Lewis Associates e-Newsletter
Volume 4 Issue 10
October 2005
Published by Lewis Associates. Dr. Cynthia Lewis, Phd., Editor
Email imaclewis@lewisassoc.com
with your comments. Enjoy!
100% Acceptance Rate for Class of
2005
1st Acceptance for Class of 2004!
What's inside:
Welcome to Success Stories Newsletter!
Important News: Hurricane Affects Medical Schools
Useful Links: Naturopathic Medicine; Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students
Dates and Reminders: Osteopathic Awareness Conference; UCI Pre-Medical Conference
Success Story of the Month: Stacia Bier, 2nd Year at George Washington University Medical School
Question of the Month: What should I wear to interviews?
Welcome to Lewis Associates!
October means fall is well underway. If you are taking classes, you are likely
well into midterms and hopefully mastering new subjects. . . and enjoying
it at the same time. When those first exams hit and your scores appear, can
you say that you used all appropriate resources and managed your time and
talents well? If you wish advising about how to do well academically. . .
we can put you on the right path.
For Class of 2006 applicants, October is when you should be responding to
secondaries! As I predicted, based on the "speedy" turnaround with
medical/dental/etc. school online applications last year, this year looks
like it will be a whirlwind. So get ready to ride the tornado. . . or roller
coaster, as I like to call it. . . for the Class of 2006.
About half of our Class of 2006 applicants are now interviewing!
And, our first acceptance is Ashley Pistorio at Kansas City University
of Medicine and Biosciences!!! Congratulations to Ashley!
We are proud that 100% of our Class of
2005
applicants have now been accepted!
From Hilli, Class of 2005, on September 20, 2005:
"Dr. Lewis, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for
me. There are no words to describe how lucky I am to have received your help.
You are an amazing person. I've never been happier. Thank you for helping
make my dream come true. Part of me still cannot believe that I am actually
in medical school - this has been my dream for as long as I can remember,
and I really cannot thank you enough for helping me achieve this dream. It
is so exciting to be studying in medical school, learning to give a physical
examination, going to my preceptorship, and meeting other people who are studying
to become physicians."
 |
Hilli at George Washington University's White Coat Ceremony |
In order to be a competitive applicant, you need to submit a quality application
in a timely fashion as evaluated by your clinical, service and other experiences
and your GPA/MCAT/DAT/GRE, etc. profile--this requires a well thought out
strategy to carry you through the difficult year-long application process.
You should complete all secondary applications and submit your letter packets
to complete your files at all your schools by October at the latest.
Your competition did! Don't forget that once your application is submitted.
. . even if ALL transcripts are already received at the application service,
it may take up to 6 weeks to verify and process it!!!!
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!
Class of 2006 applicants, we are now running out of 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 they need the time to DO them!
Class of 2007 applicants--you still have TIME to prepare
and plan well. . . and we can help you sidestep mistakes and jump over roadblocks
that everyone seems to face.
If you are serious about making your dreams to become a physician, dentist,
Physician Assistant, veterinarian, optometrist 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.
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!
You may be like our 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. 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.
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
Hurricane Updates From AAMC
September 28, 2005
The southern Texas medical schools and teaching hospitals, along with their
temporarily relocated Tulane colleagues, prepared for the worst last week
in expectation of Hurricane Rita. Fortunately, Houston and Galveston were
largely spared, although numerous coastal areas in Texas and Louisiana suffered
the brunt of the nation's second major hurricane in a month. Once again, the
AAMC offered its Web site, e-mail, switchboard and centralized information
resource capabilities to any affected AAMC-member institutions. Thankfully,
the southern Texas institutions weathered the storm well and were able to
keep their communications systems up and running.
