Lewis Associates e-Newsletter

Volume 1 Issue 5
March, 2002

=> Welcome to Success Stories Newsletter!

=> Important News and Useful Links - University of Southern California Southland Conference  

=> Dates and Reminders - Alpha Epsilon Delta National Conference in Orlando

=> Important People, Schools and Programs - Stanford University School of Medicine

=> Success Story of the Month - A Father's Perspective and Canadians Rock!

=> Question of the Month - The AMCAS Essay: Time to Begin!

=> Focus on a Health Profession - How to Get Experience As A PrePhysician Assistant

=> Our Services

=> Contact

 

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Welcome to Lewis Associates!

Congratulations to the Class of 2001 advised by Dr. Lewis! We had 94% acceptance for our premedical applicants all over the U.S.!

March - A time for much of the North American continent to begin thawing out and a time for spring breaks.

If you want to change your career or reach your career goal, but do not know how to begin or how to jump all those hurdles, Lewis Associates can implement strategies that will change your life. Read about it in the newsletter and register from our website or phone or email us directly!

Developing YOU to your potential is our goal, and people are our "most important product". Dr. Cynthia Lewis has been advising Pre-health students with an overall acceptance rate of 85% since 1985. Lewis Associates was launched in 1998 to provide long-term personalized advising services to students across North America, specializing in Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Dentistry, Physician Assistant and Veterinary Medicine. Our success is real. You may be like our Advisees---highly motivated and intelligent, but needing focus, guidance and specific technical expertise. Dr. Lewis is a trained biologist, having taught and directed her own research programs for many years at two universities. She received two postdoctoral fellowships (one at NIH) and received the 1990 NACADA Outstanding Institutional Advising Program in the U.S. She teaches Professionalism, Leadership, and Quality and sets high standards for her Advisees.

 

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n e w s a n d l i n k s

N E W S :

"Southland Premedical Conference"

The 36th Annual Southland Premedical Conference was held Saturday February 23, 2002 on the campus of University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. Dr. Lewis' two presentations were well attended: "Popular Misconceptions in Medical School Admissions" and "Nailing the Medical School Application Essay". Congratulations to the happy winners from our gala drawing for two full hours of Premedical Advising worth $300 and the AMCAS essay package worth $575: Kenny Lue and Nalin Mallik.

Jennifer Christensen, President of the Alpha chapter of AED at USC opened the conference saying, "This year our focus is Your Story... As premedical students, our story is defined by the classes, volunteer work, research, clubs and other activities that we choose to do. However, in many ways, being a premed can cause us to forget that we are the authors of our own exciting and unique stories. Attempting to meet the demands of required classes, the infamous MCAT, the committee process, AMCAS and secondaries can leave us exhausted and often without the time or personal resources to pursue the passions that have drawn us to a career in medicine in the first place. Today, Southland would like to explore this underlying aspect of the medical school application process and ask you what Your Story is..."

Dr. Larue, the keynote speaker, also pointed out how each applicant is unique!

We at Lewis Associates concur.
We will assist you to focus on your uniqueness - to understand it and to develop it to your own best advantage. And, then we will help you to put together the most competitive application that you can.

L I N K S :

Indebted Allopathic Medical School Graduates, Class of 2001www.aamc.org/debtmanagement

Mean All Schools $99,089 (up 4%)
Median All Schools $97,000 (up 8%)
Mean Public Schools $86,630 (up 6%)
Median Public Schools $86,000 (up 6%)
Mean Private Schools $118,546 (up 2%)
Median Private Schools $120,000 (no change!)

Source: AAMC 2002 Graduation Questionnaire

 

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d a t e s

C O N F E R E N C E S:

Alpha Epsilon Delta National Premedical Honor Society Convention in Orlando

This meeting happens every two years.

- Dr. Glenn McGee, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine will give the keynote address about Ethics.

- Dr. Robert Sabalis, Association of American Medical colleges will discuss Transitioning from College into Professional School.

- Dr. Mike Magee, Senior Medical consultant, Pfizer, will present "Humanities in the Service of Medicine".

- An application update will be provided for Dentistry, Osteopathic Medicine, Allopathic Medicine, Chiropractic, Optometry, Physician Assistant, and Podiatry.

- Saron Plon, MD, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, will speak about the Human genome Project.

 

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p e o p l e & s c h o o l s

S T A N F O R D U N I V E R S I T Y ' S SUMMA Conference February 2, 2002

Minorities in Medicine, Defining Our Futures

Four of Dr. Lewis' alumni currently attend Stanford University Medical School and she met with three of them who were involved in the conference (email Dr. Lewis for a photo!). She has two more alumni in Residencies currently at Stanford. There were sessions such as "Making Yourself a Better Applicant, Non- Traditional Students, The Interview Process, MCAT preparation, etc."

