Older, non-traditional medical school applicants

For some of us, the dream of a career in medicine only becomes a dream after we have lived life, finished school, and begun a career. In my case, I have had multiple careers and the beauty of the things that I have done is that I’ve had time to cultivate my interests, demonstrate my competence, and I’ve developed a strong sense of self and resilience. I would advise that if medicine is your calling at an older age, you should absolutely pursue medicine.

Understand however that the older you are, the more of an outlier you will be. In 2017-’18, the average age of U.S. allopathic students was 24; for osteopathic students, it was around 25. You may feel self-conscious about being the older student sitting in classes with students who could be your children’s or niece’s/nephew’s age. You may also worry about being unable to keep up or compete with the younger students. Remember, these younger students have frequently been on this one track since they graduated from high school. You have been through a lifetime of experiences that have prepared you for the challenges of pre-med and eventually, medical school life. You are resilient.

The path to medical school may not be a straight one for you but it is absolutely 100% possible for you to gain admissions to medical school. This cycle, I’ve earned three acceptances and have had multiple interviews. I’m still being offered interviews as well. You may have to do some research to find the school that is a good fit for you but trust me when I say, there is a school out there for you. There is a school out there that will appreciate the very unique, efficient, creative, and motivated perspectives that you have to share.

Random facts: In 2013, the AOA stated that osteopathic medical students ranged from the age of 18 all the way to 61. That same year, several dozen D.O. students graduated in their 50s and several were in their 60s!!! More than 200 current osteopathic physicians graduated when they were in their 50s! Dr. Clarence Nicodemus, PhD, DO graduated from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at the age of 61. He’d had a 30+ year career in biomedical engineering at UTMB in Galveston, TX when he decided to go to medical school.

A message to all the non-traditional pre-meds, the old pre-meds, and anyone else who thinks that they can't make it to medical school

To my Nontraditional & Old Premeds:

IF YOU WANT IT, APPLY TO MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!

There, I said it! If you have any doubts about your grades, clinical experiences, resume, qualifications, past failures, or shortcomings, let me remind you that ANYTHING is possible!

You may not get what you go after every single time, but the only way to get it is to go after it in the first place. This past year was tough on EVERYONE so pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and KEEP GOING!!! If you did not reach your goals in 2020, do not take this as a sign of weakness and a reason to give up on yourself and your dreams. The fact that you made it through 2020 with your life, your health, and your dreams intact is a sign of strength despite the odds that were stacked against you. This is a sign that you need to have faith in yourself and your abilities and you need to push yourself into places where others doubt that you can reach. This is a sign that YOU ARE ABLE TO ACHIEVE!

Medical school admissions committees:

Continue to expect highly of us but allow your core values to drive your evaluations of us. Remember that grace and understanding is valuable. The world is shaking under the impact of COVID, political and economic strife, and division every day, yet we still have a desire to work hard, achieve our goals, maintain our mental and physical health, and network. We still persist! I think that says something: Us older students want it! We still want to and WILL succeed despite all the odds against us.

#nontraditionalpremed #oldpremed #futuremedicalstudents #hardwork #grinddate

January 28, 1986 - RIH Crew of STS-51-L, Shuttle Challenger

January 28, 1986. This was the spring semester of my Freshman year of high school. This time stands out to me because that Christmas Break, the high school caught fire and was severely damaged. We ended up having an extended break while the district arranged for the trailers to be bought to the site of the campus to be converted to classrooms while the new New Caney High School building & campus was constructed. I was home this day while my dad was at work, my mother was in the hospital, and my sister was at school. I was watching as the shuttle launched and then exploded just over a minute and 13 sec into its flight. It didn't seem real and I remember all sorts of speculation on the news that day and evening regarding what could have caused the Challenger to explode.

Years later, during the summer of 2003, I participated in the first of what would be two summer terms with the Ronald E. McNair Scholar's Program that was established in honor of Ronald McNair, the second African American astronaut to fly in space, and a victim of the Challenger accident.

RIH STS-51-L. Commander #DickScobee, Pilot #MichaelJSmith, Mission Specialists #EllisonSOnizuka, #JudithAResnik and #RonaldEMcNair, and Payload Specialists #GregoryJarvis and Teacher #ChristaMcAuliffe

Wow, ANOTHER interview invite!!!

While I napped, I received an offer to interview at UIWSOM in San Antonio, TX. The University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine is one of the newer osteopathic medical schools in the nation, having accepted their first class of students in 2017. It's housed on an old Air Force base in San Antonio and there are some interesting elements to the curriculum. For example, when the summer term starts, students spend the first 8 or 12 weeks earning their EMT-Basic certificate and engaging in underserved care in and around San Antonio, TX. Another interesting feature of the school is their affiliation with Baptist Health; Baptist is providing scholarship funding to UIWSOM students in exchange for service.

I didn't think that I would hear from UIW due to my MCAT being on the lower side, but I did hear that the school has an explicit mission to recruit URM students, particularly African American males. Eboni and I talked about it and we decided it won't hurt to attend the interview and hear what they are talking about; we've heard through the grapevine that they may have some special URM Scholarship offers so its worth listning to them to see what they say. I'm still waiting to see if the VA-HPSP will come through as far as funding my education at ATSU-SOMA so, seeing what UIWSOM is talking about is worth it. Going to see if I can schedule the interview for next Friday

P.S. - I think that this interview invite also shows that despite how crazy COVID has made things, there is still a chance for people to interview and earn a seat in a medical school. If you are reading this and haven't yet heard from anyone, don't fold up the card table just yet. Schools are still contacting folks to interview and still offering acceptances! Yours could be just around teh corner!

Great news!

I am THRILLED! My boy Alex received word of his acceptance to A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona today! As a veteran AND an African American male, Alex will be representing two underrepresented groups in U.S. medical education. Like all medical students, he's worked hard to earn this accolade and personally speaking, I'm glad that I'll attend medical school with someone that I consider a friend. God is good all the time! HOOAH!

10 medical school application myths

As a pre-med or career changer, you are going to get a lot of advice. Some of it will be factual while much of it will be utter bullshit. How do you know what to believe? I say that you should contact medical schools and ask questions, speak to medical students and medical school applicants, talk to practicing physicians, talk to CARING and knowledgeable pre-health advisors, etc. I tend to stay away from Value MD and Student Doctor Network for the most part and I tend to scoff at the outwardly aggressive, gunner-type pre-meds.

Myth 1: Grades taken early in my academic career do not matter.

False: Any and all grades that you earn as an undergraduate / graduate student will matter. The issue is that as time goes on, these grades may not matter as much as grades that you earn in your later years. So, for example, I started my undergraduate studies at Texas Southern University and earned a 1.67 overall GPA after a summer and fall term. Since that time, I’ve had a strong upward trend in my grades. When I applied to medical school via AMCAS and AACOMAS, the grades were listed and calculated into my GPA; however, when I was interviewed, these grades did not get much attention as the grades that I earned after I returned to school in 2005. But make no mistake about it, every grade that you earn will be counted towards your GPA when you apply to medical school.

Myth 2: A high GPA will make up for a low MCAT or a high MCAT will make up for a low GPA.

False: If your GPA is sitting at say, 2.75 and you score a 515 on the MCAT, you may still not even pass the screening process of most medical schools to get a secondary application because of that low GPA. If you have a GPA of 3.97 and score a 495 on the MCAT, you may or may not get an interview depending on the school and if you do interview, your odds of gaining admissions may still be on the low end. You want to aim for as high of a GPA and MCAT as possible. This does not mean that people with lower GPAs and MCATs don’t get interviews and eventually admitted; however, the higher your numbers, the greater your odds of gaining that interview and eventually, an admission offer.

