Lewis Associates e-Newsletter
Volume 13 Issue 4
April 2013
Published by Lewis Associates. Dr. Cynthia Lewis, PhD., Editor
Email imaclewis@lewisassoc.com with your comments. Enjoy!

April 2013: Marcia Evans, our Administrative Assistant for over 5 years moved to Florida and is now supporting our work “long distance”. Amazing what technology can accomplish! Dr. Lewis has taken over many functions, too, like calling you directly for your appointments.

April is the time most applicants begin to worry about all the components of their application: MCAT/DAT/GRE, etc., personal statement, explanations about academic or legal or discipline issues, letters of recommendation.... All aspects of the application take a significant amount of time to craft!

You are very late, if you are only beginning. Best to find out what is possible for this year or if it is better to wait until next year! Get your Personal Assessment done and find out now!

Watch for new videos to be posted each month on our Facebook page, including helpful hints for the application process.

Do you really want to be competitive?

1. Plan ... ahead!

2. Address your weaknesses. What are they?

• Science GPA?
• Test (MCAT, DAT) scores, or do you need to take the test for the first time?
• Clinical experiences? How meaningful are they?
• Service? What did you do to help others?
• No close relationships with faculty?

And, how long will it take to really improve? One term? 2 years? Be realistic!

So, whatever quest you have, or issue you want to discuss, Dr. Lewis is the best person to use for personal and academic advice. She's been doing it for 27 years, and "has heard it all". Why don't you let her help you?

805-226-9669
imaclewis@lewisassoc.com

This month's question on Dr. Lewis' Facebook page is: "I was told by my student interviewer at X school that it is actually better to hold more acceptances because some committees give point values to waitlist students based on the quality of the school that has already accepted them. That's the reason I haven't been withdrawing. Don't know how true this is?"

Getting into medical, dental, pharmacy and the other health professions schools is getting HARDER!

As usually happens in an economic downturn, more people are attracted to stable careers like the health professions…competition is fierce!

How are YOU going to stand out from thousands of applicants?

Warning about student-run websites from Cornell Medical School Admissions staff:
"PLEASE do not encourage students to get information from web sites administered by other students. From time to time, I look up the studentdoctor.net site (for interview ratings) and I am appalled at the amount of misinformation there. Most of the information given there will hurt students more than help them."

Sick of rumors and false reports? Lewis Associates website has factual information that you can trust.

What's inside:

Welcome to Success Stories Newsletter!
How to Communicate With Us
Your journey to a health profession
Are You Ready for the Class of 2014 or 2015?
Testimonials
Track Record
Be Competitive
What Are Your Chances?
Getting Started

News:
• Osteopathic physicians make headway in conventional medicine.
• Medical schools signal readiness for revolution
• Debt for medical students continues to rise
• More Medical Students Seeking To Go Into Primary Care Residency
• Black men increasingly hard to find in medical schools
• Female surgeons note gains, subtle gender bias
• Kaiser offers clinical rotations to Drexel medical students
• Duke medical students learn patient care through art
• Health law’s rules help hospitals cut patient readmission rate
• Shorter medical school programs spark interest among pre-meds as option to address primary care MD shortage
• Why Failing Med Students Don’t Get Failing Grades
• Pregnant in Medical School
• Race and medicine: the struggle to improve care for African-Americans
• Personality fit trumps finances in medical specialty choice
• Comic Strips Carry Serious Messages for Medical Students
• 2014 Best Medical Schools
• Sequestration to place heavy impact on med schools
• Videos on the cutting edge of medical education
• University of Arizona med students use new app to navigate way through human heart
• Osteopathic doctors may help alleviate a shortage of medical care in rural areas
• Duty hours continues to be hot topic of debate
• AMA selects 31 med ed innovations in $10 million initiative's next step
• Medical students set to roll with the Memphis Mobile Market
• Empathy gap in medical students
• U.S. Settles With Medical Schools That Rejected Applicants With Hepatitis B
• Medical School Debt And The Potential Impact On Patient Care
• Iowa medical student proposes plan to reduce loan debt

Useful Links
• The Operating Room of the Future

Alumni Update
• Irina, Entering Class of 2004, University of Colorado School of Pharmacy

Success Story of the Month
• John, MD, Entering Class of 1988, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Emergency Medicine Residency at UC Irvine

Question of the Month
• Dr. Lewis' answer to this month's question: "I was told by my student interviewer at X school that it is actually better to hold more acceptances because some committees give point values to waitlist students based on the quality of the school that has already accepted them. That's the reason I haven't been withdrawing. Don't know how true this is?"
See our Facebook page, Notes tab.

