Lewis Associates e-Newsletter
Volume
5 Issue 12
December 2006
Published by Lewis Associates. Dr. Cynthia Lewis, Phd.,
Editor
Email imaclewis@lewisassoc.com
with your comments. Enjoy!
Best Wishes for the Holiday Season
The entire staff at Lewis Associates thank you for your patronage and wish
you a joyous Holiday Season and great New Year!
What's inside:
Welcome to Success Stories Newsletter!
Flash!: Alice Rae-Flick has had a baby!
Important News: Medical students learn to talk to patients by working with actors; AIDS to be 3rd leading cause of death; UN backs global campaign to stamp out violence against women
Useful Links: MCAT registration; Naturopathic Links
Alumni Updates: Sam Bartholomew, MD, Rahkee Patel, Shazia Siddiqi
Success Story of the Month: Christine Fair ... Non-traditional premed, now medical student and Mom
Question of the Month: I was caught cheating freshman year. What do I do now?
Welcome to Lewis Associates!
This December, we have 12 accepted Class of 2007 Advisees including to Johns
Hopkins, University of Colorado, Medical College of Wisconsin, and UC San
Diego Medical Schools, with many more interviewing! ... things are moving
very quickly this year. I warned last year that the application process for
allopathic and Osteopathic medical school is accelerating. I proposed this
is due to the streamlining of electronic web-based applications and secondaries
... no more hard copy of anything or even waiting for an email in many cases!
And, now this goes for Osteopathic medical and dental schools! This is a very
busy time for all pre-health students!
Thanks from Dr. Adrian Miranda, Class 1994, Faculty at Medical College
of Wisconsin
"I have never really taken the time to express my sincere gratitude for
everything you did for me. I have often mentioned your name during talks and
to friends and family as the person who was the most influential in my path
to success. I can’t tell you how many times my wife has answered that
question right on the "newlywed" board game. Without your guidance
and support I would never have accomplished my goals. I am so glad to hear
you are doing well and I want you to know that I still often think of you
and the years at SDSU. I am now married with two children (Alex 3 and Sofia
2). My wife Heidi is from Madison and much to my dismay, she does not plan
on moving to California any time soon ... I wish you the best and I hope that
you have a wonderful party surrounded by people who love you and whose lives
you have changed. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you or your
family and please stay in touch."
Your friend and Protégé,
Adrian Miranda, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatalogy and Nutrition
Medical College of Wisconsin
Thanks From Andrea Casillas, entering the Michigan State University
ABLE Program in fall 2006
"Dr. Lewis, Thank you so much. I am very grateful to have had you along
my side during this stressful year. I appreciate all your work and patience!
I wish you the very best. May God bless you always. Thank you very, very much."
Andrea
Comment from an Alumnus
"Wow! What a website. Are you sure you want to retire? Based
on what I've seen, you have to be the most successful Advisor on the planet!
I owe a great debt of gratitude to your ability to encourage young people
to achieve their goals. If there is anything you ever need, no matter what
time of day, I'll take care of it, just call me. Joe"
Joseph E. Allen, MD, MS, FAAFP, CAQSM
Family Practice and Sports Medicine
(Editor's note: Dr. Allen did a consult on my torn knee meniscus a couple
of months ago ... Thanks again, Joe!)
What's New?
IMPORTANT!!
Mailing Address
Until further notice, our Lewis Associates mailing address will be our office
address:
2727 Camino del Rio South Suite 156, San Diego, CA 92108.
NEW FREE teleconferencing and videoconferencing. You need
to register for free AOL Instant Messaging, and will get free audio and/or
video contact with us!!
Lewis Associates now uses Skype!
This free service allows you to make phone calls over the internet without
long distance charges. Please tell us in advance if you are using this for
your appointment as we need to bring in a headphone.
In a couple of years, some new books and CD's will be out by Dr. Lewis about
preparing for medical and other health professions schools ... keep on the
lookout!!
Harvard Medical School Track Record
We are proud that 2 of our Class of 2006 applicants were accepted
at Harvard Medical School! This brings Dr. Lewis' record to 29 Advisees accepted
to Harvard Medical and Dental Schools in the past 21 years! Two more in the
class of 2007 have been interviewed. We shall know their outcome in March
2007.
Track Record
92% of our Class of 2006 applicants were accepted! ...
and 2 were waitlisted.
100% of our Class of
2005 applicants were accepted!
100% of our Class of 2004
applicants were accepted!
Being Competitive
In order to be a competitive Class of 2007, 2008, or 2009
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. And, if
you get advising with Dr. Lewis, you will find out that we begin preparation
the year before submission of your application!!
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 and implement strategies to change your life.
