SIKE! Changed my mind. I will be attending the University of The Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in the fall 2021 semester

Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I was stuck on ATSU-SOMA since like forever. I didn't expect my interview with UIWSOM to go as well as it did and did not think that I'd find so much to like about the school. There are some things that UIWSOM offers that make the school a much better fit for me than SOMA. So final decision is that I will be attending UIWSOM in San Antonio, TX in the fall 2021. Eboni and I have REALLY been wanting to go back to Arizona so this is a little bittersweet. We have family and friends in AZ that we miss and of course, we miss the desserts and canyons and cacti, but this detour to San Antonio isn't permenant.

This whole thing brings up a coupld of points. One, its really important to research schools and keep an open mind, even if that means rescinding your admissions to attend another. You want to make sure that you attend a school that is a good fit for you. It needs to offer all of the things that you find to be important in a medical school. The other point is that you shouldn't feel bad about changing your mind. TBH, I was feeling some kind of way about changing my mind, kind of like I was betraying some of the people that Eboni and I work with at SOMA. SOMA has gotten me involved with some DEI initiatives and I've had long and well-established relationships with some of the faculty and staff. At the end of the day though, UIWSOM is just a better fit for me and I shouldn't feel bad about making a decision that is going to be best for me and my ability to successfully complete medical school.

U.S. Veterans Administration Health Professions Scholarship Program for Medical Students

I applied for the VA-HPSP Scholarship a few weeks ago and as of today, my status in the scholarship portal has changed from “Application Packet Scored” to “Pending Offer.” I hope this means that I will be offered the scholarship.

The scholarship is similar to the military HPSP in that if you are awarded, the scholarship pays 100% of your medical school tuition and fees and provides a $1142 monthly stipend (Prior to 2016, the stipend had been $2300 monthly; I am not sure if the stipend amount will revert to its prior amount). You also get a one-time payment of $1142 at the start of each academic year to purchase books and supplies. In exchange, you would have to spend six to eight weeks during the summer between your first and second year of medical school at a VA hospital in your area; this will function as a mini-clerkship where you will be given the chance to see the inner workings of the VA hospital as you rotate through the various services. Upon completion of your residency training, you would have to work for the VA for six years.

The biggest differences between the VA-HPSP and the military HPSP is that with the VA HPSP, you have a nearly unlimited ability to choose your specialty. The only specialty that one cannot choose is pediatrics and pediatric-related sub-specialties. You also have to get special permission to specialize in occupational medicine and preventative medicine. The other big difference is that you can serve at any VA hospital in the nation provided that there is an opening in your specialty.

The downside is that once you finish residency, your salary will not start at nearly as high of a level as you would in the civilian world. Most VA physician salaries start at 100K – 250K. That said, you will earn regular raises, get access to the federal retirement plan (which would be important should you decide to stay with the VA), and you won’t have the overhead that comes with running a private practice. I have heard but not yet confirmed, that the VA covers the malpractice insurance of its providers as well. So, in my estimation, it’s a pretty nice deal to come out of medical school with no major debt.

For those interested, please visit the following link (For further education and job placement details, please follow the same link and look at the appropriate tabs):

Application Process - Veterans Affairs (intelliworxit.com)

After reading the requirements, you'll see an "Apply Here" tab on the top right of the page. Click this and you'll be brought to the Applicant Registration page. Fill out the information and for the Scholarship Program section just choose HPSP from the dropdown menu (You'll see different versions of the HPSP pertaining to different health professions scholarships). When you hit submit, it'll take you to the VA Application Management System Page with a message that will read the following:

"Your account has been created in the VA Applicant Management System (VA-AMS) using the email address that you provided. The next step is to create an account with ID.me+VA. This will confirm your identity and allow you to begin using the VA-AMS system to engage with the scholarship program team. You will receive an email with the instructions to complete the next account set up with ID.me+VA. Be sure to use the same email address as you did with VA-AMS."

Check your email and you'll receive a step-by-step list of how to set up your account and continue with the application process for submission.

To apply, you need your undergraduate and/or graduate school transcripts, a resume or CV in 11 point font and not to exceed five pages, your DD-214 (if prior service military), a complete application, two letters of recommendation, one of which MUST be an academic letter and the other of which must be a supervisor or someone whom you have had a close working relationship with such as an internship supervisor, and finally, you will have to be unconditionally accepted to medical school. This is important because there is a form that the registrar and bursar have to complete that lists all of the medical school courses that you will take, which semester the course is to be taken, and the cost of the course (including fees). You do not have to be a veteran to apply but if you are a veteran, you are granted 5 points veterans preference. The scholarship can be used with the National Guard STRAP and other similar programs (including the military repayment) but it cannot be combined with the National Health Service Corps Scholarship, NHSC loan repayment, or the military HPSP. You want to take advantage of the NHSC or state assistance programs, you will have to give up your VA-HPSP or wait until you have finished your commitment to the VA.

If you have other specific questions regarding the online packet submission and detailed requirements, you may email the program coordinator, Mr. Scott Dixon, at HPSPTeam@va.gov

UIWSOM - Acceptance

1529 hours on 2/20/2021, I received the acceptance email from UIWSOM! Now comes the hard part, do I attend ATSU-SOMA or UIWSOM? In the words of Jovonn, "I can't make up my mind. I really don't know what to do."

Should you take online pre-requisites or complete an online degree if you are applying to medical school?

