Sunday, September 23, 2012

Blood Drive RESCHEDULED

Hey everyone,

Due to unforeseen issues with United's bus, the blood drive is going to be rescheduled. For those of you who volunteered to help, I will contact you with the new date when we have one. Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for your support.

-Jack

Minutes From August 23

Hey guys! This is just a reminder to first of all thank all of you who came, signed up, talked to Dr. Case, and enjoyed the pizza!!

Secondly, for those who could not show up, I know we had a lot of stuff going on around campus and for keeping that in mind, I'm going to briefly mention what we talked about at the meeting last night. Our guest speaker last night was Dr. Steve Case who is the Dean of Admission at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). He gave a power point presentation about the interview process and the "pearls and pittfalls" or in another words, the "do's and don'ts." He gave some pretty legit tips about what to do at an interview, how to dress up, how to be a good listener, a good communicator, and so forth.

Dr. Case also mentioned about the Early Decision Program (EDP) and the Regular Decision Program (RDP) just for UMMC. Some students even talked to him one-on-one about individual questions they had about applications, UMMC, and the interview process. 

And the most important part of the email...we have scheduled trips to some medical schools (William Carey and UMMC) and in order for YOU to attend these, we ask that you come to the stadium cleanups. I know this might be a little annoying at first cleaning the stadium and all..but trust me, I did this last year and it was absolutely awesome. Work hard, play hard right? 

Attending these med school trips gives you a good idea of what that school will be like, whether that school really is for you, or whether you might be interested and have not thought anything about it! I went last year and you get to talk to First and Second year med students and they give you an insight about life as a med student.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Minutes from March 29th

Hello everyone! We had a great meeting this past Thursday with Rosalyn Campbell from the North Mississippi Medical Center. She spoke to us about the Physician Shadowing Program at the hospital, which is a great way to see a variety of specialties and to get some observation hours.
Also, our next meeting is April 12, and Dr. Case will be here from UMMC. So please come out to see him and hear about the med school application process.
There are some important dates in this email, so be sure to write them down!!!

UMMC Trip
  • April 13, Friday
  • Depart at 7:30 from Sanderson parking lot
  • $10 fee from anyone who did not attend enough stadium cleanups
  • Excuse form for Friday classes
Trip to UAB
Volunteer Opportunity
  • Run To Rescue 5K (runtorescue.org)
  • Raises money and awareness about human trafficking
  • Thursday, April 26th at 6 pm beginning at the Junction
  • Print registration form and send in with $20 registration fee
  • Can also volunteering, contact Melissa Byrd (mkb187) if interested
Next Meeting
  • Thursday, April 12
  • Dr. Case from UMC
  • “Application Workshop” presentation
Officer Elections!
  • Wednesday, April 18 at 6pm
  • If interested, let us know!
Speaker: Rosalyn Campbell
Physician Shadowing Program with the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo
  • Tupelo is the Largest Rural Hospital in America
  • 159 students through this program since it's beginning
  • Hired by the hospital, and it is a paid position
  • 3 week session (June 11-29 or July 9-27)
  • Interviews, April 10th, 3rd floor of the Union
  • To schedule an appointment, contact rosalyn.campbell@nmhs.net
  • FINAL DEADLINE: April 20th
What's required?
  • 2 letters of recommendation
  • Official transcript (Beware Safescript), email Ms. Campbell if you are using this
  • Essay of past experience, future plans, and why you’re applying to the program
  • Email Ms. Rosalyn at rosalyn.campbell@nmhs.net
If there are any other questions about the Tupelo Shadowing Program, send us an email! Alex and Kelsey have both been through the program and can tell you pretty much whatever you want to know.

Hope you have an awesome week!!!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Minutes from February 16th

Hey, everyone! We had an awesome turn-out for our last meeting. Thanks for being there! If you were not at our AMSA meeting on Feb 16, then you probably missed out. Dr. Peggy Davis from UMMC came down to speak to us about the pathway to medical school. However, here are some brief notes about upcoming events in AMSA and what Dr. Davis talked about.


AMSA Meetings
  • March 22: Rosalyn Campbell is coming to speak about the Tupelo Shadowing Program
    • She will also be conducting interviews on that day, so be on the lookout for an email with info on that
  • April 12: Dr. Case from UMMC is coming to give an application workshop. And you don't have to be applying this upcoming year in order to find this useful
  • April 17: OFFICER ELECTIONS
    • If you are at all interested in being an officer, then let us know and we can talk to you about it
  • Also, we will still be selling AMSA t-shirts at the rest of the meetings for $10. They have Dr. Bully on them, so how could you not buy one???

