11 Week MCAT Study Schedule

Well, I have decided in order to reapply for Medical School, I am going to retake the MCAT. I took the MCAT in 2014 and since then, many changes have been made to the test. I am planning on taking the exam on May 14, 2016. That leaves me 11 weeks from Monday to prepare.

Today, I spent some time working out a master plan to help me hold myself accountable for my studying efforts. I am also going to be taking some Master's classes during this time, so I am only able to devote part of my day to studying for the MCAT.

I plan to use the overhauled ExamKrackers 6 Book Series and the AAMC Questions and Exams that are available. My investment in prep materials is around $300. I also have the old AAMC Exams that are formatted for the test prior to 2015. Additionally, AAMC partnered with Khan Academy to offer study materials.

I set up my plan in Excel and can send you the document if you are interested in a copy. Below is a link to the first week.

Week 1

Making Changes - What Worked for You?

By now, you may have realized all I talk and or think about is the MCAT. I should be ashamed to admit that I even dream about the MCAT. We were lucky enough to have a weekend filled with snow. That couple with a new/used stove brought out my inner Martha Stewart. So, I decide it was time to crank up the oven and start the holiday baking. Even as I stood at the counter mixing ingredients, I was thinking about chemical reactions and whether or not I have down the H2CO3 (Bi-Carb - thinking Baking Soda for my non-science friends) Buffer System.  It's sad, but true. 

I believe that the MCAT has taken over my entire thought process. This must be a good thing. I have often read that preparing for the MCAT is similar to the way athletes prepare for a big game. Focus, practice, practice, more practice, and take a break the day before. 

Because I am working on my own prep plan, I am always scrolling through websites looking for extra advice.  On a blog post by Alex Sassani, it was mentioned that you should start the day off doing MCAT passages:  2 passages each that cover Verbal, Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Organic Chemistry.  Ten passages to start the day off. WOW. 

The same post also mentions getting into a sleep rhythm. That is an area I have never been great in. So, starting this week, I am going to do my best to get to bed at the same time every night, and get up at the same time every morning. Hoping to get to bed by 10 pm, and up by 6 am. Before the kids get up and moving, I am hoping I can get through the 10 passages that Sassani recommends. I have purchased access to MCAT Question Q Bank. There are tons of passages. In addition, I have two books from AAMC with passages. That should be plenty. I sure am making changes to pull this off. Hope they work.

Here is my question to all of you. When you have been working towards a goal what changes did you have to make in your life to pull it off? What worked and what didn't?

Final Grades - They're In!

Final Grades:

Biochemistry: A
Organic Lab:A
Organic Lecture: B
Cell Biology: B
Psychopharmacology: B

Not a 4.0, but did well and maintained some balance. 

Thank you to everyone who helped. I appreciate all of the support, encouragement, occasional babysitting, and smacks in the face when I fretted. I am so excited to be preparing for the MCAT. For those of you who have known me since childhood, this has always been my dream. For those of you getting to know me, now you know. 
If you see me out and about and I am not studying for the MCAT, yell at me. (Well, at least if it is before Jan 25th.) In the meantime, thank you and please understand if I say no to something. You get one shot at this exam, and I intend to crush it!

Finishing Finals....Beginning the Road to the MCAT

This past week was a tough one. I shouldn't complain. I only had four finals and a ghastly cold. Others had it worse.  I have wrapped up the semester and it is now time to hunker down and study for the MCAT while I await my final grades. This semester was not my best work. Family stuff on my plate was a bit distracting in the middle of the semester, and it took a bit to pull myself out of that slump. I guess we'll all know soon if the dream is still alive. On my blog, I started a page titled MCAT Study Guide. This is exactly what I will be doing each day. I am putting it together as I go. We'll see at the end of this process if it works. I will be sure to report back. If you are doing the same and find something particularly helpful, be sure to share. I will be appreciative. In the meantime, I could use your thoughts and prayers for myself and my family. Got a lot riding on this!

Why Medicine?

"Why Medicine?" - the most commonly asked question I get these days. Well, the second most, right after, "What kind of Dr. do you want to be?" It is an important question. One I expect will be asked during my interviews for medical school. I feel as if everyone expects some life altering scenario that sent me down this path. I hate to disappoint them, but that is not the case for me.  I did not have a trip to the ER, an ill family member, or a life altering experience that told me that medicine was my calling. In fact, it is just the opposite. I have always known. I am the cliche. The kid who when asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" answered, "A doctor." I know that is boring, but it is true. 