Online classes, particularly pre-med science pre-requisite courses. To take or not to take? This is one of the more contentious issues in medical education. Many medical school admissions committees, rightfully, question the rigor of online courses. Many of these courses may be taught by part-time adjuncts or graduate TAs who may not have the incentive to promote a truly rigorous student experience. Further, unless the faculty in question works to incorporate technology such as Zoom or WebEx into the class, students may never be able to truly interact with one another or the professor. This really goes against what medicine is about: In person interaction.

On the other side of the coin are the undergraduate and graduate institutions who are realizing that moving online saves money. Instead of having to hire several full-time tenured faculty, trying to figure out how to utilize scarce classroom space on campus, and trying to figure out how to develop more student services for face-to-face students, they are realizing that they can create Canvas or Blackboard courses, hire an army of adjuncts and actually increase enrollments while keeping overall costs low.

Caught in the middle are students trying to figure out what to do. Contrary to what many admissions committee members may think, most students are not taking online classes to take the "easy way out." For many, these classes fit their work or family obligations. For my brothers and sisters who are in the military, online classes may be the only viable way to advance a degree. Depending on the school, online classes may be less costly than face-to-face classes. Some people may live at a significant distance from a traditional brick-and-mortor universty and so may only have online classes that they can take. The technology has advanced to a point where students can now do online biology and chemistry labs and depending on the instructor, robust classes can be taken. The issue of online classes is one that medical schools need to reexamine in light of the changing times.

I’ve taught at the university level, face-to-face and online and I’ve been a student in both environments. Personally, I do not have a preference as to which environment that I learn in and I can’t sit her and honestly say that the face-to-face environment is more rigorous than the online environment. Certainly, the classes that I have taught in the online environment have been every bit is tough as my face-to-face classes. The bottom line is that as a student, there are a lot of reasons why you may have to take online classes. I completed a significant portion of my pre-med pre-reqs online (and at community colleges), one of my undergraduate degrees and both of my master’s degrees from Northern Arizona University and Michigan State University respectively, were completed online. For me, I served in the military and after the military, I had to work full time through most of my remaining undergraduate schooling and all of grad school. Student loans weren’t an option for me at the time. Throughout my medical school application cycle, not a single question has come up regarding me having taken classes online. NOT. A. SINGLE. ONE. This may be due to my overall academic performance or it may be due to the fact that more medical schools are now realizing the reality that 1) More and more undergraduate schools are offering significant portions of their curricula online and students may not have much choice in the matter (One of the schools where I completed one of my undergraduate degrees at, Arizona State University, now has its entire B.S. in Biochemistry and its B.S. & B.A. in Biology online, including some of the labs. Most of the students in these programs are pre-med and many are going on to medical school…) and 2) Unless a medical school is going to devote extensive manpower hours to trying to determine if every class a student takes is online, there is no practical way to easily determine who was an online student. My degrees don’t say, “Michigan State University M.S. Pharmacology & Toxicology Online.” You’d have to do some digging to figure it out and even then, it would not be easy since MSU runs face-to-face and online sections of all the classes in the pharmacology department.

My advice is this. It would be wisest to take all of your classes face-to-face if you can, however, if you must take a portion or complete all of your coursework online, make sure that you do so at a reputable university. Next, when you get to the point of applying to medical school, realize that there are some medical school such as Johns Hopkins and the University of California system medical schools, that will not accept online courses and they may heavily scrutinize the transcripts of all applicants whom they choose to interview. Make sure that you are researching the schools that you are applying to in order to get a sense of how they will view online classes. That said, and I don’t have empirical evidence of this, I believe that the majority of medical schools will not care if your courses/degree is online. Bottom line is that if you perform well in your classes and on your MCAT, you will get into medical school. I hold three acceptances and will be starting medical school in July 2021. Conventional wisdom says that I should not have gotten into medical school at all yet here I am. I also believe that times are changing, particularly now that COVID has forced medical schools to move many of their classes online. I don’t think that we will ever see a day when all classes are online at the medical school level, but I think that in the future, you will see certain classes move online AND you will see a weakening to the traditional medical school resistance to online courses. The medical school that I will be attending, ATSU-SOMA, has since its founding (2007), conducted significant portions of the OMS-II basic sciences curriculum online. Times are changing and whether the medical schools want to change or not, they will have to.

The Health Literacy in the Black Community Training Series

The Health Literacy in the Black Community Training Series Feb 19, 2021 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Health Literacy is "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions”1. The Council on Black Health has designed this training series to inform and enhance health literacy improvement efforts specifically for the Black Community.

This Training Series will be delivered in four parts:

Session #1: Social and Political Determinants of Health and Health Disparities (February 19th) This training session will provide an overview of social determinants of health, political determinants of health, and health disparities; and explain how these factors uniquely affect the Black community.

Session #2: Advocacy and Policy (March 5th) This training session will provide an overview of how policies affect our health and will discuss effective advocacy strategies that can be applied in both election and non-election years.

Session #3: Media and Storytelling (March 19th) This training session will discuss how different types of media influences the public. This session will teach participants to how to leverage media to elevate narratives about Black health.

Session #4: Health Communications 101 (April 2nd) This session will discuss strategies to successfully implement health campaigns, creative and effective dissemination strategies, and how to help our community identify trusted sources of information.

To Register, click here.

Why should I volunteer if I am applying to medical school?

Earlier today, I saw a student in the Ryan Gray Facebook group ask a question about getting into medical school if all she focuses on is making good grades and presenting a stellar MCAT score. I believe this to be a poor strategy to go into the medical school admissions process with.

Medical schools are as different from one another as the moon is different from the sun. Some schools heavily value community service and primary care while others may place emphasis on applicants who have an interest in research. Still other medical schools may have a proclivity to look at students from certain geographic areas. Thus, the typical medical school admissions committee will look at things that go beyond your grade trends, GPA, and MCAT scores to assess your readiness and “fit” for a career in medicine.

