A Great Tutoring Opportunity

My goal, eventually, is to go into academic medicine. In that capacity, I hope to do some teaching. This semester, I will be getting some experience doing just that - by being a tutor for General Biology 2.

I received an e-mail about a week ago from my former Gen Bio lab professor, telling me that because I did so well in the class last spring, she was inviting me to be a tutor for the class this spring (along with some other students). Dominican University offers drop-in biology tutoring at its Academic Enrichment Center, but this will be different - it will be an "invitation-only" small tutoring group for students who did not do so well in General Biology 1, and who might otherwise slip through the cracks grade-wise.

I'm really excited about the opportunity. It will be great teaching experience, and will (hopefully) help these students do better in class. Part of the tutoring will be helping students with concepts, of course. If they come with questions, great; if not, I am supposed to be prepared to lead a discussion about what was covered in lecture that week (no problem there). One of the nice things is that they will be covering basic genetics in the course - meiosis, Mendel, Punnett squares, etc., and I excel at that, especially just having taken an actual genetics course. So I will definitely be prepared for that material. I also made flashcards for the entire Gen Bio 2 class when I took it, so that's another resource I can share with the students. Some of these students may also have issues not only with the material, but with general study skills - how to study, and how much to study, for this class. That's another arena in which I can definitely be of some assistance.

I will be attending all of the Bio 2 lectures (a total of 3 hours each week), and then leading a 1-hour tutoring group one afternoon a week. I even get paid for all 4 hours, which is a nice bonus. (It doesn't pay much, so the monetary part certainly isn't the main reason for my wanting to do this.)

This tutoring project certainly adds to my plate, but in a good way. I'm looking forward to giving back to the Dominican community, a community that has given so much to me.

Background: These are marine diatoms, specifically Pleurosigma angulatum, at magnification x200. Diatoms are unicellular organisms often characterized by a silica shell. This image is from National Geographic. Diatoms, along with other unicellular organisms, and their phylogenetic classifications/relationships, are some of the things I will be helping students with in General Biology 2.  

Spring Break!

OK, so maybe it's a bit early to think about spring break, given that the semester just started yesterday. But I have exciting plans. So I want to share them. No, I'm not going to Aruba or Cancun - I'm going to the 53rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference, to be held right here in the Windy City, March 7-11, 2012. 

I first heard about this conference last year, when my Research Methods professor, Dr. Kreher, attended it (it was in San Diego then). When I met with him this morning to talk about working with him this semester on his fruit fly research, he brought up the conference ... and I immediately decided I would go. It will be a great learning opportunity, first of all - dozens of scientific posters and talks to attend, all about Drosophila genetics. It will also be a great networking opportunity, especially since I'm applying for my MD/PhD this June. You never know whom you will meet at events like this, and what kinds of connections you will make.

I will, of course, post more about it after I attend the conference. I'm sure I will have lots of exciting fruit fly news to share. 

And who knows? Maybe some day in the future, I'll be one of the presenters ...

Another Diploma ...

When I started my post-baccalaureate program at Dominican University, it was a certificate-granting program. That's not the reason I chose Dominican, though (a certificate is certainly not necessary for applying to med school). I don't even think I would have completed the certificate because it required you to take classes I just didn't have time for. But thanks to the hard work of our program director, Dr. Louis Scannicchio, as well as Dr. Hughes (she teaches Clinical Behavioral Medicine in the program), I now have the opportunity to earn not a certificate but an actual second degree. 

It's called a "Bachelor's of Medical Science," or BMS for short. As with the certificate program, there are some specific course requirements, but because I'm a second-year student and already have my courses set, Dr. Scannicchio has agreed to waive a couple of those requirements for me (and other current students, depending on GPA and other considerations such as additional courses you have taken). I met with Dr. Scannicchio this morning, filled out my paperwork, and submitted it to the registrar. The only major decision I had to make was how I wanted my name to appear on my diploma, which I will receive when I graduate in May of this year. I decided that because I'm a big fan of all three of my names, I'd display them all: Lorien Elisa Menhennett. Other than that, all I had to do was sign on about a dozen lines and hand the papers in.