Getting Started
Read about your Personal Assessment in our newsletter
and website, then phone or email
us directly to get started! We spend on average 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 21 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
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
Birth Announcement from Former Lewis Associates Employee, Alice Rae-Flick
"Hello all. Our sweet little one, Alpha Eisley Rae-Flick was born November 30th, 2006 at 12:55am; 7lbs 15oz, 20.5 inches long (she was two weeks late). It was a 7-hour labor and we hit the birthing center when Alice was ready to push and with a 1/2 hour to spare (before necessitating a hospital transfer). So we had our natural water birth with Deanna our Doula, Kel our Midwife and Kathlyn Paxton, Nat's mom. Thanks to all for well-wishing and we'll send photos soon. Now, back to staring at Alpha's sweet face. ;)
Love,
Alice and Nathaniel and Alpha"
Baby Alpha, less than two days oldComputerized MCAT news from AAMC
"After only two days of registration (for the 2 January dates), we had about 25% of our seats reserved. Some sites are full. We thought January would be the least utilized test dates, and aren't offering any of the temporary testing sites for that reason. Since we are filling seats rather quickly for January, we are concerned that people may start worrying about availability for future dates. So, we have substantially more seats for April and beyond, and we will be expanding our site list for the rest of the year. Our call center is responding quickly to inquiries, addressing examinee concerns, and communicating regularly with them. So, it looks like one of the lessons we'll learn from 2007 (and it's still 2006!) is that the January test dates are going to be a lot more popular than we expected."
Posted FAQ now removed from AAMC site: "What if I am unable to get the testing site or date I want?"
"It is our goal to guarantee an examinee who registers 60 or more days prior to an exam date a seat at a test center within 100 miles of his/her requested site. However, we will not be able to provide such an assurance to an examinee who registers less than 60 days prior to an exam. Seats will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so it will be important to complete registration as early as possible.
Follow up from AAMC about the FAQ:
The FAQ says it is 'our goal' to guarantee, which is not a guarantee. Because this FAQ has caused confusion, we have removed it from our site. We hope to provide this guarantee, but do not intend to do so until 2008 at the earliest. At this time, we do not have a way to "capture" the examinee's preferred test site, in order to make such a guarantee. We will be working on this over the next year and will hopefully have a system in place for 2008.
We are continuing to add sites to our list. The list on the Web is for January only, and we will expand it for future 2007 administrations. We will update it sometime in the first half of December, prior to the December 13 opening for April and May registration."
"For 2006, there were just under 71,000 examinees (first-timers + retakes). For 2007, there are almost twice the number of seats available as the highest number of examinees expected for the year. Therefore, if there is the increase AAMC has seen the past few years (a few percent each year), there will be enough seats for everyone. Some examinees may have to travel farther than they wish, but a seat will be there if they really need it."Medical students learn to talk to patients by working with actors (Associated Press)
Medical schools generally concentrate more on passing on medical knowledge than teaching bedside manners, but that's starting to change.AIDS to be 3rd leading cause of death (Associated Press)
Within the next 25 years, AIDS is set to join heart disease and stroke as the top three causes of death worldwide, according to a study published online.UN backs global campaign to stamp out violence against women (Agence France-Presse)
A senior UN official pressed for world action to protect women's rights on the eve of an international day of action to eradicate violence against women, including "honor" killings, genital mutilation and gang rape.A Case That Shook Medicine (The Washington Post)
How One Man's Rage Over His Daughter's Death Sped Reform of Doctor TrainingPanel said to call for closing of nine New York Hospitals (NY Times)
A state commission plans to recommend Tuesday closing at least nine hospitals across the state — including five in New York City — and further cutting the state’s mounting health care costs by forcing more hospitals to merge or to cut beds, according to several people briefed Monday on the panel’s report.Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices (NY Times)
A decade into the practice of medicine, still striving to become “a well regarded physician-scientist,” Robert H. Glassman concluded that he was not making enough money.When Young Doctors Strut Too Much of Their Stuff (NY Times)
It seems that more and more medical students and young doctors show up for clinical work in less-than-professional attire. [Next month: How to dress for interviews ... reflection by Dr. Sam Bartholomew, Plastic Surgery Fellow]
L I N K S :
MCAT registration link
A PowerPoint presentation illustrating the steps to find, select,
and reserve an exam seat using the new MCAT Scheduling & Registration
system is now available on the AAMC Web site.
http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/advisors/srdemo.ppt
AANP (American
Association of Naturopathic Physicians)
AANMC (Association of Accredited
Naturopathic Medical Colleges)
CCAOM (Council of Colleges
of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine)
Natural
Doctors International
Find these and other useful links on
Lewisassoc.com's
Links Page.
a l u m n i u p d a t e s
| Sam Bartholomew, MD, currently in Plastic Surgery Fellowship in Sacramento
|
| Rahkee
Patel, 1st Term St. Georges University |
| Shazia
Siddiqi, 4th Term St. Georges University
|
s u c c e s s
s t o r i e s
by Dr. Cynthia Lewis
Christine Fair ... Non-traditional
premed, now medical student and Mom 
From Dr. Lewis:
Christine Fair is in her 2nd term at St. Georges University School of Medicine and we had a nice visit last month when I was on the island.
