Interview Day For Smarties: What To Expect

It's that time of year again: medical school interview time.

Every year a group of lucky medical school applicants are invited to their dream (or safety) schools to demonstrate how qualified they are. I had to do it, so do you.

When I was applying for medical school in 2008, I concurrently worked as a career adviser who gave mock interviews to other students--- some of whom were applying to my application cycle. It was an interesting (and slightly awkward) time. However, despite how stressful interviewing can be. Be sure it wont be like the interview below:

Now it's time I bestow a few interview tips to the next generation of applicants:

• First of all, if you get an interview to medical school, consider yourself lucky. An interview is a very good indication that the school is seriously considering you as an applicant. 
• Beyond academic excellence, however, medical schools are generally looking for maturity, passion about medicine, altruism, exposure to the medical field, and strong interpersonal skills.
• For most schools, an interview day usually includes two or three interviews with a campus tour, information session, and possibly breakfast and/or lunch.
• Make sure to treat the whole day as an "interview," as if you are being watched closely by everyone--- including the secretary. 
• Try to avoid intimidation from other applicants. You will encounter the "what scores did you get?" guy and the "I interviewed in x y and z." girl.  Just focus on you and keep your head level. It never hurts to make friends as well.
• Make friends with the secretaries. They can be your best friends. Strike a friendly conversation with them about the weather, where you're from, the latest celebrity gossip, etc. Not only will this give you good marks in the admissions office. It can distract you from your nervousness. I often made an effort to talk about Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.
• Do:
• Read and populate SDN's Interview Feedback Page: A comprehensive list of school-specific interview experiences--- written by interviewees. It even includes sample school-specific questions.
• Ask Smart Questions: Yes, the school wants to learn more about you, but you should use the opportunity to learn more about the school. Many interviewers judge your interest in their school by the quality of your questions. What's a smart question? A question that isn't easily answerable on the school's website. (i.e. Does your school's curriculum include LGBTQ issues?). I prepared

The Birthday Bike Ride of The Century

As a birthday gift to myself (my birthday is today), I decided to take on the NYC Century yesterday-- it's the cyclist's version of a marathon. 100 miles of pure bliss and blisters.

That day, we rode a total of 108 miles, which spanned four marvelous Burroughs of New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx. From start to finish, our total ride took 12 hours-- including time for breaks and hydration-- thanks to a two-bottle hydration belt (below) I wore that enabled me to go for long periods without stopping. We rode along the ocean, through various parks, and across concrete bridges.

Before the race, I told friends, coworkers, and colleagues about the century, and I got mixed reactions: "How is that possible?" "Good for you!" "Are you sure you want to do that?" "I couldn't possibly do that myself." "You must have huge legs!" They focused on the idea of riding such a great distance.

However, I prided myself on choosing a goal and sticking with it until the end. It all started in June. I had dinner with a friend from church to celebrate his buying a brand new bike, at which I near-jokingly suggested that we ride 100 miles. Neither of us had done something like this before. We were both trying to get back into shape and lose weight. When we found out about the Century Bike Tour, we set our goal.

Then we trained. and trained. and trained. During our first bike trip around Manhattan, we covered an astonishing 33 miles, followed by a 45-mile trip up to Mount Kisko the following week. Our group grew. Another guy used an iPhone app to track our mileage and speed. I bought my first pair of  bike shorts, which left a stark tan line on my thighs a few weeks before the race. During my lunch break, I sneaked over to the gym for afternoon spin classes to strengthen my legs and keep up my endurance. 

After months of prep, I made it across the finish line at 110th street and Lenox Avenue-- and I wasn't last!

It forces me to reflect on other goals in progress: losing 20 pounds by Christmas, reading 10 books before the New Year, become a doctor. Yes, that medical journey is still in progress and doesn't show signs of stopping. I intend to cross that finish line soon.

Memoirs of an Obese Physician

To my fellow medical students who are on the heavy side: ignore the haters.