So what will this degree do for me? Well, as with the certificate, it isn't a make-or-break thing for applying to medical school. That said, having a second degree with both the words "medical" and "science" in it can't hurt, and might give me a leg up in terms of applying for MD/PhD, given that most of those applicants have hard science degrees such as biology or chemistry. I'm also hoping that this degree will give me additional credibility when I apply for jobs during my "gap" year. 

I am applying to medical school in June, and will (hopefully) have interviews during the fall and winter in order to matriculate in the fall of 2013. That leaves me with an empty year, which we in the non-traditional pre-medical community refer to as a "gap" or "glide" year. Some people take classes, some people work. I can't really afford to take more classes, and I have rent to pay, so a job it is. Given that there are less than zero writing/editing jobs out there, and that's the field I'm exiting, I've decided I want to work in a lab. I have looked on job search sites (mainly Indeed.com, which is my favorite, and seems to be the most comprehensive), and have found quite a few. Of course, I won't be able to apply for jobs until the spring, but it's nice knowing they seem to exist. I don't need to make a lot of money; just enough to pay for my rent, car, insurance, groceries, and the various and sundry other items that come along. But with the economy the way it is, I'm guessing those jobs are pretty competitive to get. So having this "science" degree will, hopefully, lend some credence to my claims that I know my way around a pipette and PCR machine. 

It's kind of nice, really, to be "getting" something out of the two years (and tens of thousands of dollars) I'll have spent at Dominican, something that aims to help me get into medical school and get a job. I know Dr. Scannicchio and Dr. Hughes put their hearts and souls into making this happen. So here is a shout-out "thank you!" to them.

ADCOM Q&A: Problems in U.S. Health Care

It is undeniable that we in the United States have access to all kinds of health care procedures, medications, and specialists that, in many other countries, are only a pipe dream. Well, some of us. One of the responsibilities of the future generation of physicians - and politicians - is to help shape a better landscape for health care in which all Americans have access to these resources. That, of course, is easier said than done. But recognizing the problem is the first step toward a solution, so it makes sense that admissions committee members would ask a medical school interviewee something like this: What are three of the greatest challenges facing health care in the United States today?

First of all, that's not an easy question. I don't think anyone would argue that our system is systemically broken. So there are quite a few "challenges" I could talk about. But I will talk about three that dovetail into each other. That is, they are all related to money. Of course, pouring money into a broken system is not the solution in and of itself. But there are three money-related issues in health care that I want to talk about here. I don't have answers, perhaps only more questions. But asking those questions has gotten me researching these topics and learning more about the difficulties facing our health care system, and at least thinking about some possibilities for the future.

So here we go.

1. The lack of comprehensive health insurance for all Americans.

When I want to go to the doctor, I have to pay a small copay, sure. But the bulk of the charge gets paid by my insurance company. For an annual check-up, doing without insurance might not be such a big deal. But what if you have a chronic health problem such as diabetes, or wind up in the hospital for a week or two? You're looking at some hefty medical bills, medical bills that many, if not most, Americans couldn't pay out of pocket. So how big of a problem is this? Well, according to the most recent Census Bureau report, the number of uninsured Americans topped 50 million in 2010. That's 1 in 6 people in the country. Obama's health reform bill is supposed to help with this, but there is much controversy (and litigation) surrounding that bill. So while the number may have dropped some, it is still high. Too high. And that makes good health care - any health care - unaffordable to too many people.

