GPA and Medicine

The unfortunate (or fortunate) truth. GPA isn't everything, but it sure is A LOT.

These are some of the things I wish I knew before I got started with undergrad.

1. Reputation of undergrad is important, but GPA matters more. I chose UCLA over an ivy league for financial reasons. Weighing my 3.6+ with a friend's 3.4 at Yale, I think I came out on top in the silly application process (more interviews and acceptances). I'm not trying to brag, I don't think I am any smarter or more capable than my friend. A 3.7 at a no name school is better than a 3.4 from Cornell (or Princeton or whatever).
2. A difficult major is impressive, but a high GPA in sociology is better than a low GPA in bioengineering. Major in what you can do well in.
3. A double major is impressive, but a high GPA in one major is better.
4. Drop classes if you are getting a C. Don't be afraid of a couple Ws (withdrawals) on your transcript. Having two Ws isn't going to kill you. I have a friend who had 3 Ws but was never asked about them during interviews. Now he's a med student. Basically, a 3.7 with Ws is better than a 3.4 because you got 3 Cs.
   
   (I hope by this point I've drilled into your head that the numerical value of your GPA matters more than any other aspect of your academic record.)
   
   
5. Learn how to study and how to get help when you run into problems. I stopped going to lecture-style reviews for classes because listening to another regurgitation of the material right before the exam doesn't help me at all. Instead, I learned to go to office hours with a list of questions. Identify your weak points and attack those.
6. Study effectively. I wish I figured out earlier that I simply can't learn from listening to lectures. When I did realize this though, I began recording lectures so I can review them later, in conjunction with notes and texts. I also study best alone. Try different ways of studying, you never know what could work better.
7. As an addendum to the above: get regular exercise. It'll keep up your energy level and improve focus, reducing study time but improving effectiveness.
8. Test taking is a skill. It is not enough to just know the information, you have to be able to demonstrate that in a specific manner. Your GPA is a measure of your mastery of that skill. If you are not good at it, figure out how you can improve. The road to an MD/DO is riddled with lots and lots of tests.
9. Finally resist the temptation to cheat. The only thing worse than a low GPA on your transcript is a notation of academic dishonesty. I'm going to throw out morality here and speak in terms of practicality. Whether you get caught or not is a probability based on how many times you cheat. Each time you do it, you are putting yourself at risk. All it takes is ONE TIME to royally fvck yourself over. I knew a guy who plagarized on a biochemistry lab report. He was caught and had a permanent record placed on his transcript. Not only is he screwed for medicine, he is screwed for dentistry, pharmacy, law, and any graduate school. There is no better road to nowhere than by being a cheater.
   

Importance of a Good Mentor

When selecting jobs, volunteer work, research, clinical shadowing, or any professional activity for the matter, remember that a good mentor means more than prestige or pay. As a young person trying to learn the ways of any profession, we have much to learn from the wisdom of an person already established in that field.


After graduating from college in June, I had three job offers.

1. Western Blot Queen at a small biotech company. PROS: High pay. Close to home. Young, fun, coworkers. CONS: Repetitive benchwork. Boring suburban location.
   
   
   
2. Research assistant for a stroke program. PROS: Patient contact (morning rounds with neurologists). Working here shows continuity and commitment because I had already been volunteering with another branch of the research team. Very respected principle investigator (PI). CONS: Waking up at the butt crack of dawn, long-ish hours, low low pay.
   
   
   
3. Research assistant for a smoking cessation program. PROS: Work directly under a what seemed to be a "fatherly" PI. Learn PET scanning. Good hours. CONS: Less patient contact. Lots of sitting on my ass computer work. Isolating.
   

After losing a night of sleep over this, I went with Job #3. Starting with the interview, Dr. Kiley (name changed) sat me down personally and asked me about my academic and career interests. He also talked extensively about job duties and even requested references. His thoroughness and the personal attention he gave me from day 1 impressed me very positively. I've been working there for half a year now. I know without doubt that I've made the correct choice. I learned a lot and had a lot of support that would help me in my future career.

Three months into my employment here, I finished the last part of a long standing project that was the subject of a manuscript under review. Dr. Kiley volunteered to add me as a co-author. He even added as a co-author a graduate student who charged an outrageous rate for consultant work. His generosity amazed me. Some students don't get published after years of slaving away in research labs. Here I am, with my first publication after 6 months.

Today, when I told him I got an interview to UCLA (where he is an assistant professor), he began to tell me of previous experiences he has had with the admissions office, previous research assistants who have interviewed there, and how he tried to help them out. He also offered to call in for me or write on my behalf.

