Lewis Associates e-Newsletter
Volume
5 Issue 2
February 2006
Published by Lewis Associates. Dr. Cynthia Lewis, Phd., Editor
Email imaclewis@lewisassoc.com
with your comments. Enjoy!
What's inside:
Welcome to Success Stories Newsletter!
Important News: More are Applying to Dental and Medical Schools; Doctors and Pharmacists say some will die for lack of medicine; Primary Care Medicine in Trouble
Useful Links: International Service Learning 2006; Current Events Links
Alumni Updates: See what graduates and alumni are doing now
Dates and Reminders: Special Programs for Disadvantaged Students
Success Story of the Month: Dr. Glenn Valenzuela, Stanford grad now in Residency
Question of the Month: How does the Canadian health care system compare to the United States'?
Welcome to Lewis Associates!
By February, everyone who is attending a winter or spring term is now in
session, and in some cases, you are taking your first exams.
As you may have read, Lewis Associates is phasing out long-term advising (except
for those already contracted) and focusing on Personal Assessments, essay
and interview packages, and hourly problem-solving advising. We will be moving
toward e-billing and more online services. And, in a couple of years, some
new books should be out from Dr. Lewis about preparing for medical and other
health professions schools. . . keep on the lookout!!
In July 21-23, 2006, we are having a gala Alumni Reunion in San Diego for
our over 700 alumni. We are trying to locate them now. If you have some contact
information about any alumni, please email it to imaclewis@lewisassoc.com.
Our goal is to locate as many as possible by the end of February 2006. If
you wish to be invited and you are not an alumnus, but wish to meet some of
our wonderful alumni, please let Zakiya know in our office. We will try to
include as many as we can on a first come basis.
Class of 2006 applicants: This is the most intense
time you will experience as a pre-health student. It is that roller coaster
ride I mentioned. Let us know how we can assist you. . . sooner is now!
We are proud that over 90% of our Class of 2006 applicants are now
interviewing, 21 have been accepted to date and 2 applicants interviewed at
Harvard Medical School!
100% of our Class of
2005 applicants were accepted!
100% of our Class of 2004 applicants were accepted!
Class of 2007 applicants: We are preparing for your applications to
be submitted early next summer. We have some time, a very precious commodity:
Time to plan, to locate and use new opportunities, time to live up to your
potential! Many times, I locate clinical or service experiences for my Advisees.
. . but you need the time to get the most out of them! We can help you sidestep
the mistakes and jump over roadblocks that everyone seems to face.
In order to be a competitive Class of 2007 applicant, you
need to submit a quality application as evaluated by your clinical, service
and other experiences and your GPA/MCAT/DAT/GRE, etc. profile--in a timely
fashion. This requires a well thought out strategy to carry you through the
difficult year-long application process.
What are your chances?
If you want to change your career or reach your new career goal, but do not
know how to begin or how to jump over all those hurdles, Lewis Associates
will implement strategies to change your life. Read about it in our newsletter
and website, then phone or email
us directly to get started with your Personal Assessment!
We spend 7 hours working to develop an effective strategy of taking you from
where you are to where you want to be.
You may be like our other Lewis Associates Advisees--highly motivated and
intelligent, but needing focus, guidance and specific technical expertise.
Dr. Lewis solves problems for her Advisees and finds opportunities for them.
Maybe you wish to use our hourly advising to solve a specific problem. Dr.
Lewis is a trained biologist, having taught and directed her own research
programs for many years at two universities. She earned two postdoctoral fellowships
(one at NIH), received the 1990 NACADA Outstanding Institutional Advising
Program in the U.S. and directed her own Health Careers Opportunity Program
grant for 6 years, bringing $1 million to her university.
If you are serious about making your dreams to become a physician,
dentist, physician assistant, veterinarian, optometrist, podiatrist, naturopathic
physician, or pharmacist a reality--Lewis Associates can help you.
We have made the difference for over 700 alumni now practicing in medicine
during the last 20 years.
Dr. Lewis teaches Professionalism, Leadership, and Quality, and sets high
standards for her Advisees.
Lewis Associates will save you money and heartache on your application
process.