At A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona, one’s service orientation and mission fit figures prominently in all admissions decisions. Indeed, SOMA’s mission statement is to:

“Prepare individuals through high-quality, innovative, learning-centered undergraduate and graduate medical education programs to become compassionate osteopathic physicians and healthcare leaders who serve medically underserved populations with a focus on research and community-oriented primary care.”

How should applicants to SOMA (and other medical schools) show their service orientation and mission fit? An applicant should have experiences such as volunteering with local service organizations or mentoring other students. Many applicants to SOMA have spent time abroad on medical and religious mission trips. I served two terms of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer. Other students have started non-profits to provide food, shelter, and clothing to the homeless. Serving in the military (I am a 20 year veteran) also shows a commitment to service.

These examples of volunteerism also can be used to highlight other areas of an application that an admissions committee values. For example, my time spent as an AmeriCorps VISTA and as a member of the Army, shows that I value teamwork and community since my work in both involved working with groups of individuals in a community setting. If you start a 501C organization, you might connect this to analytical thought because you have to not only run a non-profit, but you have to consider funding and budgetary issues. My point is that each volunteer activity that you engage in can be used to show different aspects of your personality and fit for a career in medicine.

Other activities that can help to demonstrate your fit for medicine include clinical shadowing, research experiences, and clinical patient care work. Combined, all of the activities that you engage in outside of class will demonstrate to a medical school admissions committee that you are 1) More than just a student 2) Have given thought to the realities of medicine, 3) Have potentially explored other career paths and 4) Have the ability to handle a significant class load on top of maintaining a schedule of activities outside of the class. In terms of how long or how many hours one should engage in these experiences, I don’t like to put a number on this because again, different schools are looking for different things, but I would say that you should engage in these activities for a length of time that allows you to demonstrate that you weren’t just attempting to check a box. You should also do things that you enjoy. If you know that working in a mouse research lab isn’t enjoyable, don’t do it just for the sake of saying that you pulled in some research experience. In that vein, not all of these experiences are 100% necessary. For example, research is not a make-or-break thing, particularly at a school like ATSU-SOMA where the focus is on community service. Having shadowing if you are working in a healthcare capacity isn’t 100% necessary either.

Overall, your goal when applying to medical school should be to submit a well-rounded application. Don’t do things that you wouldn’t enjoy and don’t do things for the sake of checking a box; a savvy medical school admissions committee member will usually be able to see through the bullshit. Do things that you have a passion for and that you can expand upon/talk about in your personal statement, secondaries, and interviews. And if you find through the process of doing these things that you don’t want a career in medicine, then these were still valuable experiences because they may help to put your feet on a path that you wish to follow. Whatever the case, do not apply to medical school without having done any outside activities. You may be the n=1 who gets into medical school but its most likely that you will have placed your application at an extreme disadvantage.

Colors of Medicine Student Panel - University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine

To all premeds, please join the University of Texas Medical Branch's on February 20th at 10 am CST to participate in their medical student panel as they discuss their journey to medical school. This will be a great way to learn about the process of applying to medical school.

Link to register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6CyzeCqDTPOSMGjtfA2dLw

Rewind: Letters of recommendation

On December 17th, I blogged about what non-traditional students can do to obtain letters of recommendation. This is such an important topic that I decided to revisit it again. You don’t want a lack of letters of recommendation to hold up your application to medical school. I get I t, approaching professors can be scary. My organic chemistry II undergraduate professor from Arizona State University told us on the first day of class that 1) Only 5% of the class was going to earn an A and 2) He only write letters of recommendation for students in the top 20% of the class. Those statements just contributed to the already cutthroat pre-med environment that could be found at ASU and in that class.

So first, how do you go about getting to know a professor so that I can get a letter of recommendation? First, I would create a list of four to six faculty and/or people that you shadow or those who supervise your work. These people should be people that know you and your work well. You need STRONG letters of rec, not a recommendation that simply says, “So and so came to class every day and earned an A.” Make sure that you do not as family, friends, or clergy to write a letter for you; these letters may be seen as biased.

Talk to each individual directly about writing a letter for you. When I request a letter, I always give the recommender a copy of my personal statement, CV, description of the program that I am applying to, instructions regarding the letter, a deadline for when the letter needs to be completed by, and a self-addressed stamped envelope (or an Interfolio link if the letter is to be electronic). I offer them a chance to speak with me so that they can find out more about my desire to apply to whatever program it is that I am asking them to write the letter for. Now that classes have moved online dure to COVID-19, you will have to make these requests over e-mail, and you may have to meet with your professor over Zoom for the interview.

Make sure that you have actually gotten to know the person that you are asking to write your letter. As a professor, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had students who I don’t know, come and ask for a letter of recommendation. Essentially, all I can say about these students is that they were in my class and earned such and such a grade. Take time to get to know your professor. I get it. Now because of COVID, everything is online. Still not an excuse. My entire MPH and most of my PhD has been online and I have gotten to know some of my faculty so well that one sent my wife and I some artwork, I’ve met others for a local Flagstaff, AZ pub crawl, and I’ve had some faculty who I’ve met for lunch and dinner. It just takes you emailing or going to Zoom office hours and showing a genuine interest in getting to know your professors. We are people too and most of us really do like our students.

Etiquette people! Send a thank you letter or email to those who wrote a letter on your behalf!!!

