I can’t get this out of my head today.

After an hour long orientation this morning, year 2 started off with a bang. Three solid hours of Infectious Disease, and I feel like I need to review it all evening.

Orientation was fun, mostly a lot of administrators saying things like “this is a tough year” or “this is going to be a hard year” or “the course load this year is challenging.” That made us all feel great.

I really do think Infectious Disease is going to be fun. Tomorrow we are culturing our own urine… which is a little odd now that I think about it.

But yeah, the rest of the year should be good. We have clinic every other week which means I get to see actual patients. Our courses are more clinically oriented than last year. I’m not the bottom of the totem pole in school any more.

Good luck to all of you beginning school soon!

One thing I love about the internet: you never run out of interesting stuff to read. This can be an issue in medical school, but heck, I had a fairly easy couple weeks (it happens! at least at my school) and I can get away with a little surfing now and then.

Anyway, here are a few great blogs I’ve discovered recently:

Med Student and Pre Med Blogs

• Off-White Coat

A New York med student. Entertaining and well written. Also, he/she writes about books, I like that.

• Schorrmore

A pre-med who writes about sciency stuff (very descriptive, I know). Bonus points for living in Oregon. Also, cool pictures!

Global Health Blogs

• Global Health Ideas

Excellent, well, global health ideas. Cool.

• Little Gadgets That Could

Combining gadgets, medical technology and international development. A sweet mix.

Bonus Article

• The Hot Spotters: Can we lower costs by giving the neediest patients better care? By Atul Gawande

I love this article. It is a fascinating look at reducing medical care costs by giving people better care (and therefore keeping them out of the hospital).

That’s all for now. Have you found any great blogs recently? (Feel free to say this one!)

Trent over at The Simple Dollar has a wonderful article titled,

Five Thoughts About Making College Great

Here’s a quote that might resonate with some of you-

“Knowing the ins and outs of organic chemistry might help you if you happen to wind up in one of those rare jobs that utilizes it. The skills you’ve built in the process of actually getting through organic chemistry – those are ones you’ll utilize time and time again.”

True and true. Take it to heart when you’re stuck in the middle of aldehydes and carboxylic acid.

Several important books have shaped my views of medicine, leadership and life.

Here I humbly present a pre med reading list to consider. A few books I’m recommending I realize I may love because of personal preference, and may not appeal to a larger audience.

I always recommend checking your public library as a great way to save some money. If you choose to purchase, you can use the links to buy through Amazon.

Medicine

If you don’t know a whole lot about medicine, these books will be a great introduction. If you do, they will just make you more excited to go into the field.

How Doctors Think. This book does a great job in identifying how doctors make errors. It’s interesting to read as a patient as well as a future physician.

Mountains Beyond Mountains. One of my all time favorite nonfiction books. Challenging but ultimately inspiring, Dr Paul Farmer’s story makes you want to be a better person, whether you want to be a doctor or not.

Better. Written with authority and candor, this book touches on several important issues in medicine including malpractice and suicide.

In Stitches. In this hilarious memoir, Dr Youn recounts his often awkward journey through medical school. One of the few books that has made me laugh out loud.

Pre Med

These are books I recommend to help guide you through the pre med process.

Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School. If the idea of writing your personal statement petrifies you, this book will help. I did not read the whole thing, but found much of it quite useful.

How To Become A Straight-A Student. Oh how I wish I had this book during undergrad! I’m a little over half way through reading it right now and it is awesome. The book is all about being a great student while maintaining a great college life. Definitely worth reading.

Med School Confidential. I’m still using this book because it covers the entire med school journey, including medical school and residency. (Cool side note, one of the books authors is a doctor I worked with in the ER Scribe program.)

Novels

Some novels are great at telling an amazing story and having important life applications at the same time. Here are a couple of my favorite that I feel can be applicable to the pre med journey.

The Lord Of The Rings. Sometimes the road to medical school feels like the path to Mordor.

Watership Down. Yes, it’s a book about rabbits. However, it is one of my favorite adventure novels of all time, plus it has some amazing lessons concerning leadership.

Do you have any suggestions to add to this list?

Our brains are funny. When we make a decision and start planning, it is often difficult to change direction when another option presents itself. Like a large, dense object travelling at a certain velocity, our decision has momentum that takes a lot of force to change (that’s for all those studying MCAT physics).