MCAT Practice Tests
  • We had an awesome turn-out to our last practice MCAT, and I think that everyone who came benefited from the experience
  • Another (and the last one for the semester) has been scheduled for Sunday, March 4 at 1:00pm. It will be in the 4th floor computer lab in Griffis
Medical School Trip
Volunteering
  • Run to Rescue 5K
  • April 26th at 6pm, beginning at the Junction
  • If you don't want to run, then you can still help out; email Melissa Byrd at mkb187@msstate.edu
  • For more info or to register to run, visit rescuetorun.org


Pathway to the School of Medicine 2012
by Peggey Davis, Director of Medical School Admissions

(http://som.umc.edu)

The Steps of Medical School
1. Get a degree, 4 years
2. Medical school for 4 years
3. Residency, 3-5 years
4. Optional fellowships

Quick look at the 4 years of medical school
  • M1 and M2:
    • Basic Sciences, Normal and abnormal physiology
  • Take Step 1 for the USMLE
  • M3 and M4:
    • Clinical Training
  • Take Step 2 during fourth year
Academic Preparation
  • Bachelor's degree
  • Any major
  • A year's worth of credit in Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Math (must have the minimum prerequisites listed on UMMC's admissions website)
Personal Preparation
  • Exposure to medicine,volunteer or employment
    • MD office, clinics, hospital, nursing home, pre-medical organizations, medical research, ect
  • Extracurricular activities (indicative of effective iteration with diverse people)
  • Service to individuals, family, and community groups
  • Leadership and other forms of responsibility
  • Academic/cultural interests beyond the classroom
  • Work experience
AMCAS: online service for the primary application to allopathic medical schools (MD schools)
  • Be super detailed! Explain what you did in each experience and what you gained from it.
  • Choose up to 3 "most meaningful" experiences to give details about.
What to do now:
  • Keep a journal of your activities
  • Contact information for your activities
  • Reflect afterwards to determine what it means to you, so that you can have easy access to 
You are ready to apply if you:
  • Are a Mississippi resident (or can meet the 1 year residency requirement before matriculation)
  • Will complete all academic requirements within the current academic year
  • Prepared to matriculate next August (deferments discourages)
UMMC Programs:
  • Early Decision Program
    • Apply to one school only
    • > 3.6 BCPM GPA and 27  MCAT sum
  • Regular Decision Program
    • Apply to multiple schools
    • Sliding for BCPM GPA and MCAT scale (a low GPA can be off-set by a high MCAT score, ect)
  • Combined MD-PhD Program
    • Average: BCPM GPA >3.8, MCAT 31
    • Sequential acceptance to MD or PhD programs
Check out:
  • Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
    • AMCAS
    • MCAT
  • Also, Dr. Davis gives pre-application counseling for any who are interested

Thanks again for everyone who showed up to hear Dr. Davis speak. I'm sure you walked away with a new perspective and maybe some new idea on how you can turn yourself into a better applicant. Be sure to come out for our last 3 meetings!!

Minutes from January 19th

Hello, everyone! Hope the semester is going spectacularly! If you couldn't make it for this past Thursday's meeting, then here are the important upcoming announcements. We had SSG Harvey, SSG Harding, and SSG Bittenbender come to speak about the Army's Health Professions Scholarship Program. If that interests you, the highlights are here and more information is available on the web.

Next Meeting: Feb. 16 
Dr Davis from UMMC will be giving a talk on the "Pathways to Medicine"
Be sure to come out and meet her if you plan on applying to UMMC!

Potential Community Service/Volunteer project:
Up Til Dawn letter writing campaign to benefit St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital

  • Teams of 10
  • Feb 8
  • Writing letters to friends and family on behalf of St. Jude

Practice MCAT
  • Sunday, Jan 29
  • 4th floor of Griffis Computer lab
  • 1 PM
  • Free for AMSA members
TSHIRTS!!
  • Only $10, and they are fantastic! Who wouldn't want a Dr. Bully shirt? They will be available for purchase at every meeting
Med School Trips
  • UMC Trip - April 13th (tentative)
  • UT Memphis Trip - probably March, overnight trip

And our guest speakers is SSG. Harvey, SSG. Bittenbender, and SSG. Harding

Health Professions Scholarship Program
  • Estimated Annual Cost of UMMC: $35,000
  • Total Tuition Cost can accumulate up to $300,000
  • However, you could complete medical school DEBT FREE
  • 1,2,3,4 year scholarship that covers the majority of fees
  • Over $2000 stipend per month
  • All specialties are accepted
  • Obligation is one year of service for each year of scholarship with a minimum of 2 years for physicians
  • Army Avg Board Pass 90% vs Civilian Avg Board Pass of 70%
  • Know that a private practice includes paying for professions, staff, insurance, a facility, and miscellaneous costs: None of that in Army Medicine!
  • There is no malpractice insurance and staffing is provided, as is healthcare benefits
  • 30 days of paid vacation
  • Best patients around!
Thanks for coming out and supporting AMSA! See you at the next meeting!