On 11/27/06, Christine wrote:
"I just got out of a final in Parasitology - another success for me this term. First term was such an adjustment for me to get back into studying - late nights, coffee, getting in with the other students - knowing what to study and HOW to study ... everyone has their own way - when you're older you have to find your way all over again ... I think I have 'it' back now ... didn't do as well last term. I was overwhelmed with all the material and study schedule, etc ... and living so far from home.
I have my last finals for this term in two weeks, so my time will be spent studying, sleeping, eating right and exercising! I've gotten clever with the exercising - I need it to keep up my stamina with the younger students ... if I don't want to go for a run, I just go on the stationary bike or elliptical machine and review my notes while I'm exercising. :-) You can always find a way to do things ... you just have to be creative.
As a program manager, my time was spent directing others and keeping tasks moving forward (more emphasis was put on multi-tasking and directing other people) - as a student, it is more about focus and concentration on your own studies (which is something I've had to really practice again).
In the new internet world - people communicate via text messaging, AIM, and Skype which I had to pick up quickly if I was going to be able to communicate with the other students here ... it's nice to have a son in college at the same time. He keeps me up to date with the new communication technologies:-)
Medical school is challenging my confidence in my abilities to solve problems ... I'm learning that it's okay not to know everything about everything but you DO need to know what's important and how to access the correct information quickly. I had always thought I was a good listener until I started working with patients. Working in business you learn how to listen to your clients and design products that meet their needs - in medicine, it's the patient you need to listen to and there is a different level of patience and sincerity that you need to have when listening to your patients as their doctor.
My relationship with my son is closer than ever. We are keeping each other motivated in school. He is in Washington, D.C. (attending George Washington University) working on a degree in physiology (and pre-med) through their School of Public Health. He hopes to pursue a career in sports medicine/orthopedics. We communicate via AIM and send phone messages - the last text message I received from him was his score on his Anatomy midterm - that simple text message from him made my day. :-)
The biggest challenge for me as an older student is adjusting to life as a 'student' again. The student environment is very different from the business world. When I wrote to a few of my good friends back home telling them about my trials and tribulations as a first year medical student, one girlfriend said to me, 'You wouldn't have done it (gone to med school) if it was going to be easy! You just have to find your way down there (in Grenada) and everything else will start to fall into place.' It's true."
Then, in a later email that day:
"Dr. Cynthia Lewis, I love your energy and stamina . It was really great to see you. Thank you for all the encouragement and support you've given me these past two years ... I think it's been more than two ... but who's counting :-)
Best always,
Christine"
Here are Christine's words in her application to medical school:
"In 1998, I traveled to Brazil for 6 weeks to shadow a country doctor who worked in impoverished areas, providing education and care to the poor. Besides educating rural doctors, this general surgeon taught villagers basic hygiene and infant care. I helped by teaching mothers how to nurse their infants, properly clean themselves, and simply wash their hands. Through my rudimentary Portuguese skills, sign language, and by example, I communicated with the villagers, who opened their homes to us and paid for our services with goat cheese. Once we made our rounds in the villages, we went into the jungle to advise local Indians, where I established their trust by demonstrating my archery skills. We traveled with guns on our dashboard to ward off wild animals. This was an incredible experience that touched me deeply and helped sustain my interest in becoming a physician that had started many years before.
During my college years as a single mother, I used welfare to provide for my son. Now, 19 years later, I am a Senior Staff Scientist/Program Manager at a biotechnology company in Silicon Valley, California. Initially I earned my B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1991 at St. Cloud State U, while I worked as an engineering aide for Honeywell. After graduation, I became a fulltime development engineer and also volunteered as a nurse’s aide at the U of Minnesota’s family practice clinic. My experiences here were profound; as this was one of the first times I worked directly with patients, initiating my interest in medicine. Being a single mother and working fulltime required the majority of my attention. I began taking graduate courses to build a foundation in biology and biotechnology to form a bridge between engineering and my goal to become a physician. I took the MCAT in 1993 and unsuccessfully applied for medical school in Minnesota, with inadequate GPA and MCAT scores.