Myth 3: If I retake a class, medical schools will only see the newer grade.

False: Every class that you take is on your transcript. When you complete your AACOMAS and/or AMCAS, you must list every course and grade that appears on your transcript. So, let’s say that you took Calculus I and earned a D in the fall of 2018. You retake the class in the spring 2019 and earn an A. Both attempts will show on your primary application and will count in your GPA. Now, I have heard that some schools have an academic forgiveness policy whereby classes that were earned prior to academic forgiveness are literally wiped off of the transcript. I don’t know if this is true or not. At my undergraduate alma mater, we had an academic forgiveness policy and the way that it worked was any credits that were forgiven, would still show up on the transcript but were not calculated into your undergraduate GPA. However, if a student who had taken academic forgiveness applied to medical school, they would still have to list those forgiven classes in their medical school primary application and the grades would still show on the transcript.

Myth 4: You cannot take pre-requisite classes at the community college.

False: Many students have to take classes at the community college because of cost, the need to have flexible schedules to accommodate childcare and/or work needs, transportation, etc. I had to complete my entire general physics & general chemistry, along with trigonometry, an English literature, and college algebra at the community college. I was in the military at the time and had to “get in where I fit in” so to speak. Further, if I had known better, I would have just finished my entire first two years at the community college because it was far less costly than taking classes at Arizona State University. Because of rising tuition costs, many students are opting to take classes at the community colleges, and I think that medical school admissions committees are starting to recognize this. While there are still some schools that will frown on prerequisite courses taken at the community college, the taboo against them is not what it was 20 or 30 years ago.

Myth 5: If I double major or double minor, this will give me an advantage over other applicants.

False: A second major or minor does little to nothing in comparison to other applicants. I completed dual degrees in Microbiology and Community Health Promotion with a minor in Sociology. This came up 0 times during my interviews and in fact, by doing both degrees, my science GPA was hurt because some semesters, I carried upwards of 24 credits. While I enjoyed both programs, if I could do it all over again, I’d have only chosen one, probably Community Health. If you truly have a desire to do a double major or minor, do it because you want to. Don’t do it with the expectation that it will increase your odds of getting into medical school.

Myth 6: I need to have research experience to get into medical school.

False: Plenty of students get into medical school without research experience or publications/poster presentations. I have over 3,500 hours of research experience from undergrad and in my PhD. I’ve got four publications, two conference presentations, two grant submissions, and soon, I will have completed my dissertation. Of the three interview’s that I’ve had, my research experiences have come up a grand total of one time. This is not a make-or-break thing unless you are applying for a DO/PhD or MD/PhD program or a school that otherwise places a great deal of emphasis on research.

Myth 7: I need to major in a science to have the best chances of getting into medical school.

False: You can study literally anything and gain admissions to medical school. I’ve got a friend who was a Religious Studies / Arabic major and got to medical school. I have another friend who majored in Women’s Studies and is now a 4th year medical student. I have a former student who studied Health Promotion and is applying to medical school now. One of my co-workers is a Social Worker and is now in a post bac to get her science pre-reqs and I know a ton of nurses who are headed back to medical school. The key is to take the medical school pre-requisite courses. You can study anything and while studying a science is the most common degree type that applicants have, you don’t get any special leg up or consideration in the medical school admissions process. Study something that you have an interest in and take those pre-reqs and you’ll be good.

Myth 8: If I get a letter of recommendation from Dr. X who is influential, that will get me into medical school.

False: For starters, you should get letters from individuals who know you well and can speak to your strengths. You do NOT want letters of recommendation that are generic or from people who do not know you well. Next, while having a letter from someone well known can open a door, that in and of itself will not get you into medical school. I had a letter of recommendation from the Director of the Practice Based Research Network at SOMA (and director of a whole bunch of other stuff); she and her father are very well known at the school and nationally for their research. It was a super strong letter of recommendation and because of her letter, I received a “Home Town Scholar” designation on my application. This helped to propel me forward in the interview process, but I still had to interview and discuss my credentials and my undergraduate GPA red flag. You should always seek to network but knowing people will rarely guarantee anything beyond the possibility of an open door.

Myth 9: If I get an A in a course, I can ask the professor for a letter of recommendation.

False: This goes along with what I said above. Only ask for letters from people who know you well. Simply earning an A in a class does not guarantee a good, strong letter. I have had many students ask for letters of recommendation and the students who get strong letters are the ones who come to office hours, meet with me over Zoom, and send me emails. You know, the ones who attempt to establish a relationship. Those students who didn’t take the time to do so usually get a letter that says something like “So and so was in my class and they earned such and such grade.” If the professor who knows you best gave you a B but can write a strong letter of recommendation, that’s what you go for. My strongest letter of recommendation was from a member of my dissertation committee; I earned a B+ in her Structural Equation Modeling course and I believe that her letter was instrumental in the ultimate decision to grant me admissions at all three of the schools that I was admitted to.

Myth 10: Going to medical school is not worth it unless I go to a top tier school.

False: This is literally the stupidest myth that I hear from pre-meds. The goal is to be a physician. Go to the medical school that you can get into. Period. If that is Harvard, so be it. If that is ICOM, so be it. At the end of the day, what matters is how well you did in your coursework and what your board scores are. Most patients will never ask you where you went to school; those few patients that do care about such things will usually have taken steps to ensure that they are seeing the doctor that they want to see long before you ever have to worry about them. Beyond that, what is a “top tier” medical school anyway? For me, a top tier medical school is one that has an environment that I can thrive in, a curriculum that allows me to have a life outside of class, and a history of placing candidates in the specialty of my choice. Getting into any medical school is hard. If you get into one, D.O. or M.D., consider yourself blessed and run with the blessing.

Why did I decide to pursue osteopathic medicine?

Why did I choose osteopathic medicine? I first found out about osteopathic medicine in the mid-1980s as a high school student. Oddly enough, I had a Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine catalog in my book collection; don't ask me how I got it. I've no idea to this day, where that came from. Anyway, I remember looking through the catalog and thinking, "Wow, this Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy sounds neat!" I was a football player and suffered a whole litany of injuries year in and year out. I didn't like taking injections and I thought that it would have been neat to experience OMT as a means of dealing with my achy knees and ankles. I asked my dad about it and his response was that osteopathic medicine was nothing more than chiropractic medicine and that I shouldn't waste my time with it. That was the end of my thoughts about osteopathic medicine.

Flash forward to the spring and summer of 2020. I am staring at my computer trying to decide what medical schools to apply to. At the time, I hadn't quite turned 49 but I knew that many medical schools, while not practicing outright age discrimination, don't look terribly kindely on older applicants. I spent a LOT of time reviewing AAMC and AACOM admissions and matriculant data for the last several years. I also reviewed a lot of schools websites. What I noticed is that there were far fewer students in their late 30s to late 40s who had been admitted or were attending allopathic medical schools. This isn't to say that osteopathic medical schools are a deep and welcoming haven for older students such as myself but a review of the numbers showed me that I would have significantly better odds of getting into an osteopathic program as opposed to an allopathic program. I saw that some DO programs had acceptaed students as old as 61 and I found out that ATSU-SOMA, the school where I will be starting in the fall, had a student who was 57 years of age just a few years ago!