Our Services

Contact

Welcome to Lewis Associates!

Nearly one in ten Americans ages 20 to 24 is unemployed. But, health care jobs remain an economic bright spot. The U.S. Department of Labor expects the health sector to add more than 1.4 million workers over the next ten years. Students in college and even high school can start preparing now for a rewarding health career.

Are you ready?

Our Track Record
Entering Class of 2012...100% acceptance
Entering Class of 2011...100% acceptance
Entering Class of 2010...86% acceptance
Entering Class of 2009...96% acceptance
Entering Class of 2008...96% acceptance
Entering Class of 2007...97% acceptance
Entering Class of 2006...89% acceptance
Entering Class of 2005...100% acceptance
Entering Class of 2004...100% acceptance

If you are interested in personalized advising from “The Best in the Business,” (quote by Dr. Patrick Linson, Harvard Medical School Alum who is the only Native American Radiation Oncologist on the planet!), call Lewis Associates today to schedule YOUR personal assessment. Dr. Lewis invests in you, so you may live up to your potential to be the best applicant you can be!

How to Communicate With Us

Phone: 805-226-9669 Fax: 805-226-9227	Email: imaclewis@lewisassoc.com
Mailing Address: 1885 Laguna del Campo, Templeton, CA 93465

Lewis Associates absorbs Long Distance Charges
All phone conferences are made from our office to you. Marcia, our Administrative Assistant, calls YOU at your appointment time.

Where are you in your journey to a health profession?
In high school? Yes, we advise high school students, particularly, those interested in BA-MD programs!

Just starting college? This is a scary time.  Everything is new…how do I meet all those new expectations?

Moving into your difficult upper division sciences as a college junior? Possibly, the "dreaded organic chemistry"…

Re-entering as an "older" non-traditional student? Re-establishing academic discipline…

We help prepare those of you submitting applications for medical and dental Residency programs, too!

Whatever niche you fit, we advise students just like you.

Are you REALLY ready to apply for the Class of 2014 or 2015?
How do you know?
Use our Personal Assessment--and you will be given your individual strategy and path to your future! Then, if you use our advising, we help implement your strategy! If it were easy to do, all applicants would be accepted...and, that is not the case.

Many whom we advise may not yet be ready, and need to develop some aspect of their background to become competitive. Best to apply when you are ready, be competitive, and do it ONLY ONCE!

Let's work together to make that one-time application successful…contacting us earlier is better so we can develop your strategy and address all those difficult problems…months or years prior to application. Why not set yourself up for success, rather than toy with the proposition of failure?

Testimonials
Gail Ruth, mother of Todd Ruth, Entering Class of 2010, Jefferson University Medical School
Just a short note here to let you know how appreciative we are of all the wonderful help you gave to our son, Todd. He just received his first 2 acceptances from his top choices, so we couldn't be more pleased.! You were instrumental in guiding him as to which courses to take and gave him invaluable help with his essays. Thanks once again for all your help and guidance.

David and Maureen Lee, parents of Eric Lee, Entering Class of 2009, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
June, 2009: "Dr. Lewis, We just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for all of your strategic guidance, wise counsel, encouragement, and mentoring to our son Eric on his journey to get into medical school. That is quite a process!! Eric definitely took the "road less traveled", majoring in philosophy, but he worked really hard to get his science prerequisites under his belt. He benefited so much from your experience, insight, and when needed, "tough love". You kept him on track, and we thank you. We think he will be an excellent physician. Perhaps some day we will meet. Again with gratitude, David and Maureen Lee."

