R4 Match

For those of you who don't know, Jake applied for his fellowship in Infectious Diseases in Ottawa, Hamilton, and Toronto (in that order). The residency match system works by having the applicant rank his or her placements according to preference. The program ranks its applicants as well. The rankings are matched, and that's how residents are placed for their program. Fortunately Jake matched with Ottawa, which means they ranked him high as well. Next July Jake begins his two-year fellowship to become an Infectious Disease specialist! Yay, Jake's staying in Ottawa!

NEWS!!

I was at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport after numerous delays. I decided to look up the e-mail addresses of my interviewers at Midwestern so I could send them my thanks for the interview. Instead of the Midwestern website I accidentally opened my MWU Login page instead; I logged in, just to check my account. I stared at the page in disbelief. Instead of the "Applicant Checklist" that I had looked at for the past month, AZCOM had a heading of "Accepted Student Checklist," which included a deposit, transcripts, a matriculation form...

Had I just been accepted?????

The tears started pouring down my face, and my hands were shaking. There I was, sitting on the floor of an international airport with my laptop on my knees, sobbing as I used up every napkin in my backpack. Then I went to the bathroom and used up a few handfuls of toilet paper. I called my sister. No answer. Then my mom. No answer. Then I e-mailed everyone. Then I called another sister. Then Jake. I finally got a hold of someone and they thought something was horribly, horribly wrong from my stifled sobs, when really I had just lost it.

From my first application cycle in 2002, to my final cycle in 2009 I applied to 35 schools, participating in 6 application cycles in 8 years. I watched and experienced the life of a medical student second-hand as a wife and friend. I applied to graduate school and pharmacy school. I took the GRE, MCAT, PCAT, and TOEFL. I volunteered, shadowed, and observed. I had ups and downs over the years. Over time I felt like I was breaking, little by little, with each rejection and each passing year. Sometimes I cried. Some days I felt my belief in myself and abilities slipping away, where I felt like I was climbing an endless steep, gravelly hill. Yet there was always still help, hope, and support from friends and family, and I still held on to my own motivation to fulfill my dream, and the hope that someone would give me chance.

Finally.









Class of 2014.

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KCOM Interview - A.T. Still University

Today I interviewed at A.T. Still University - Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. Kirksville was the first osteopathic medical school, established in 1892 by Andrew Taylor Still. Dr Still was a licensed MD, but was not satisfied by what he saw as limitations in traditional medicine. His research and clinical observation led him to believe in restoring and maintaining proper health through stimulating the musculoskeletal system. This led to the development of osteopathic manipulative medicine, also called OMM, OTM, and OMT.

My KCOM interview day started at 8:00 am and began with a curriculum overview. This was followed by two one-on-one interviews which lasted one hour each. I was interviewed by Ron Gaber, Vice President and Dean of Students, and Dr David Middlemas (Pharmacology). Both seemed very friendly and warm, and both expressed great interest in my extracurricular activities, grades, letters of recommendation, and my application in general. I was amazed; both seemed like they were really trying to convince me to come. I had a really good feeling afterwards, as if they really wanted me to like the school. Dr Middlemas knew some of my former profs too. After my interviews I met with Donna Sparks in Admissions, and then all of the interviewees had lunch together. We were joined by five Student Ambassadors who answered our questions while we enjoyed turkey wraps, baked potato chips and cookies. The Student Ambassadors were awesome!! They were warm, welcoming, and helpful.

Lunch was followed by a presentation on the "Still-Well Program," which encourages students take care of themselves through healthy lifestyles and fitness, and a presentation on financial aid. A number of great Student Ambassadors gave us an extensive tour of the new OTM lab (with demonstrations), simulator lab (has six rooms all equipped with simulator dummies that breathe, have bowel, lung, and heart sounds, can talk, have blood pressure and pulses, and can be set up with any scenario for ACLS practice). There were also Standardized Patient rooms where hired actors come in and play patients who come to see the "doctor" played by a medical student who practices history-taking (1st year) and examination skills (1st and 2nd years). The tour was excellent and allowed for lots of interaction with the students, who were friendly, helpful, and interesting.

I really like this school. I really feel that if I did not have an addiction to the Arizona desert that I would have a tough time choosing between KCOM and AZCOM.

TOEFL Results

I found out that I scored 119 out of 120 on the TOEFL. Although I scored in the highest category for speaking, for some reason I missed a point. Oh well, usually it's difficult perfect on a standardized test. I guess I don't talk good enough. :-)

At least my reading, writing, and listening skills are up to par! I can say that I have English as my first and second language now!

AZCOM Interview - Midwestern University

Today I interviewed at Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in Glendale, AZ. The day started at 7:45 am at the Office of Admissions. We watched two presentations, one on the curriculum, and the other on financial aid. Then half of us went on a tour, the other half waited to be interviewed.

I was in the first interview group, and the first on the list. Of course, I ended up interviewing first! I was interviewed by a panel of three gentlemen, Dr Jose Hernandez (Biochem), Dr Chad Carroll (Physiology), and Dr James Cole (Senior Consultant, Office of University Relations and former Dean). They sat at an oblong table with Dr Cole at the end, and Dr Hernandez and Dr Carroll sat opposite one another. I sat at the head of the table. Each interviewer had a small netbook in front of them for taking notes. Dr Hernandez asked a few ethical questions, Dr Cole asked random questions which made me think, and stimulated pretty personal responses, and Dr Carroll tended to ask more questions about purpose and motivations for applying for medicine, and to AZCOM. After the 30-minute session I returned to the lounge and chatted with other interviewees, feeling incredible relief after my interview was done!

Next was a campus tour, followed by lunch in the cafeteria, then a tour of the housing facilities and clinic on campus. The day finished around 2:00 pm.

I love this school, and would love to be in Phoenix again.

Next interview: Kirksville.

Standardized Tests

After today, here is the list of all the standardized tests I have taken:

SAT
MCAT (x 2)
GRE (subject test in Biology)
PCAT
TOEFL

Did I mention that I have a strong dislike for standardized tests?

English as a second language?

My applications to AZCOM and CCOM were complete for at least a month, until last Monday. When I checked my application status there was a new addition to the checklist that was not there before. I now have to submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores before my application will be complete. The admissions employee at CCOM told me my application would not be considered complete and therefore, I would not be considered for interview until the scores are submitted. Good thing I already have an interview at AZCOM. However, I still have to submit the scores to that school too. On short notice I was able to register for the exam only three days in advance (there were no other dates offered from now until November). I had to pay a late fee, making a $245 USD addition to my overall med school application expenses. I took the exam today; hopefully my English as a second language is as good as my first! I strongly suspect that I was the only person being tested who spoke English as their first language!

Interview number TWO!

I just got an interview invitation from Midwestern AZCOM! I scheduled it for September 24th! Yay! Two interviews! I never would have thought I would get that many before this...now I'm really hoping for more!

See my previous post for some photos of Midwestern University's gorgeous campus!

This is a wonderful school where four of my closest friends from university attended; one is currently starting her second year. Three of them have already completed their medical degree!