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PHA Week 4 Meeting. Tuesday 10/22/2013. 10/22/13. Announcements.
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PHA Week 4 Meeting Tuesday 10/22/2013 10/22/13
Announcements *FREE PRACTICE (MCAT, GRE, LSAT) TEST:* Kaplan is hosting a FREE opportunity for students to take a practice exam. Tests are proctored like the actual exam, and afterwards instructors will give a short workshop on test-taking strategies and will answer questions on*Saturday, October 26th* GRE and LSAT start at 9am and MCAT starts at 10am Where: Rowland Hall: check in starts 30min before each test *Pre-Register*: with this webform<http://tinyurl.com/UCIFree> If enrolling within 48 hours of the event, you should enroll via www.kaptest.com/practice to ensure that you will have a seat (physical or virtual) the day of the event.
Using Extracurriculars to Your Advantage! Presented To you By: Pre-health alliance at UCI, 2013
Extracurriculars • QUALITY > QUANTITY • Things you are passionate about! • Well-rounded • Try something new or a bit out of your comfort zone!
Volunteering • Giving back to the community • Social interaction • Find your passion • Needed although it is unwritten • Possible L.O.R. can come out of volunteering
Clinical Volunteering • Clinical (Hospitals, Health-Centers, Fairs, etc.) • Health Fairs • Hoag Hospital (Clinical Care Extenders) • www.copehealthsolutions.org/clinical-internships/cce-application • Gottschalk Medical Plaza • www.healthcare.uci.edu/volunteer-services/college.asp • CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County) • www.choc.org/volunteer • St. Joseph’s Hospital • www.sjo.org/For-Community/Volunteer-at-St-Joseph-Hospital.aspx
Non-Clinical Volunteering • Non-Medical Related Volunteering • Doesn’t have to be science related! • Volunteer Match • www.volunteermatch.org/search?l=Irvine%2C+%2C+USA • City of Irvine Website • www.cityofirvine.org/cityhall/cs/seniors/volunteer_opportunities/default.asp • So many options to choose from! • Soup Kitchens • Karate For All • Autumn Years • Walk-a-thon committees
Shadowing • Why is it important? • Gives clinical experience • Helps you see an average day of a physician • Shows commitment • Help you determine if your field is right for you • One of the “Intangible” med school req’s
Ways to Shadow a Physician • Health Fairs • Get variety; although not consistent enough • Good supplement to “real” shadowing • Networking • Ask friends, family members, professors, and your doctor for any contacts for shadowing • Hospitals • Hoag, Choc, & Gottschalk all have shadowing components to their volunteering
Ways to Shadow a Physician • Specialized Shadowing • Zotlink: Medical internships • The Center for Future Health Professionals (UCI Med School) • www.cfhp.uci.edu/index.asp?p=26 • Email health professionals directly! 10/21/13
On Your Application Include: • Length of involvement • Supervisor • Brief Description
Research Experience • Demonstrates independent scholarship and advanced achievement • Not absolutely necessary (depending on grad school) • Give it a try! You never know! • UCI is a research university
Types of Research • Clinical • Non-Clinical (lab) • Does not have to be in the “hard” science
How to Find Research: Professors • Professors you have taken classes with • Bio 199 website • Go to their office • Email them • Include: • Why you are interested in researching with THEM specifically • Why you are interested in that FIELD of research • Approximately how many quarters you are willing to research with them
How to Find Research: Friends/Networks • Ask your peers!
Research: Bio 198/199 Bio 198 Bio 199 • Graded units! • Some labs require this in order to move onto Bio 199 • Graded Units! • http://students.bio.uci.edu/bio199.html • Can do Excellence in Research • Can get your research published in a journal!
Research: Interview • Have a Resume Prepared • Discuss your Career Goals/Interests • When you are being interviewed by the professor, Don’t forget to Interview them too! • Come Up with Questions to Ask Them • Specifics about their research • Ask what you will be doing • Ask if there is possibility of you doing your own project
Research: You got the position, Now what? • If bio 198/199, fill out the packets online ASAP. Due Week 3 Friday at the latest. No exceptions! • Ask about attire and what else Is expected • Always be cordial! • Read up more about the Research • Stay Committed
Letters of Recommendation: • 3-6 letters of rec needed • Science professors, non-science professors, community/ volunteer work letter of rec • Depends on school. Consult with your bio counselor.
LOR: Who to ask? • Physicians you have spent time with • Managers of places you have volunteered/worked at in clinical settings • Faculty who taught you (GO TO OH) • Faculty/mentors you did research with • NO personal friends, family, colleague, etc.
LOR: Great vs Ok Letters • Point is to show WHO YOU ARE • WHAT YOU ARE LIKE • Schools already know your gpa and other extracurrics • Should show your qualities • When ask for LOR, ask if they can write you a GOOD/GREAT LOR • Allow up to 3-4 months for you writer!
LOR: OPEN VS CLOSED • OPEN – you have full access to it • CLOSED – you do not have access to it • Schools preferred closed file! • This is why you should ask early on if they can write you a great letter!
LOR Services • Here at UCI: BSSA HSAC LOR • Must attend workshop. Updates on the bio sci website. BioSci Office canceled the one they had planned. They will email you an updated time of the workshop. • LOR writers will send letters to BSSA, and they will update your file • They store your letters for you until you are ready to apply • Once you put a LOR into your file, you cannot remove it • You need to give a waiver to your writer, so set up your file with BSSA first!
LOR: A Word of Advice • Make sure you have a good relationship with the writer • Ask beforehand if they can write you a letter • Medical schools prefer CLOSED • Give ample time for writers to write • Keep in mind application deadlines • Also, keep in mind BSSA needs time to update your file!
Personal Statements-Reading a lot of books especially about medicine can give you insight into how doctors think or feel.Some recommended books…
Personal Statements -A good resource for writing personal statements… http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/health/Applicants/personal.html 10/21/13
Last But NOT Least… • Other Extracurriculars Med Schools love: • Clubs • Sports and other Physical Activities • Hobbies • Why Med Schools love these too: • They want to know what drives you • Want to see self-motivation • What you do outside of school • Creativity and Uniqueness • LEADERSHIP
So go out their and get involved At our next meeting on November 5th, we will have a guest speaker, Sean Rose, come from the American University of Antigua to give us a presentation. Deadline for club fees/t-shirts are on November 5th