Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ not even a pre-med, just Biology w/ a focus in microbiology and had all of those.

Analytic chem, organic chem, regular chem, biochemistry, physics, calculus, psychology, microbiology, immunology, food microbiology, etc.

They were requirements to graduate.

You need to do almost all of these course by by junior year before you take the MCAT. You also need to get in all the research, volunteer, clinical experience and shadowing hours in by then as well because the applications start being accepted June at the end of your junior year. And you need a 3.8 or so average.

It is do demanding that many are now doing their courses in college, doing some of the various hours, but going full force post-graduation on the hours and MCAT studying. They take the MCAT a year after graduating, spend hundreds of hours applying to twenty plus med schools, doing interviews etc. and, if they get accepted enter med school two years after graduating.

I hate that this thread is off track, but this is not new. Dh did this in the 90s. Took the year after college graduation to do research in a lab and study for MCAT. Every summer since high school was also devoted to internships, volunteering and research. Many years of summer school on top of that to fill in other requirements like foreign language.

It’s always been a difficult path to becoming a doctor, this is not some new thing. Your kid is either cut out for it or not. It doesn’t get easier in med school or residency.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ not even a pre-med, just Biology w/ a focus in microbiology and had all of those.

Analytic chem, organic chem, regular chem, biochemistry, physics, calculus, psychology, microbiology, immunology, food microbiology, etc.

They were requirements to graduate.

You need to do almost all of these course by by junior year before you take the MCAT. You also need to get in all the research, volunteer, clinical experience and shadowing hours in by then as well because the applications start being accepted June at the end of your junior year. And you need a 3.8 or so average.

It is do demanding that many are now doing their courses in college, doing some of the various hours, but going full force post-graduation on the hours and MCAT studying. They take the MCAT a year after graduating, spend hundreds of hours applying to twenty plus med schools, doing interviews etc. and, if they get accepted enter med school two years after graduating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AA meetings and coronavirus

Kind of a new topic but
I didn't want to make a whole new thread about it.

My husband has 21 years in AA.
He just got back from his Monday night meeting a little while ago and said they had an emergency business meeting to discuss coronavirus. AA headquarters sent down guidance to all AA groups, effective immediately.

No hugging, no hand holding during closing prayer, no touching at all. Use napkins to touch the coffee pot while making coffee / pouring coffee. Wipe down everything with lysol wipes after every meeting. Use lysol wipes to clean the collection basket and the money.

Stop going

Keep going. My brother has been going but self-distancing for a month.

AA is an essential matter of health for many. They need to keep going unless they think they could be sick.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AA meetings and coronavirus

Kind of a new topic but
I didn't want to make a whole new thread about it.

My husband has 21 years in AA.
He just got back from his Monday night meeting a little while ago and said they had an emergency business meeting to discuss coronavirus. AA headquarters sent down guidance to all AA groups, effective immediately.

No hugging, no hand holding during closing prayer, no touching at all. Use napkins to touch the coffee pot while making coffee / pouring coffee. Wipe down everything with lysol wipes after every meeting. Use lysol wipes to clean the collection basket and the money.

Stop going

Anonymous wrote:AA meetings and coronavirus

Kind of a new topic but
I didn't want to make a whole new thread about it.

My husband has 21 years in AA.
He just got back from his Monday night meeting a little while ago and said they had an emergency business meeting to discuss coronavirus. AA headquarters sent down guidance to all AA groups, effective immediately.

No hugging, no hand holding during closing prayer, no touching at all. Use napkins to touch the coffee pot while making coffee / pouring coffee. Wipe down everything with lysol wipes after every meeting. Use lysol wipes to clean the collection basket and the money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ not even a pre-med, just Biology w/ a focus in microbiology and had all of those.

Analytic chem, organic chem, regular chem, biochemistry, physics, calculus, psychology, microbiology, immunology, food microbiology, etc.

They were requirements to graduate.

You need to do almost all of these course by by junior year before you take the MCAT. You also need to get in all the research, volunteer, clinical experience and shadowing hours in by then as well because the applications start being accepted June at the end of your junior year. And you need a 3.8 or so average.

It is do demanding that many are now doing their courses in college, doing some of the various hours, but going full force post-graduation on the hours and MCAT studying. They take the MCAT a year after graduating, spend hundreds of hours applying to twenty plus med schools, doing interviews etc. and, if they get accepted enter med school two years after graduating.

Anonymous wrote:^ not even a pre-med, just Biology w/ a focus in microbiology and had all of those.

Analytic chem, organic chem, regular chem, biochemistry, physics, calculus, psychology, microbiology, immunology, food microbiology, etc.

They were requirements to graduate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not enough doctors in the country. The AMA has done everything it can to keep the profession small and exclusive. And Congress hasn’t helped by keeping residency slots capped since 1997. And now, they have doubled the undergraduate prerequisites that must be taken and they have doubled the material on the MCAT. It should be rigorous, challenging and competitive, but this is ridiculous. Over half of qualified applicants can’t get in, despite the huge shortage.

I had no idea about this. I consider myself well-informed, but honestly never really knew this.

Yep. Google MCAT 2015. The test is now over 7 hours long. It used to be half that. I understand that board exams in medical school are this long, but that is for students who have at least 2 years of medical school under their belts. The MCAT is for undergrads, usually college juniors. So now, by your junior year, in addition to your other college requirements, you must have taken two semesters of biology, two semesters of chemistry, two semesters of organic chemistry, two semesters of physics (those were the pre-2015 requirements) and now you must also take statistics, a semester of biochemistry, a semester of psychology and a semester of sociology in order to be prepared for the MCAT. Many schools have also started to require writing courses and many will also take AP credits for a few of the courses. Oh, and while you are doing all of this, you also need to be doing research, clinical work, volunteering and shadowing. As I said, it should be challenging and the bar should be high, but there comes a point where the bar becomes a burden on undergrads because many will have to stay in undergrad longer and incur more debt. This is not a way to address a shortage nor is it a way to train better physicians. The old requirements worked fine for decades.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is a really bad headache associate with the virus? Have had a terrible headache all day. Folks in my office started with headaches last week, then had flu-likes symptoms without testing positive for flu. With that, wondering. Could be stress but still wondering.

I also am coming off of a 4 day migraine. I figured it was the pollen and general anxiety levels.

Wow. Four-day migraine here too. Never had one for more than 24 hours before.

Have you been outside at all? Open the windows? Maybe too much indoor stale air?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is a really bad headache associate with the virus? Have had a terrible headache all day. Folks in my office started with headaches last week, then had flu-likes symptoms without testing positive for flu. With that, wondering. Could be stress but still wondering.

I also am coming off of a 4 day migraine. I figured it was the pollen and general anxiety levels.

Wow. Four-day migraine here too. Never had one for more than 24 hours before.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is a really bad headache associate with the virus? Have had a terrible headache all day. Folks in my office started with headaches last week, then had flu-likes symptoms without testing positive for flu. With that, wondering. Could be stress but still wondering.

I also am coming off of a 4 day migraine. I figured it was the pollen and general anxiety levels.