2. The rising cost of prescription drugs. 

Prescription drug costs have increased wildly over the last few years. If you have decent insurance and are taking a round of antibiotics for a mild infection, this is not much of a concern. And there are some drugs available at Target and Wal-Mart for less than $5. But there are a couple of big problems facing people today. One is for those lacking insurance all together (see issue 1 above). For those people, drugs can cost, tens, hundreds, even thousands of dollars, depending on the medication. Clearly, that can make some drugs unaffordable all together. For people who have insurance, the rising cost of prescription drugs is still a concern, even though you might only be paying a fraction of the actual drug cost. Insurance companies are charging more for drug copays, especially for newer, brand-name, "fourth-tier" drugs. If say, you have diabetes, and you're on several of these pricier drugs (and a fixed income), that adds up to a lot of money, even with insurance. So why have these costs gone up? Well, for one thing, pharmaceutical companies charge a lot for their drugs. According to a study published on Kaiser.edu (a Web site associated with the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation), pharmaceutical manufacturing was the third most profitable industry in the country in 2008 (it was first between 1995 and 2002). Many argue that these high prices are necessary to encourage more research and development of new drugs, though ... so there's a dilemma there. Retail prescription prices have also outpaced inflation between 2000 and 2009, according to the same Kaiser Web site. Another issue is that most of the top-selling prescriptions are those newer, higher-priced drugs. And while hospital and other professional services have increased in cost, the growth rate for prescription drug costs is projected to overtake other categories of services between 2010 and 2019 (again, via Kaiser.edu). You've probably heard stories on the news of people having to decide between buying medicine and food. While these situations may not affect someone you know personally, they do happen. And that's not right.

3. The shortage of primary care physicians.

In the town where my mom grew up (the sleepy, 1,500-person town of Caldwell, Kansas), there was a town dentist - her father - and a town doctor. Everyone in town knew these two practitioners, because everyone in town went to them for their body aches and toothaches. These days, though, it's becoming less and less common for those little towns to have a resident physician, or even one anywhere nearby. This also applies to many urban and low-income areas. In fact, Kaiser.edu estimates that 60 million Americans (that's 1 in 5, folks) lack "adequate access to primary care due to a shortage of primary care physicians in their communities." So what's the problem? Again, in part: money. There is a huge income gap between a family physician or internist (we're talking well under $200,000, says Kaiser) and the mugh higher-paid specialists (try around $400,000 for radiology or cardiology). With the cost of medical school debt sometimes rising to $200,000 or $300,000, that higher salary looks appealing in terms of loan payoff, not to mention lifestyle considerations. Fewer medical school graduates are going into primary care, in part because of these financial issues. Which stem from our payment system. You get big bucks for procedures, pennies for an office visit. And all those phone calls that your family doc makes? He or she doesn't make a dime for that time. 

Our health care system here in the United States is, in some ways, the best in the world. People come from all over to see specialists at places like the Mayo clinic, for example. But the system doesn't work for everyone. We need to figure out a way to resolve that. 

A British Take On the TV Doc

Flip (or scroll) through your local television listings and you'll find all kinds of medical shows, both fiction and non-fiction. There's House, Gray's Anatomy, ER, Nip Tuck, and so many more. And those are just the dramas. (I will admit, I used to watch old-school ER, back in my high school days.)

These days, though, I'm pretty picky about my television. I simply don't have time to watch much, for one. And when it comes to medical shows, I am not a big fan of the sappy, soap-opera-y ones either. 

Enter Doc Martin, a British medical drama a dear friend just introduced me to on New Year's Eve. Doc Martin is a whip-smart, funny, and well-written show that takes place in the gorgeous region of Cornwall, England. The sheer cliffs, rolling green hills, and friendly fisherman are enough to make me want to go there. But there's more to this show than the scenery. Here's a bit about the show's premise: Doc Martin was a prominent London surgeon who suddenly developed a phobia of blood (obviously, a serious problem for a surgeon). So he moved to a small Cornwall village to take over a general practitioner's office. What you need to know about Doc Martin, and what makes this show so hilarious, is that he is absolutely socially inept. Which may be OK for a surgeon who spends most of his time with his patients under anesthesia, but is not so OK for a GP who spends most of his time with patients who are breathing (and talking) quite normally. There is, as well, a cast of colorful supporting characters (including a love interest of Doc Martin's!) who round out the show. 

I highly recommend checking it out. The first four seasons are available both on Netflix instant view and Amazon Prime video on demand. If you do watch an episode, let me know what you think!

Oh, and for a preview of what Cornwall looks like, here are a few tantalizing photos ...