One of my major pet peeves is a student asking for a letter literally a day or a week before they need it. Personally speaking, I am mentoring probably 15-20 pre-meds, graduate MPH students, and DMD/MPH students. All of my mentees need something so to be fair, I deal with requests in the order that they are received. If you need a letter, give me at least seven to 14 days leeway. It takes time to craft a good letter as I try to write individual, tailored letters for each of my mentees.

Don’t wait till you are applying to medical school to request letters. That is too late. Ideally you want to start to develop relationships with faculty starting in your freshman and sophomore year. In your junior year, you can start asking for letters as many medical schools will allow you to submit letters that are up to two years old.

You should aim to get, at a minimum, two science letters of recommendation, one non-science letter, and a physician letter. If you can also obtain a letter from someone who supervised you in an employment or volunteer capacity, that would be great as well. The caveat here is that you need to pay attention to directions. Some schools will have very specific instructions regarding what they want in terms of the letters of recommendation. Make sure that you give the schools what they ask for.

How to deal with unspportive family & friends as a non-traditional pre med

Last night, I got a Facebook message from a non-traditional pre-med asking about how I deal with unsupportive and/or jealous family and friends. I told him that frequently, the more success that you have in life, the more people will stand against you and try to tear you down. Unfortunately, sometimes the people at the head of the line of people trying to tear you down will be family and people who you thought were friends.

One thing that is important to realize is that frequently when we are going through it with our family and friends, we don’t realize that the problem is not us. The problem is often THEIRS. We become too focused on what others are saying about or doing to us as opposed to accomplishing our goals, whether its finishing your dissertation, finishing your undergraduate studies, or gaining admissions to medical school. When we don’t finish what we set out to finish, we’ve just given our detractors more ammunition to throw back at us.

You have to recognize that not everyone is going to understand your path and desires to attend medical school or whatever your dream may be. Its OK and perhaps even necessary to acknowledge that there may be a reason behind their feelings but understand that reason usually has nothing to do with you. I tell these people that they need to take their issues up with God and leave me out of it.

Sometimes, unsupportive family and friends need education about what you are doing. My mother and oldest sister have had a habit of downgrading the work that Eboni and I have done as doctoral students. I discovered that both needed some education. Amusingly, my sister is now dating a guy who recently finished his Ed.D and he has described in detail, what the dissertation process was like for him. Now my sister ‘gets it’. It is the same with the medical school admissions process. There is a lot to it and a lot of work that you have to put into it. If you don’t feel like explaining it all to them, that’s OK. Refer them to AACOMAS or AMCAS for some detail.

Don’t believe the myths that people put out into the universe about you. It’s taken me 10 long years to see my first U.S. medical school admissions. During that time, there were three MCAT exams (one very good and two not so good), an enrollment in a Caribbean medical school, a public health/public health research career, and a career as university faculty. I also had a surgery, lost my mother-in-law, and helped my wife finish her doctoral studies. A LOT of people, friends and family and some of my wife’s friends and family, questioned my work ethic, my desire, my motivation, my sanity, whether or not Eboni and I should have stayed together, etc. When my mother-in-law passed, there were some who suggested that I was responsible for her passing. Over the years, I’ve heard some of the most hurtful things. I never believed a word of it. I’ve first and foremost listened to the dreams that God whispered to me. Next, I listed to what Eboni, Pam, and JJ had to say. Finally, I’ve listened to the countless words of thanks that my adopted family, people like Pat, Deb, Rob, Heath, Oscar, Destiney, Asia, and many of my mentees have shared about me. And you know what else? After Eboni and I got married and Eboni landed her first job as university faculty, a lot of these people who were saying such hateful stuff started to change their tune. People are funny and they are fickle. Don’t buy into the bullshit they are selling.

If you can’t get the support that you need from family and friends, find that support elsewhere. I always say that family isn’t necessarily related to you by blood. Family are those people who truly love and support you unconditionally. I realize that I will never be able to fully immerse my blood family in various aspects of my life. I came to grips with that years ago and I’m OK with it. The Lord has blessed me with other people who share my passions and understand my motivations. I have a supportive wife. Then there are Destiney and Asia; Destiney is like a daughter to me and Asia is like a younger sister. My best friend Heath, who I have known for 40+ years, has always pushed me to be my best and by extension, his children, especially his son Austin, who look up to me, are also motivators. My point is that there are people out there who will be down for you. Sometimes you have to search for them and you may end up finding them in the most unexpected ways, but you can have a family, or better yet, an army of people who support you.

So remember:

1. Your mission to medical school (or graduate school or dissertation completion or weight loss or whatever your goal is) should be your priority. A lot of people go through the motions in life, doing everything but what they love. These people end up constantly looking to the past and asking, “What. If?”
2. Life is short. Self-explanatory. Do what makes you happy and don’t spend your time feeling bad about what others say. You can no more control them and what they think then you can control the motions of the tides. Live your life.
3. Others may not understand your path. They are not required to,
4. Sometimes the people around you may be insecure. That’s their cross to bear, not yours.
5. Anything in life is possible. Your naysayers may try to give you every reason to give up on a dream, but I am here to tell you that anything is possible. When I applied to medical school this cycle, I thought that at best, I would have one or two interviews and if I was exceedingly lucky, I would have one medical school acceptance. I now have three acceptances this cycle and have had four interviews. There is the possibility of gaining at least one more acceptance before the cycle is over. My stats suggested, according to conventional pre-medical academic advisor and Student Doctor Network wisdom, that I should not have gotten into medical school yet, I will be starting medical school in July. My wife always says, if it’s for you, its for you. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
6. This is perhaps the most important. You can’t please everyone. We spend so much time trying to please people, yet we can’t seem to ever get it quite right. They will always have SOMETHING to complain about. It’s impossible to please everyone and we shouldn’t be trying. So now, my thing is to work at pleasing my wife and for everyone else, they need to take their requests to God. If they don’t like what I am doing, that is between them and God.