I have always wanted to do this. I have always been fascinated by the body and how unique we are as a species. Humans are fascinating. We are can think, build, design, and create from the world around us. We can feel, hurt, and absorb the emotions of others in our species. We can grow, bend, and break all at the same time. We can process light into images, process those images, and make decisions as a result. We make and then hear beautiful music that stirs our souls. We learn (well sometimes) and remember. Even though we are simply composed of a few atoms that are found abundantly on our planet, we are complex, ordered beings that seem to defy the very laws of physics that govern the universe. Yet when you look closer, we are really following them. We don't understand how we work. We are just beginning down that path as a species. For everything we think we have learned today, we will later realize that we were just turning the page of discovery.

Medicine is breathtaking. The ability to study the human condition is only for a privileged few. A privilege that often brought persecution. One that is a solemn honor. To care for others, to help heal others, is the greatest calling one can have. While others in my life have struggled with what they wanted to do when they grew up, I have never experienced that agony. Instead, I have been on a long journey to return to the calling I held as a small child. To go into medicine. To become a life long student of the human condition. To use all my learning and knowledge to help better my fellow man. That is why I chose medicine. 

Great Read

Why Rational People Buy Into Conspiracy Theories......interesting article by the New York Times

Shadowing....In the beginning.

As I began this process I went to our local hospital and spoke with the individual that works with the Medical School students as they come out for rotations. I explained my situation and asked for help with arranging shadowing opportunities. 

For me, arranging shadowing opportunities on my own was getting me nowhere fast, so I knew that I needed help. In my full time career and life, I just did not have interactions with physicians to build relationships to pull upon for shadowing opportunities. Going to the source was the best option I had.

What did I ask for and why?  I have a great deal of experience as an ENT patient. I had nearly 20 surgeries on both ears before I was 18. I worked in the ER while in college, but that was nearly 10 years ago and in another city/state. I worked in a lab and taught at a Community College. Again, 10 years ago and no where near my current home. So basically all my "medical" experience is ancient! UGH! In order to figure out what things are like now, I knew I was going to need to jump in. So I asked to shadow everyone. Every type of physician. If I am going to leave a great career behind to pursue my dream, well, I owe it to my family to remind myself of what that dream really looks like - GOOD, BAD, & UGLY. Luckily for me, my new found ally thought it was a great idea to shadow different types of docs, too. 

And that is how I began down the road of shadowing. I have learned an enormous amount from each physician that has permitted me into their world. It has been amazing. In future posts I will break down each experience, questions I asked, bites of wisdom shared. Thank you to all of the physicians that have been so wonderful to allow me to spend a few moments with them, their teams, and their patients. 

More Arsenal for the MCAT

I am still gathering resources and in the beginning stages of studying for the MCAT. I have decided on purchasing all of the available AAMC Practice Exams. Go straight to the source. I plan on taking all of them. A very large task to undertake.

Next on the purchasing list is the Complete Examkrackers package, and I mean the whole enchilada. All five resource books, the 1001 Questions for each core topic, 16 mini-mcats, and Audio Osmosis CD package. From all the forums, research, checking the books out. I think these will be the best for my style of learning. In addition, I have a host of websites that I have pulled together and book-marked. I will start to compile those for a later post.

I have also pulled together a select few podcasts to listen to on a regular basis. Those include:

• Medical School HQ by Dr. Ryan Gray - first one I discovered with good quality audio and useful material. Plus I actually had the opportunity to meet Dr. Gray in the flesh at the OldPreMeds conference this summer. Nice guy. Thanks for the podcast and encouragement. Oh, and if you listen, give the guy a positive review. Help the cause!
•  Mental Math Secrets  - This is really because I know as an older student, time is not my friend. Speeding up my ability to process numbers in my head will really be helpful. Plus this podcast includes videos as well as audio. Good quality recordings that are easy to listen to.

So, I am feeling pretty good about my game plan. Working on study calendar and timeline. Hope to have it together by the end of this week. 

Day One

Day One. I can remember being a little girl knowing that I would be a physcian. That with my hands, I would help fix people. Sometimes, when you can't fix yourself, fixing others fills that hole. It has been a long, windy, and often broken road that I have travelled that has led me to today - Day One.

Today is the day that I straighten the road and take back the promise of that little girl. Today is the day that I start back down an old path, slowly removing the over grown debris, and blaze a new trail. Today is the day I start down the road of becoming a physician.

I am not sure I can accomplish this goal. I have faultered many times. Once as an eighteen year old. A life altering decision made the goal of college a little bit tougher. Then again, leaving college and chosing a different path. All this time, sitting in my gut, has been a sinking feeling speaking to my mind, saying - "You are on the wrong path."

Today is the day I start back to taking classes and begin studying for the MCAT. I wonder if that phrase, "Three strikes and you're out" is really true. This is my third strike. It is time to swing, and swing big. I am aiming for the fences in center field, channeling my inner Babe Ruth. Come along this journey with me. Encourage me. Hold me accountable. Challenge me.

Through a busy work schedule, a hectic family life, this mom of three is pulling the little girl inside out. I know that I am suppose to be a physcian. This is my Journey.