Advice to Pre-Medical Students to Impress the Medical School Admissions Committee

Maintian a 3.75 college GPA.Forget work life balance. There is none in your future.  How does one do that? Study over 40 hours a week, every week of the marking period. There is no other way to learn any skill or subject than repetitition. If you are stupid, repeat more. Try to get all A's in the 4 Pre-medical required subject, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Organic Chemistry. Try to take these subjects in the first 3 years, since they may be covered on the MCAT exam. Take the MCAT twice if the first scores were too low. The medical school does not care what your major is. It does want to know you get things done, finish, and can succeed. If you carry a 16 credit hour a weekin college, medical school will be equivalent to a 40 credit hour week (8 hours a day of lectures 5 days a week). You will be learning a  2000 page book every 12 weeks. Even with a photographic memory, you will still not be able to answer the question upon graduation, what do you want to do to help this patient, Doctor? That will require another 10,000 hours of patient care. 

Avoid drinking and using drugs in college. They impair brain function. You have 112 waking hours a week. Fill them up with useful activity. People outside of healthcare are less likely to understand your situation.You can skip the partying, since it is quite boring. Alcohol and drugs also impair brain function. Serial dating is more productive, growthful, and thrilling for the young person. Bumble has great, high achieving young people. Females must start the conversation on it. Match has topnotch older people that will enjoy dating a young person. Drop your distaste for the older body. Look in the mirror undressed. You have to do something. Exercise a half an hour a day, at least 5 days a week to look good. If male, lift weights. Try to avoid the weight gain that is inevitable after age 18. Your 112 waking hours a week should be booked up. You are rapidly deteriorating with age after 18. Do not waste a minute of your peak existence. 

These experiences will give you subjects to discuss during your interview: 

1) Volunteer at a hospice. My word, what experience you will get. You will see death up close. It will haunt you enough to make you stop wasting time. You will earn a lot of medicine. You will see that 90% of people die rough, over a long time, and with a loss of dignity. Dsitributing that mail may not seem like an important job, but making small talk, and listening to stories will make a patient's day, especially if abandoned by family and by staff. You may be the best thing to happen to some patients before they exit. 

2) If you have a summer off, go to the local med school and volunteer to carry out a small research project leading to a publication within the time of the summer break. Again, this project shows an ability to complete a task, and to get a result. Publication of  a negative finding is as valuable as a positive finding, but less glamorous. Try learn about the subject matter of the faculty before a meeting. This experience will also provide a good subject for the medical school interview. Why do you want to be a doctor? To help people. Here is the  flow chart for my NIH grant proposal. 

3)  If you need a job to pay expenses, consider training and certification as an EMT, rather than as a fast food worker, librarian, or Uber driver. 

Basic Requirements: 1. Age: 18 years old (minimum); 2. High school diploma or equivalent; 3. Valid driver's license; 4. CPR certification

Training Levels: 1. EMT-Basic (EMT-B): 120-150 hours: 1. Patient assessment; 2. Airway management; 3. Trauma care; 4. Medical emergencies. 2. EMT-Intermediate (EMT-I): 30-35 hours (additional):  1. IV therapy; 2. Medication administration; 3. Advanced airway management. 3. EMT-Paramedic (EMT-P): 1,200-1,800 hours: 1. Advanced life support; 2. Pharmacology: 3. Cardiac arrest management. Certification: 1. National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT); 2. State certification (varies)

Skills: 1. Patient assessment; 2. Airway management; 3. CPR; 4. Defibrillation; 5. Trauma care; 6. Medical emergency management

Continuing Education: 1. Recertification (every 2 years); 2. Continuing education hours (varies)

Salary Range: 1. EMT-B: $25,000 - $40,000; 2. EMT-I: $30,000 - $50,000; 3. EMT-P: $40,000 - $70,000. 

This job will give a preview of the profession. It will provide a rich discussion for the medical school interview. Why do you want to be a doctor? To help people. Here is a list of ghastly but memorable mistakes I made taking care of them.