The Medical & Graduate School Personal Statement

Whether you are applying to medical school, graduate school, a summer research internship, or a job, do not underestimate the importance of your personal statement (some graduate schools call it a statement of purpose or a statement of research interests) to your chances of earning an admission to the program of your choice. Your personal statement will be your first opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions committee. Your goal in writing the personal statement should be to make a memorable, positive impression. According to Princeton Review, your personal statement can make up to 60% or more of your total medical school admissions score.

Depending on the type of program that you are applying to, your task in writing the personal statement may be different. For example, if you are applying to a research master’s or doctoral program, the statement of purpose will start with an introduction to who you are and then give a description of your research experiences and how they tie into your desire to be in a research program, and then why you are a good candidate for the specific program that you are applying to. Some doctoral programs such as those in the social sciences and education may require you to answer specific questions or turn in a writing sample as part of the statement of purpose.

The medical school personal statement, on the other hand, usually allows for a bit more leeway than the type of statement that you would send for a research master’s or PhD program. For starters, the personal statement will be submitted with your primary applications (i.e., AACOMAS, TMDSAS, or AMCAS). Next, you’ll be asked to introduce yourself and why you want to be a physician. The range of topics or themes that you can use to develop your personal statement is usually broader than for the statement of purpose:

You may write about a challenging experience(s) that led to your desire to practice medicine

You might write about a person who has impacted your desire to be a physician

You might use a challenging personal experience to show how you grew from it and how the experience influenced your desire to practice medicine

You might combine several of these themes to describe your desire to practice medicine

One point of contention that I have seen is whether or not individuals should discuss application red flags in their personal statement or statement of purpose. I’ve seen some people say discuss these things in a limited fashion and do it in such a way that displays growth and others who say that you shouldn’t discuss these things at all. I tend to lean towards the crowd that says not to use this precious real estate to discuss red flags. For the medical school primary applications, you only have 5300 characters to tell a medical school who you are and why you are the greatest thing since sliced bread. For master’s and doctoral programs, you may have anywhere from 500 words to 15 pages, depending on the program. My advice is to use the available space to highlight your positive traits. I would personally only discuss red flag issues if you can do so in a way that 1) Shows that you have grown and 2) Can be linked to your desire to practice medicine or attend a particular graduate program. You have to remember that your primary medical school application and many of your secondary applications, will have questions that ask you to explain any red flags and what you have learned from them. You’ll also have opportunities to answer these questions during your interviews.

Once you start writing, you want to make sure that your writing is clear and concise. Stay away from cliches and repetitive word choice. Stay away from slang or informal language UNLESS these things are part of a story that you are trying to tell. Maintain a positive, confident tone but display humility; don’t throw yourself upon the sacrificial alter but don’t write as if you are the best candidate in the world. Finally, you should have NO spelling or grammatical errors in your statement.

Other tips to writing a solid personal statement or statement of purpose include:

Give yourself time to write. I started writing my personal statement three months before the AACOMAS primary application opened. When I applied to my PhD program, I started writing four months before my applications were due. It’s not uncommon for someone to allow six months to write a personal statement. You will go through MANY drafts before you have a solid, finished product.

Stay focused. Your personal statement should not meander. Choose a theme and stick to it.

Keep a journal and keep your resume and CV or resume updated. Write down interesting things about how certain experiences make you feel or contribute to your desire to practice medicine. Keep an accurate record of jobs and other experiences. These things will be helpful to you when you write a personal statement or statement of purpose because you won’t have to try so hard to remember past events.

Find out what is unique about you. We are all interesting people so put your spin on the things that have influenced you and your desires to practice medicine and/or go on to graduate school.

Start your personal statement with something interesting. Eboni, my wife, reads HUNDREDS (maybe thousands) of personal statements in a given medical school application season. I can always tell when she is going to have great things to say about a candidate in the pre-interview notes; when they have put together a personal statement that grabs her attention from the outset, she just lights up. You want to catch the reader’s attention and leave an indelible positive impression.

Give examples where appropriate. Don’t just say it in the statement. Back it up with examples.

Simple, direct language is best.

Display humility and don’t lie about or fabricate events in.

Don’t beg for an interview in the personal statement. Don’t blame red flags, such as a poor MCAT score on ‘life’. Take responsibility and show how you have grown and matured.

Follow the directions. Some statements may ask you to write about very specific things or answer specific questions.

Before you submit your personal statement or statement of purpose, seek several opinions, but not too many opinions on your work. Make sure that the opinions that you seek are those who have expertise in judging the quality of writing or at least, are good writers themselves.

Don’t include anything in the personal statement that you do not want to talk about in the interview. If it’s in the personal statement, its fair game for the interviewer to ask about.

Finally, use a tool such as Grammerly and/or TurnItIn to check your grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.

Remember, the personal statement or statement of purpose is to report on events that have helped to shape your desires to attend medical or graduate school. This will be your first opportunity to wow an admissions committee or completely turn them off to your candidacy. Thus, you have to put a great deal of effort into this piece of work. If you give yourself time and treat the personal statement with the sort of attention to detail that it deserves, then you will turn in a wonderful piece of work that will make a great impression on an admissions committee.