I sent a letter sent last week applauding Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and
Max Baucus (D-MT) for their proposed legislation to ensure temporary health
care coverage for vulnerable victims of Hurricane Katrina. The bill, "The
Emergency Health Care Relief Act of 2005," streamlines Medicaid's current
program requirements to allow states temporarily to enroll eligible Katrina
victims into Medicaid, helps employers in affected states maintain their commitment
to providing private health care insurance to employees, and waives late enrollment
requirements for Medicare Part B beneficiaries. Through expanded federal assistance
to states, flexibility with Medicare bad debt requirements, and the creation
of a disaster relief fund for providers experiencing changes in patient volume,
the bill also helps providers cover costs associated with day-to-day operations
and providing care to Katrina evacuees. For more information, go to http://www.aamc.org/advocacy/library/washhigh/2005/092305/092005.pdf
Medical School Update
Hurricane Rita delayed the scheduled Sept. 26 start of Tulane's classes at
Baylor. The Tulane Web site now reports that classes and clinical rotations
for Tulane students have been re-scheduled, with registration and orientation
for both clinical and pre-clinical students in Houston slated for 7:30 a.m.,
Saturday, Oct. 1. Clinical rotations will begin on Monday, Oct. 3. Further
information is available at the Tulane Website: www.som.tulane.bcm.edu
LSU-New Orleans classes for first- and second-year students Tuesday began
as scheduled this on the Baton Rouge Pennington campus.
LSU-New Orleans posted its new mailing address and phone number on its Web
site last week-LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, P. O. Box 98096, Baton
Rouge, LA 70898. Applicants to the 2006 entering class should send correspondence
to this address or contact the admissions office at (225) 408-4966. For further
information, go to www.lsuhsc.edu/ms
Story Continues on Page
2
For the latest information and links to Hurricane Katrina and Rita related
resources, go to www.aamc.org/katrina.htm
We had to kill our patients (Source:
Mail on Sunday)
by CAROLINE GRAHAM and JO KNOWSLEY
September 11, 2005
Doctors working in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans killed critically ill patients
rather than leaving them to die in agony as they evacuated hospitals, The
Mail on Sunday can reveal.
With gangs of rapists and looters rampaging through wards in the flooded city,
senior doctors took the harrowing decision to give massive overdoses of morphine
to those they believed could not make it out alive.
In an extraordinary interview with The Mail on Sunday, one New Orleans doctor
told how she 'prayed for God to have mercy on her soul' after she ignored
every tenet of medical ethics and ended the lives of patients she had earlier
fought to save.
Her heart-rending account has been corroborated by a hospital orderly and
by local government officials. One emergency official, William 'Forest' McQueen,
said: "Those who had no chance of making it were given a lot of morphine
and lain down in a dark place to die."
Euthanasia is illegal in Louisiana, and The Mail on Sunday is protecting the
identities of the medical staff concerned to prevent them being made scapegoats
for the events of last week.
Story Continues on Page
2
L I N K S :
Satisfy your passion for medicine.
http://www.aanmc.org/enewsletter/current.htm
Make meaningful connections with patients. Become a naturopathic physician.
Do you have an interest in integrative medicine and natural therapies? Be
our guest at an informational session filled with presentations on naturopathic
medicine, including a Q&A session with leading professionals in the field.
Learn more about :
• Naturopathic modalities
• Career opportunities
• Medical school requirements
Undergraduate Scholarship Program for students from Disadvantaged
Backgrounds
http://ugsp.info.nih.gov
Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA)
800 445 8283
http://www.training.nih.gov
d a t e s & r e m i n d e r s
Osteopathic Medicine Awareness Conference at
Western University
Saturday November 12, 2005
Western University Campus Health Professions Center
$15.00 per person (includes lunch)
http://www.westernu.edu/prospective/upcoming.xml
Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)-Student National Medical
Association (SNMA) 5th Annual Pre-Medical Conference
at UC Irvine
Saturday, October 22, 2005
University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
$8.00 per person (registered before October 15)
http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/admissions/
(Click Outreach, Upcoming Events)
s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
by Dr. Cynthia Lewis
Stacia Bier 2nd
Year, George Washington University School of Medicine
From rural Pennsylvania, Stacia is the first in her family to attend college
Stacia's White Coat Ceremony at GW
I recall the day Stacia entered the CUHRE office several years ago to get
her first advising. . . seems like yesterday! She is now a second year student
at George Washington University Medical School.