The next thing that I considered was how schools would view my undergraduate studies. As you've probably heard, there are things that students can do to reinvent themselves, academically. You can attend a post bac or SMP program; these programs can allow you to demonstrate that you have the ability to succeed in hard sciences and to a degree, they can help you to make up for a lower undergraduate GPA. While I did have a 3.67 in my pharmacology & toxicology masters and a 3.778 from one semester spent as a non-degree seeking student in an SMP program (21 credits), the reality as I have found out is that some schools will still place a great deal of emphasis on your undergraduate work. I started calling several allopathic programs, most notably Howard University, Meharry, and Morehouse School of Medicine, to find out how I might be percieved as a candidate. I will just say that with the exception of my home state allopathic program and one out of state program, U of Arizona and the U of Iowa, no allopathic program seemed to view me as a viable candidate. The admissions counselor that I spoke with at Howard was particularly pointed when she said that I would be wasting my money by applying to Howard. My experience was different with the D.O. programs that I was able to make contact with. I remember in particular a visit that my wife and I made to Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine. I was able to sit with the guy who was the director of admissions at the time and he reviewed my transcripts. As opposed to dismissing me outright, he made a few suggestions on how I could word things in my application to explain my academic performance as well as discuss what was going on in my life that led to some of those grades. I also had similar experiences with ATSU-SOMA and West Virgina University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Overall, it just felt like I wouldn't have to continue to pay for the poor grades that I made as a 17 year old freshman student at Texas Southern University in 1989 and later, as a newly returned undergraduate student at Arizona State University in the spring of 2004.

In 2012, I ruptured my left Achilles tendon and after the surgical repair, I needed to seek rehabilitation. A colleague suggested that I see a sports medicine physician in Chandler, AZ who also happened to be a D.O. Through the use of a combination of OMT and traditional physical therapy, I was able to resume jogging 3 to 4 months ahead of the original schedule that my surgeon had laid out for me. Since that time, I've seen two D.O.'s as PCP's and I've noticed a few differences between them and the M.D.'s that I've seen. For starters, I feel like the two osteopathic physicians that I have seen have been more thorough with my H&Ps. For example, each time that I saw them, there was a discussion about my selcual health and whether or not I needed PrEP. Prior to that, I have NEVER had a doctor ask about my sexual health; now that I am married, many doctors just assume that I and my wife don't need to have a sexual health assessment. I believe that EVERY patient should have their sexual health assessed no matter their marital status and if you have a single, sexually active patient, they should be assessed for PrEP needs. The two D.O.'s that I saw took more time with me; when I was a new patient, I particularly remember my first D.O. giving me 45 minutes of time. Every visit thereafter, he would spend 15-20 minutes going over my chart and talking to me about my health. My mother-in-law was also seeing a D.O. at Western University-COMPs Patient Care Center around this same time and her experience was similar to mine. There was a large focus on getting to know her and he spent a lot of time carefully explaining things to her, answering her questions, and making sure that she was OK with treatment plans. In short, he made sure that she felt like she was the driver of her care. I don't mean to suggest that there are not M.D.'s who don't take this sort of care and time with their patients, I know that there are. My dad's PCP is a wonderful doctor who practices integrative medicine. Its just that in my experience with M.D.'s, this isn't something that I'd experienced.

One of my undergraduate degrees is in community health promotion and sociology and my second masters is in public health. My PhD is going to be in Nursing & Healthcare Innovation; my specializations are community based participatory research and clinical & translational research. I've got years of experience teaching and working in public health industry. When I decided that I wanted to attend medical school, I said that I wanted to be able to blend what I know in public health with the practice of medicine. In my research about osteopathic medicine, I discovered that social justice and public health is built into its DNA. For example, A.T. Still, the founder of the osteopathic profession, was a very early abolitionist; like his father, he did not believe in slavery and he followed his convictions by fighting against slavery; he served in the 9th Kansas Cavalry (US) on the side of the Union during the Civil War.

Other osteopathic physicians have also loomed large in the fight for social justice. For example, Dr. William G. Anderson worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. David Abernathy to help African Americans gain voting rights in Georgia. Dr. Anderson was later the first African American President of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Dr. Ashley Denmark has taken on the task of normalizing academic success in minority youth. Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, the sister of Diana Ross, broke a major barrier by becoming the FIRST African American woman to be a Dean of a U.S. medical school and the first osteopathic physician to earn the title "Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow." In 2017, she retired as the Vice President of for Health Sciences and Medical Affairs at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. I could go on and on but you get the point. There have been a great number of African American D.O.'s, both past and present, who have taken a leading role in breaking down barriers and fighting for social justice.

Dr. Still also believed in early ideas surrounding the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and public health. Tragically, Dr. Still lost several children due to infectious disease. He did not trust the commonly used medicines and treatments of the day and this is how he came to develop his concepts of osteopathy. However, in reading some of his history, it became clear to me that Dr. Still also understood that the conditions that we are born, live, and die in have an influence on our health as well. He understood how diet could influence health. I believe that some of his writings suggest an understanding of the role of stress and bad health. While many of his ideas about medicine have not withstood the test of evidence based medicine and time, his ideas about the SDOH (even though they were not called that at the time) and how they influence health have not only withstood the test of time, they are gaining renewed interest as we look for ways to modify health and disease that do not require medical intervention. So I view osteopathic medicine to be a very good fit for my background and training in public health as well as my interests in social justice, particularly in the realm of increasing Black male representation in medicine and the Black Lives Matter movement. In short, osteopathic medicine is a natural fit for me.

U.S. Schools of Osteopathic Medicine

Here is a list of all of the U.S. schools of osteopathic medicine. Where possible, I've tried to include information regarding acceptance rates, school websites, MCAT score averages, average GPA's, and tuition information. Some of this info may be outdated so you should be checking with the schools to find out the most recent information.

Lincoln Memorial University, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) Main Campus: Harrogate, TN Additional Locations: Knoxville, TN Acceptance rate (overall): 14% Students matriculated per year: 368 In-state: 37.4% Out-of-state: 62.6% Average MCAT score: 501 Average GPA: 3.43 Tuition: $52,650 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) Main Campus: Meridian, Idaho Acceptance rate (overall): 12.6% Acceptance rate of those who interview: 68% Students matriculated per year: 162 In-state: 16.6% Out-of-state: 83.4% Average MCAT score: 505 Average GPA: 3.55 Tuition: $51,240 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNTHSC/TCOM) Main Campus: Fort Worth, TX Acceptance rate (overall): 11.6% Students matriculated per year: 230 In-state: 94.7% Out-of-state: 5.3% Average MCAT score: 507 Average GPA: 3.71 Tuition: $13,079 (in-state) and $28,766 (out-of-state) Admissions website

Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) Main Campus: Dothan, AL Acceptance rate (overall): 9.5% Students matriculated per year: 183 In-state: 16.1% Out-of-state: 83.9% Average MCAT score: 503 Average GPA: 3.4 Tuition: $52.800 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU-COM) Main Campus: Kansas City, MO Additional Locations: Joplin, MO Acceptance rate (overall): 9.1% Students matriculated per year: 270 In-state: 12.5% Out-of-state: 87.5% Average MCAT score: 507 Average GPA: 3.63 Tuition: $48,910 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University (AZCOM/MWU) Main Campus: Glendale, AZ Acceptance rate (overall): 7.5% Students matriculated per year: 254 In-state: 37% Out-of-state: 63% Average MCAT score: 506 Average GPA: 3.48 Tuition: $71,146 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM) Main Campus: Fort Smith, AR Acceptance rate (overall): 7.2% Students matriculated per year: 150 In-state: 14.5% Out-of-state: 85.5% Average MCAT score: 501 Average GPA: 3.5 Tuition: $43,000 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) Main Campus: Old Westbury, NY Additional Locations: Jonesboro, AR Acceptance rate (overall): 7.1% Students matriculated per year: 435 In-state: 57.9% Out-of-state: 42% Average MCAT score: 505 Average GPA: 3.4 Tuition: $59,350 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (PNWU-COM) Main Campus: Yakima, WA Acceptance rate (overall): 6.45% Students matriculated per year: 144 In-state: 49.3% Out-of-state: 50.7% Average MCAT score: 502 Average GPA: 3.43 Tuition: $56,000 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) Main Campus: Philadelphia, PA Branch Campus: Suwanee, GA Additional Locations: Moultrie, GA Acceptance rate (overall): 6.31% Students matriculated per year: 268 In-state: 50% Out-of-state: 50% Average MCAT score: 504 Average GPA: 3.5 Tuition: $51,972 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-COM) Main Campus: Parker, CO Additional Locations: Ivins, UT Acceptance rate (overall): 6.1% Students matriculated per year: 297 In-state: 47.5% Out-of-state: 52.5% Average MCAT score: 506 Average GPA: 3.61 Tuition: $56,630 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine (DMU-COM) Main Campus: Des Moines, IA Acceptance rate (overall): 6% Students matriculated per year: 218 In-state: 26% Out-of-state: 74% Average MCAT score: 507 Average GPA: 3.6 Tuition: $51,358 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM) Main Campus: East Lansing, MI Additional Locations: Clinton Township, MI; Detroit, MI Acceptance rate (overall): 5.5% Students matriculated per year: 300 In-state: 85% Out-of-state: 15% Average MCAT score: 507 Average GPA: 3.7 Tuition: $46,110 (in-state) and $65,325 (out-of-state) Admissions website

Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM) Main Campus: Athens, OH Additional Locations: Dublin, OH; Cleveland, OH Acceptance rate (overall): 5.5% Students matriculated per year: 248 In-state: 96% Out-of-state: 4% Average MCAT score: 504 Average GPA: 3.65 Tuition: $36,342 (in-state) and $51,828 (out-of-state) Admissions website

A.T. Still University of Health Sciences School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) Main Campus: Mesa, AZ Acceptance rate (overall): 5.3% Students matriculated per year: 161 In-state: 9.3% Out-of-state: 90.7% Average MCAT score: 504 Average GPA: 3.5 minimum Tuition: $58,652 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University Main Campus: Las Cruces, NM Acceptance rate (overall): 5% Acceptance rate of those who interview: 27% Students matriculated per year: 162 In-state: 8.6% Out-of-state: 91.4% Average MCAT score: 500 Average GPA: 3.53 Tuition: $54,468 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

University of New England, College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM) Main Campus: Biddeford, ME Acceptance rate (overall): 5% Students matriculated per year: 178 In-state: 8.6% Out-of-state: 91.4% Average MCAT score: 505 Average GPA: 3.56 Tuition: $56,730 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

University of the Incarnate Word, School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) Main Campus: San Antonio, TX Acceptance rate (overall): 4.6% Students matriculated per year: 160 In-state: 72% Out-of-state: 28% Average MCAT score: 502 Average GPA: 3.53 Tuition: $55,000 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

A.T. Still University of Health Sciences Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) Main Campus: Kirksville, MO Acceptance rate (overall): 4.2% Students matriculated per year: 170 In-state: 32% Out-of-state: 68% Average MCAT score: 503 Average GPA: 3.66 Tuition: $57,140 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) Main Campus: Lynchburg, VA Acceptance rate (overall): 4.2% Students matriculated per year: 160 In-state: 28.2% Out-of-state: 71.8% Average MCAT score: 506 Average GPA: 3.5 Tuition: $47,000 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MU-COM) Main Campus: Indianapolis, IN Acceptance rate (overall): 4.1% Students matriculated per year: 156 In-state: 57.1% Out-of-state: 42.9% Average MCAT score: 504 Average GPA: 3.65 Tuition: $50,900 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

William Carey University, College of Osteopathic Medicine (WCUCOM) Main Campus: Hattiesburg, MS Acceptance rate (overall): 4.1% Students matriculated per year: 104 In-state: 20.2% Out-of-state: 79.8% Average MCAT score: 500 minimum Average GPA: 3.5 minumum Tuition: $44,000 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM) Main Campus: Lillington, NC Acceptance rate (overall): 4% Students matriculated per year: 162 In-state: 43.5% Out-of-state: 56.5% Average MCAT score: 507 Average GPA: 3.60 Tuition: $50,600 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions Website

Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM) Main Campus: Fort Lauderdale, FL Additional Locations: Clearwater, FL Acceptance rate (overall): 3.9% Students matriculated per year: 416 In-state: 59.2% Out-of-state: 40.8% Average MCAT score: 505 Average GPA: 3.5 Tuition: $54,580 (in-state) and $61,167 (out-of-state) Admissions website

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (OSU-COM) Main Campus: Tulsa, OK Additional Locations: Tahlequah, OK Acceptance rate (overall): 3.8% Students matriculated per year: 116 In-state: 93% Out-of-state: 7% Average MCAT score: 500 Average GPA: 3.6 Tuition: $25,796 (in-state) and $53,298 (out-of-state) Admissions website

Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (WesternU/COMP) Main Campus: Pomona, CA Additional Locations: Lebanon, OR Acceptance rate (overall): 3.8% In-state: 75.8% Out-of-state: 24.2% Students matriculated per year: 227 Average MCAT score: 510 Average GPA: 3.68 Tuition: $59,560 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) Main Campus: Blacksburg, VA Branch Campus: Auburn, AL; Spartanburg, SC; Monroe, LA Acceptance rate (overall): 3.7% Students matriculated per year: 185 In-state: 64.8% Out-of-state: 35.2% Average MCAT score: 500 Average GPA: 3.5-3.6 Tuition: $46,500 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) Main Campus: Erie, PA Branch Campus: LECOM – Bradenton, FL Additional Locations: Greensburg, PA; Elmira, NY Acceptance rate (overall): 3.7% Students matriculated per year: 381 In-state: 20.1% Out-of-state: 79.9% Average MCAT score: 503 Average GPA: 3.5 Tuition: $33,180 (in-state) and $35,757 (out-of-state) Admissions website

Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM) Main Campus: Stratford, NJ Acceptance rate (overall): 3.7% Students matriculated per year: 211 In-state: 80.5% In-state: 19.5% Average MCAT score: 505 Average GPA: 3.59 Tuition: $41,339 (in-state) and $66,324 (out-of-state) Admissions website

University of Pikeville – Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (UP-KYCOM) Main Campus: Pikeville, KY Acceptance rate (overall): 3.7% Students matriculated per year: 142 In-state: 28.9% Out-of-state: 71.1% Average MCAT score: 501 Average GPA: 3.6 Tuition: $47,420 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) Main Campus: Lewisburg, WV Acceptance rate (overall): 3.7% Students matriculated per year: 200 In-state: 22% Out-of-state: 78% Average MCAT score: 501 Average GPA: 3.54 Tuition: $21,472 (in-state) and $52,710 (out-of-state) Admissions website

Touro University – California, Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine (TUCOM-CA) Main Campus: Vallejo, CA Branch Campus: Henderson, NV Acceptance rate (overall): 2.9% Students matriculated per year: 135 In-state: 83% Out-of-state: 17% Average MCAT score: 507 Average GPA: 3.51 Tuition: $56,860 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University (CCOM/MWU) Main Campus: Downers Grove, IL Acceptance rate (overall): 2.7% Students matriculated per year: 254 In-state: 65% Out-of-state: 35% Average MCAT score: 506 Average GPA: 3.48 Tuition: $73,348 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine – New York (TouroCOM-NY) Main Campus: New York, NY Additional Locations: Middletown, NY Acceptance rate (overall): 2.7% Students matriculated per year: 269 In-state: 44.6% Out-of-state: 55.4% Average MCAT score: 507 Average GPA: 3.4 Tuition: $57,070 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine - Conroe, TX Acceptance rate (overall): Students matriculated per year: In-state: Out-of-state: Average MCAT score: Average GPA: Tuition: $55,000 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine - Clovis, CA Acceptance rate (overall): Students matriculated per year: In-state: Out-of-state: Average MCAT score: Average GPA: Tuition: $53,500 (in-state and out-of-state) Admissions website

How difficult is it to gain admissions to medical school?