Contact the experts! For more information email
imaclewis@lewisassoc.com
or call 805-226-9669 and ask to set up your first appointment.
n e w s & l i n k s
N E W S
Dental School Applications are increasingly competitive in 2006
"Case Western Reserve University Dental School applications are up almost
30% to around 3,000 or so applications. You should apply early and be complete
early, that means recommendation letters, any fees or supplementary materials.
Most dental schools use a rolling admissions policy which means that they
need to get rolling (by June and July at the latest)!"
Philip C. Aftoora
Director of Student Services
Case School of Dental Medicine
Medical School Applications up 10% in 2006 over 2005
Why? Possibly due to the downturn in the US economy (health care jobs are
always stable) and the projected shortfall of physicians. . . why do you think
they are up?
Our own hero, Richard Minkner, Doctor-to-be
Richard walked to the beach one day last week. . . and heard a loud explosion.
. . He saw a car with some smoke coming from it and within just a few seconds,
he ran to the car, then saw flames inside it and opened the car door. Inside
was a burning man. He pulled the burning man out of the car and told him to
run the few yards into the bay. "It was surreal," said Richard,
"like being in a movie. I took off my sweatshirt and tried to put out
the flames around his head, then his torso. Then, his head started flaming
up again. I didn't know why. A female lifeguard came to help and a neighbor
wrenched a fire extinguisher from her home and brought it over to spray on
the man." Lots of bystanders now arrived and Richard asked them to put
as much bottled water as they had on the man. Richard says he was conscious
and coherent. The lifeguard and Richard cut off the man's clothes, put a blanket
over him, doused the blanket with water, and gave him water to drink. Richard
established an airway and finally, the fire department arrived on scene. The
man had 3rd degree burns on his head, arms, shoulders, and Richard said he
looked like a burning marshmallow on the ground. They transported the man
to the hospital. Richard sustained some burns and abrasions on his hands.
The rest of the story. . . the burning man killed his girlfriend the night
before this event. He had a gun and a knife in his car. Richard is probably
lucky to be alive!
Richard has been accepted to medical school to enter this spring at Ross
University.
Doctors, pharmacists say some will die for lack of medicine
(San Diego Union-Tribune)
Martha Reagan controls her heart disease and other health problems with 26
drugs that she used to get free through Medi-Cal. But her new Medicare prescription
drug plan doesn't cover anywhere near that many, and she can't find a plan
that will. . . .
Primary
care about to collapse, physicians warn (Yahoo! News)
Primary care -- the basic medical care that people get when they visit their
doctors for routine physicals and minor problems -- could fall apart in the
United States without immediate reforms, the American College of Physicians
said on Monday.
L I N K S :
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE LEARNING 2006
SPRING BREAK HEALTH TEAMS WILL BE SERVING IN:
Costa Rica - Nicaragua - Panama - Belize - Mexico - Bahamas-Guyana
PROGRAM DATES ARE:
March 4-12, March 11-19, March 18-26, and March 25-April
SUPERVISED FIELD EXPERIENCE IN:
General Medicine, Dental, Optometry, Public Health, Veterinary, Physical
Therapy
FINANCIAL AID AND SPONSORHSIP AVAILABLE
More info at www.ISLonline.org.
Keeping up with the news (i.e. reading a paper) is pretty
important not only for interviews but also helps in MCAT prep.
Check out economist.com
or news.bbc.co.uk for
some good world news coverage. The New
York Times also allows readers to see their paper for a week for free
online. For a conservative spin on life check out Fox
News or Captain's
quarters blog. You can also check out bioethics.net
for ideas. The AAMC has
every statistic you can think of. Here is one example http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2003/2003school.htm.