On September 14, 2005, Stacia emailed:
"Hi Dr. Lewis!
It has been so long since we've emailed. I thought i'd say HI and let you
know how things are going. My first year of medical school went well. I learned
a lot and made a lot of friends. I have a great class (very down to earth
and supportive). I realized that I would NEVER want to be a surgeon because
I absolutely hated gross anatomy! I was paired up with a pediatrician for
my clinical experience and I really like pediatrics. He is an excellent doctor
and an excellent teacher. I love the kids and I didn't mind the parents. He
would have me go in and interview difficult parents so that I could get the
experience and it wasn't so bad.
I spent the summer at the NIH. I went back to the lab that I was at before.
I love it there!!! I love the people and the work. I really think that I may
end up in something like Pediatric Infectious Disease. In fact, I am planning
on taking a year off between third and fourth year to do clinical research
(all my past research has been basic bench work). With the past leadership
experience that I had while I was at the NIH for my post-bac year I was able
to network with the directors of the program that I will be applying for.
My name may go on 3 to 4 papers in the upcoming year or 2 from the research
that I did at the NIH.
I have gotten moderately involved at GW. I am the health policy/advocacy chair
for the AMA student division at GW. I get to represent GW and go to national
conferences and vote on what health issues the student division is going to
pursue. I went to Chicago this summer. It was an awesome experience! Health
policy is very new to me so I am learning a lot. I also signed up to begin
interviewing students for next years class. I'll start next month. . . .
Talk to you soon. Stacia"
Stacia's Success Story
I have known Stacia for over 5 years since she entered the CUHRE program at
San Diego State University. Stacia says: “I was born to a lower-middle
class family and raised near the rural town of York, Pennsylvania,
which is adjacent to Lancaster in Amish country. I am the first in
my family to attend college. My rural background exposed me to a
simplistic, easy-going, country lifestyle."
Stacia says, "I grew up in rural Dover, Pennsylvania. According to the
US Census Bureau, only 7% has a bachelor's degree and only 3% have a graduate
degree. Nearly 51% of the women age 16 and over have children and I had no
female professionals as role models. The perception for girls was that education
stopped at high school, then came motherhood and family, and if you worked,
it was clerical. The only women I knew with a college education were my teachers.
My desire to earn good grades had to come from within; I did not feel that
I could succeed in college. Growing up in this rural area with my teachers'
assessments of below average academic potential prompted me to develop my
social skills rather than academic skills."
"While growing up, academic work was not a high priority for me, partially
due to my family’s lack of emphasis on education. From a young age,
I believed that I was not intelligent. My pre-school teacher tried to convince
my parents to hold me back. Although my parents did not hold me back, from
that point on my academic potential was questioned. In my junior year of high
school, my guidance counselor told me that I wasn’t a desirable candidate
for college. My parents encouraged me to seek other advice. A new guidance
counselor at Central York High School saw beyond the original 'diagnosis’
and took the time to teach me how to study. As a result, my grades improved.
Since then, I have become a more serious and focused student, overcoming educational,
social and psychological barriers. Developing confidence in my scholastic
aptitude has been challenging. Each year, my study habits improve and I become
a more competitive student".
Stacia was repeatedly told that she was not smart as she grew up and, she
came to believe it. She graduated from high school with a low GPA and low
SAT scores, and wanted to become a nurse. She entered the nursing program
in a small college in West Virginia, but majored in social activities her
first year while living in a sorority house. She competed in gymnastics and
was on the cross-country team her first year of college. She, then, moved
to attend a college closer to home in her second year and became more motivated
to become a nurse. Once she took science classes, she fell in love with them.
Stacia worked about 16 hours per week as a waitress and in research while
attending college. She took off one and a half years to work fulltime in sales
at the biotechnology firm, which sells human cells to researchers, and then
fulltime as an office manager for a Chiropractor.
