Preparing for Medical Schools

1. Preparing for Medical Schools UWO Pre-medical society Academic Information Session #1 Oct. 19, 2009 Sung Ho Um

2. Objectives What to expect? Why medicine? Why not? Medical schools Application process Resources/Websites

3. Why medicine? • Challenging • Rewarding • Stability • Plentiful employment opportunities • Opportunities: • Clinical • Teaching • Research • Administration

4. Why not? • Demanding • Physically and emotionally tiring • Many years in school and training • Requires support from: • Family • Spouse • Colleagues

5. Process • 3 or more years of undergraduate • Possibly a graduate degree • Medical school: 3-4 years • Post-graduate training (Residency): 2-5 years • Depending on your specialization

6. Curriculum • 3 to 4 years depending on the school • No summers for a 3 year program • Year 1 & 2: basic and clinical sciences, pre-clerkship • Year 3 & 4: Clinical clerkship / electives (rotations)

7. Medical Schools • 6 in Ontario • Most are 4 year programs • McMaster is 3 years • 100-250 students per school every year • ~19,000 applications for 943 spots (2009)

8. http://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas

9. Application process • Ontario Medical School Admission Service (OMSAS) • American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) • Out of province – individual websites • Factors: • Academics: GPA + MCAT • Autobiographical Sketch, Personal statement, Short answers • Reference letters • Geographical status

10. Academics • >80% average to be competitive • OMSAS GPA scale is used • AMCAS and other schools have their own scale • Convert each grade into GPA and take the average • Some schools neglect summer/part-time marks • Different GPA formulas exist

11. GPA calculation

12. Academics Example: Biology [80%] = 3.7 Chemistry [84%] = 3.7 Physics [85%] = 3.9 Psychology [89%] = 3.9 Calculus A [90%] = 4.0 Calculus B [79%] = 3.3 Average = 84.5% GPA = (3.7x2 + 3.9x2 + 4.0x0.5 + 3.3x0.5)/5 = 3.77

13. Academics • MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) • 4 sections: • Physical Sciences • Verbal Reasoning • Writing Sample • Biological Sciences • Scaled score: PS,VR,BS 1-15; WS J-T • 5 hour exam • http://www.aamc.org/mcat • Prep courses / materials available

14. Autobiographical Sketch • Maximum of 48 entries • 7 categories: • Education • Employment • Volunteer • Extracurricular • Awards/Accomplishments • Research • Other • Verifiers

15. Reference Letters OMSAS requires 3 letters Confidential Assessment Form + Letter Referees should be individuals who know you well Subject areas to be covered: Character, personal qualities, and academic capabilities

16. Qualities Maturity Team work Relate to others Integrity Problem solving Leadership Communication Well-rounded

17. Other considerations SWOMEN Rural Area Out of Province Aboriginal status Refer to OMSAS guide or school websites

18. Interviews • The final step • Traditional format • Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format • 8 minute interviews, 12 stations • Ethical, current issues • Prepare to talk about your activities • Practice! Mock-interviews

19. Start early Work hard Talk to people Find out if this is for you Be well-balanced

20. Resources/Websites OMSAS: http://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/ AMCAS: http://www.aamc.org/amcas/ MCAT: http://www.aamc.org/mcat/ Online forums exist but not official

21. Questions? • Summary: • OMSAS / AMCAS • GPA calculations / MCAT • Biographical sketch / Letters of reference • Contact me at sum2@uwo.ca with more questions.