See other useful links on Lewisassoc.com's
Links Page.
a l u m n i u p d a t e s
| Chris Scott First Year, George Washington University Medical School
January 18, 2006 |
| Liana Olszewski
"January 29, 2006
|
d a t e s & r e m i n d e r s
The Office of Academic Enrichment and Outreach at the David Geffen School
of
Medicine at UCLA is currently accepting applications for the following summer
programs:
* The UCLA Premedical/Predental Enrichment Program (PREP) and
* UCLA Re-Application Program (RAP)
UCLA PREP is an intensive, six-week summer program where promising students
from disadvantaged backgrounds are exposed to the rigors of academic medicine
and or dentistry. Included are hands-on preceptorships with physicians and
dentist in clinical and research settings. The program is enhanced by students
being mentored in intimate, structured cluster groups by trained teaching
assistants; themselves accomplished medical students. PREP 2006 will begin
Monday, June 26, 2006 and end Friday, August 4, 2006. The postmark deadline
for submission of all required material is Wednesday, March 1, 2006. Applications
and further information are available at www.medstudent.ucla.edu/prospective
click on premedical programs, click on PREP.
UCLA RAP is a compelling post baccalaureate program that is designed to assist
students from disadvantaged and or/underserved backgrounds who applied and
have been unsuccessful in gaining admissions to any U.S. medical school. The
eleven-month program will be conducted in two sessions from June 26 through
August 4, 2006 and during the 2006-2007 academic year. The deadline for applying
is May 31, 2006. Applications are available at www.medstudent.ucla.edu/prospective
click on premedical programs, click on RAP. Note priority is given to CA residents.
For further information please see our website or contact the Office of Academic
Enrichment and Outreach at (310) 825-3575.
Elizabeth Guerrero-Yzquierdo, MPH
Office of Academic Enrichment and Outreach
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
University of Pittsburgh / CMU MD/PhD Program's Summer Undergraduate
Research Program for Underrepresented Students.
The application deadline has been extended to February 15, 2005. Please apply
early. Our Summer Undergraduate Research Program is a 10-week summer research
and professional development program for underrepresented minority students
interested in careers as physician scientists. The program is designed for
students in their freshman, sophomore or junior years of college. Students
receive intensive research laboratory experience and abundant mentorship.
In addition, students participate in a variety of career development programs,
scientific seminars, and specific career enhancement opportunities including
preparation for national examinations.
The brochure and application are available online at http://www.mdphd.pitt.edu/sprogram_brochure.asp.
The students can either go on line or call 412-648-2324 or email mdphd2@medschool.pitt.edu
Manjit K. Singh, PhD
MD/PhD Program University of Pittsburgh
Phone: 412-648-3238
E-mail: manjit@medschool.pitt.edu
s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
by Dr. Cynthia Lewis
Dr. Glenn Valenzuela
Stanford University, Graduating Class of 2003
Dr. Glenn Valenzuela graduated from Stanford University
Medical School in 2003 from a 5-year program where he did research, and is
currently in Anesthesiology residency at Stanford and new Dad of Eneko (see
update and photo after the success story in November
2005 newsletter):
Last month
Glenn told of his early years in the Philippines and Japan and his family's
journey to California. We continue where we left off with part two of Glenn's
autobiography.
Of Prom, Pimples, & Popularity Contests
"Ah yes, high school. My experience at Kearny High had elements
similar to that of the show Beverly Hills 90210, except the majority of my
classmates were recent immigrants and we were located in Linda Vista
(where the vista, alas, wasn't so 'linda'). In retrospect, my years at Kearny
can simply summed up by my brilliant impression as a faceless wonder,
quietly flying under the social and academic radars but still contributing
in my own particular ways.
Like most adolescents, I yearned to belong to a group for camaraderie, but
quickly ruled out the 'gangsta life' for fear of my father blistering my behind.
So instead, I participated in an assortment of organizations to quench
that longing of belonging: the soccer team, the tennis team, and my flashiest
appointment: our student body's Commissioner of Aesthetic Improvement (a fancy
term, I would later learn, that translated to the student garbage man).
Unfortunately, I was caught in a social and academic purgatory: not athletic
enough in the 'cool' sports to score, um, points and not motivated enough
to be considered summa cum laude material. Note that I didn't state that I
ever felt less intelligent than the valedictorians-to-be; I did not yet possess
the study skills nor the discipline to truly make an impact gradewise. In
fact, I believe I had short bursts of academic successes (such as acing physics
and biology) and periodic flashes of potential, such as scoring pretty respectably
on the SATs despite taking it "cold."
There existed noble aspirations to go to college, but with my dad being
the only source of income, there was no way I could have afforded to go to
college after high school (I was not aware of financial aid in those days).