Stacia wrote the following about her community service: “Ever since
I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to help people. I started volunteering
when I was 13 at Health South Rehab Hospital. I played games, painted ceramics,
and built crafts with patients recovering from strokes. It was tough at such
a young age trying to motivate people in the midst of frustration with their
disability. I viewed my position not as a “mere volunteer” passing
the time, but as an opportunity to offer encouragement to someone who might
not get it anywhere else. In high school, I volunteered to deliver flowers
at York Hospital because I enjoyed brightening peoples' days."
"In college, I worked in health-related jobs. I was hired as a nurse
intern at a hospital my sophomore year, where I interacted with doctors and
patients. I was also trained as a unit secretary which enabled me to see the
administrative side of the healthcare system. One of my best experiences was
as a Resident Assistant at Shadowfax Corporation. Working with handicapped
children taught me that no matter what personality a patient may have, he
deserves to be treated with love, kindness, respect and dignity. Caring for
these individuals brought me a joy that I had never before experienced.”
Stacia found her stride academically at San Diego State University with CUHRE,
a student organization that Dr. Lewis advises. She earned nearly a 4.0 GPA
in 72 units of mostly sciences, including organic chemistry. She completed
certification in phlebotomy and we discussed ways of integrating Stacia’s
significant art interest into her college curriculum. She applied her artistic
talents to developing our newsletter and learning to do computer layout.
Dr. Verloop, D.C. wrote, “Stacia Bier worked for me for 9 months as
the office manager of my chiropractic clinic. It was a brand new clinic which
was growing rapidly and demanded a tremendous amount of energy to manage.
Stacia’s responsibilities included collections, scheduling, greeting
all patients, answering phones, patient education and whatever else it took
to get the job done. The healing of patients in our office begins with their
first visit. Stacia was that first impression as well as the last. She is
kind, considerate and compassionate. Many of our patients are grumpy and grouchy
from painful symptoms, but Stacia was always able to calm them and reassure
them that they were in the right place, and that we were going to take good
care of them. There is so much to learn about health and healing. Much of
what we do in the office revolves around re-educating our patients that health
doesn’t come from a bottle; it comes from within. Health is a product
of decisions we’ve made regarding diet, exercise, rest, mental attitude
and the care of our spine and nervous system. Stacia eagerly absorbed this
information and always wanted to learn more. She attended health-related seminars
with me and I was constantly providing her with information on health and
wellness so that she could assist me in enlightening our patients about the
rewards of a healthy lifestyle. My practice is my baby. I have worked tirelessly
the last 3 years to build it and the decision to hire Stacia was very important.
She was always positive and supportive to me and to the patients. She is self-motivated
and was able to make important decisions on her own without my input. Her
people skills are far beyond her years and more important than anything else;
she loves my patients. People like Stacia do wonderful things.”
Stacia has important patient care, managerial experience and was a technician
in a marine mammal research program for a year before working as a research
technician in a psychology project one year. Her interest in solving applied
problems and her thirst to learn new things drove her to seek an NIH research
experience after college graduation.
In her junior year, Stacia began mentoring a 15-year-old girl in the Bright
Futures Project because Stacia didn't have any female role models in professionals
growing up. She spent time with her protégée discussing reproductive
health and has weekly (rather than the 'required' monthly) meetings because
as she rightly surmised, one's perspective changes daily at age 15. Stacia
tutored her protégée in biology, which she was failing and then
passed. And, she used problem-solving with her protégée
about poor reading skills and encouraged her to enter the AVID program which
supports college entry for at-risk youth while developing study skills.
Stacia steps up to the plate on her own initiative, another sign of the most
outstanding of my Advisees. Stacia was elected to the position of design editor
for the CUHRE newsletter due to her interest in art and design, and then took
on a position requiring strong communication skills, Liaison to the application
class of 2003. Stacia was then selected by her peers to be President. Stacia
is a strong, effective leader, dealing with difficult programmatic and organizational
issues and is committed to the high standards that CUHRE espouses.
