-working student with a good heart? Now, that’s definitely impressive!
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Some films are made to depict reality. There are movies about war, love, rock bands, pro-golfers, high school, and medical school. Yes, medical school. Is there a better way to present life’s biggest challenges than to feature a group of sleep-deficient medical students undergoing quarter-life crisis? Here are the top five movies that will help you prepare for the crazy and exciting world of medical school:
Of Human Bondage (1934)
After confirming his mediocrity in painting, Philip Carey left Paris to pursue a medical career in his native London. There he finds that the best distraction to medical studies is to fall in love with a manipulative and illiterate tearoom waitress who hates club-footed men. Find out how Philip will survive medical school and find his place in the world while dealing with his irrational obsession to Mildred.
Bad Medicine (1985)
What did Jeffrey Marx do when every single medical school in the United States gave him a thumbs-down? Find a medical school somewhere in Central America, of course! Jeffrey, with the help of his fellow medical students from Madera Universidad de Medicina, faces the ultimate challenge of saving the entire town by providing medical assistance to the impoverished villagers – even before they’re legally allowed to.
Gross Anatomy (1989)
How can a person who never plays by the book survive a world that is heavily based on one? Watch how the troublesome yet brilliant Joe Slovak struggles not only to pass his human dissection class – that is supervised by his uber-demanding teacher, Dr. Woodruff who continuously questions Joe’s place in the medical world – but also to win the heart of his overachieving lab partner.
Vital Signs (1990)
When the third year medical students from LA Central try to outwit each other for that much coveted internship, they learn that life in the hospital is not all glitz and glamor. Although they have every hair strand perfectly in place despite their sleepless state, the medical students from LA Central find out that surviving a career in medicine is not only about saving other people’s lives but saving their own as well.
Anatomy (2000)
A spot in University of Heidelberg Medical School’s special summer course means the world to Paula Henning. But after finding her one-time train buddy on her dissection table, Paula begins to question where the school gets its not-so-dead cadavers for gross anatomy class. Now, Paula needs not only to compete for her place in the medical world, but also to fight for her own life before she ends up in her own dissecting table.
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After finishing medical school, it is very likely that you will get into a point where you want to consider being a medical specialist over being a general practitioner. To help you get a decision, here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a medical specialist:
Advantages of being a medical specialist
Being an internist or surgeon or neurologist will give you the chance to learn more about a particular medicine field. This will give you the benefit of having more credibility than a general practitioner.
Being a medical specialist will also open new doors for you. You will have the chance to make your name famous. For example, years of further study as an internist or specialist can give you the chance to be respected by your colleagues in the medical field. Your co-workers might even heed your advice regarding matters that they cannot solve. Your specialization can also transform you into a highly-recommended doctor. Being a specialist will also give you the opportunity to work on more challenging medical cases.
Also, your specialization can also be your ticket to earn more money. Medical specialists earn at least $20,000 more than general practitioners. Having a specialization can also boost your chances of getting various job opportunities.
Disadvantages of being a medical specialist
The life of a medical specialist is not always too good to be true. To be able to establish a prestigious name and earn more money, you have to work hard for it. Once you graduate from medical school you will have to work in a hospital for a number of years. You should also spend several years as a resident. Practicing will make it easier for you decide on your medical specialization.
Being a medical specialist can also limit your work. For example, if you are a cardiologist, you will only be involved with patients who have cardiovascular system-related illnesses. General practitioners, on the other hand, are allowed to handle patients with varying disorders.
Whether you decide to be a general practitioner or a medical specialist, always take into consideration your interests. Your financial stability and work-life balance can also be factors in your career decisions.
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