Black men's mental health

Mental health is a taboo subject for many American men, but in particular, African American men tend to have a difficult time discussing their mental health needs. Unfortunately, within our communities, there is a strong stigma against showing vulnerability, carrying the diagnosis of mental health issues, and seeking help for these issues. Our culture, toxic masculinity, and the current socioeconomic and political environment make it difficult to address mental health issues in Black men.

How bad of a problem are mental health issues for Black men?

Some sources say that 7% to 8% of us will develop depression during our lifetime. My public health training would suggest that this number is probably an underestimate due to a lack of screening in the community.

The suicide rate for Black men far out paces that for Black women. 72% of all Black male suicides were accomplished by the use of a firearm.

There is a strong correlation between alcohol and substance use and abuse and poor mental health outcomes in Black men. The correlation is stronger than it is for white men, white women, and Black women.

Black men are less likely to be treated with medications that will reduce the severity and occurrence of behavioral health episodes.

There are many causes for the behavioral health issues that we face. Systemic and structural racism has caused many of us to feel as if we don’t count and that we aren’t important to the fabric of America. Personally speaking, one of the things that makes me weary is this feeling that the people around me are afraid of me or are looking at me as if they expect that I am going to do something illegal. Other issues that play a role in the poor mental health of Black men include poverty, past trauma, and feelings of hopelessness. This isn’t an all-inclusive list but I think that it serves to show that there are a great many issues that plague our health.

So, how do we go about healing? That is the million-dollar question. I’ve been suicidal before and even attempted suicide once. I also suffer from PTSD; when Eboni and I met in 2006, there were several years where I was afraid to go to sleep around here because there were times when I would wake and not know where I was, who she was, or who I was. I would usually act accordingly. One step towards healing, however, comes when we acknowledge that we have an issue, and we make the courageous decision to seek help. Eboni helped me to find a VA therapist in 2013 or ‘14 and while the therapeutic relationship wasn’t a positive one, it was my first step towards healing. Another huge step, I think, and one that some of my brothers may disagree with, is creating space for other Black men to feel safe enough to discuss their issues with me, to cry if they need to, or just have a shoulder to lean on when they need to. I can’t claim to have all the answers but the suicide of the Black police officer, Clyde Kerr hit me hard. He was a young man who, by all accounts, was a good soul and had a life of good to look forward to. As I’ve thought about my own life and the lives of my relatives and friends, I recognize the trauma’s that we’ve all been through and I realize that if we continue to carry these burdens, they will break us all. The strongest man can only take so much.

As I approach the start of my medical education, I know that I will be placed under a whole new set of demands and stressors. I promise to mindfully make time for my self-care, and that includes my mental health. And I promise to be there for my brothers, without judgement and with open arms. Whatever pains you, we’ll get through together.

#suicideprevention #suicideawareness #BlackMenCry

Rejected from medical school. What now?

Before I was admitted at RVUCOM and later, ATSU-SOMA, I experienced the deep sting of rejection from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine. Later in the cycle, I received rejections from Touro-New York and Touro-Nevada. Before my RVUCOM acceptance, the only ‘success’ that I’d had in the cycle was an acceptance to Ross University in Barbados and a waitlist for interview from West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Like most pre-meds and non-traditional students, I’ve long dreamed about a career in medicine. After getting that first rejection from AZCOM, I was speaking to a friend of mine and he asked me if I’d thought about other career paths or continuing to try to work towards a tenured faculty role given my rejection from one of my favorite schools. While I know that he was only helping, I dreaded having this conversation because I’ve always known what I wanted to do. My vision has been very clear in this and a career in medicine is the only thing that I could see myself doing that would bring me the maximal amount of career joy.

I remember thinking, in response to my friend, “Is it time to start thinking about other careers? Should I spend another semester in SMP? Did I use a good strategy when I applied? What about my MCAT, do I start studying for it again?” At times, I was overwhelmed as I tried to process what this all meant to me and my future. What I learned is that I was not the only one to feel the sting of rejection and I have also learned that being rejected from medical school does NOT say anything about you as a person or as a student. Odds are, most US and Canadian medical school applicants will be rejected from at least one program and maybe even more. How you handle this rejection will, in part, determine what the future holds for you.

So, how did I recover and move forward?

1. Give yourself time to feel what you need to feel. You are going to be disappointed when you see that rejection email. Guaranteed. Your ego is bruised, you are out of money, and you can’t regain the time spent working on the primary and secondary application. Allow yourself a few days to mope, but don’t start feeling sorry for yourself.
2. As much as I hate to say this, you do have to reevaluate your career options. Sometimes, a lack of desire and motivation manifests itself in your MCAT performance, the quality of your applications, or in your interviews. It is then important to take a step back and consider if your heart is truly all in. The journey to and through medical school is long, arduous, time-consuming, and expensive. There is no shame if you find out that your passion really isn’t really to become a physician. There are many careers in healthcare (or other areas outside of healthcare) that can give you a great living and the ability to make a difference in your community.
3. If you find that you still want to be a physician, you then have to process why you failed. I believe that failures are opportunities for success if you choose to have the courage to confront failure. You should critically review your applications, letters of recommendation, personal statement, grades, secondaries, etc. Call the schools that you were rejected from and ask them how you might improve your application for the next cycle. You don’t want to make the same mistakes in the new cycle so doing a critical appraisal/after action review will be useful to help you put together a winning application in the next cycle.
4. Try not to compare yourself to your peers. We all have our own path to walk and you don’t know the struggles of your peers in their own application process. I’ve also found that at times, people, when things aren’t going as well as they would like, tend to exaggerate their successes and minimize their failures. Thus, my rule has always been to only talk about issues with my applications, grades, etc. with trusted people in my inner circle.
5. Make smart decisions when reapplying. You want to give yourself the best odds of gaining admissions to a school so make sure that you are researching the schools that you wish to apply to. If you previously applied to a program that does not have a strong history of taking out-of-state applicants or older, non-traditional applicants, why would you apply to that school again?
6. Control your destiny. If you need to do a post-bacc, DIY or formal, attend an SMP, take a gap year to obtain more clinical shadowing or volunteer experience, do what you need to do. You aren’t a victim, don’t allow yourself to be a victim to your circumstances. If medicine is what you want, do what you need to do to get there.