In 2018-’19, 53,371 individuals applied to U.S. and Canadian allopathic medical schools. Just over 21,000 students were admitted. Said another way, around 40-41% earned a spot in medical school. During this same time frame, 21,584 applicants applied for around 7,672 seats in U.S. osteopathic medical schools. About 35% of applicants earned a spot in a medical school. The average U.S. medical school applicant, in 2018-‘19 submitted about 16 applications (MD and DO). This is well over 1 million applications flooding the nations medical schools. What is so special about the 40% or so applicants that are accepted? What about the 60% or so who are not accepted? What happens to these students and why are they not accepted?

I’ve already posted about some of the various requirements that one must meet to get into medical school. I won’t rehash them here but if you would like more information, leave a note and I’ll get back to you. What I will say here is that the process of gaining admissions to medical school is perhaps the most grueling thing that I have ever done. In many ways, I think that it was more grueling than the application process to the Officer Candidate School program with the Oklahoma Army National Guard / Oklahoma Military Academy. We’re talking semester after semester of science classes, some of which are incredibly difficult AND boring depending on your professor (Any reader ever taken General Physics II at Tarrant County Community College Southeast?), hours of community service and volunteer work, clinical work, research work, competing for letters of recommendation in that 450 person Organic Chemistry class where the professor said that he would only write letters for the top 10% of the class, and of course, the monster of an exam, the MCAT. And AFTER you finish all of that, you have to start the primary AMCAS and/or AACOMAS applications to medical school. You’ve got to have the money; it is. not uncommon for students to spend upwards of $5,000 to apply to medical school. Some students have spent more money. Then you have to write the famous (or infamous) personal statement. How do you ensure that you tell your entire life story but make it not sound like every other applicant out there, in 5,300 characters? If you are able to run this gauntlet, maybe, just maybe, you will be one of the fortunate students who earns an interview.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), I was one of those students who did not get so much as an interview the first time that I applied to U.S. medical school in 2010. I did not have the money to apply broadly and while I had good letters of recommendation and experiences, my MCAT score and grades were mediocre at best. I also had a lot going on in my personal life at the time. The woman who is now my wife, had gone to school at SIU-Carbondale and our relationship was really on the rocks. I’d been an ass and very nearly lost her. At the time, there was no guarantee that the two of us were going to even stay together. Still, despite all of that, when I got my first rejection emails, I was EMBARRASSED. I felt like I was a complete idiot for not being able to get an admission offer. After reflecting on things, I realized that there are students, many who were FAR better and more worthy of a seat in medical school than I was at that time, who do not get into medical school. It doesn’t make you an idiot not to get in. Medical school is one of the toughest schools to gain admissions to and EVERYONE, well, most everyone, is incredibly smart and talented. Usually, only the crème de la crème are fortunate enough to earn a seat. I discovered that I needed to learn from my failure to gain admission and then prepare myself so that I wouldn’t fail again.

It took a LOT longer than I had anticipated. 10 years have passed since I first applied to U.S. medical schools. Some people must think that I am crazy to put myself through the roller coaster of applying to medical school, especially during this time of COVID-19. You submit your primary applications and then you wait, in my case, for eight weeks, for them to be verified. Then you bite off all of your nails and have to apologize to your wife for leaving finger nail bits at the side of the bed. I couldn’t help it though; I was waiting to see if I would get secondary applications. Just when you think that you aren’t going to get any secondary applications and you start making plans to apply to Caribbean and Australian medical schools, you get that first secondary application. Your mood is immediately buoyed and then you get a second secondary application, a third, a fourth, and next thing you know, you have 17 secondaries in your email inbox!

After you complete secondaries and send them back, you wait for weeks to months to hear back from the schools. If you are lucky, you may get a response in two weeks. If you are unlucky, you may not hear anything from the schools. This cycle, American medical schools have received a record number of applications. It is not uncommon for some students to have not even had their primary applications screened; I am waiting for a small handful of schools to screen my primary application and I have 10 or 11 secondaries out there that have not been screened for an interview. I just heard back from Marian College of Osteopathic Medicine that they have only just now sent my secondary to a faculty member who will screen it; it may be another four weeks before they say something… Anyway, during this whole time, you are going through additional rounds of biting your teeth and deciding if you should drop that $500 deposit to the Caribbean medical school that has admitted you.

Finally, one day, you get a non-descript email that notifies you of an offer to interview. Within fairly short order, you get another email saying the same thing. You are back on that high again! You and your wife run out to DXL to buy a suite and you go through several rounds of mock interviews. Finally, you have your two interviews and at the conclusion, they tell you that you will receive a decision within two to four weeks. You prepare to go through another round of nail biting but no, you are blessed to earn two acceptances in fairly short order within three weeks of one another. You start to realize how fortunate you are that you got into not only one but two US medical schools who are among your top choices. At the same time, you feel heartbroken because you have friends who have been waitlisted (they get to hang out on a list all spring and summer until a seat opens up) or denied even the chance to interview. Sometimes, the process feels like a girlfriend who is playing games with your emotions.

I’m not trying to make it sound like I am whining. Maybe I am whining just a bit. I’m really trying to convey how annoying and aggravating this process can be. For some people, they may have to take multiple MCATs and apply multiple times before they earn a seat in a medical school. Some of these people may be fortunate enough to make it while others will reach a point where they realize that it’s time to do something else. I have a mentee in California who is almost at this point and I don’t know what to say. His personal statement and application is great and he completely remade himself academically. He retook the MCAT and scored a 515; up from a 489, 490, and 496. So far, he’s applied to 42 schools but has only interviewed at one and he is on the waitlist at the one school. Going abroad for medical school is an option but it’s become increasingly difficult to return to the U.S. and successfully match into a residency.

In any case, I hope that this conveys some of the difficulty that is entailed with earning a seat in a U.S. medical school. I am incredibly fortunate to be one of the students who will be starting medical school this fall. If there is anything that I would want you to take away from this, it would be that getting into medical school is not a sprint, it’s a marathon and you should not start this race unless you are fully committed and ready to run it to its conclusion, no matter how long that may take.

ATSU-SOMA c/o 2025

Paid my final $1,000 seat deposit last night. I was still getting interview offers but after talking it over with Eboni, I decided that it would be best to withdraw from consideration from the other interview offers so that we will know where we are going and can focus on that. I would hate to choose a school late in the cycle and then have to scramble to make moving arrangements, etc. Plus, I have deep connections with the school, faculty, and Arizona. This move just makes sense and I know that I will be very happy at ATSU-SOMA!