After marriage, my spouse’s job took us to California where I focused on expanding my education and medical experience to again apply for medical school. I volunteered at the Children’s Hospital at Stanford, in the Neurosurgery Nursing unit, the ER, and also as a research assistant. Professionally, I transitioned from commercial avionics to biotechnology and began working for Varian Oncology Systems in 1995, helping to improve our radiation instrument systems. This experience put me in the oncology department at hospitals worldwide, communicating with the healthcare staff and patients to improve our product designs. After 3 years, I transferred my new skills to Acuson, where I communicated directly with radiology and cardiology staff about our medical imaging equipment. Shortly thereafter, the Human Genome Program management team at Applied Biosystems, a company who delivers life science systems to biotechnology and pharmaceutical research markets, recruited me. It meant leaving direct patient contact to work in basic research. The opportunity to be on a team of top genetic and molecular biology scientists sequencing the Human Genome could not be passed up. Near the completion of this project, I entered an MS program at San Francisco State U and did my research at UC San Francisco in neurophysiology.
Research experiences have piqued my interest and expanded my understanding of biological systems, but it is my interaction with patients that has sustained my desire to become a clinician. In 1994, I volunteered as a pediatrics research assistant for Dr. Ariagno at Stanford, where I worked with patients developing a treatment for neonate respiratory tract infections and on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). These studies were especially dear to me as I lost my 6-month old niece to SIDS in 1992 and wanted to better understand this silent killer. A decade later, I did graduate study in the neurophysiology lab of Dr. Mayeri investigating the neural systems that trigger reproduction in Aplysia.
My life’s early obstacles and challenges took its toll on my undergraduate GPA. During my first year at the University of Minnesota, studying electrical engineering, my family entered an extended period of difficult circumstances. In addition, while working 30 hrs/wk at St. Cloud University, I drove over 200 miles per day to keep my son in daycare, attend the university, and complete my EE degree. Since that time, I have developed a stable, focused work and academic life, which is evident in my personal and professional achievements the last decade.
Throughout my adult life, there are recurring themes. When someone needed medical help, and I was not trained, I felt helpless. Many interactions allowed me to help by just being there and listening. I love learning new skills and concepts and working with people. My ultimate goal is to become a pediatrician, as my 16 years of experience as a research assistant in Stanford Pediatrics, teaching second graders at Stanford’s Children’s Hospital, and helping mothers in rural Brazil and other experiences with children have shown that this is most fulfilling for me. Ultimately, my desire is to provide healthcare to disadvantaged families and their communities as a pediatrician."
Christine’s plans for year 2, as a medical student at St. George’s University Medical School:
Christine plans to complete terms 3 & 4 in June 2007 in Grenada, West Indies. During her summer break, Christine will (again) volunteer at the Painted Turtle Children’s Camp – a summer camp for children with life-threatening diseases. In July, she will be experiencing medical care in a Central European country as a participant in a medical selective program with the International Health Medical Education Consortium in Prague, Czech Republic, before starting terms 5 & 6 in St. Vincent’s, West Indies, in the fall.
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
FOCUS ON PROFESSIONALISM
The new AAMC Professionalism Assessment Form has Deans of Medical Schools evaluating the following:
Truthfulness, adherence to ethical principles, punctuality, compliance, accountability, feedback, appearance, interactions, teamwork, concern for others, compassion, goal-setting, motivation, relationship, confidentiality.
For the next several months, we will look at each of these issues.
In November, we discussed plagiarism as a reflection of a lack of truthfulness. The form defines both too much and too little as inappropriate:
Too little--misrepresent position/status, misuses resources, falsifies data, plagiarizes, cheats, lies;
Too much--displays insensitivity and tactlessness.
Appropriate would be: honest, forthright, trustworthy.This month, let's consider adherence to ethical principles.
Too little-- engages in unethical behavior e.g. accepts inappropriate gifts, violates professional boundaries, steals, engages in fraudulent behavior, overlooks inappropriate behavior in colleagues;
Too much -- appears sanctimonious, displays intolerance, always finds fault, appears overly critical
Question: I was caught cheating in general chemistry lab in my freshman year in college. Actually, all I did was copy a lab report from my lab partner when I was so busy with working and my other classes and rushing my fraternity that I did not have time to finish it. My teacher said I cheated and the university agreed. What do I do?
Answer: This is a reflection of dishonesty and bad judgment. Since it occurred in the freshman year, it is hoped that this individual could learn from this mistake. It may go on the permanent academic record or not … but, it still must be reported in the medical school application process. The student in question needs the introspection to discover why he/she took the "easy" and dishonest way out of a situation they likely caused themselves. He or she needs to take responsibility for the action, for the "punishment", and to explain how he or she has changed because of what was learned.
It would be a different issue if there were recurring events or this occurred in an older individual. Much less leeway would be afforded the student in medical school application in such cases.
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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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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