BioDigital Human Helps Med Students Learn Anatomy

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Liza

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Old-fashioned anatomy classes are a thing of the past in medical school. Using the latest technology, some schools are augmenting students’ traditional way of learning anatomy through dissecting cadavers by incorporating new techniques. Using a virtual human body medical students can see body parts from multiple angles using interactive tools. Some medical schools have collaborated with computer animation companies to develop tools to teach anatomy in entirely new ways. A partnership between NYU and Biodigital Systems is the latest to do so. Students are even given 3D glasses and iPads to facilitate their learning.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting

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UCLA Medical School Recruits Latin American Doctors

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Liza

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Founders of the UCLA International Medical Graduate Program along with participants. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

The International Medical Graduate Program at UCLA is an unusual initiative designed to allow immigrant physicians from Latin American countries to retrain in the US. Once their training is complete, the physicians serve in regions of California with high populations of underserved patients. NPR ran a story on the program and spoke with Jose Gonzales, a participant, along with Dr. Patrick Dowling, one of the founders of the program. Offering a stipend and classes, along with mentoring and references to assist participants in finding residency positions in primary care, the IMG program aims to fill a severe need for physicians in underserved areas of California. In exchange for the stipend and training, participants agree to serve in a high-need area for three years.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting

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Med Student at Robert Wood Johnson Suggests Ways to Improve Medical School

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Liza

Photo courtesy of Harvard Medical School.

Photo courtesy of Harvard Medical School.

A medical student at Robert Wood Johnson has suggested several ways to improve medical education. He suggests that the lecture may be a thing of the past and he also believes that medical schools should cull resources and provide the best lectures on a consistent basis, perhaps through video. Providing more flexibility in the first two years of medical school so that students can follow their interests earlier in their careers is another suggestion. Finally, he believes that trimming med school to three years would not only be more time efficient but also save med students an enormous amount of money.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting 

 

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Model Health Care Systems: Grand Junction, Colorado and McAllen, Texas

Posted on March 29, 2013 by admin

Dr. Jeremy Lazarus, president of the American Medical Association, recently visited Grand Junction, Colorado, which has been touted as having an outstanding and novel medical system. The physicians in the local medical association are committed to providing affordable and exceptional care to patients, and the town integrates its health offerings in new ways. Dr. Atul Gawande writes about another small town, McAllen, Texas, as an innovator in health care in a New Yorker article from 2009, while also citing Grand Junction as a model. Future doctors should read more about what the physicians in these small towns are doing to create models for delivering the best care possible while also keeping costs in check: a win-win combination.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting

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Medical School Admissions Consultant Tip: Apply Early!

Posted on March 28, 2013 by admin

As a medical school admissions consultant, I provide insight and wisdom to med school applicants. Here’s a tip that all applicants should follow.

Apply Early!  I can’t emphasize enough the importance of entering the medical school application process early. Doing so can make a real difference in the outcome of your application. What does “early” mean?  It means submitting your application in June, when the AMCAS process opens.  Applicants who submit early in the cycle have a markedly increased chance of getting an interview over those who submit later in the process. Most medical schools operate under a rolling admission process, reading and making decisions on applications in the order in which they are received; you want to be early in the queue. Continue reading →

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Med Schools Adopt Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships

Posted on March 27, 2013 by admin

A new model of teaching in the clinical years of medical training is being adopted at several medical schools with good results. Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LIC) allow med students to follow clinical cases from beginning to end as opposed to the traditional method in which students rotate through specialties for short periods of time. With the LIC, students learn more about the doctor-patient relationship and the healing process.

Only 15 schools in the US and elsewhere have adopted this new method but more schools are considering doing so. A study of the LIC demonstrated that students trained in the new method performed on par with those in traditional clerkships but were better prepared for handling patient care and were happier with their medical education.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting

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Primary Care Jumps 5%

Posted on March 25, 2013 by admin

More medical school students chose to do residencies in primary care this year, resulting in a 5% jump over last year’s rate. However, a severe shortfall is still predicted:  by 2020 there will be a shortage of 46,100 primary care physicians according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. To make matters worse, residency positions have not expanded to meet the increased number of med students as a result of med schools’ expansions in recent years. The cap on Medicare-funded residency positions needs to be lifted in order to meet the need for more residency slots.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting

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The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Medical Students

Posted on March 22, 2013 by admin

Cornell picture

Photo by Buck Ennis
 

First-year medical students at Cornell are learning under a new paradigm. As the first set of students in med school since “Obamacare” was passed, they are integrating different ways of looking at the future of medicine. Cornell is taking the lead on educating its medical students in interdisciplinary collaboration, a skill that will be necessary in the future as health care delivery changes. In the Interprofessional Training and Education course, jointly run by Cornell and Hunter College, medical students work collaboratively with public health, nursing, and social work students. In turn, they learn to value one another’s expertise and skills and to work effectively in teams. Continue reading →

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Drug Companies and Physicians: A New Law

Posted on March 21, 2013 by admin

A new law requires transparency between pharmaceutical companies and physicians. Starting in 2014, the public can look in a database to see if drug companies are incentivizing doctors to use their products through payments made to them. Anything over $100 must be reported; buffet meals and cups of coffee and the like do not have to be reported but anything accumulating to more than $100 must be included. This law is long overdue. The public has a right to know whether physicians are prescribing certain medications produced by companies they are getting payments from. Fines for violating the law can be as much as $100,000.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting

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House Calls: A New Model for Better Care?

Posted on March 20, 2013 by admin

House calls might be coming back into vogue as a way to cut health care costs and reduce hospital readmission rates. The Wall Street Journal had a recent article describing the use of house calls to keep costs in check and ensure better care for patients. The common consensus is that patients have a lower rate of infection if kept out of the hospital so there are multiple benefits. The Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers is an organization that has been a leader in improving care while reducing costs; house calls are a component of the program.  The New Yorker ran a profile of Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, founder of the Camden Coalition, several years ago. Read it to learn more about novel approaches to providing outstanding care while reducing costs.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting

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