I promise you, and there is no easy way to put it, when you see that first rejection email, you are going to be disheartened. It is going to sting. Earning an acceptance to medical school is incredibly hard, even for the stellar students. However, if you know that your destiny is to be a physician, then do not give up. Confront failure and do what you must to bring your dreams to fruition.

Diverse Medicine Tours: A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine's Arizona Campus

Join Renee, Kayla, and Rebecca as they take Diverse Medicine on a tour of ATSU-SOMA. Check out their amazing facilities and imagine yourself as a medical student on this campus!

A Look into the Medical School Admission Process | Osteopathic Med School Dean Q&A - UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine

In this video, Dr. Daniel Webb had the opportunity to chat with Andrea Cyterski-Acosta, Associate Dean of Admissions at The University of Incarnate Ward School of Osteopathic Medicine. Great information!

My University of The Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine Interview - Perceptions

I had my MMI with UIWSOM today. I honestly feel very good about it. I don’t want to say it out loud, but I feel like I CRUSHED the interview. Further, after having the opportunity to speak with several OMS-2s and a few 3s, I can see that there are some curricular features of the program that would be a better fit for me than even SOMAs curriculum. Further, UIWSOM has superior student services as compared to SOMAs. I don’t think that students pay enough attention to things like behavioral health services, career services, library and research services, etc. These are all important things that can make what is a hard slog a little more bearable. Finally, as much as I miss Arizona, I have to admit that it will be far and away less costly to move from Austin, TX to San Antonio than it will be to go back to Arizona from here. The cost to purchase a home will be significantly less as well… Eboni and I are going to have a lot to discuss if I am granted a seat at UIWSOM…

So, the interview. For starters, UIWSOM, like SOMA, requires that we sign an NDA. I cannot discuss any of the questions that I was asked. However, none of the questions were one’s that required a great deal of thought or effort to answer. Anyone who is reasonably well-read and keeps up with current events should be able to formulate coherent thoughts on the questions.

There were six virtual MMI stations; five of the stations were face-to-face stations with an interviewer and there was one rest station. Each station lasted for about 10-minutes. I was given two minutes to read the prompt for that station and eight minutes to discuss with the interviewer. There was one 10-minute rest station and one 10-minute writing station. The writing station was set up just like the verbal MMI stations with the difference being that I was asked to write in response to the prompt using Google Write. Finally, there was a 10-minute group activity station where I and the seven other interviewees interacted under the observation of an interviewer, to solve a problem.

Between stations, there was a group gathering room that the director of admissions and an OMS-2 manned. The student was there to answer questions and it was cool to see how open and informative she was. That was an added bonus to the interview. The interviews themselves were all conversational and I thought, played to my strength of having lived experiences. While the interviewers were supposed to keep a poker face, I caught several of them nodding and smiling in response to some of my answers. The interviews are, as far as I know, closed file. The interviewers don’t even get our middle or last names before the interview. Refreshingly, the only comment about age came up when the first MMI station interviewer said, “I am glad that you applied; we need more people your age in the program.”

Overall, the interviews were conversational, and I found the staff to be VERY well-trained in comparison to some of the staff at schools where I have had interviews this cycle. I think that for the non-traditional student, MMIs can be a good way to showcase your lived experience without the judgement that may come from an interview where you have to discuss past grades/academic performance. To prepare for the MMI, I reviewed several websites that had practice MMI questions and even though students were not supposed to discuss the questions given during the MMI, I did find information on UIWSOMs Student Doctor Network Interview Feedback page. I should note that none of the questions that I found there were on my MMI today. We were told that we would get a decision in the next two to three weeks and that seems to track with what I have been seeing on SDN as well. Since I know that one way or another, I will be attending medical school, I don’t feel the nerves that I felt early in the cycle when I didn’t have any acceptances. Still, UIWSOM is an intriguing program and I would have difficulty turning the school down if offered a seat.

Anarcha Westcott & J. Marion Sims, "The Father of Modern Gynecology"

Anarcha Westcott (1828 - ???) was an enslaved African woman who was forced to undergo a series of painful surgical procedures at the hands of J. Marion Sims. He was attempting to devise a surgical method of treating vesicovaginal fistulas and rectovaginal fistulas. Very little is known about Anarcha but we do know that Sims performed 30 experimental surgeries on her before closing her fistula. She was given no anesthesia because the science of the day said that Black bodies did not feel pain. She did, however, receive opium after the surgical procedure and some writings suggest that she may have been addicted to the substance.

History went on to remember Sims as the “Father of Modern Gynecology” while Anarcha has been largely forgotten in the hallowed halls of the nation’s medical schools and other health professions training programs.

Remember Anarcha and the countless other Black women who endured the horrors that J Marion Sims inflicted on their bodies so that women today can have access to gynecological treatments.