Three years ago I took an online sexuality course with the American Medical Student Association. We broached the topic of body image. In our small group, one of my classmates, who attended a nearby medical school, vented about how other classmates looked down upon her because of her weight--- especially during lectures on diabetes or obesity. She would receive dirty or arrogant looks from her slimmer classmates.

As someone who has always struggled with weight and body image, it struck a chord. Medical students are trained to not tolerate those who happen to have a BMI greater than 25--- a sign that one is considered 'overweight' by medical standards.

I get it. We live in America. People here are fat--- or rather, huge. There are also countless studies that show how obesity can increase your risks deadly diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer--- you name it.

However, does this give us the excuse to be such assholes? (Pardon my French)

Joseph F. Majdan, MD, a cardiologist at Jefferson Medical College, doesn't think so. In his Memoirs of an Obese Physician, he recounts the negative experiences that has continuously shattered his self-esteem throughout his career:

"I vividly recall that during medical school, a physician approached me as I stood with my tray in the cafeteria line. He said loudly for all to hear, 'You know you should watch what you eat. Don’t you see yourself?'"

"While putting on my scrubs during my surgery clerkship, an attending surgeon looked at me with disgust and sarcastically bellowed, “Hey, hey, hey, it’s Fat Albert!”

"During my internal medicine residency, staff physicians would often— unilaterally and in the presence of colleagues and nurses— offer me their unsolicited opinions on how and why I should lose weight. I wondered why physicians would be so insensitive and callous."

"A surgeon stopped me on the floors and told me I needed gastric bypass surgery; another internist sat down next to me at a nurses’ station and openly guessed my weight, then pontificated on what my approach to weight loss should be."

"A fellow cardiologist stopped me on the street to tell me I looked “disgusting” and asked whether I 'had no shame.'"

His memoirs, which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, revealed many doctors' perceptions of the obese: "ugly, weak-willed, sloppy, and lazy." However, this may not be the case.

A recent study published in the European Heart Journal discovered that obese persons who have an adequate level of physical fitness were "metabolically healthy" and had "no greater risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer than normal weight people."

In their study researchers measured height, weight, waist circumference, and body fat percentage on 43,265 obese participants. They also assessed physical fitness with a treadmill test. They initially found that nearly half, 43%, of individuals were already metabolically healthy according to the cardio exercise tests. After following them for several years, they found that these metabolically healthy obese people didn't develop the deadly diseases that the metabolically unhealthy participants developed.

Based on the study, Dr Francisco Ortega, PhD from the University of Grenada made these comments to Science Daily, "Physician[s] should take into consideration that not all obese people have the same prognosis. Physician could assess fitness, fatness and metabolic markers to do a better estimation of the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer of obese patients. Our data support the idea that interventions might be more urgently needed in metabolically unhealthy and unfit obese people, since they are at a higher risk. This research highlights once again the important role of physical fitness as a health marker."

...so not only may some physicians' callous remarks and opinions about the overweight/obese be just plain rude, it may also be unfounded as well--- nearly half may be as healthy or healthier as you.


Hence, to my fellow medical students on the slim side: Don't be a hater.

Dire Apologies

It's been 759 days since my last post--- I can't believe it's been that long since my African road trip.

Since then: I've read many books (skimmed some of them), saw many patients, gained more friends (and lost some), shed many tears, had at least two breakdowns, and took a 18 month trial of antidepressants. 

But who said medical school was easy anyway? ... aside from the satirists and the compulsive liars, of course.

Now, I'm a different person--- wiser, braver, fatter, and more realistic than before. I look back on my eager first days of medical school with nostalgia and a twinge of embarrassment. I have finished my third year of medical school, and I'm closer to being a doctor than ever. However, I'm taking an "academic" leave of absence to take a job as a medical journalist--- to get away from the perils of school and develop my interest in writing.

I couldn't be happier with my decision; with no academic commitments and a full salary, it's nice to be a real person again.

Now, it's time to start where I've left off. I still want to build this blog into a good resource for medical students and pre-med students.

Sorry for the delay.

Click here for my brand new post--- I dare you.