Calculating your GPA

I have found this document very helpful for applicants who are computing their GPAs for AMCAS. And once you've calculated your numbers, take a look at my blog entries on deciding where to apply to medical school.

Contact me for application help at Insider Medical Admissions.

Quick Tip: Step 2

I was just advising a client about when he should take his Step 2. The answer to this question is different depending on a medical students' step 1 scores, how competitive her/his specialty choice is, etc. I can make one suggestion to everyone, though:

On the ERAS form you can check a box to ensure that your Step 2 scores are not automatically released to residency programs. I recommend this. If your score is poor, you can hold it from programs to which you are applying indefinitely. If it is good, you can choose then to release it with very little delay. This move keeps your options open.

Contact me for a strategy session now - before the application season starts. I can assist with decisions about rotation scheduling, the need for research, letters of recommendation, etc.

Quick tips: Sub-i Success

Now is the time that many third year medical students are starting their sub-internships. Here are some quick tips on how to succeed:

1. Read before starting your rotation. You don't have to be ready for board-certification but knowing something about the field from the beginning will impress.
2. Be on time and eager.
3. Don't be annoying. No one likes a gunner.
4. Consider teaming up with an attending to write a case report if you're involved in an interesting case.
5. Don't complain at the hospital. At home you can punch your pillow or cry to your significant other, but at the hospital be cheerful.
6. Attend optional events (if invited) - conferences, morbidity and mortality, luncheons, grand rounds.
7. Be nice to everyone a) because it's the right thing to do and b) because you never know if you might run into someone again.

Contact me for strategy session help now. It's much better to get on top of things early. Also, check out my updated testimonials page.

Quick tip: CVs

Don't assume your CV (curriculum vitae) is being read just because you submitted it to letter of recommendation writers, admissions committees or professional recruiters. There are several pitfalls that can turn a reader off, so here are some quick tips to get your foot in the door:

1. Ensure the formatting is simple. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see: No need for multiple font changes, etc. Half the battle is readability.
2. Ensure the CV is streamlined. (This is where I help the most.)
3. Ensure you briefly describe any activity that will not be familiar to the reader so you get "full credit." For example if you won a local award, list how you were selected and out of how many other candidates. This way the reader will understand the weightiness of the honor.

Contact me for help with your CV. Having an excellent CV early is useful - not only for current needs. It also allows you to simply add accomplishments as they come throughout your medical career.

Getting Clinical Experience

How can a pre-med get clinical experience that demonstrates to admissions officers that the applicant knows what being a practicing doctor entails? Here are three ideas:

1. Work in an Emergency Department, particularly one that is academically-associated. (Doing so can offer the opportunity to get a letter of recommendation from a better-known physician. See my blog entry called "Selecting Your Letter of Recommendation Writers.")
2. Volunteer at a clinic. Volunteering at a low-income clinic often affords the opportunity to take vital signs and patient histories and assist those in need.
3. Work at a veterinarian's office (a client's great idea): This is an excellent way to get real hands-on experience that you cannot get with humans as a pre-med.

Please consider contacting me early for your med school applications. Remember the admissions are rolling at most institutions.

Interview Strategies: Advice from the Non-Medical World

There's a column in the NYTs written about interviewing for the many Americans who are currently seeking employment. I found part of it useful for medical school, residency and fellowship interviews and thought I would share that section below. Ms. Safani to whom the journalist refers is Barbara Safani, owner of Career Solvers, a career management firm.

Some people “believe that talking in generalities is the way to go,” Ms. Safani said, but hiring managers usually prefer specifics — especially examples of how you executed a project or solved a problem. Otherwise, you don’t differentiate yourself and you become a mere blur, she said.

In addition to these “stories of success,” candidates need to be able “to communicate in 30 seconds what they’re all about and how they’re going to add value to that organization,” Ms. Safani said.

If you are questioned about your weaknesses, “be authentic without being damaging,” Ms. Safani said. Be ready with an example of a weakness that is not centered on the core competencies of the job you are seeking, she said.

And, of course, be prepared to ask questions yourself — ones that show you have done research about the company. Ms. Safani recommends asking some questions that go beyond the particular job you are applying for, and that cover the direction of the company as a whole.

All of the above points are topics I discuss with my clients during their one-on-one mock interviews.

Get started early on your application for this coming season: www.InsiderMedicalAdmissions.com .

Who is fit to become a doctor?

There's a weird situation that's created a storm in Sweden: A convicted murderer was accepted to medical school. The NYT's article about the episode is worth a read, bringing up issues about what kind of person is fit to be a physician and how bad doctors can harm the reputation of the entire profession.