In between I've worked with PET and MRI scans, statistical analyses, IRB paperwork, and grant applications. Dr. Kiley has guided me, a person with no previous experiences to produce final products that I am proud of. I came of out this experience more organized, more articulate, and more confident in my abilities.

So why do you want to be a doctor?

Medical school essay version

I tell two stories about patients/clients I worked with in my clinical volunteer work and why they inspired me. Lame? You be the judge. I'll post the essay on here for you to read.

Medical school interview version

Long story about how my parents became doctors in our native country to escape poverty. Mom grew to love primary care, while dad loved research. But given the realities of our immigration, neither continued their careers in the U.S. Sooo, as the only child, the duty fell on my shoulders to carry on the legacy. But I rebelled and refused to have anything to do with medicine.

Then, I got involved in an odd living situation the summer after freshman year that softened my stubborn refusal to consider medicine as a career.

One extracurricular led to another, and here I am, applying to medical school.

Blog version

Well, to be fair to myself and everyone reading, both of the above versions are truthful answers. That said, there are so many other factors that influenced my decision to go into medicine that I can't sum into a personal statement or a two-minute blurb during an interview. I'll let my ramblings on here answer this question for me.

I may be cynical, idealistic, practical... But I promise to be honest.

My Personal Statement

Reading this makes me cringe. But it may help you formulate yours, so here goes:

Use the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school.

"Pbttttttttttttt!" The elderly gentleman forced out air and fluttered his lips. He grinned with satisfaction as my eyes widened with disbelief. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Even the exhausted neurologist was chuckling. But the situation was nothing to laugh about. Anthony was suffering from a massive stroke and he could no longer talk. Working for the Stroke Team in the UCLA emergency department, I have seen numerous patients with motor and speech deficits. After many such encounters, it was easy to view every patient as just another body across a gurney. But Anthony had channeled his frustration into such a playful act that he startled me into realizing that there were still potent minds living inside these weakened and sometimes aphasic bodies. Later that night, an artery ruptured in Anthony's brain and he fell into a coma. Never to regain consciousness, he passed away two days later.

Anthony taught me that treatment requires not only attention to the disease, but caring for the person behind the disease. With this in mind, I decided to become a caseworker for the UCLA Mobile Clinic, an organization that would allow me to work directly with members of the most marginalized populations in the city. There, I met Candy.

"Do you have sex with men, women, or both?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Sitting at a street corner in West Hollywood, Candy crossed her legs and raised an eyebrow. It is my job to obtain detailed social and medical histories so the attending physician can provide expedient care. I learned that Candy is a chronically homeless, HIV positive transgender prostitute. At first, she acted cautiously towards me, labeling me the "college brat." But as the weeks passed, we began confiding in each other. One evening she was in such high spirits that she turned up Britney Spears and invited me to dance. How could I refuse? Anthony probably would have approved. On other nights, though, Candy was so weak from sepsis that she could barely stand. I wanted to pull her away from her destructive path and personally escort her to the county hospital. But I knew that the next night she could very well be back on the streets, making a living the only way she knows how, by turning tricks.

Candy shared with me her life as an IV drug user, about being gay, about her battle with AIDS, and about being forgotten by her own family. Most people probably see her as a dirty vagrant cluttering the sidewalk. Luckily for me, I got to see a different Candy, a person who experiences loneliness, pain, and joy. It was not easy for her to open up and share her experiences. I am delighted to have earned her trust. As Henry Ward Beecher said, “To array a man's will against his sickness is the supreme art of medicine.” My presence has helped Candy find that will. In her consistent use of clinic’s services, Candy’s showing me that she is caring for herself. My efforts have not been in vain.

I have always loved listening to people’s stories and sharing my own. I was born in a rural Western Chinese town at the foot of the Himalayas. As a young girl, I spent a lot of time in the hospital where my mother worked as a pediatrician. My intimate relationship with the hospital staff was like simultaneously having many aunts and uncles. We are a product of our environments. My upbringing was unusual, but my nurturing surrounding was instrumental in shaping me into a person who sincerely values and enjoys personally getting to know others. Applying my love for listening to the infirm will not only help me understand them, but it will put me in a position of healing.

It has been a decade and a half since my family has relocated to the US. Throughout my life, from growing up with my mother, to my experiences in the ER, to my work with the homeless, I have been fortunate to have role models who have taught me strength and compassion. In their daily acts of courage and their incredible power to keep going, individuals like Anthony and Candy have shown me that it is possible to face even the most terrifying things in life and remain stubbornly, and miraculously, unbroken. Empowered by Anthony’s spirit and Candy’s trust, I am prepared to do whatever it takes to face the challenges of medical school. I am committed to make supporting others through their illnesses a lifelong effort.

LINKS LINKS LINKS

I'll be updating.


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