Michael Nevarez, Entering Class of 2006, Harvard University School of Medicine, his first choice school
"Dr. Lewis was a wonderful guide and mentor as I embarked on a medical career a number of years after graduating from Cal Poly (graduated 2001, applied to med school in 2006). She gave an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of my profile, and more importantly provided specific and personalized ways in which I could address my application and the process going forward. Her advice and experience was invaluable and I am very happy to have worked with her."

Margaret Jolley, Entering Class of 2008, UC San Diego School of Medicine, her first choice school
"I never would've made it without my weekly conference with the calm, experienced Dr. Lewis. She kept me sane. I am so grateful for her guidance, for her editing help, and for the confidence she instilled in me. She is a genuinely caring committed Mentor who takes pride in helping our dreams happen. I have urged every fellow student I know to call her. Let her help you, too!"

Austin Yoder, Entering Class of 2009, Accepted to Uniformed Services University for Health Sciences, Philadelphia Osteopathic-GA, West Virginia Osteopathic, Tennessee Osteopathic, and Kansas City Osteopathic
"I am utterly grateful to Dr. Lewis for all her help, guidance and mentorship through the application process. I owe a great deal of my success to date to her team."

Ariel Chairez, Entering Class 2004, Scholarship Awardee, University of Wisconsin Medical School
"Dr. Lewis, I would like to thank you for all of your help. Without your guidance, I would not have been accepted into medical school this year. I am extremely happy to have been accepted to one of the top medical schools in the country, and to have received a scholarship of $130,000. For any student who questions the value of your services, I can say that you have saved me $130,000 in tuition!  Thank you."

John Fiszer (Lawyer), Entering Class of 2005, University Of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
Dr. Lewis' note: John was an Assistant State's Prosecuting Attorney in Chicago, Illinois, when he contacted me in 2004. Finishing his 4th year of medical school, he said: "I am really enjoying med school, and I am thankful to Dr. Lewis for her help. Her methodical, disciplined approach to the med school application process, as well as her insight into the transition to med school were right on target."

Ali Warrick, Advisee
"Dear Dr. Lewis,
I appreciate your help in my transfer process to UC Berkeley. You have been an integral part of the transition, and I would like to thank you for your time and efforts.  I know that your work is very thorough and well thought out. In addition, I believe that you really care about your students, and believe in each student's "right fit" in a school. You lead many people toward a brighter future, and I would like to say, 'Thank You!' for your contribution toward my academic goals. This process has been much more enjoyable with your guidance. Thank you for being so good at what you do."

S, Entering Class 2008, accepted with full scholarship to Mayo Medical School
"I cannot thank Dr. Lewis enough for her support and invaluable advice. When I came to her, I was apprehensive about the formidable task of applying to medical school especially with my past academic and personal hardships. She helped me see that overcoming these difficulties was a testament to my strength, dedication, and diligence. One of the most surprising outcomes of our relationship was that she was effective in helping me develop a more positive self-image and conquer many of my insecurities. Without her guidance and letter of evaluation, I would not have been able to earn an acceptance to Mayo Medical School, which granted me a merit scholarship that covers almost all of my tuition. I truly appreciate all of her help. She went above and beyond her role as an Advisor by becoming a Mentor to me. She is absolutely the best in the business!"

Be Competitive
In order to be a competitive Class of 2014 or 2015 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. If you use Dr. Lewis' advising, we begin preparation early in the year BEFORE submission of your application!

EARLY is always better, removes much of the pressure, and allows time to solve unforeseen problems and challenges.

What are your chances?
If you want to change your career, or reach your present career goal, but do not know how to begin, or how to jump over all those hurdles, Lewis Associates will advise you and implement strategies to change your life. Dr. Lewis is thorough and professional.

Getting Started
Read on our website about getting your Personal Assessment done, then phone or email us to get started! Dr. Lewis spends, on average, 7 hours developing 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. Or, you may wish to use hourly advising to solve one 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 while helping hundreds of disadvantaged students enter health professions.

If you are serious about making your dreams to become a physician, dentist, physician assistant, veterinarian, optometrist, podiatrist, naturopathic physician, or pharmacist a reality--Dr. Lewis can help you. We have made the difference for more than 800 alumni now training or practicing in medicine over the last 26 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 preparation and application process.

