What Med School might be like: the experiences of a couple of Clarkies

1. What Med School might be like: the experiences of a couple of Clarkies John Matulis OMSIV Sam Licciardo MSIV

2. Outline • Mock patient encounter • We will talk about… • Paying for school • Standardized tests • Partying • Applying to school • Choosing Schools • Surviving Classes • Does the thrill endure?

3. The Patient Encounter Basic Outline – -we figure out the story (anyone can do this) -we ask the right questions… (medical knowledge comes into play) -We try and figure out what some of the possible causes of the problem are -We run some of our own tests -We narrow our list down -We figure out who we need help from and what treatment the patient might need

4. What we are going to think about during this case… • What’s going on with those pre-med classes? • What’s the point of doing all that extra-curricular stuff? • Does my day to day life impact how good of a doctor I am? • What do you actually learn to do in medical school? • New Language (e.g. - tinnitus, paroxsysmal nocturnal dyspnea, steatorrhea, and obstipation to name a few) • New Knowledge • What does the word Doctor mean to me?

5. Meet Eugene • Eugene is a 78 y/o male coming to his PCP’s office with multiple past medical problems including a history of tobacco use, COPD, Coronary Artery Disease, High Blood Pressure, and chronic low back pain from a bulging disk. • Today he is complaining of new onset burning sensation with urination. He also mentions he had been told he had a heart murmur the last time he was hospitalized about 4 months ago and wants to have that “checked on”. • You’re a third year medical student on the first day of your family medicine clerkship.

6. Where do you start? • Get some more history. • How functional is he? What is his current quality of life? • What are his goals of treatment? • Support structure? • What medical problems most limit his functionality? • What problems can you actually help him with? • How motivated is he to work on long-term problems?

7. What you find out

8. What to do for this nice gentleman • Treat his clap- Rocephin 1 gram once, doxycycline 100 mg q/12 hours x 2 weeks • Cardiology follow-up for Aortic Stenosis as it is effecting his functional status • Update med list to optimize management of cholesterol, blood pressure, COPD, CAD, and Chronic pain • Dexa scan for Bone Density • Follow-up with family to assess need for part time assistance in performing ADL’s. Check Medicare status to ensure there is a viable payor

9. So, Why all these premed courses? • Aortic Stenosis flow mechanics (physics) • Structure of Penicillin or Cephalosporin and how chemistry affects efficacy (treatment of N.Gonorrhea) (orgo) • Molecular signaling pathways in Osteoporosis (say we decide to give bone density screen) and how bisphosphonates may work on these (molecular bio)

10. “Does the thrill Endure”

11. Paying for it

12. Standardized Tests • Boring rant about MCAT, USMLE, and Comlex

13. Partying • Will try to come up with some good pics

14. Applying • MCAT’s/Grades – gets you noticed and keeps you in the running… • Whole Application + Interview – gets you accepted! • What’s the best type of hospital volunteer experience? • What should I be doing with extra curriculars? • Whats with this whole interview thing? • Word of Advice – GET THAT APPLICATION IN EARLY EARLY EARLY!!! • Clarkies make great doctors!! • Taking a year (on) in between college and medical school…

15. Choosing Schools • Apply broadly and think realistically about your options • Location is an okay reason to pick a school. • What is the “Match List” and what does it say about a school? • Which hospitals are affiliated with the school and what is the patient population like? • Some smaller things to think about when choosing… • Is there a large research component to the curriculum? • When do you transition to clinical years? • Do you have patient contact in the basic science years? • How does the school foster critical thinking? Are there small groups? Large lectures? Do you get exposure to ethics/policy/current events/etc. • What areas does the school excel at? Which residency programs are highly regarded? • Does the school provide students with scholarships/stipends/fellowships, basically money to do interesting clinical electives, research, international work? • How does the advising work?

16. Surviving Classes • TEAMWORK! – first and foremost! • Discuss cases, quiz each other, pose what-if’s, etc. • Realize what you are actually studying for… • You will be taking basic science tests, writing ethics papers, taking standardized clinical tests, pathology, microbiology, pharmacology, etc… • And…. when you thought it couldn’t be any more difficult, you hear…. “Doc, what do you think is going on? Am I going to be okay? What does this mean? Am I a bad person? What can I expect? What’s the next step? What do I tell my family? How can I pay for this?.... Why me….These questions are by far the hardest to study for! • Understand what type of a learner you are… • Figure out all the different ways your new knowledge contributes to patient care… • I won’t lie med school is tough, you need to have your thing that keeps you sane!

17. ‘Does the thrill endure?’ • YES! • Taking care of people simply feels great • You are always learning more from your patients, colleagues, and many more.. • The technology and science is changing constantly • Your job and responsibilities will change throughout your career.

18. Questions??

19. Contact Info Brian Godard Practicing Doctor of Optometry in Connecticut John Matulis Will be an Internal Medicine Resident at Sam Licciardo – Will be an Emergency Medicine Resident at UMass Medical Center Samuel.Licciardo@gmail.com