A few months ago I was accepted at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine. I was excited, as this was my top choice among DO schools. As I traveled through Peru I waited to hear from the two MD schools I interviewed at, my state school OHSU and Creighton University. I love my home city of Portland and being in Peru made me surprisingly homesick. Therefore I started hoping to get into OHSU.  Unfortunately I was waitlisted at OHSU with a terrible ranking that essentially ensured my fate (only 87 more people need to give up their spot, I got a chance, right? Nope).

So I started getting excited about DMU. They had accepted me, and I really enjoyed the school. Creighton was great too, but as I was still waiting it did not feel like a real option. DMU was real, so I focused on it.

That changed a little over a week ago, when I was accepted at Creighton School of Medicine.

Initially I was torn. I had spent over a month getting excited about DMU. The campus was smaller at DMU and I felt more comfortable there. Tuition is more reasonable. At first I didn’t want to change my mind.

Then I started having conversations with friends and family. I remembered that one of my biggest motivation for becoming a physician is to do international work. I remembered that osteopathic physcians have full practice rights in only 50 countries. I just spent three months learning about medicine in Peru, and if I became an osteopathic physician I would not be able to return and actually practice medicine.

We can debate the MD vs DO thing for a long time (do a search over at SDN if you really want to have some fun) but at the end of the day I don’t want that limitation hanging over me.

Therefore, I’m ecstatic to announce that I will be attending Creighton University School of Medicine. This is certainly a change of plans, but one that I am very excited about. Once I pushed my mind to past that initial block to consider my choices, the right decision was clear.

So what’s the lesson here? Well first, the med school admissions process is crazy. Although I was disappointed at times, ultimately I had options which was a blessed position to be in. Second, when presented with a new option that changes your plans, take some time to really consider it carefully. Talk it over with people who know you well. I’m glad I did.

Go Jays!

I recently finished a three day trek to Machu Picchu. The “Lost City of the Incas” is perched atop an incredible ridge, overlooking the surrounding mountain ranges and a beautiful valley below. It is the definition of impressive.

The trek to Machu Picchu was difficult but exciting. We combined mountain biking, river rafting and a decent amount of hiking (including the final ascent to Machu Picchu at 4AM!). We started on top a 4,300 meter mountain, passed through jungle, hiked old Inca trails, tasted freshly picked coffee beans and swam in an ice cold stream among other adventures. The whole trek, from start to destination was amazing.

I have been thinking about the journey to becoming a physician and what it has to do with my recent trek. I like the concept of a “journey”. It is the reason behind the name of this blog.

Journeys are fun. They take you places you´ve never been before. You see new and wonderful things. And if you make it to the end you are rewarded with the  joy of reaching your destination.

Journeys are also challenging. You may have hardships and setbacks. They may be painful at times. You may have the heartbreak of not reaching your destination.

I wonder if pre med students are enjoying the journey to med school. Is your pre med journey fun? Are you having great experiences and learning? Are you perservering through the hard times and using them as an opportunity for growth?

Or are you just jumping through hoops longing for the destination?

Summer is a great time to explore these questions. There are no right answers. But consider this: if pre med life is constantly miserable for you, what makes you think that will change once you get into medical school?

Photo Credit

As part of my post on 5 powerful goals for pre med students, I recommended finding a mentor. Mentors can help you develop leadership ability, inspire you or help you become a better student. But how do you find a solid mentor?

Here are a few suggestions to help you brainstorm about where to look for a mentor and how to approach a potential mentor.

Where To Look For A Mentor

Your School Mentoring Program. This one is easy. Many schools have a mentoring program set up that will connect you with local professionals in fields you are interested in. At my college the mentoring program is affiliated with the school of business but they had no problem finding a doctor with tons of global health experience to be my mentor. Look into programs at your school.

Leadership positions. If you have participated in any leadership positions in college you most likely had an advisor or supervisor. If this is someone you look up to and have a positive relationship with they can make a great mentor.

Professors. Hopefully you have had some great professors in college. Why not ask one you respect to be a mentor?

Anyone else you look up to. An older fellow employee. Your family doctor. The only requirements are someone you respect and get along with well.

How To Approach A Potential Mentor

The first step is to consider what you´re looking to get out of a mentoring relationship. Are you looking to learn more about being a physician? Is there a particular area you´re looking to grow in? Do you have a personal goal and want someone to hold you accountable for it?

How you ask someone to be a mentor depends on the current relationship you have with them. Face to face interactions are always best. If you feel comfortable, set up a time to share some coffee or meet in their office. If not, an email will suffice. Either way, choose your words carefully.