Contact the Health Career experts! For more information email imaclewis@lewisassoc.com. Call 805-226-9669 to set up your first appointment.

news

Osteopathic physicians make headway in conventional medicine
In 2015, all DO and MD programs could be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, eliminating any legal or licensing distinction between the two.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/osteopathic-physicians-make-headway-in-conventional-medicine/2013/03/11/ddecb3a8-7147-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html

Medical schools signal readiness for revolution
A robust response to an AMA initiative underscores the fact that medical schools recognize the need for a necessary update of how they educate physicians.
http://amednews.com/article/20130318/opinion/130319950/4/?utm_source=nwltr&utm_medium=heds-htm&utm_campaign=20130318

Debt for medical students continues to rise
Debt for medical students continues to rapidly rise according to a recent report released by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/debt-medical-students-continues-rise

More Medical Students Seeking To Go Into Primary Care Residency
This year, the number of medical students selecting primary care specialties increased by 400 to 7,328, marking the fourth-consecutive year in which the number of students seeking primary care positions increased, according to a report released by the National Resident Matching Program, Modern Physician reports.
http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2013/3/18/more-medical-students-seeking-to-go-into-primary-care-residency.aspx

Black men increasingly hard to find in medical schools
A dwindling share of students pursuing physician careers are African-American men. Experts warn that the trend could exacerbate racial health disparities and doctor shortages.
http://www.amednews.com/article/20130225/profession/130229975/2/

Female surgeons note gains, subtle gender bias
Several say many obstacles still in place
http://bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/02/25/female-surgeons-say-explicit-gender-bias-rare-but-subtler-obstacles-still-exist-boston/U5044WUVVCKbxlqX0OLTRI/story.html

Kaiser offers clinical rotations to Drexel medical students
Kaiser Permanente is working with Drexel University to boost the physician workforce of the future and develop emerging health care leaders for the Sacramento region.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/02/12/kaiser-adding-drexel-medical-students.html

Duke medical students learn patient care through art
Duke medical students learn patient care through art
http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/02/21/duke-medical-students-learn-patient-care-through-art

Health law’s rules help hospitals cut patient readmission rate
Over the past several months, America’s hospitals have achieved a feat that long seemed beyond reach: substantially reducing the share of patients who must return for treatment almost as soon as they are discharged.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/health-laws-rules-help-hospitals-cut-patient-readmission-rate/2013/02/27/6d1fe3a2-8105-11e2-8074-b26a871b165a_story.html

Shorter medical school programs spark interest among pre-meds as option to address primary care MD shortage
Just at a time when it would be good to hear some encouraging news about physicians going into primary care, a new survey suggests less than one-third of pre-med students aspire to be primary care physicians. As a result, some medical schools are experimenting with shorter medical school programs that would cut the time it takes to get a medical degree from four years to three.
http://medcitynews.com/2013/02/shorter-medical-school-programs-spark-interest-among-pre-meds-as-option-to-address-primary-care-md-shortage/

Why Failing Med Students Don’t Get Failing Grades
Medical educators have long understood that good doctoring, like ducks, elephants and obscenity, is easy to recognize but difficult to quantify.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/why-failing-med-students-dont-get-failing-grades/

Pregnant in Medical School
At 27, an infertility diagnosis put me on the fast track to parenthood.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/opinion/sunday/pregnant-in-medical-school.html?emc=eta1

Race and medicine: the struggle to improve care for African-Americans
Although many efforts are under way to reduce disparities in care between blacks and whites, recent evidence has found that there is a long way to go to close those gaps.
http://amednews.com/article/20130311/opinion/130319981/4/?utm_source=nwltr&utm_medium=heds-htm&utm_campaign=20130311

Personality fit trumps finances in medical specialty choice
Defying conventional wisdom, debt ranked lowest as a factor for medical school graduates in choosing a specialty, says an AAMC survey.
http://amednews.com/article/20130311/profession/130319978/4/?utm_source=nwltr&utm_medium=heds-htm&utm_campaign=20130311

Comic Strips Carry Serious Messages for Medical Students
There is nothing funny about a "comic strip" when it illustrates a real-life situation in which a patient died because of an avoidable medical mistake.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/780235