But, what Dr. Lewis liked best was the FACES Presentation: "an intimate look at the issues faced by Stanford medical Students:"

"My story..."
"Don't let people talk you out of your dream"
"If I can do it, you can do it"
"You need a support group"
"I was too proud and embarrassed to learn study skills"
"here are always ways around obstaclesÖdonít focus on the hurdles"
"If it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger"
"Use Mentors"

Stanford University Medical school had 5200 applicants for the class of 2001, down about 5% from the prior year; 2500 are sent secondaries and 500 invited for interview to fill 86 first year positions. About 70% of the medical students graduate with some Medical Scholars work (research) and a tuition rebate!

 

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s u c c e s s s t o r y

R A J E S H   D A F T A R Y - Entering Class 2001:

Raj's story was told in the February 2002 newsletter. Raj was accepted to medical school on July 26, 2001.

His father says, "Dear Dr. Lewis: I would like to thank you for all what you have done for Raj. You gave him moral support, even when we were down. Of course, we could not show that to him or tell him.

You were able to speak to him and convince him of many things, which we could not have done. You had more insight into what works and what does not. There was no way for either of us to give him that information or the help which was needed the most. I only wish we could have contacted you earlier. For those who seriously want to go to medical school, they need to start preparing way ahead of others; maybe from the second year of college. This gives the candidate more time to select extra curricular activities and proper courses in school. I am sure your candidates then will have more choices at the first go round.

Once again, thanks for all you have done for Rajesh. Best Regards."

Canadians Rock!

From Ontario, Canada: February 13, 2002

Tripti Papneja (Canadian) says, "Hi Dr. Lewis, How are you? I got the very first email from X U.S. Medical School on Friday evening (8 Feb.) sending me their secondary. I completed the application and fed-ex'ed it on Monday (11 Feb.) and I was going to email you today about it. They said I don't have to pay any fees for the secondary. Thank you very much for getting it for me. You are amazing - I don't know how you got them not only to accept the secondary at this time but also to waive the fee. I will send a thank you email to them today. My interview at Y U.S. Medical School is on March 5/02. Thank you again! Take care!"

-Tripti

Note: Most U.S. medical schools treat Canadian citizens as International students; it is difficult to enter U.S. schools!

 

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q u e s t i o n o f t h e m o n t h

The AMCAS Essay: Time to Begin! How?

The best way to take stock of yourself is to write a thorough and introspective autobiography. This is an effective exercise to prepare you for your personal statement and for interviews. It is a starting point, a way to get to know your own decisions, the rough spots in your life and how you addressed them, the accomplishments and how you have used them. It should help you not just recall the "what?" parts, but also the "why?" parts. It may take you several hours to write a 5 to 10 page autobiography; it will be time well spent.

We will feature an important question each month. Please submit one that interests you for Dr. Lewis to answer. Send your questions to drlewis@lewisassoc.com

 

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h e a l t h p r o f e s s i o n

P A   C L I N I C A L   E X P E R I E N C E :

How to get clinical experience as a pre-Physician Assistant if I don't already have an RN or a prior career in medicine? There are many ways... but the best include meaningful patient contact with mentoring by a competent Physician Assistant. To get started, one can get certified as a phlebotomist, a nursing assistant, an EMT, etc. anywhere you have access to patients and PAs. Make certain that you shadow a PA some time because you need to really understand the profession. Also, programs vary widely as to how much clinical experience is "required". Some programs have a minimum requirement; others publish an average for those who matriculate and still others give you little guidelines. It is best to first select the programs of interest, and then meet their requirements.

Here are some good ideas:
EMT
Paramedic
LPN
X ray technician
Lab technician
Dietician Assistant
Physical therapist assistant
Nursing assistant
Medical assistant
Medical office worker
Fitness instructor
Military medic (the original birthplace of the PA!)
Volunteer in hospitals and clinics
Firefighter
Surgical technician
ER technician
Respiratory technician
Cardiac rehab technician
Clinical trials research assistant

 

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l e w i s   a s s o c i a t e s   a d v i s i n g   s e r v i c e s

We have expanded Lewis Associates services to meet the needs of all types of students from pre-applicants to applicants including hourly advising support for specific needs. Click here.

 

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c o n t a c t

A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically- or mentally-disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry.

The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then, they all turned around and went back...every one of them. One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better,"

Then, all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story. Why? Because deep down, we know this one thing: "What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves.

What matters is helping others win, even if it means slowing down, and changing our course. "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."

Lewis Associates specializes in personal, effective and professional premedical advising and placement for traditional and non-traditional applicants. Often, non-traditional students are older than 21 years of age, career changers, international applicants or second-round applicants for admission to health professions school.

Lewis Associates' services meet the needs of all types of students from pre-applicants to applicants, including hourly advising support for specific needs. Click here.

"It's never too late to be who you might have been."

If this is how YOU feel, then, maybe Lewis Associates is the place for you. Lewis Associates provides Mentoring and Coaching through the rigorous and often circuitous pre-health preparation and application process. Other consultants may support programs like Law and Business or graduate school -- not Lewis Associates. We are the experts in Health Professions based on 23 years of a successful track record.

Call or email today to set your first appointment!

805.226.9669 imaclewis@lewisassoc.com

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any friends, classmates, or colleagues you feel would find its contents beneficial.