tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post2396502836099203928..comments2023-10-26T05:49:59.824-04:00Comments on Reflections of a Grady Doctor: This ain't 1991.gradydoctorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10639816377218206777noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-88410457611762698772016-01-27T18:04:45.728-05:002016-01-27T18:04:45.728-05:00Great post. I know I'm a bit late to the party...Great post. I know I'm a bit late to the party but I definitely understand what you are saying. I was sixteen when I started reading your blog (over five years ago) and I definitely considered medical school at the time. There were quite a few stressors for me at the end of high school and in the end I decided to pursue criminology (criminal justice) instead. And I loved it. I've graduated with straight As in that, and although the system in New Zealand is different to the US, I would be close to a 4.0 GPA. I'm writing this from my San Francisco hotel room and I start grad school in six weeks. I made the right decision for me. Time sure does fly!<br /><br />NZ LucyLucy Moss-Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02278537723371625191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-2712133804962844302016-01-08T11:47:47.973-05:002016-01-08T11:47:47.973-05:00great post- we had a college student shadowing my ...great post- we had a college student shadowing my team yesterday, and she was asking me for advice on how to get into medical school... she didn't seem to like my "do really well in college and really well on the mcat" answer. i will send her this. thanks! (a peds resident)Catehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13635808302306218421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-34588014091951757012016-01-05T23:21:53.472-05:002016-01-05T23:21:53.472-05:00I was lucky enough to attend a summer enrichment p...I was lucky enough to attend a summer enrichment program for minorities at The Medical College of Ga. It was called SEEP. It was designed to give minorities and other underrepresented groups( we were all black, one hispanic(me) and one poor rural white girl) who were high school and early college students. We were given the exposure to the medical school entry system we might not otherwise be privy to. We stayed in the dorms at M.C.G. all summer, had a food stipend, and took Histology, or Physiology...and were shown the ropes of "what it takes to get into medical school." It gave me the confidence to go up against that high, white male dominated wall. It was the 1980's. I wonder if the program still exists. The best part for me...was that I was immersed in American Black Culture during that time. It was a rare opportunity to have the tables turned a whole summer and experience what it's like to be outside your comfort zone culturally. It was a great experience and helped shape the kind of doctor I am today with a very culturally diverse patient population.<br />mandimariesmorningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06189841604035624960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-22051409094458878292016-01-05T15:40:28.342-05:002016-01-05T15:40:28.342-05:00It doesn't. It sounds like you care.It doesn't. It sounds like you care.37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-24033131905359388992016-01-05T08:09:01.686-05:002016-01-05T08:09:01.686-05:00Post bac programs like what your niece did are awe...Post bac programs like what your niece did are awesome. Also the Howards and Meharries of professional schools are good at humanizing applicants. I'm glad she was persistent. <br /><br />Your son should also know that life experience is also a big, big plus for many schools. Being a coach and an EMT could greatly bolster his application and make him very attractive to many medical schools. Especially if he studied for the MCAT and did well. This really isn't an absolute thing--it isn't. It's more some real talk that I wish folks knew and considered. I hope it doesn't sound too Debbie Downer.gradydoctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639816377218206777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-71245868509631088302016-01-05T07:21:48.908-05:002016-01-05T07:21:48.908-05:00My niece didn't get into dental school the fir...My niece didn't get into dental school the first time she applied so she went and did an intensive one year masters in biomedical sciences and knocked that out the park grade wise. She says the program was filled with prospective medical and dental students so I'm guessing this might help "cure" a less than 3.5 GPA?<br /><br />My son, on the other hand, chose not to apply to med school because of his less than 3.5 but still respectable GPA from a non Ivy. He said his grades in chemistry specifically would never get him in. I guess he was right though I do think if you want to do a thing, you find a way. As my niece did. So I'm thinking his true path is something else. <br /><br />This is some real talk right here and I'm going to forward it to a bunch of folk. We need to hear the whole truth, so thanks for telling us the way it is now. 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-18123642999303947082016-01-05T00:14:19.325-05:002016-01-05T00:14:19.325-05:00Thank you, Miss Valedictorian Summa Cum Laude youn...Thank you, Miss Valedictorian Summa Cum Laude younger sister of mine. ;)gradydoctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639816377218206777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-77763287536793621922016-01-05T00:12:57.230-05:002016-01-05T00:12:57.230-05:00I feel you. But 5 and 7 year olds just need to lov...I feel you. But 5 and 7 year olds just need to love learning. This isn't so much a message about being pushed as it is expectation. The high expectations that our parents have of us need to shift over to the individual a lot sooner. Back in the day, we (okay I) worked hard so my parents would be proud. Somewhere around my sophomore year I began wanting to do really well for ME and my own future. My point is that I needed to want that sooner. I did get good grades early but more because of my parents' expectations. <br /><br />As for gifted tracks, etc. . .it kind of sucks but it is what it is. High achievement will open doors. And for the kids who aren't in gifted programs, they just have to outwork the ones who are. And you know? That was true in 1991. But the big difference is the computerized impersonal component. This is why the objective, on paper measures have to be on point. Without them? Our awesome, well rounded kids won't even get a toe in the door or a chance to clear their throats to give their elevator pitches. Nope. <br /><br />Sucks, right? But it's true. Totally, completely true.gradydoctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639816377218206777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-40336496204414080342016-01-05T00:07:24.834-05:002016-01-05T00:07:24.834-05:00Thanks for reading this and for your kind words, G...Thanks for reading this and for your kind words, Grace. I felt mean writing it but it's information that I really, really wish some great people knew. I think if a lot of us hit the ground running from the start it would be easier. I could be wrong but I've seen enough to know that this information is true.gradydoctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639816377218206777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-13175066426856591002016-01-04T23:25:34.331-05:002016-01-04T23:25:34.331-05:00This is a good one!
Xoxo,
BizThis is a good one!<br /><br />Xoxo,<br />BizAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05499269649550316722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-53668230773562493742016-01-04T15:56:02.572-05:002016-01-04T15:56:02.572-05:00OK... my kids are 5 and 7, so it's a little ea...OK... my kids are 5 and 7, so it's a little early. And I get what you're saying... but part of me wants to go back to 91. Because I feel surrounded by parents pushing GO Hard or go home - right now. Because if you aren't outstanding in 2nd grade, you won't get into the Gifted track, adn if you don't get into the gifted track you won't get into a good middle school. And if you aren't in the honors program in middle school, you'll never get into the college prep track for high school.... and so it goes. <br /><br />It isn't 1991, but geesh I wish we could go back in time.BlackLiteraturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08103926067284048804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245783834297902042.post-38235468845006053222016-01-04T14:11:04.484-05:002016-01-04T14:11:04.484-05:00Whoa! Thanks so much for this! This definitely ref...Whoa! Thanks so much for this! This definitely reflects my struggly narrative from a couple of years ago as a less than 3.5GPA having, 1st gen, immigrant/non-citizen,who’d just graduated from an itsy-bitsy college in the middle of Maryland. <br />What I appreciate most about this post, though, is that it you lay out these facts in a “you can make it, just with these credentials” instead of a “you’ll never make it” type of way. So. I will go ahead and send this post along to some awesome high schoolers that I mentor who have sky high dreams to pursue medicine, but none of the “feet on ground” knowledge of exactly what will eliminate ‘em from the pool of successful applicants. This will definitely help them to prepare and be aware. Thanks again!! <br />Take care,<br />Grace.<br /><br /><br />Grace :)https://www.blogger.com/profile/09802787763847011019noreply@blogger.com