Nation's FIRST tribally affiliated medical school!!! :-)

Congrats to the Cherokee Nation for opening the FIRST tribally affiliated medical school on tribal land in the U.S.

The Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at Cherokee Nation, cost $40M to build.

The 84,000 square foot, state of the art facility, will help train students, including Native Americans, to practice medicine in rural Oklahoma and in U.S. tribal nations.

There are 6.9 million American Indians/Alaska Natives in the U.S, of which, only 183 of them were in medical school during 2020-2021.

Sadly, that is 0.003% representation!

That said, this is one small step in the right direction. Well done Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and the State of Oklahoma!

#healthcare #health #medicine #innovation #entreprenuership #technology #digitalhealth #business #startup #venturecapital

Importance of GPA and MCAT scores

I touched on this in a different, earlier posting but it warrants its own posting given some of the questions that I have been fielding.

It's difficult to give a specific GPA or MCAT that will result in you being admitted to medical school. On the one hand, GPA and MCAT scores are the bread and butter of admissions. What I mean is that GPA and MCAT are the only standardized ways to compare applicants; however, the medical school admission process takes into account other factors such as the difficulty of major, salience of the personal statement, personal grit/determination, extracurricular activities, etc. Different medical schools weight different things differently and some may place greater emphasis on grades and MCAT's while other schools may take a more holistic view of the applicant. That said, as a rule, the higher your GPA and MCAT numbers, the better off you will be.  A science and overall GPA of 3.5ish or greater is a good number to aim for.  When looking at MCAT scores, these actually are school dependent, but aiming for a 507 or better would put you in a good spot for admissions consideration. When I applied, I spent a lot of time researching the medical schools that I was interested in and finding out their average GPA and MCAT scores for accepted students, so I could gauge myself and determine if it was worth it to spend the money to apply to a particular school(remember, you are paying to apply).

The reality is that your chances of acceptance depend on a lot more than just good MCAT scores. It’s a combination of the following pieces of your med school application :

your GPA

your MCAT scores

your undergraduate coursework

letters of recommendation

experience related to the medical field (such as volunteer work, shadowing, paid work, or research)

extracurricular activities

your personal statement

My undergraduate grades were not stellar; I graduated with a 3.19 science GPA and a 3.36 overall GPA. My hard science masters GPA was a 3.67 and later, I completed 18 credits as a non-degree seeking student in an SMP at Saint Xavier University where I earned a 3.778. My MCAT score was not stellar at a 495 but I had outstanding extracurriculars, had great letters of rec, and showed my grit and determinantion during my interviews. I not only hold three acceptances, I am still getting interviews. Medical schools are looking for a complete package, not just strong scores and a high GPA.

The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) and AACOM (Association of American College of Osteopathic Medicine) collects and organizes a lot of data on the subject.  Check this out:

AAMC 2020 FACTS: Applicants and Matriculants Data

AACOM Reports on Matriculants

AACOM Entering and Graduating Class Surveys

Post bac vs. Special Masters Program - Which route is best?

As of late, I’ve gotten a few questions about the differences between a post bac program and special masters programs (SMP) and under which conditions should a student consider pursuing one of these options.

Let’s start with some definitions first.

Who are post bac and SMP programs for?

These programs are for students who have completed their undergraduate and, in some cases, a graduate degree program, and are in need of one or more of the following:

You’ve already completed your undergraduate pre-med requirements and need to strengthen your academic profile before applying to medical school

Have not completed the undergraduate pre-med requirements and so need to complete these courses before applying

Are re-applying to medical school and need to improve your application before the next cycle

Are thinking about medical school but are unsure. You may want to take some hard sciences to determine if you are ready for the academic rigor of medical school

What are my options?

Depending on your circumstances, you may choose to do a career-change post bac, a record-enhancer post bac, or an SMP. A subset of the post bac programs that you may have heard of is the so-called, do-it-yourself or DIY post bac.

The career-changer post bac is for those folks who have not completed all of the pre-med requirements. They may have completed an undergraduate degree in social work for example and after some time in the work force, they have decided that they would like to apply to medical school. Students attending these programs will complete the standard medical school pre requisite courses. Some of these programs may have a linkage with a medical school where you can gain admissions if you complete the program with a specified GPA and MCAT score. Others may offer a chance at a guaranteed medical school interview.

Individuals who are seeking to pursue a record-enhancer post bac, are in need of increasing their GPA to enhance their undergraduate record. These students have usually completed all of the pre med courses but maybe their overall and/or science GPA is on the low side. These students may retake some of their pre requisite courses, though it is usually advised to take upper division courses as opposed to retaking courses that you have already passed, even if you passed the course with a C. Some of these programs may have a linkage with a medical school where you can gain admissions if you complete the program with a specified GPA and MCAT score. Others may offer a chance at a guaranteed medical school interview.

DIY post bac programs are not a formal sub-set of post bac programs. Some students, whether they are career-changers or record enhancers, do not have the finances or time in their schedules for a formal post bac program. Thus, they may enroll as a non-degree seeking student at their local community college and/or university and take classes that they need as they are able to afford and have time to take them. This is the most affordable option for many students but since you may not have access to formal academic and/or pre-health advising, the onus will be on the student to ensure that they are taking the appropriate classes to meet their goals.

Finally, we come to SMP’s or special master’s programs. These are master’s programs that are frequently closely affiliated with a medical school. Some SMP programs require students complete a few medical school classes while others may have students take up to a full year of medical school courses. Still other SMP programs may have classes that are closely modeled after medical school classes while other SMP programs may be made up of traditional graduate school courses or a mix of traditional graduate school and medical school classes. These programs can range from nine months to two full years in length and some come with what is called a “linkage”, that is, if you finish the SMP with a certain GPA and/or MCAT score, you will be guaranteed a seat in its affiliated medical school. Other programs will only guarantee you an interview if you pass some GPA and/or MCAT threshold and finally, some programs do not guarantee you anything but a master’s degree upon completion.

What benefits can I gain from attending one of these programs?

Aside from the ability to enhance your academic record and/or the chance to link directly into a medical school or earn a guaranteed medical school interview, many of the post bac and SMP programs offer the following:

Study skills training

Extracurricular opportunities such as physician shadowing and research

The chance to get individual and/or a committee letter of recommendation

Stress management courses

MCAT, PCAT, OAT, DAT, GRE prep, sometimes offered at a discount through Princeton Review or Kaplan

Assistance with writing your personal statement, primary applications, and secondary applications

Mock interviews

Application workshops

This is not an all-inclusive list of the services that post bac’s and SMP’s offer and it should be noted that some programs may only offer a few of these services, some may offer all of them, and some may offer none. Thus, it is important to consider what you need in a program and then carefully research the programs that are available.

How do I know if I need to attend a post bac or an SMP?

This is a tough question to answer because medical school admissions is not a one-size-fits-all affair. I have seen students with what would be considered low GPAs and mediocre MCAT scores gain admissions and other students with stellar grades and MCATs be denied even a secondary application. This highlights the point that you really need to have a well-rounded application, to include grades and MCAT scores.

If you have less than 140 undergraduate credits and less than a 3.2 overall and/or science GPA, then a post bac program may be beneficial to you. The reason why I say less than 140 undergraduate credits is because eventually, you can accumulate so many undergraduate credits that taking more undergraduate courses in a post bac program will not help your GPA move much. Thus, if you applied to medical school, your GPA may still not meet a particular schools screening cut off’s even if you performed well in post bac.