2014 Best Medical Schools
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools

Sequestration to place heavy impact on med schools
Sequestration is expected to result in more than 50,000 health care jobs lost, according to a nonprofit representing the country's 141 accredited medical schools.
http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2013/03/05/sequestration-to-place-heavy-impact-on.html

Videos on the cutting edge of medical education
Medicine has changed radically in the past 100 years, but medical education hasn’t kept pace. Med students—and your doc was probably one of them—ditch class more frequently than they attend.
http://www.healthycal.org/archives/11037

University of Arizona med students use new app to navigate way through human heart
Medical students used to just turn to their textbooks to study the human heart, but now that two-dimensional image could be a study tool of the past.
http://www.kvoa.com/news/ua-med-students-use-new-app-to-navigate-way-through-human-heart/#_

Osteopathic doctors may help alleviate a shortage of medical care in rural areas
With a tradition more than 100 years old, osteopathic physicians are hardly the new doctors in town. But the profession’s recent growth — in both training facilities and number of graduates — could help reverse a looming shortage of primary-care providers that experts say will hit rural communities especially hard.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/osteopathic-doctors-may-help-alleviate-a-shortage-of-medical-care-in-rural%20areas/2013/03/11/56074f08-752e-11e2-8f84-3e4b513b1a13_story.html

Duty hours continues to be hot topic of debate
The intended (and unintended) effects of resident/fellow duty hour limits are the subject of ongoing discussion among the profession and the public.
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/meded/2013-march/2013-march.shtml

AMA selects 31 med ed innovations in $10 million initiative's next step
Thirty-one proposed innovations from 33 medical schools have been selected from the initial pool of 119 applicants to move forward in the AMA’s $10 million Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative, aimed at transforming the way future physicians are trained.
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/meded/2013-march/2013-march-top_stories1.shtml

Medical students set to roll with the Memphis Mobile Market
Aniket Rali, a fourth-year medical student who plans to specialize in cardiology, made a discovery during his first clinical rotations. It led to the formation, in 2012, of The Memphis Mobile Market, a student-led social enterprise set to launch this spring.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/mar/16/medical-students-set-to-rool-with-the-memphis/

Empathy gap in medical students
Stress can harden students’ attitudes toward patients, but schools are trying to change that.
http://bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/03/24/medical-students-empathy-drops-just-they-start-caring-for-patients/rWqFiVVsr9oze6EWRLwzwN/story.html

U.S. Settles With Medical Schools That Rejected Applicants With Hepatitis B
The complaints cited violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the agency said the agreement marked the first time it had settled complaints under that act on behalf of people with hepatitis B.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/u-s-settles-complaints-with-medical-schools-that-rejected-applicants-with-hepatitis-b/56587

Medical School Debt And The Potential Impact On Patient Care
Tuition and fees at public medical schools increased by an average of 133 percent between 1984 and 2004. At private schools, costs went up by 50 percent in the same period.
http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2013/03/19/debt-medical-school-bob-hildreth

Iowa medical student proposes plan to reduce loan debt
Plan would solicit private investors to create loan fund for students
http://thegazette.com/2013/03/22/iowa-medical-student-proposes-plan-to-reduce-loan-debt/

links

The Operating Room of the Future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfJemqkby_0&feature=youtu.be

Find these and other useful links on Lewisassoc.com's Links Page.

alumni updates

Irina Irina, Entering Class of 2004, University of Colorado School of Pharmacy March 11, 2013: "Hi Dr Lewis! Great to hear from you! How are you? How is your family? I am doing well, thank you. I now live in Los Angeles with my family. My husband and I moved here in 2008. My parents also moved to LA to be closer to us. I am currently on maternity leave as we recently had a 3rd baby. The family is growing; 2 girls, and 1 boy. I am working at a Long Term Care Pharmacy serving nursing homes. I really enjoy working there; the people I work with are great! Hope that you are doing well. Irina”