#blackhistorymonth2020 #jmarionsims #medicalethics

Dr. Ernest Everett Just

Dr. Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941) was a pioneering biologist whose early work led to many of the precepts that we understand today in the fields of embryology, marine biology, and cytology. He was one of the first American biologists to understand the importance of the surface of the cell membrane to the proper development of organisms. Dr. Just authored two books and over 70 peer reviewed papers. He also was instrumental in the founding of Omega Psi Phi, Inc. at Howard University on November 17, 1911. Dr. Just earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago where he specialized in experimental embryology.

“We feel the beauty of nature because we are part of nature and because we know that however much in our separate domains we abstract from the unity of nature, this unity remains. Although we may deal with particulars, we return finally to the whole pattern woven out of these.” —Ernest Everett Just

#Blackhistorymonth #BlackmeninSTEM #Blackmaninawhitecoat

The MMI, or Multiple Mini Interview: What to expect

Tomorrow, I interview with University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) and I’ll be exposed to the MMI, or multiple mini-interview, format. This will be new for me and I am not 100% sure regarding what to expect.

From what I understand, the MMI was developed at McMaster University School of Medicine and in its traditional format, students rotate through six to 10 interview stations that each have a different question. The questions may assess critical thinking, compassion, ethical competency, cultural humility, teamwork, analytical ability, current events, role play, etc. My take is that medical schools who use this format for the interviews are looking at whether or not the student fits the culture of the school.

UIWSOM required that we sign a non-disclosure agreement so I can’t discuss the exact format of the MMI or the questions that will be asked. But from what I can tell, there will be six to 10 stations, each lasting 5 to 8 minutes in length. Overall, the day is supposed to last for about two hours and the stations are supposed to be conversational in nature. It seems to me that the MMI will give students more of an opportunity to shine as opposed to the traditional one-on-one interviews. For example, if you bombed one station, you have the ability to redeem yourself on the next. You also have the opportunity to show your depth and breadth of knowledge over various topics. Ultimately, I think that MMI may give you the chance to show that you are a well-rounded individual.

How have I been preparing for the MMI? Even though UIWSOM has students sign a non-disclosure agreement, I saw on Student Doctor Network, on the UIWSOM Interview Feedback page, that students have discussed the interview experience. I reviewed some of those questions and then I reviewed this MMI Blog that I found on BeMo. It has 200 MMI questions that cover various topics. Finally, I reviewed the Student Doctor Network thread, "Top 8 Strategies to Prepare for and ACE your MMI." The site has some reasonable tips. Obviously, I have no idea of what topics may show up on my UIWSOM interview, but I think that the practice has allowed me to get familiar with a variety of topics. I timed myself to ensure that all of my answers were two to three minutes in length.

I guess I am prepared. Or something like that. I’ll be back to share how the day went along with my perspectives, those that I can share anyway, on the interview!

Ace your medical or graduate school virtual interview: Tips for success

As COVID-19 continues to rage, medical and graduate schools have been forced to rely on technology to conduct student interviews. In fact, once COVID is over, many programs may make virtual interviewing a permanent part of the admissions process as this new way to interview may save time, money, offer flexibility, and increase efficiency for students and admissions staff at various universities nationwide.

Mastering the virtual interview is going to be a major determining factor as to whether or not you are admitted. Here are a few tips that I have learned through my virtual interviews this cycle, that may help you to ace your interviews.

1. This sounds like a no brainer, but you should test your technology prior to the interview. Testing your equipment and your Internet connection will help you to avoid technical glitches.
2. Keep your virtual identity professional. Many virtual interview programs such as Zoom or Cisco WebEx will use an email address or a name (And sometimes a. picture) as your virtual ID. You don’t want to give your interviewer a bad impression of you by you using a silly email or Internet ID that you used 10 years ago. One of my friends actually used a dating profile name that was shall we say, inappropriate. This may be why he was denied admissions, post interview.
3. Again, this goes without saying but you should dress for success, as cliched as this may sound. Wear your best business attire and if you don’t have a suit, wear your nicest business casual attire.
4. Use the appropriate backdrop. If possible, you want to have a blank background but if this isn’t possible, make sure that your background is clean and orderly. Also, check the lighting in your room.
5. Make sure to monitor your body language. I have a bad habit of swiveling my chair back and forth during virtual Zoom meetings with my dissertation committee. For my virtual interviews, I had to post a sticky note that said, “Daryl, do NOT swivel in your chair!” Watch your hand movements, sit up straight, smile, and keep the camera in such a position that you don’t appear to be looking up or down. Keep your eyes focused on the camera as you converse with your interviewer, not the image of them on your screen.
6. Eliminate distractions. Turn off your cell phone. If you have a cat or dog, close your room door or put your pet in another room. Make sure that the TV in the next room is off and if you need to close the window to shut out the sounds of the lawn mower or honking car horns, do it.
7. Practice answers to common medical school interview questions BEFORE hand. There are a variety of online resources, such as the 50 Most Common Medical School Interview Questions by Princeton Review, that you can use to find practice questions.
8. Finally, don’t forget to follow your interview with a ‘thank you’ email or letter. Treat the virtual interview as you would a face-to-face medical school interview. Within 24 hours of the interview, send an email to whomever you interviewed with, thanking them for taking the time to speak with you. If you can’t find their email address, you can send an email to the admissions office and they will ensure that the email finds its way to your interviewer.

Virtual interviews are becoming an increasingly important part of the medical and graduate school (and residency and post-doc) selection process. As the admissions process continues to evolve, I would not at all be surprised to see the virtual interview become a permanent feature of the admissions process at many programs. Please take the necessary steps to prepare yourself. If you follow these few simple steps, you will master your virtual interview and will be one step closer to your future White Coat ceremony future Dr.!!!!