If you have a GPA between a 2.5 and 3.0 and have 120ish credits, you may need to do a post bac AND an SMP. This is not a guaranteed situation mind you. Much will depend on what your MCAT score is and what type of application strategy you use when you are applying to medical school but I have friends who had to do some undergraduate record enhancement followed by an SMP because they were unsuccessful in gaining admissions to medical school after completing a post bac. My point in mentioning this is that one shouldn’t look at these programs as a quick fix. Depending on YOUR individual situation regarding what your academic record and/or extracurricular record is lacking, you may have to do some extra work.

If you have a 2.75 and up (there are some SMPs who will admit students with as low as a 2.75 GPA) and have taken all of the medical school pre req courses, then an SMP may be in your future. Some SMPs also require an MCAT, GRE, or some other health professions test score for admissions. The thing to note about an SMP is that these programs are really a last stop. In my opinion, if you finish an SMP with less than a 3.5 GPA and/or come out with less than a 504 or so MCAT, you have probably wasted your money. I say probably because there is always a chance that someone may admit you to their medical school but I’ve heard my wife on admissions calls with her admissions committee and they tend to heavily question those students who finish SMP with less than stellar grades and/or an MCAT of less than a 504 or so. These students rarely gain admissions to my wife’s medical school and my guess is that many other medical schools will be similar in this regard. I have several friends who finished SMPs with a 3.0 – 3.2 overall GPA and earned MCATs in the 489-500 range who ended up having to attend international medical schools. Make sure that if you choose this route that you are prepared to hit the ground running and are going to fix whatever errors you may have in your study skills so that the SMP doesn’t end up representing a death blow to your aspirations of gaining admissions to medical school.

Funding. How will I pay for post bac and SMP programs?

Because most post bac programs are certificate granting, most will require the use of a private bank loan. I say most because I am not aware of any programs that will allow the use of federal financial aid but I could very well be mistaken in this regard. My advice would be to contact the financial aid office at the school that you would be interested in completing your post bac at, and ask them if you would be eligible for federal loans and/or institutional aid. If you have to use private loans, just be aware that these will be based on having a qualifying credit score. If you do a DIY post bac, you will be paying out of pocket for your studies. Finally, SMP’s, because they are graduate programs, will allow you to use federal and private student loans. A few programs may offer scholarships, but on the whole, you will have to utilize loans to cover your school expenses. Keep in mind that post bac and SMP programs can be EXPENSIVE. For example, the Georgetown University SMP in Physiology, can easily run you up to 80K or more after you factor in tuition, supplies, transportation, and cost of living. Loans have to be repaid so if you don’t get into medical school, you could easily have a very expensive certificate and/or masters degree that doesn’t do a lot for you to help get a job. Also, every dime that you take for a post bac and/or SMP is money that you do not get to use towards medical school. Thus, make sure that you are aware of what your loan limits are and where you stand in relation to them before making a decision to attend a post bac and/or SMP. I have friends who were “super undergrads”, meaning, they accumulated 180+ credits in undergrad, went to post bac and/or an expensive SMP and then ended up with no subsidized or unsubsidized federal loan eligibility. One guy I know who ended up in the Caribbean actually ran out of his Grad Plus loan eligibility because he taken so many undergrad hours and had gone to an SMP that costs around 100K. The medical school that he attended in the Caribbean was around 67K yearly so he rapidly ran out of money and had to come home in his 4th year… Don’t let that be your story.

List of post bac and SMP resources. This is not an all-inclusive list. Google will be your best friend.

AAMC Postbaccalaureate Programs

University of Hawaii at Manoa list of Post Bac and SMP programs

AACOM Post Baccalaureate Premedical Programs and SMPs

Medical Education Readiness Program (MERP)

Proofread your personal statement and applications!!!!

There are many elements of a stellar application for medical school: Excellent grades, top-notch MCAT scores, excellent letters of recommendation, unique extracurricular activities, clinical experiences, etc. However, one thing that does not get the attention that it needs when it comes to putting together a competitive application is the importance of proofreading and editing.

One of my friends called last night saying that he's been turned down for every medical school that he's applied to. We took a look at his secondary apps and personal statement and they were SLOPPY & riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. It shouldn't need to be said but please, carefully proofread and edit your personal statement, primary, and secondary applications. These are the first introduction that a medical school admissions committee will have to you so you need to put your best foot forward. If English isn't your first language or if writing is not your forte, you have even more impetus to carefully proofread and edit your work before submission.

If you have a writing lab at your university, academic or pre-health advisor, professor, or even a friend who you trust, let them proofread and suggest edits. Also, understand that this isn't a quick process. I went through five drafts of my medical school personal statement before settling on a version that I thought was sufficient to submit with my applications. Expect to go through multiple rounds of proofreading and editing.

It should go without saying, but proofreading is important to ensure that there is not any (Not an all-inclusive list):

Grammatical errors, Capitalization errors, Numbering errors

Spelling errors

Inconsistency in the format of the document

Misplaced words, Sentence structure errors

Punctuation mistakes

Shocking news - Picking up the pieces

I just received shocking news tonight. One of my close friends has been dismissed from medical school because he failed COMLEX 2 a third time. This is shocking because I know how hard he worked to get to medical school. He completed a rigorous SMP and then taught gross anatomy to medical students for a year before the medical school gave him a shot. He successfully completed his OMS1 and 2 years, crushed his COMLEX 1 and finished OMS3 and 4. I can’t imagine what it must be like to come all this way only to fall short.

Now my friend has to pick up the pieces. He called tonight asking for advice regarding how to use his masters to get into teaching; of course, I will pull every string that I can to assist. He is also considering transferring to a Caribbean medical school. I can’t imagine having to do four years of medical school ALL OVER. If he goes this route, maybe he can find a school that will allow him to complete the clinical years without having to redo all the biomedical sciences years.

Personally, I’ve been basking in the feel-good feelings of having been accepted to my top choice medical school and preparing to start the next chapter of my academic journey, but tonight’s call with my friend was a stark reminder that medical school is nothing to be played with. I have a couple of ideas why he failed COMLEX 2; I would never say this to him, but I will just say that staying focused and having supportive people in your corner is probably a key to getting through medical school. Like my PhD, my perception of medical school and its licensing exams, is that it’s a jealous mistress and if you don’t give it it’s time, it won’t treat you well.

To those reading this, if you have it in your heart, please pray for my friend. He sounded like he was holding up but I could also hear a lot of pain in his voice.

Assault on American Democracy and its roots in Racism

We saw something yesetrday that I never thought that I would see outside of a developing country. The very seat of American Democracy was attacked by a group of pseudo-patriots. As tempting as it is to lay all of the blame for yesterday at the feet of Donald J. Trump, certain GOP Congressmen and Senators, and members of Trump’s inner circle, yesterday did not start yesterday. The seeds of yesterday’s violence were sewn in 2008. In 2021, if the nation is going to truly move forward, the only path to reconcilliation will be through accountability and acknowledgement of the deep racism, structural, individual, and systematic, that exists in this country.

Another COVID-19 milestone

I stayed up past midnight last night feeling anxious about the future of American Democracy.

I am going to bed tonight to the news that the nation has reached another record for the number of COVID deaths: 4,000 in one day.

I don’t think we can pretend that we’ll going back to “normal” or “business as usual” in 2021. It’s going to take true non-partisanship in Washington, strong leadership, a unifying voice, and a vastly expanded role for #publichealth to put the country back on a path to peace and prosperity.

