Medical Explorers High School, College, Medical School and Beyond

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Medical ExplorersHigh School, College, Medical
School and Beyond

• Dr. Courtney LaCaze-Adams
• Washington Township Pediatrician

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Introduction

• Grew up in Orange County, California
• Interest in medicine started in high school
• Anatomy class
• Strong science interest
• Dance team
• Piano

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Introduction

• High school El Dorado (public high school)
• College UC Riverside
• Medical School UCLA
• Pediatric Internship and Residency UC Davis
• Chief resident at UC Davis
• Practice at Washington Township since Sept 2011

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My road to medicine

• High school-Family practitioner mentor
• National Youth Forum on Medicine-Boston
• Strong science interest
• Researching colleges

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Why UC Riverside?

• Close to home
• Big fish in a small pond
• 7 year combined program with UCLA-enter as a
  Biomedical Science major
• Strong science program
• Campus tour

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UC Riverside

• Biomedical major
• Intermural sports
• Sorority
• Clinical experience
• Research experience

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College Years

• National Youth Leadership Forum-China
• Applications to medical schools
• Application to 7 year UCR/UCLA MD program
  (separate)

• Clinical experience at Riverside General
• Research experience with physics professor
• MCAT Challenges
• Take during summer vs. school year

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MCAT

• Physical Sciences
• Verbal Reasoning
• Writing Sample
• Biological Sciences
• Multiple choice, 5 hour test
• Usually offered in summer and spring

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Medical School

• First two clinical years at UC Riverside
• Third and fourth clinical years at UCLA
• Third year rotations
• Surgery Psychology
• Obstetrics/Gynecology Family Medicine
• Pediatrics Doctoring
• Neurology

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Medical School

• Third Year

• Fourth Year

• Rotations
• Why pediatrics?
• Specialty personalities
• Feel on rotation

• USMLE Step 2
• Sub-internships (3)
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at UCLA
• General pediatrics at Harbor, UCLA
• Pedatric Infectious Disease at Cedar Sinai, UCLA
• Applications for residency
• Residency interviews
• Match day UC DAVIS!

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• -Delivering a baby on my ob-gyn rotation at
  Oliveview, UCLA

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Pediatric Residency

• 3 years
• Rotations-requirements and electives
• Research
• Advocacy-American Academy of Pediatrics
• Chief residency
• One year after residency
• Attending and teaching the residents

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Day in the life of pediatric resident

• At hospital at 6 am
• Sign out from overnight team
• See patients
• Morning report
• Attending rounds
• Patient care
• Sign out 4pm-7pm

• Incredible patients and learning!
• Difficult cases

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Day in the life of a pediatrician

• Outpatient clinic 8am-5pm
• Home/weekend call
• Opportunity to get to know families and patients
  from birth to 18 years

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High school students considering medical school

• Enjoy high school!
• Do well on your SAT/ACT
• Research colleges
• Get involved in activities that interest you

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College

• Chose a college that feels like the best fit for
  you, both academically and personally
• Do not chose a school based on getting into
  medical schools

• Enjoy college and get involved!
• Good time to develop peer relationships and
  independence as a individual

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Premedical requirements

• 1 year of general chemistry with associated lab
• 1 year of biology with associated lab
• 1 year of physics with associated lab
• 1 year of organic chemistry with associated lab

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Recommended premedical courses

• Biochemistry
• English
• Humanities
• Mathematics

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Remember

• Medical schools accept any major, as long as you
  have met the requirements
• Medical School Admissions Requirement (MSAR) book
  is published every two years by the AAMC. This
  book will become your official resource for the
  medical school admissions requirements.

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Becoming a doctor

• 1 High school
• 4 years
• 2 College
• 4 years
• 3 Residency
• 3-6 years
• 4 Fellowship
• 1-3 years

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There are many paths to medical school

• Many people chose to take time off to travel,
  pursue other interests, have children/start a
  family
• Average age of person entering medical school is
  now 25

• Post Baccalaureate programs
• Masters programs

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Standardized tests!

• High school-SAT/ACT
• College-MCAT
• Medical School-USMLE Step 1,2
• Residency-USMLE Step 3
• After residency-Board certification
• Fellowship-Specialty board certification
• Yearly CME/Re-certification

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Applying to medical school

• GPA-General rule of thumb 3.5 or above
• MCAT-Score above 30
• Personal statement
• Letters of recommendations
• Work and activities
• Work
• Volunteering/community service
• Research
• Extracurricular activities

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My best advice

• Enjoy high school!
• Chose a college that you feel is the best fit for
  you
• Get involved in 1-2 activities that you are
  passionate about
• Medical experience/exposure

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Questions?

• Thank you all for coming!
• Email with any questions
• courtney_lacaze-adams_at_mywtmf.com