In summary, Stacia has a twinkle in her eye, confidence in her walk, and a
sparkly personality. Immediately, you can sense her sincerity, friendliness,
compassion, drive, inquisitiveness and integrity. I can't imagine anyone not
being charmed by her personality. Most certainly, Stacia possesses qualities
that will lend themselves to the medical profession. I have been impressed
with Stacia's progressive improvement academically to the point that she is
now a very strong student. This is especially commendable given the circumstances
from which she has risen so dramatically. I am also impressed with the commitment
and leadership she demonstrated in CUHRE.
One might question the reasoning or sincerity of young women who may have
a "romantic" notion about the medical profession. Not Stacia. Based
on my many questions, Stacia revealed her knowledge, sincerity and fascination
with medicine, especially research. She was adamant about wanting to combine
research to applied medicine. Just as she has proven herself as a runner,
she can also achieve what she wants in medicine. What she has accomplished
in her young life in sports, academics, social and community leadership definitely
demonstrates a competitive nature with a willingness to struggle in order
to achieve, essential for medical school. Her academic record indicates that
as well. Stacia was a mediocre student her freshman year. Pulling herself
up from 'B' and 'C' grades, she managed in her senior year almost straight
'A's. This only confirms how driven and disciplined she is in achieving what
she wants. Stacia's record of extracurricular activities is impressive, as
well. Working in health clinics, nursing homes and research makes her an attractive
candidate. She has also worked in offices, food service, management, and as
a Mentor. Her non-medical experience will assist her to understand the business
of medical practice.
GO STACIA!!
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
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.
by Dr. Cynthia Lewis, PhD
How do I dress for my interviews? . . . Is there some secret to success?
First, you should realize that no matter what your interviewer is wearing--shorts and a tee shirt, an Armani suit, or a tailored dress--you need to be perceived as a potential peer to the most conservative interviewer you can imagine. The vast majority of physicians and folks in medical education are conservative in their thinking about their profession. That does not mean that free spirits do not inhabit medical faculties; it means that you must "play the part" of someone you believe that the faculty, admissions staff, and students at that school would want to have as their peer. Generally, you need to be clean, neat, well-groomed. Men wearing ponytails and anyone with body piercing and obvious tattoos which state individuality, are risky at best in this very conservative environment and I advise against showing them. In fact, in a recent advisor listserv posting, it was unanimous from male admissions staff that a conservative haircut is expected; anything else is "testing the system a little too much."
You also want to be comfortable in what you are wearing. The standard men's business suit or slacks and sports coat, and women's pants or skirt suit or a tailored dress are best choices. Don't try out some new shoes that haven't been broken in for this important event. And, yes, black, brown, navy, are good, but just use good common sense and do not put paisley and checks together. Other colors are fine. If green is "your color", wear it. The rule of thumb is that what you are wearing should not distract the interviewer from focusing on what you are discussing. No low cut tops or very short skirts for women, or low rider pants for men. No large, noisy jewelry or unusual hairdos. You will have time to show your individuality during medical school. Most schools are concerned about how their patients will perceive you, too. So, the old traditional approach still wins the day. You want ALL focus to be on what you have accomplished and who you are, not what you are wearing!
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
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.
$100 DISCOUNT on advising - a great Deal!
Lewis Associates Advisees who refer someone who selects a year or longer advising
package receive a $100 discount from their Advising package for each new Advisee!
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.
c o n t a c t
"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 Coaches and consultants may support programs like Law and Business or graduate school – not Lewis Associates. We are the experts in Health Professions based on 20 years of a successful track record.
Call or email today to set your first appointment!
805.226.9669 imaclewis@lewisassoc.com
Copyright 2005, Lewis Associates. All rights reserved. Please do not repost on any website without direct permission from Lewis Associates.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any friends, classmates, or colleagues you feel would find its contents beneficial.
lewis associates advising services
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.
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
Copyright 2009, Lewis Associates. All rights reserved. Please do not repost on any website without direct permission from Lewis Associates.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any friends, classmates, or colleagues you feel would find its contents beneficial.