#leadership #COVID19 #peacebuilding

Medical mistrust in the Black Community

After reading Medical Aprtheid several years ago, I made a promise to myself to read it annually. It serves as a reminder of the reason why I’m doing this work...bridging the gap between researchers, healthcare and the community...increasing trust...establishing and maintaining genuine relationships between the institution and the community.

There are many historical events that contributed to mistrust of healthcare and research, like the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and Henrietta Lacks story, which we hear about often, and there are many others that we don’t hear so much about.<\p>

One study that was discussed involved young Black boys:

Instead of doing simple tests and an overnight stay as they promised, researchers stopped all of the boys’ medications used to manage their medical conditions for a month, drastically changed their diet over a four day period, and withheld food from them the night before they were to receive the experimental drug. The parents did not know. There is so much more I’m leaving out.

If you are doing community-engaged research in the Black community, please take the time to learn the history so you can understand the generational context of the mistrust.

#marginalized #research #communityengagement #postdocs #researcher #cbpr #history #publichealth #communityhealth #medicalapartheid

Mini Medical School at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School - Opportunity for high school juniors and seniors!!!

Mini Medical School at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Do you know a high school JUNIOR OR SENIOR interested in becoming a physician, dentist, medical scientist, or is interested in the healthcare profession?

Enrollment Information: Spring 2021

FORMAT: ZOOM

STARTS: Wednesdays, January 27

ENDS: Wednesday, March 10

TIME: 6:00 PM – 8:15 PM

GRADUATION: Wednesday, March 10

REGISTER: https://njms-web.njms.rutgers.edu/premedical/register.php

Mentoring and Black men in medicine

Black men make up less than 3% of physicians in the United States. I’ve been grateful to have met several other Black men this year, who are on the same path that I am on. It doesn’t feel quite as lonely as it otherwise would be. Although there is a lack of representation of Black men in medicine, a key to increasing the numbers is mentorship. Meeting a pre-med, medical student, a resident, or a physician that looks like me/you/us can help to inspire the belief that earning your DO or MD is attainable.

#blackexcellence #blackmeninmedicine #blackmeninwhitecoats

What has humility gotten me?

I think that one of the things that has allowed me to grow as a student has been a spirit of humility. Humility requires that you give up pride, envy, arrogance, and selfishness. Humility has given me the power to embrace failure as an opportunity to grow as opposed to feeling like I must constantly impress my peers. Humility has allowed me to realize that seeking help and looking for answers outside of myself is OK. I seek people who have walked in my shoes and been where I am going to serve as guides and mentors. Being willing to listen and mentored has smoothed my path to being a husband, university faculty, a PhD student, and soon, a medical student. Having humility allows me to treat life as a journey worth living as opposed to a race that I need to finish. My path has not been straight or easy but I’ve learned and grown from the journey and am much richer for the experiences that I have had. I also realize that the world does not revolve around me and I freely accept my position in what ultimately is God’s giant masterplan. I think that humility will allow me to value and respect the criticisms and opinions of my peers. I spend more time listening, thinking, and analyzing as opposed to complaining. Humility also does not allow me to celebrate the failures of others and instead, I try to lift up my peers. I also celebrate their triumphs. I take no joy in being right or being the first to finish; my joy comes from helping others grow and succeed while I honor God for giving me the opportunity to be a guide to others.

Shadowing

Healthcare is a demanding profession. Whether you attend medical school, nursing school, pharmacy school or some other health professions training program, you are likely going to spend years in training and depending on exactly what you are training in, you may spend another year to 10 years in residency training (medicine and some 1-to-2-year pharmacy and DNP residency programs). There is going to be a huge cost in terms of time, missing out on special events with family, friends, and a significant other, and money spent on tuition for school as well as money lost due to not being able to work while you are in school. Thus, I strongly recommend students interested in the health professions shadow to determine if pursuing a health-related career is something that you truly want to do.

Because my track is medicine, I won’t comment on shadowing other health professions but I would imagine that the principals are similar, if not the same for other professions.

Shadowing is generally not a prerequisite for medical school; however, there are some schools that do absolutely require shadowing in addition to any other clinical experiences that you may have. It is always best to check with the individual schools that you are interested in applying to in order to find out what is expected. One of the osteopathic programs that I applied to this cycle has a stated requirement of a minimum of 40 hours of shadowing while another said on the admissions website that matriculated students have an average of 80 hours of shadowing. The other benefit of shadowing is that it gives you the opportunity to get to know a physician so that you can ask for a letter of recommendation.

How many hours should one shadow? This depends. The consensus that I’ve seen across social media has been somewhere between 40 to 100 hours. Dr. Tasha Posid, an advisor at Ohio State University, says that spending 20-30 hours with each physician shadowed should be the goal and that students should strive to gather 200-300 hours of shadowing. I would say that you should shadow to get enough experience that you can speak meaningfully on it. If that is 40 hours, great. If it’s more, that is great as well. I accumulated 200 hours of shadowing with three physicians, two DO’s and one M.D. (they represented three different specialties family medicine, cardiology, and pediatrics) and the experience was considered very valuable by A.T. Still – SOMA. I don’t think that it matters so much what specialty that you shadow; again, just be able to speak from the heart about what you gained from the experience and how it has helped to shape you and your desires to practice medicine or practice in a certain field of medicine.

There is a definite etiquette to shadowing. Obviously, you should dress appropriately, usually business casual, and while most physicians will encourage you to ask thoughtful questions, remember, their job is to tend to their patients FIRST. Don’t ask questions at inopportune moments such as during a patient exam UNLESS the physician invites you to. Make sure that you arrive on time and treat the front office staff with respect. They can help to make or break the shadowing experience. I made it a point to order an Edible Arrangement for the front office staff of each of the three physicians that I shadowed; the front office folks really helped to make my experiences valuable by scheduling me on days when the physicians had interesting cases or heavy days in clinic. This allowed me to have a much richer experience as opposed to coming into clinic on days when there was nothing going on.

How should one go about finding a physician to shadow? This is the hardest part about shadowing. Locating a willing physician may take some time but I would start with asking my primary care provider or OB/Gyn if I could shadow them or if they have colleagues who may be open to having a student in their clinic. Next, try your university pre-health office as they sometimes have special programs and affiliations with local hospitals and clinics for pre meds in need of shadowing. You can also try a ‘shotgun’ approach and email all of the clinicians in your local area to inquire about shadowing. You might start off as a hospital volunteer and as time progresses, and as you meet physicians, you might ask if you could shadow them. Just be aware that you may have to be persistent. I emailed all of the clinicians who were local to Chandler and Gilbert, AZ and ultimately, I had to start emailing physicians outside of my local area. The pediatrician that I shadowed was in Lake Havasu, AZ and the family medicine physician was in Pomona, CA. The cardiologist was in Houston, TX. My undergraduate alma mater did have a program that placed pre meds into shadowing opportunities at Mayo Clinic-Scottsdale and Mayo Clinic-Phoenix but you had to have a 3.7 or better overall GPA. Still, my attitude was that nothing was going to stop me and I got what I needed even if I had to go a little further to get it.

Last thing, no matter what, your coursework is your priority. Do not prioritize shadowing (or any other experiences) over your school work and MCAT preparation. Do not sacrifice grades in order to gain additional shadowing hours. The goal of shadowing is gain an experience that will benefit your medical school applications but if it comes at the expense of your grades or MCAT scores, that is not an experience worth pursuing.

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