Ideally you explain why you are looking for a mentor, what you are looking to get out of a mentoring relationship and why you are choosing this specific person. Keep it to the point.

Finally be sure not to corner someone into making a decision on the spot. Make it clear they have time to make a decision.

Here is a brief example of what you could say in an email or in person:

“I understand you are a very busy person but I have a request for you to think about. I highly respect you as a physician and see you as someone I could learn a lot from about medicine. Would you consider meeting once or a twice a month to talk about life in medicine?”

Final Thoughts

I know this may be hard to do. You have to put yourself out there and it may be awkward. If you ask and they say no, it may create some tension for a little while.

Just remember this: It is worth it.

A little time and effort now could result in a influential relationship for a long time. Go for it.

Photo credit

My name is Steve Krager and I write for MD Journey. Here’s a picture of me climbing a big mountain in Peru a few weeks ago:

I thought writing anonymously would give me more freedom but I am only feeling more restricted. So from now on I’ll be writing as me, Steve. Nice to meet you.

My Pre Med Journey

I grew up outside of Portland, Oregon and went to college at Seattle Pacific University. I graduated in 2008 with a degree in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Spanish. I loved SPU.

I went to college with the vague idea of doing missionary or international development work. I changed my sophomore year to pre med. It sucked at first. I was a valedictorian in high school but my first quarter of college Biology I barely scraped by with a B-. My first General Chemistry exam I scored a 64%.

Ugh. Do I really want to do this pre med thing? I pushed through, found a tutor in chemistry, discovered more effective study methods and started to improve. I pulled out a B in Gen Chem I. Gen Chem II, an A-. I made strides in Biology, slowly.

I graduated with a 3.65 overall GPA with a science GPA of about 3.4. In January of 2009 I took the MCAT and scored a 32M. The last two years I have worked as an ER Scribe.

Last summer I started the medical school application process. After 12 secondary applications and 8 interviews I was accepted at 6 medical schools and waitlisted at 2. I will be attending Creighton University School of Medicine in August. I’ve been in Peru the last two months watching births and dressing newborns in a public health clinic. It’s been amazing.

I’m passionate about global health and living a remarkable life. My faith is a huge part of why I want to be a physician. I am also passionate about helping pre med students navigate the journey to medical school. I believe deeply that you can be a kick-ass pre med student and have an awesome life at the same time.

I’m hoping to be a kick-ass medical student and have an awesome life too.

So that’s my story. Any questions?

Keep up with the blog and I’ll be sharing more personal stories about my pre med journey, research on how to study and take tests effectively and other useful pre med content.

What’s your pre med story?

I started this blog almost two years ago. While I am proud of what I’ve done, I see a lot of room for growth.

Ultimately, I want this blog to be one of the top resources on the internet for pre med students. To this I’m going to need some help from you, my readers.

I need feedback. What can I do to improve the site? What kinds of articles would you like to see more of? Would you find a more consistent posting schedule useful? Use my contact form, email (sam(at)premedjourney.com) or leave some comments on this post.

If you have your own blog, how about trading guest posts with Pre Med Journey? Collaboration is important in medicine (so I hear) why not start on the internet?

Finally, if you find the site useful, tell your friends. More people here will generate more lively discussion and Pre Med Journey will improve.

Thanks for your help.

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I was waitlisted at my MD state school today, with a ranking that gives me very little hope of being admitted. I had this chat with a friend who is just finishing his fourth year at the school:

“9:44pm friend:
I really am at a loss
let me ask you this
did you have a letter of rec from the head of the scribe program?
9:46pmMe
No. I had one from a doctor I worked with in the scribe program that I was closer with
9:46pm Friend:
damn
that was it
one of my friends on the admissions committee told me there was a guy named “sam” who went to school in “my city” and had done scribe
had a fantastic application
everyone had agreed this kid should be admitted
then Dr. “x” who basically runs the committee says let’s just see what the head of scribe had to say just to dot all the i’s
then they found no letter from the head of scribe
and pushed the application
9:48pmMe
you’ve got to be kidding me
9:49pm friend:
maybe I shouldn’t have told you that
they did some stupid stuff on the admissions committee this year
the stories I’ve been hearing have been ridiculous.”

On one hand, I think that is crazy. On the other hand, it totally makes sense to have a letter of rec from the head of my Scribe program. I didn’t think it would crash my application though.

On the plus side, I really love the DO school I have committed to. But this news was maddening.

Lesson learned: Letters of rec from the heads of relevant programs are good. Take heed.