John John, MD, Entering Class of 1988, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Emergency Medicine Residency at UC Irvine “Are you sure you want to spend the next ten plus years going to school?” I believe she added “at your age?” to that sentence, but I am not sure. Those were the first words of wisdom that I received from Dr. Cindy Lewis at our first meeting in her capacity as the Pre-Med Advisor at San Diego State University. I know I was looking for premiere advice, but I don’t know if I wanted to hear the truth just yet. Maybe a pep talk about the significance of being in the healing arts, the benefits to mankind, the satisfaction of helping others, you know the stuff we all write on our medical school applications. But, since I was at the ripe old age of 32 and still full of enthusiasm, my answer, naively was, “Well, I will still be doing something for the next ten years if I don’t go.” It wasn’t very prophetic, but you get the idea, I wanted to go to med school and I had never let anything like working hard bother me before. Thus, there started my journey through Dr. Lewis’s world of advising. And obviously, I wouldn’t be writing this if I didn’t make it all the way through. Now they call me doctor; I still never get used to it! Being an older, married student who had been through other careers, U.S. Air Force, Phlebotomist, Lab Assistant and finally a Medical Technologist and Chief Tech in charge of a Clinical Medical Laboratory, I wasn’t sure if I had the portfolio to get into med school, but Dr. Lewis told me she would help me every step of the way. I wasn’t the typical med school applicant; all the other students in her office were a lot younger than I was, and at times, I was discouraged. She did suggest Osteopathic medical school as a backup to allopathic medical school, but I think that was the only advice I didn’t take. It was MD or nothing! I still had to work full time as a Lab Tech during the week, while getting the needed credits over my initial two year degree, and that would end up taking 3 more years, but everything was laid out to plan. It was a relief to know that Dr. Lewis was the expert in this field, and I trusted her completely. Although, even to this day, if I have any recurring nightmares, there is one dream that has me panicking over the fact that I didn’t have enough credits to graduate, I didn’t take the right class, or forgot to take a final exam! Even now, I still have tests to take in the medical field. But, after all the study, all the paperwork, MCATs and essays, I finally got the first of several interview requests that meant that I might actually have a shot at going to medical school. My first came from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, which I had heard was a top ten school in the country. I was very excited to get there, even if it was in Cleveland, Ohio! It was there that I found out that I had a label already. I was considered a “bent arrow”. All the younger students were “straight arrows”. I was a little worried about my chances, until the Dean of Admissions talked about how they liked having a diverse mix in their school, and felt that older students with real world experience made for a better school class. His encouragement was reassuring, and I left with the feeling that this school would be a great choice, if I got accepted. I had two other interviews to schedule that month, but before I made my reservations to the east coast, three weeks after the interview, I got a letter of acceptance from Case! That moment standing by the front porch mailbox is still etched in my mind. I immediately made the decision to accept, as all the other schools didn’t seem to have the appeal of CWRU. My wife and I packed up our belongings and headed out to Cleveland, each driving a car across the country. I have never regretted the decision, the school was superb, the people genuine, and we always felt that Cleveland was like a sister city to San Diego. After all the years of preparation, medical school wasn’t actually as hard as I thought, just never-ending. I started a rock band in medical school and taught martial arts; who says doctors aren’t over-achievers! Moving back to California for my Emergency Medicine residency at UC Irvine was the icing on the cake, and closed the loop in a long journey that started in Dr. Lewis’s office back in 1985. Now, the last 20 years seem a lot shorter than those first 10 years that Dr. Lewis warned me about, so maybe I was right that we spend time doing something anyway! I still look back fondly at the entire experience, and know that many others have had the same goals and dreams, as well as fears. Being a physician has allowed me to use my skills as an Emergency Medicine physician in other ways, with the last 20 years as a trackside physician at professional motocross races. It has opened many doors that otherwise would be closed. I think back to that first day with Dr. Lewis as the first start in a long career, one that began with a startling question. I am forever thankful for all the support and encouragement she has given me throughout the years. Thank you, Cindy!

Email to Dr. Lewis if you wish to communicate about medical schools or other issues or to contact those profiled in Success Stories: imaclewis@lewisassoc.com

question of the month... see Facebook, Notes tab
By Dr. Cynthia Lewis, PhD

"I was told by my student interviewer at X school that it is actually better to hold more acceptances because some committees give point values to waitlist students based on the quality of the school that has already accepted them. That's the reason I haven't been withdrawing. Don't know how true this is?"

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.

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 26 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.