Medical Direction presents: The Fall Medical School

Symposium

• Come learn more about the MCAT, prerequisites, reference letters, and the application process from med school students!

Date: Thursday, September 19th @ 6pm Location: Leacock 132

Who is Medical Direction?

www.md.sus.mcgill.ca

Presentation Overview

• Undergraduate Timeline• Prerequisites & MCAT• Research & Extracurriculars• GMT/Shadowing• Applications & Reference Letters• Guest Speakers:– Joshua Chin– Andrew Rabinovitch– Noir Khatib– Jeffrey Weiskopf

Undergraduate Timeline

How to stay on track

U0 U1 U2 U3-take first year science courses (prereqs)

-explore your interests in clubs and activities on campus

-conduct summer research; volunteer; get a job; take summer courses; travel

-have fun, make friends

-pick your major; take remaining prereqs (Org Chem, English)

-run for a leadership role? (e.g. club exec)

-conduct summer research; volunteer; get a job; take summer courses; travel

-consider taking an MCAT class or self-studying and to the MCAT this summer

-get to know your supervisors, profs, TAs

-work hard and keep your marks up

-stay involved on campus, preferably in a leadership role

-conduct summer research; volunteer; get a job; take summer courses; travel

-write (or rewrite, if need be) the MCAT; contact your references, begin your applications

-get closer with your supervisors; perhaps conduct research with a professor during the year

-work hard and keep your marks up

-stay involved on campus, preferably in a leadership role

-travel and relax for the summer

-interviews

-ACCEPTANCE!

Prerequisites

The courses you must take before starting medical

school

Required (by some schools)

• Full year of Physics (with lab)– PHYS 101, 102 OR PHYS 131,142

• Full year of Bio (with lab)– BIOL 111, 112

• Full year of General Chem (with lab)– Chem 110, 120

• Half to Full year of Organic Chem (with lab)– CHEM 212, 222

Recommended

• Math Courses (stats/calculus)• Upper level life sciences courses

(biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, etc.)• English• Humanities

Things to check

• Does the school accept prerequisite courses taken over the summer? (some DO NOT)

• Does the school accept Pass/Fail prerequisites? (most DO NOT)

• Does the school accept transfer credits as prerequisites (e.g. CÉGEP, French Bacc, IB, AP)

MCAT

The infamous test

What the MCAT Tests• Critical thinking rather than knowledge• Start studying early! Some sources say

study at least 400 hours!• STUDY VERBAL REASONING! –Challenging for students with purely

science background–101 Passages MCAT Verbal Reasoning

MCAT Grading Scheme• Every section is out of 15•Aim for double digits in

every section

The MCAT is Changing in 2015

• No more writing section• New “Natural Sciences” and “Behavioral

Sciences” sections• New “Critical Analysis and Reasoning” section• Must be taken by those entering Medical school

in Fall 2016• visit

www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/mcat2015/ for more information

Research

Why you should do it

How to Get Involved– Choose a field based on your interests– Search for labs• Hospital websites• McGill Office for Undergraduate Research

(http://www.mcgill.ca/science/research/ours)• Google

– Look at:• publications• project descriptions

How to Get Involved (cont.)• Email principal investigator or lab manager– Be familiar with the research– Be willing to volunteer– Have enthusiasm about the topic, and show it– Do not send generalized mass emails

• Types of work– Own project– Work with PhD/Masters student– Review article

How to Get Involved (cont.)Not so great:Hey Dr. Smith! My name is John and I am a McGill undergraduate student. Your lab looks

very interesting to me and I am looking to do research because it will look good on my medical school applications. Please let me know if you have any positions available.

Much better:Hi Dr. Smith,

My name is John and I am a second year McGill student studying biology. I’m interested in molecular biology, and after reading some of your papers on cytoskeletal dynamics, I have become enthusiastic about working in a lab like yours. Do you think we could arrange a meeting to discuss the potential of becoming involved with your research?

What Medical Schools Look For

• Level & type of involvement• Time commitment• Self-directed• Results

Extracurriculars

The Bare Essentials

Doing something you love

• Get involved!• Join clubs, compete in athletics, volunteer for NGOs,

anything• Try to lead• Try to do something health related – not because it

“looks good”, but so you can get discover whether the field is truly for you

Hospital Volunteering• Gain experience in a hospital

setting• Possible options

– Royal Victoria Hospital– Montreal General– Montreal Chest– Montreal Children’s– Montreal Neurological – Shriners – St. Mary’s

• Look around – Don’t give up

Shadowing

Shadowing Program

• md.sus.mcgill.ca/shadowing.php• Shadow in a clinical or operating room (OR)

setting• Many different specialties including radiology,

surgery and psychiatry• Several clinical and non-clinical researchers

also available to discuss their research and the field in general

Application process

• Immunization Form– Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Polio, Varicella,

Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hepatitis B, Tuberculin, Influenza, Meningococcus

– Required to shadow in the OR, required by some doctors for clinical shadowing as well

• Application Form• CV• Letter of Intent• Short 5-10 minute informal interview/meeting

Questions

• Philippe Hwang, Shadowing Director

• Md.shadowing@gmail.com

Global Medical Training Trip

The trip gives you the opportunity to…

• Actively participate in medical assessments and treatment of patients

• Provide healthcare to patients with scarce economic resources in Latin America

• Work with medical professionals in clinics• Learn by doing

How does a trip like this help my application?

• You gain way more from a trip like GMT than a one-line entry on your CV…

• Shows that you explore your interests• Shows that you have an idea of what the

medical field/environment is like• Exposes you to patients and teaches you how

to interact with them• Stories, inspiration

Applications

OMSAS and other Canadian schools

Timeline for applying (for application during final year)

• May-June before final year– speak to references– decide what schools to apply to– begin (and complete) AMCAS

• July-Aug before final year– begin OMSAS

• Oct-Nov of final year– OMSAS and AMCAS due

• Dec-Mar of final year– Interviews! (Feb-Apr for OMSAS)

Components

• Biographical information• Inputting grades– Have to manually input grades

• Letters of Reference– Only allows you to upload three letters of

reference– The referees must fill out the Confidential

Assessment Form and send in your letter by mail

Sketch

• Enter in all academic, non academic, work and research experience

• Need to put in verifiers– Someone who can confirm your activities– You will need their address and phone number

Fees

• Base fee - $210 • McMaster - $105 • Northern - $75 • Ottawa - $75 • Queen’s - $75 • Toronto - $85 • Western - $85

Reference Letters

For most schools, you will need…

• 2 academic references– Professors, Lab supervisors (PIs), Academic

Advisors, Teaching Assistants– anyone who can attest to your abilities in school

or research• 1 non-academic reference– Swim coach, Violin teacher, Clinical or Volunteer

Supervisor– A “character reference”

How to ask for a reference

1. Start early. Give your references a lot of time to write your letters.

2. Choose someone you have a personal relationship with and who knows you well.

3. Ask them, preferably in person, if they would be willing to write a positive reference letter for your applications.

4. Prepare a package of information for them (next slide).

5. Follow up before the deadline.

What to give your referenceThe more information your reference has about you, the better.

Things to include:• cover letter explaining what the letter is for (i.e. med school), what

must be included (any special information), and when it is due– NOTE: do NOT lie about the due date

• a copy of your CV• a copy of your transcript (official or unofficial)• required forms (e.g OMSAS confidential assessment)• any other relevant documents (e.g. proof of awards, details about your

academic program, website urls, etc.)• (a pre-addressed envelope with a stamp)

This is not the time to be modest.

Questions