My father had hopes of my following in his footsteps of a military career
because, among other things, it provided financial security. After high school,
my initial plans were to join the Air Force for a four-year commitment, earn
some money, and then go on to college after. However, like a letter from
Hogwarts, I received the magical package (minus owl delivery) which truly
would alter the course of my academic career: Dr. Lewis' HCOP packet from
SDSU.
Now Dr. Lewis would later state that she recruited me out of high school,
but to be honest with you, I don't think I possessed any special spark at
that time. In short, I was mundanely average on paper. Reading some of my
other HCOP colleagues' backgrounds, I was humbled and inspired by their struggles and victories.
With my Trapper Keeper in tow, I graduated from Kearny (no distinctions) and,
after having a lengthy discussion with my parents about how I would be
able to support myself during college (such as living at home), embarked on
a journey which would prove to be the most important six years of my
life in terms of academic and social achievement."
More about Glenn in March 2006.
Email to Dr. Lewis if you wish to communicate
about medical schools or other issues or to contact those profiled in Success
Stories: drlewis@lewisassoc.com
q u e s t i o n o f t h e m o n t h
by Dr. Cynthia Lewis, PhD
What do you think about the Canadian health care system compared to the US system?
This is a good question to ask, especially for those who are interviewing!! I am going to defer to one of my alumni, Dr. Lisa Hornberger, Pediatric Oncologist who spent 7 years in Toronto running the largest fetal cardiovascular program in North America. She is now Professor of Pediatrics at UC San Francisco School of Medicine, doing clinical work and clinical research, and has 3 children. We will post her story in a future newsletter. She says the following:
"Regarding the US vs Canadian health care systems. . . do not even get me started. In fact the more I work in the US, especially Northern CA, the more I realize the benefits of socialized health care. While there are weaknesses in the Canadian system, everyone (with extremely few exceptions) gets health care and most get similar health care (medical professionals perhaps with exception). We worked in the largest Children’s Hospitals in Canada and the centralized health care was key for the disease that we deal with. It meant that decisions regarding the treatment of patients were made by the best in the region and with the best interest of the kiddy at heart. We prioritized such that kids who needed surgery urgently got it whereas elective cases were made elective and had the surgery booked electively. In the US too many people expect to have elective surgery yesterday and are not prepared to wait. As a consequence, either they or their primary physician (who many times may be very mediocre) force the hand of the good physicians to operate or go elsewhere to get the surgery done when they want it. . . not realizing that it is at the expense of them receiving good health care. The competition does very little to promote good health care. Furthermore that the bottom line for medicine in the US if often the $, insurance companies/HMOs dictate what will and what will not be covered which really changes decision-making and usually not for the best. An example is the use of nuchal translucency screening at 11-14 weeks in gestation. This is a fantastic tool to pick up at earlier gestational ages chromosomal pathology and cardiac defects (usually major). . . This is a tool that has been around for a decade in the UK, Australia and other parts of the world. . . It is still not covered by the vast majority of insurance companies at least in California and many other parts of the US. . . Until either the US does similar research (and there are now probably more than 100 publications about this) or insurance companies are forced to allow for such studies, patients have to pay out of pocket (which continues to also to affect who gets this attention as well!). I would say as well about half of our billings from the UCSF med center are not paid for one reason or the other (all insurance including medical driven). . . where is this all going? And remember there is a huge population of Americans that do not even get health care. . . This is only a start but unless there is more regulation of health care, the health care system is going to continue to spiral south. It is interesting that the perception of many Americans is that the Canadian health care system results in delayed care. . . If one takes a major adult disease such as coronary artery disease, and there is published solid data for this, the overall outcome (mortality/morbidity) associated with CAD is essentially identical between the US and Canada but the cost exceedingly higher in the US. So, now you have my take on this. . . If I were younger and better educated in the field I would likely try to get more into health policy. At least I can try to push for regulation in my little area."
We will feature an important question each month. Please submit one that interests you for Dr. Lewis to answer. Send your questions to imaclewis@lewisassoc.com with newsletter question in the subject line.
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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
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contact
"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
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